Moderators BATCAT Posted August 23, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 I play with a drummer (great guy, great bandmate, but...) who always sets the legs of his cymbal stands as far apart as they will possibly go, so they have as wide a footprint as possible. We're not talking about crazy long boom setups- this is just for crashes on a 4-piece kit. He even does it for his normal straight ride stand. In tighter spaces this takes up a lot of room, Nobody is going to dive into your kit, man. Are you expecting an earthquake? You don't actually need a three foot span to keep that stand steady! Ok, got that off my chest. You? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 It always seems to be drummers, doesn't it? I work with one drummer who insists on putting his kit toward the front of the stage instead of against the back wall where it should be. This forces the other musicians to the sides. Must be an ego thing. Also used to (I stress "used to") work with a drummer who insisted on bringing a huge bass amplifier that he set up next to his kit for the sole purpose of mic-ing his kick drum. Didn't matter to him if we were on a stage the size of a card table in a bar that only held twenty people, he had to have this humongous cabinet on stage. The really funny thing is that after he got it set up to where he liked the sound, the keyboard player would always walk by and disconnect the mic. The drummer never even noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted August 23, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 It always seems to be drummers, doesn't it?I work with one drummer who insists on putting his kit toward the front of the stage instead of against the back wall where it should be. This forces the other musicians to the sides. I actually played in a band (as the drummer) where we did this, but it worked because it was a three piece instrumental band, so it just kinda made sense aesthetically and practically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Aaaaaaaaa I want our keyboard player to buy a new keyboard. The ones she has are pretty old and just can't seem to get then set properly. Always sends a clipped chunky piano sound, and then other sounds are too quiet. I want to suggest a controller and sound module but I have no clue what to suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Our guitarist goes through this odd, almost OCD-like ritualistic setup routine where he lays out all his pedals and cables across the stage before he sets them up. We refer to it as the Dave Taylor Analog Museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crustee Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I spend so much time focusing on my OWN inconsistencies, I have NO right saying ANYTHING about my bandmates! hehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 For me - it's the bandmates who try to finalize the placement of their mic stand and start building their "nest" around it (i.e., putting down pedals, running cables, etc.) - before the BIG stuff (i.e., PA racks (we're a mix from stage band), backline amps, drummer's space and keyboard rig) has been "boxed up". I realize they're just trying to finish their set up - but damn, there's an order in which a tight stage has to be "assembled". I used to work with a bass player who would get to the venue - plop his gear on stage, set up his mic stand and tape down his cables and consider himself 100% done - all before the time we agreed to meet to start loadin and setup. He'd then get all pissy when about how inconsiderate we were for moving his "finished" setup so that we fit the rest of the gear on stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted August 23, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 Guitarists not repairing or replacing cables. This is usually the singer who doubles on guitar. Guitar not really being a passion. So he sets up and 5 minutes before downbeat he's playing with a cable that's shorting out and finally gets it to settle and work. Clearly it's in need of repair. He sees it, on the other hand, as a working cable. Next gig, bad cable's still there, same scenario repeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted August 23, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 For me - it's the bandmates who try to finalize the placement of their mic stand and start building their "nest" around it (i.e., putting down pedals, running cables, etc.) - before the BIG stuff (i.e., PA racks (we're a mix from stage band), backline amps, drummer's space and keyboard rig) has been "boxed up". I realize they're just trying to finish their set up - but damn, there's an order in which a tight stage has to be "assembled". I used to work with a bass player who would get to the venue - plop his gear on stage, set up his mic stand and tape down his cables and consider himself 100% done - all before the time we agreed to meet to start loadin and setup. He'd then get all pissy when about how inconsiderate we were for moving his "finished" setup so that we fit the rest of the gear on stage. Oh yeah, that reminds me of one for when I'm playing drums... I generally start setting my kit up with drums first, then cymbals. I hate it when someone comes along and plops an amp right where my ride is about to go. You do understand I also have some cymbals, right? You've seen me use them...