Whats your gigging status?

[placebo62]

Just curious to see how often folks around here gig.

 

I tried to create a poll, but couldnt work out how to.

 

So are you:

 

a) I've never had a gig before, and I never intend to.

b) I've never had a gig before, but I want to one day.

c) I've had a few gigs over the years, but prefer playing at home.

d) I've had a few gigs over the years, but want to gig more.

e) I gig a few times a year, whenever I can get my {censored} together.

f) I have regular gigs.

 

go

[No Arrow_Dann]

i have regular gigs

about 3 a month or so give or take...right now our bas player is in london for the month so were on the backburner right now and in the meantime im saving money to get our demos mastered up and finally get a CD printed by the end of the month...gigs in this city are generally the same, people here arent into going to shows as much as they used to be, same with every other band that performs here you have good nights and you not so good nights

[placebo62]

cool man, are you happy with that amount of gigs?

[echodeluxe]

i'm gigging right now. giggity goo.

[Bob Doom]

E

This has been a slow year.

[placebo62]

you are not

liar!

[MathiasWilliam]

E aswell

[Instrospection]

Weirdly enough, we've had to turn down 5 gigs, because we refuse to play for cheap or for free and we're not asking for a helluva lot, but we're not playing for $50 bucks. We just politely lay out all our operating costs so that they know exactly what our operating costs are. $50 bucks isn't much. By the time we pay for a soundguy because we've used too many house soundguys that can turn our vintage amps into mud or cheap Casio amps, and rehearsal spaces at $250 per month and postering (we poster for every show) and lugging our gear there (none of which is small combo amps, you're talking stacks), and really, if you think of it, playing out live--by the time you factor in every band member's time--you're talking maybe tens if not hundreds of hours for $50 or whatever.

Here, it's difficult as hell to get anyone out for most shows--i've seen lots of great touring bands just bomb and play to 15-20 people and they were the type where the guarantee for them must have been at least $1000-$2000. In other words, to offer quality, someone's gonna have to eat a huge cost, especially in this day and age where live venues are hurting. One venue here was sold and turned into an American Apparel; another was sold and hasn't got fully back up to the way that it used to be.

[No Arrow_Dann]

Im fine with it cause i have other {censored} to do such as work
I would like to jam more then gig cause the drummer lives out of town so we only play together when we play shows basically which sucks
we get payed good for shows though so im content

[placebo62]

Here, it's difficult as hell to get anyone out for most shows--i've seen lots of great touring bands just bomb and play to 15-20 people and they were the type where the guarantee for them must have been at least $1000-$2000. In other words, to offer quality, someone's gonna have to eat a huge cost, especially in this day and age where live venues are hurting. One venue here was sold and turned into an American Apparel; another was sold and hasn't got fully back up to the way that it used to be.

 

 

Thats {censored}ty dude. Where is 'here'?

[t_e_l_e]

d) but we had no gig for more than a year. since january we have a new drummer and we are doing demos and preparing a set list, but now we can only rehearse one times a week and we are lacking practice time

[echodeluxe]

F. the answer is F.

[Instrospection]

Thats {censored}ty dude. Where is 'here'?

Winnipeg.

This is my amp collection--the Univox cab/ head is pretty much one of a kind from 1971. For me to even drag that out and risk scuffing it or someone stealing it, the head is slightly more common, the cab is nearly impossible to find and even more impossible to find in that good of condition....so I guess it's a weird dichotomy: we really can't play our best gear out anyways, because it's quite non-replaceable. The Fender 140 on the left is one of Fender's most ridiculously rare amps, the Traynor Master Reverb head from 1975 is a bit more frequent, but has the original Phillips (Mullard) tubes in it. Even the Univox has the original GE power tubes and Mullard preamp tubes from 1971! What people pay for gigs here doesn't even cover insurance payments....and really, replacement value on equipment that you can't find is kind of a moot point. I guess that's probably why you have people gigging with more common equipment--even newer Mesa or Marshall equipment, you can walk into most stores and get the same amp.

[placebo62]

Winnipeg.

 

 

I see...have you seen the move, 'The Saddest Music in All the World' ?

 

Thats what I think of when I hear Winnipeg.

 

...nice amps btw

[placebo62]

F. the answer is F.

 

 

dude, you should put your myspace page in your sig.

 

I clicked on it from another thread. Was really digging those demos.

[Instrospection]

I see...have you seen the move, 'The Saddest Music in All the World' ? Thats what I think of when I hear Winnipeg. ...nice amps btw

 

 

Thanks! Was that Guy Maddin's movie with Isabella Rossellini? Winnipeg's a weird place....they'll pack the arena for almost every show every week or second week, but the clubs are a morgue. I've heard that other areas of North America are getting to be the same way....

