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What do you drink while gigging?


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Originally posted by SirGarrote

i didnt know you gigged, aw
:confused:

Used to all the time. Still fill in for a friend's band occasionally, but that's on guitar (gasp!), so I don't talk about it much around here.

Though sometimes I trigger a Virus B from a MIDI Fly live and assign an expression pedal to control filter cutoff. That's always fun. As far as my proper band is concerned, I've vowed to never try to pull that stuff off live again until Showcase Arena is finished.

Last weekend I had a brainfart and accidentally ordered a Meyers and ginger instead of a Makers and ginger. Oh my God. Never again.

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I don't gig, but here's what I like to drink while playing, or composing:

1. Very strong "King's" Ti Kuan Yin tea
2. A nice Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, or Syrah
3. Water
4. A Ten Martini
5. A bit of my home made Absinthe

Any of those usually acts in a complimentary way if not overdone. Especially the tea and wine. (which I often alternate between in the same session (start off with a couple glasses of wine, then move into the tea))

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There was only one time in my life when I tried to mix alchohol and gigging to any extent. The frontman from the band had a bottle of Cuervo in the contract, and I would partake. It lasted about 4-5 gigs until I realized I needed to stop drinking after the first set and stick around after closing for a while to let it wear off before I drove home.

Now it's usually just water, maybe cola (for the caffeine buzz), and occasionally one of those Lizard Juice drinks to soothe the throat.

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Wow--nobody has said it yet....

Smart Water

Think Gatoraide without the sugar. Calorie free good tasting water with electrolytes.

I was always so dehydrated from gigs that I'd get leg cramps during the night and headache head the entire next day. Smart Water solved that.

Not cheap, however.

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Originally posted by SirGarrote



how do you go about doing that? and do you sell it?
:D

-G



It's actually very simple. (As it's not ENTIRELY home made, I don't actually do any distilling or anything like that.) I could send a bottle.

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At a club job it's one beer and shot of tequila before the show, then one or two beers, tops, for the remainder of the night. Of course, this prescription loosens up considerably at the relatively more laid-back corporate dance/wedding reception gig.

Regards,

Chris

P.S. Beer is good for you.

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I've lately become a bit more conservative with drinking on gigs, but generally keep some kind of light beer in my mobile speakeasy as needed. Usually cheap domestic stuff works, like Miller Lite, Coors Lite, sometimes Amstel Light. I occasionally treat myself to Sierra Nevada, Becks Dark, Red Stripe, Stella Artois or similar. When it's open bar, the sky is the limit. I do like Jim Beam and Diet Coke (light on the stomach) and also Capt Morgan and Diet Coke.

I drink carefully to ensure I can still play well and also to avoid any kind of drinking and driving situation.;

Regards,
Eric

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Originally posted by Pawnz

At a club job it's one beer and shot of tequila before the show, then one or two beers, tops, for the remainder of the night. Of course, this prescription loosens up considerably at the relatively more laid-back corporate dance/wedding reception gig.


Regards,


Chris


P.S. Beer is good for you.



Um, I play both club gigs and corporate dance/wedding reception gigs also - how can you say that a wedding is relatively more laid-back than a club gig?

It's completely the opposite - at least for me as a keyboard player: when they go to dance that 1st dance as Man+Wife, I'd better be spot on w/my intro to "Amazed" or "Still the One" or "Have I Told You Lately" or whatever... :freak:

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Originally posted by GigMan

how can you say that a wedding is relatively more laid-back than a club gig?

Basically, it's because the songs my band plays at a club are considerably more complex than those we play at a wedding reception or corporate gig. At a club job, we do songs like "Foreplay" and "Smokin'" by Boston, and "Fanfare for the Common Man" by ELP; I also will typically play a challenging piano solo as an into to a ballad or something.......lately it's been a sort of fugue before the song "Listen to Your Heart." Additionally, my club keyboard set-up involves two physical keyboards and a rack including six synthesizer/sampler modules, EQ, EFX, and a mixing board. I also utilize numerous, complex MIDI set-ups each with several zones, splits, layers, etc., and assignable physical controllers (e.g., wheels, sliders, pedals), involving functions that may change from program to program. I definitely need to "keep my head on straight" for all of this stuff. At a wedding/corporate gig, I bring only two keyboards and we largely play "standard" songs that I have been playing for 25 years (e.g., "Spanish Eyes," "Beer Barrel Polka," "Unforgettable," "Shout," "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" "What I Like About You"). Quite frankly, after 25 years, I can just about play these songs in my sleep. Don't get me wrong.....I'm never half-in-the-bag before we start playing.......and if the bride/groom have a special song (e.g., for their first dance), I will make sure I am spot-on with my part. If I am going to take some liberties with the fire water (which really isn't very often), it will tend to be around when the job is approximately three-quarters over with.

 

Also, it seems people at a wedding reception may be more committed/obligated to having a good time (i.e., whether the band is good or not), if only to ensure that the bride and groom have a festive celebration. At a club, where there is often a cover charge and always a cash bar, there is no such obligation and therefore more pressure to "win the crowd over." They are more likely to go somewhere else if they feel they are not getting their money's worth.

 

Regards,

 

Chris

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