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted August 23, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 The iffy backup singer who demands his monitor be worked on obsessively. "Can you give me more volume?" How about more oomph?" "Yeah, now some crispies?" "Hmmmm... something sounds weird." Then, mid-gig he's singing 2 feet off the mike out of key and pretending he can't hear his monitor still. Frantically making angry gestures at the sound guy. Meanwhile the lead vocalist took 30 seconds at check to get his monitor where he needs it and he's hearing just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Geetards facing their 133 db amp at their shin bones or my level (drummer) so my ears bleed the rest of the night. Just once I wished they'd aim it at their ears, just once, and yes turn it up once aimed at ears so their ears bleed for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I play with a drummer (great guy, great bandmate, but...) who always sets the legs of his cymbal stands as far apart as they will possibly go, so they have as wide a footprint as possible. We're not talking about crazy long boom setups- this is just for crashes on a 4-piece kit. He even does it for his normal straight ride stand. In tighter spaces this takes up a lot of room,Nobody is going to dive into your kit, man. Are you expecting an earthquake? You don't actually need a three foot span to keep that stand steady!Ok, got that off my chest. You? I hate that. Especially when morons want to help they extend the legs all the way out. From one drummer to another tell him it looks dorky having them extended out. If anything I try to get them as narrow as possible to A. give me more room for other stands and B. Not look like a dork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Fart Rocker Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Wow, where do I start? I used to have a drummer who would show up and spread his crap all over the place while he was setting up so everyone else can trip over his crap while we are trying to set up everything else. Then, he had a boom for his f$()&*)%^&*$g splash cymbal that stuck out to the middle of the stage. Half the time if I took a step back that boom would would jam me in the ass. And for me, that is exit only. Our current KB player has this massive rig and insists on running everything stereo. We have 7 people on stage and he literally takes up a third of the space and sets up on the front of the stage. I get to each gig early with the drummer and we set up our gear and the PA and lights usually before anyone else shows up. We lay everything out so the 4 musicians set up toward the back of the stage leaving the front of the stage for the 3 singers. Our KB player will come strolling in and start moving speaker stands and monitors so he can be at the front of the stage. Drives me F%&*%%&^^&G CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 It always seems to be drummers, doesn't it?I work with one drummer who insists on putting his kit toward the front of the stage instead of against the back wall where it should be. This forces the other musicians to the sides. Must be an ego thing. Please tell me the irony was intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members delaware dave Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Our lead singer/guitar player CONSTANTLY plays name that tune. Pulls a song out of his ass then says ready? we say what are you playing? rather than tell us what the song is he starts to play the beginning of the song and we have to guess the song. I'm beginning to think its because he doesn't know the names of the songs he's pulling out of his ass... It's f'ing annoying and unprofessional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm lucky to not really have anything like this in my primary band (and as at least one other member posts here, I wouldn't tell if I had any...). I'm unlucky in that my side-project has a billion of these. Too many to go into, really, but the chief ones all have developed in the past year or so with the frontman who seems to want to operate as if he's 20 something when he's 40. This would be fine for him, except for the fact that he also assumes the rest of us are of the same mindset/lack of responsibility. No man, I have a wife, a 3 year old child, another completely functional band, a full time career and an actual LIFE, and I'm not driving 6 hours one way to play a gig that will guarantee the 2 bands you are in (ours and another) $300 total to be split among 5 people AFTER taking out costs of gas & food/bevs, then spending the night on some sap's couch/floor to turn around and drive 6 hours back. If they want us as bad as you say they do, they can pay us a reasonable amount, but honestly, driving 6 hours one way is more of a deal breaker than the pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm lucky to not really have anything like this in my primary band (and as at least one other member posts here, I wouldn't tell if I had