[letsgocoyote]

everytime i get the gumption to think i wanan play a show, and end up doign it, i ende dup being all nervous and when the show is over im like... 'man, well i dont need to do that again!'

 

cuz i suck at playing

[CicadaSilence]

 

Weirdly enough, we've had to turn down 5 gigs, because we refuse to play for cheap or for free and we're not asking for a helluva lot, but we're not playing for $50 bucks. We just politely lay out all our operating costs so that they know exactly what our operating costs are. $50 bucks isn't much. By the time we pay for a soundguy because we've used too many house soundguys that can turn our vintage amps into mud or cheap Casio amps, and rehearsal spaces at $250 per month and postering (we poster for every show) and lugging our gear there (none of which is small combo amps, you're talking stacks), and really, if you think of it, playing out live--by the time you factor in every band member's time--you're talking maybe tens if not hundreds of hours for $50 or whatever. Here, it's difficult as hell to get anyone out for most shows--i've seen lots of great touring bands just bomb and play to 15-20 people and they were the type where the guarantee for them must have been at least $1000-$2000. In other words, to offer quality, someone's gonna have to eat a huge cost, especially in this day and age where live venues are hurting. One venue here was sold and turned into an American Apparel; another was sold and hasn't got fully back up to the way that it used to be.

 

 

Agreed. I hate hate hate the pay-to-play {censored} that's become de riguer for most venues these days. Yeah, okay, most local bands suck, granted. But show a little {censored}ing appreciation; most of us have thousands of dollars and hours of our lives invested in music, and we've still gotta sell 20 tickets at 5 bucks a pop to even have a venue open the doors? On top of that, if you ask for a drink discount, you may as well have {censored} on the soundguy's mother... and half the time, the {censored}er is drunk, doesn't know what the hell he's doing, or just doesn't give a {censored}.

 

Gimme a {censored}ing break.

 

Playing out can be great fun, but the hoops you have to jump through make it barely worth the meager payout, assuming you get one.

 

 

 

So to answer the OP question: Yes, I gig, and yes I would like to gig more. Assuming the gigs are worth the process.

[Instrospection]

Agreed. I hate hate hate the pay-to-play {censored} that's become de riguer for most venues these days. Yeah, okay, most local bands suck, granted. But show a little {censored}ing appreciation; most of us have thousands of dollars and hours of our lives invested in music, and we've still gotta sell 20 tickets at 5 bucks a pop to even have a venue open the doors? On top of that, if you ask for a drink discount, you may as well have {censored} on the soundguy's mother... and half the time, the {censored}er is drunk, doesn't know what the hell he's doing, or just doesn't give a {censored}. Gimme a {censored}ing break. Playing out can be great fun, but the hoops you have to jump through make it barely worth the meager payout, assuming you get one. So to answer the OP question: Yes, I gig, and yes I would like to gig more. Assuming the gigs are worth the process.

 

 

Right on! Yeah, you know....i've paid dues playing in other bands to no one on a Tuesday night or whatever. On top of that, in my other bands, we'd naively play Battle of the Bands.....for NOTHING! You know, the whole lure of winning studio time or whatever. I know that the whole thing is to play out live, but sometimes you just don't win by doing it the way that you're supposed to--building up hype and then not playing out can do wonders. Sometimes I wonder if there's really any demand at all for newer bands--i've went to friends' bands shows that have some cool, unique stuff happening and it's dead for them there, pretty much.

 

Some bands can still draw an audience from the ground up, but most people I know only go to bands' shows that have already been around for the last 5 years or whatever. Myself included....i'm 29, in rock years, that's like.....old, man! Not real old, but definetely about 10 years past the "go to shows, get wasted, wake up, repeat the cycle". You sort of tire of that and look to something more, maybe something a little more than just that. But it certainly fuels a certain time in one's life where they feel that they're in the trenches and out there in the war with bands and the scene or whoever. In that sense, you need the next generation of kids to do that, and I just don't see them doing that, I think they dropped the torch and got lazy.

[Mistersuperfly]

My band played probably 150 shows last year from coast to coast... this year we've relocated to atlanta to write/record our second album so we haven't gotten to play out too much, had a show with Mae 2 months ago, the ascap showcase in Atlanta a month ago, and 2 weeks from now we're playing Florida Music Festival.

[Switchblade327]

Chalk me up for (e) because my band is comprised of my brothers and cousin, all of which are either in their final year of high school, or close to it. This means that they suck immense amount of donkey balls, and can't seem to find the time to have us all together for a rehearsal, let alone gigs. So im on (e) until I hopefully get to step up to (f) when theyre all finished.

[smurphy28]

I have regular gigs. At least 2 a month.

[NetStar]

B)
Sadly...

[RoboPimp]

F.

[Loobster]

Usually F. But at the moment none, until we get our {censored}ing demo done.