Members ezstep Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 Outdoor festival. Two stages, about 150' apart, set a 90 degree angles. You could set up a lawn chair to watch one band, then, turn your lawn chair 90 degrees to watch the other. The stages were not used at the same time. It was to allow each singer/tracks, band, etc., to have time to set up properly. We were on 6:00 - 8:00 on the big, uncovered stage (two semi-flatbeds and plywood - pretty common). Another group was setting up on the smaller but covered stage, for their 8:00 - 12:00 slot. They talked to us about possibly doing a sound check and we told them that we would skip a break and simply play until 7:45 to let them have it. About 7:25, right in the middle of a Merle Haggard ballad, the other band starts up. I mean, c'mon...who messes up a good Merle Haggard ballad on purpose? It clashed big time. Rather than getting into a pissing contest with wattage and volume, we shut it down to let them have it...and, they prompty left the stage, leaving NO BAND playing. While we were wrapping cables and stowing gear, dozens of people stopped by to ask what happened and dozens of people went to the other stage to ask WHY they started up and then left the stage. Also, many in our crowd (oldsters) left at that time, not sticking around to hear the final band. Now, to be honest, they did come over en mass and apologize, saying that the town mayor had told them that they could do a sound check. The mayor was there and refuted that, saying that he thought they meant one-instrument-at-a-time, not the whole group breaking into a song at full volume. We were promised to be invited back next year and we received full pay. Okay, what is the proper soundguy etiquette in this situation? I would never think of checking a kick drum or a bass or any instrument through the mains at full volume while another group or singer-with-tracks is performing. Am I alone in this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 Okay, what is the proper soundguy etiquette in this situation? I would never think of checking a kick drum or a bass or any instrument through the mains at full volume while another group or singer-with-tracks is performing. Am I alone in this? Hell no, that's downright rude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JohnnyGraphic Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 Yeah, soundguy should have stepped up and said no soundcheck while the other band was playing. I'm sure it was a matter of mixed signals. The fact that they apologized goes a long way in my book. There was probably no intent to do what they did. Just an oops. Johnny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hornplayer Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 Wouldn't common sense dictate for the other band to stay quiet until you guys finished? I'd classify this as a boneheaded maneuver. As a soundguy I would never allow it. Besides what kind of sound check can you get with another band playing anyway. There is a lot of checking that can be done without making any noise through speakers either FOH or monitors. Not cool or professional in my estimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 "I'm sure it was a matter of mixed signals. The fact that they apologized goes a long way in my book. There was probably no intent to do what they did. Just an oops." I don't think so.Lemme see.They asked the MAYOR if they could soundcheck? Hmm, sure, the band/soundguy was smart enough to ask somebody's permission who had NO CLUE! We're talking a whole lot of stupid or a whole lot of lack of consideration here, folks. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 +1 for boomerweps comment above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted October 7, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 You don't upstage another performer. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 I went through something similar a few weeks ago, we had two stages, set fairly far apart, but the main stage had a huge PA (12 Vertec 4888's and 6 badass subs per sid) and in the middle of my stages sets we'd hear the kick drum and instrument line checks at full volume through the PA... Now I had 10,000 watts and had no trouble filling my intended area, but it was a pain in the butt to have to appaulogize to all the performers when it was just someone else's ignoarnce... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted October 7, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 To be honest, if it were me in that situation, I think I'd have stopped the song mid-verse, and asked the other band (via the PA of course) JUST WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE DOING. I suspect that, plus whatever support your crowd would contribute, would end it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 7, 2007 Members Share Posted October 7, 2007 Rude and uncalled for. You don't sound check over another band's set. The stage manager should have delt with this before it even happened IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman6969 Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 Just a poorly run show. Stage/show manager should have shut them down immediately. Totally uncalled for, and even though they appologized, they should have known better. Total lack of respect for fellow musicians and the audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Commander Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 I agree with the axman. Complete amateurs. Just rude beyond words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 I thought it was rude too. In my case the stage managers dropped the abll and were running way behind schedule, so instead of looking at their time sheets they just kept pounding through. My stage was on time to a 'T' and should not have had to deal with their slacking, but hey, it's over and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrJoshua Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 Why do a soundcheck through the mains? I mean, yes, at some point in the soundcheck you want to make sure the mains are working and get a rough mix going, but there's a lot that can be done before that point if you know how to use the metering on your gear, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members preacherman672 Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 Why do a soundcheck through the mains? I mean, yes, at some point in the soundcheck you want to make sure the mains are working and get a rough mix going, but there's a lot that can be done before that point if you know how to use the metering on your gear, no? In reality a half stack or an 8x10 bass rig or even an unamplified kick will make way too much noise to line check at the volumes most people play them outdoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ezstep Posted October 8, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 When this happens to us and I must start setting up everything on the fly, I use headphones. I get a level check on each instrument while listening on headphones (the old, bulky, over-the-ear type). I can get a pretty good, balanced sound just through them while leaving the mains and monitors off. I get direct signals from the lead, acoustic, and bass, but I have to guess at the steel amp (I hang a mic on his amp - his direct level fluctuates too much). Of course, I can pretty much "eyeball" what equipment I have and set it - I know exactly what I have and what it will do on the job. I wasn't mad, P.O.'d, whatever. I just decided it was time for us to quit. Looking back, I think it was the right choice - always leave the audience wanting more, and that audience wanted the other group to go away. No, no hard feelings, but I would never, never do that to them or any other group or individual performing nearby. Thanks, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members corbind Posted October 8, 2007 Members Share Posted October 8, 2007 Very rude. Their band IQ = 50... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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