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Mike M

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About Mike M

  • Birthday 03/01/1958

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  • Biography
    Musician / Sound Technician

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  • Location
    Southeastern Massachusetts

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  • Occupation
    Musician / Sound Technician

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  1. 2022 is in the books and it was one of the busiest years I have had gig-wise (performing and sound tech'ing)....better than pre-Covid. It was kinda like music/performances were "pent-up" and people let loose. 2023 looks to be decent as things are coming in & my schedule is shaping up. I hope to God that this "covid-thing" has run its course. Stay safe.
  2. ^^^Is true! I am a volunteer at a local performing arts center. (I volunteer as the A2 working with the sound system. I have even tech'd shows as the A1 at that venue.) There are a quite a few singer/songwriters that come through on-tour as the venue has two/three shows per week....alot of guitarists.... Most of the acts are really good (very few tribute band - thank god) musicians. A couple of weeks Vanilla Fudge performed there - they kicked a** - excellent musicians. To point: I am sorry to say but I am not impressed with most of the guitarists that I've seen there (except for Marty Stewart...he has some serious chops). Alot of the so-so guitarists just riff-away (lean back/closing their eyes/with a grimace on their face) and the patrons eat-it-up. Me-oh humm...looking at watch waiting for it to end. Good showmanship is like a good salesman... They entertain (which is also an art).
  3. I suggest that you don't kill yourself learning a ton of Xmass songs, maybe 4(?) would probably be good. A sing-a-long medley; Let it Snow, Rudolf, Rockin Around the Xmass Tree,etc. can be alot of fun especially with a drinking crowd..... The Holidays stirs feelings of family etc, thus maybe your ballads (slow songs) could be: Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmass, Merry Christmas Darling (Carpenters), or the like. People (or a venue) hired your band because they like what you do - don't change your whole format at an Xmass party - play the gig with a few Jollies thrown in. The above is just my opinion. Have fun!
  4. I have a ton of wedding-gig experience (both playing and contracting). I had a band that gigged weddings for many years but I switched to classical music 20+ years ago. First of all: Do not undersell yourself. In my area DJ's are getting $1200 (for the cheapest ones) and up for a wedding (some regularly get 2-3k). That being said, a band that charges $2k for a wedding in my area will-not-work - believe it or not. A band has to charge more-than-a-DJ to be taken seriously....."that's" just the way couples think... #2: be polished; sound good, dress well, & have a PA that's "corporate-clean" (not beat-up, club worn, dented grills, etc.) #3: you will need a sound-guy to help you set up / break down quickly plus provide a playlist while the band goes on breaks (to keep the party going). My current wedding gig is in a classical trio that plays ceremony/cocktail hour exclusively. This year we have over 40 weddings...... I have seen more wedding bands this year than I have seen in the past several years...so live bands seem to be coming back (yay!).
  5. KJ: Do you still use the E168's? If so, do you use the Yorkville processor?
  6. FWIW: When the pandemic hit around here (Massachusetts, USA) I contacted the local school district's head nurse and asked her advise on how to sterilize foam windscreens. Her advise: wash with hot water / anti-bacterial soap, & air dry. I purchased a dozen windscreens, did the above, & wrapped them in plastic sandwich bags. On sound-provider gigs I let each vocalist pick their own.
  7. Has anyone else upgraded their rig since their original post?
  8. After the Covid shutdown, musician gigging (for me) started up again last June and has been pretty consistent since then. Sound-gig wise was a bit spotty; one HS graduation and one 5K (in attendance) sound gig in 2021. 2022 looks to be better with a few more sound gigs scheduled......plus quite-a-few muso gigs in the books. Let's hope that we are done with this Covid thing.... Good health to all!
  9. Christmas Pops concert series on Cape Cod. The orchestra members had to to be vax'd and we took a rapid test before our first rehearsal (on Wednesday). The audience had to show proof of vaccination to enter. 6 performances, 4 of which were sold out. It felt good to be back...!
  10. Notes: Part of the scene is dealing with Bridezillas ('had more than my share of 'em) but even worse is the "Mom-zilla" (mother of the bride) who essentially takes-over the daughter's wedding since she (Momzilla) is paying the bills. This happen alot with Newport weddings...... The brides are essentially told to "show up" ........ Besides the $ the only thing that makes these gigs somewhat enjoyable is that the others in my ensemble are excellent musicians and nice people.....
  11. A similar path for me........ When I turned 35 (leading my own GB band) I saw the writing-on-the-wall that I was aging-out of what I did (sax player in a wedding/club band, occasional pro-shows). [What 25y/o bride wants a grey-haired sax player in her wedding band? Ans: none of them do....] At that point I went back to my classical roots (classical muso in college), started a trio ensemble, auditioned successfully for a local orchestra (which 10 years ago went AFM), and have since concentrated my playing on the ceremony/'tails circuit around Newport, RI. At 60+ it seems that getting older is good for booking my ensemble as the young brides think that they are talking to Mozart or something - lol. My ensemble gigs are usually two hours; a usual 4-6: (4-4:30 prelude, 4:30-5 ceremony, 15 minute break, 5:15-6 'tails, 6:10 driving home....). Nobody busts our chops with requests, we just play our baroque, look (and sound) polished, rinse/repeat. Creativity-wise it's rather sterile but the $ is great - although I miss my sax at times..... Every once in a while I'll go to a jam and make some noise just to stay in the game...
  12. Wow.....hacking into a mixer......I guess if "stupid" can happen, someone will oblige. What's next? Someone hacking my sax reeds.....? (a lame attempt at humor).
  13. As of this writing there may be hope. As a reference I live/gig on the border of MA/RI. Indoor music in RI is slowly coming back as some local bands are playing. MA is allowing music in restaurants but no wind instruments/singing:( I am not sure of the audiences / attendance as we are staying clear until my wife/I are vaccinated (wife got #2 last week, I'm getting #2 on Friday). A bright note: my classical trio recently booked six (6!!!) RI wedding ceremony/cocktail hour gigs in May. We had nothing confirmed in the book a couple of months ago but MA/RI are easing the restrictions for weddings..... For the past several years I limited our wedding work to six gigs per month (totally sick of dealing with brides) but we'll take as many as we can get at this time as we've been suffering from gig-withdrawl lol. (lately it's been a "feeding frenzy" as brides are booking last-minute weddings and scrambling for music.) ...a gig is a gig
  14. Are you from Fall River, MA?

  15. Facebook seems to be considered "mainstream" these days as almost everyone is on it. Coverbandcentral is a bit amusing..
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