any...). I'm unlucky in that my side-project has a billion of these. Too many to go into, really, but the chief ones all have developed in the past year or so with the frontman who seems to want to operate as if he's 20 something when he's 40. This would be fine for him, except for the fact that he also assumes the rest of us are of the same mindset/lack of responsibility. No man, I have a wife, a 3 year old child, another completely functional band, a full time career and an actual LIFE, and I'm not driving 6 hours one way to play a gig that will guarantee the 2 bands you are in (ours and another) $300 total to be split among 5 people AFTER taking out costs of gas & food/bevs, then spending the night on some sap's couch/floor to turn around and drive 6 hours back. If they want us as bad as you say they do, they can pay us a reasonable amount, but honestly, driving 6 hours one way is more of a deal breaker than the pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 How about bandmates that go online and post about what they find annoying about you? Gawd, I HATE that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Our current KB player has this massive rig and insists on running everything stereo. We have 7 people on stage and he literally takes up a third of the space and sets up on the front of the stage. I get to each gig early with the drummer and we set up our gear and the PA and lights usually before anyone else shows up. We lay everything out so the 4 musicians set up toward the back of the stage leaving the front of the stage for the 3 singers. Our KB player will come strolling in and start moving speaker stands and monitors so he can be at the front of the stage. Drives me F%&*%%&^^&G CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm one of those keyboard players who's rig is considered by some to be "massive" (it definitely ain't small!) ... and I do run everything in stereo. I use two 88 key weighted action boards - stacked on a single stand. No arguing it's got some width to it. Knowing that - I have no problems setting up towards the back of the stage (think keys next to the drummer) - set up at an angle (which can help free up some "front line" space). Besides my keyboards - I have a keys rack (6u rack) and two powered monitors (2 Yamaha DSR112s) that I need accomodate. Optimally, I set the monitor wedges on the floor on angles slightly behind my bench. To eliminate using any floor space for my rack - I purchased a "table" style stand ( http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/WS8540/ ) that I set up to that it "straddles" one of the monitor wedges and set the rack on top of it. When it's all said and done - my rack and speakers setup doesn't eat up any more floor space than the typical guitar player / bass player rag that has an amp and a monitor wedge for vocals. (Note that I receive an AUX send from the FOH board with a "band mix" in it that I run into an available channel on line mixer in my keys rack - and amplifier through my keyboard monitors). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I take up one side of the stage all to myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted August 23, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted August 23, 2012 Some of these might surpass "trivial"... I thought of another. I play drums with a bass player who usually stands in front of my kit to the left. (I'm a leftie with my ride to my left) When we're playing in a tighter space hell sometimes back up a bit so the butt end of his bass rests on my ride cymbal. (I use no crashes so I don't have a lot of barriers around my kit) I'll all of a sudden get a weird, stiff sound and feel from the ride and be like WTF, then he'll feel it hitting his bass and move a few inched forward. Then a few minutes later... it's back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Fart Rocker Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm one of those keyboard players who's rig is considered by some to be "massive" (it definitely ain't small!) ... and I do run everything in stereo. I use two 88 key weighted action boards - stacked on a single stand. No arguing it's got some width to it. Knowing that - I have no problems setting up towards the back of the stage (think keys next to the drummer) - set up at an angle (which can help free up some "front line" space). Besides my keyboards - I have a keys rack (6u rack) and two powered monitors (2 Yamaha DSR112s) that I need accomodate. Optimally, I set the monitor wedges on the floor on angles slightly behind my bench. To eliminate using any floor space for my rack - I purchased a "table" style stand ( http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/WS8540/ ) that I set up to that it "straddles" one of the monitor wedges and set the rack on top of it. When it's all said and done - my rack and speakers setup doesn't eat up any more floor space than the typical guitar player / bass player rag that has an amp and a monitor wedge for vocals. (Note that I receive an AUX send from the FOH board with a "band mix" in it that I run into an available channel on line mixer in my keys rack - and amplifier through my keyboard monitors). You sound like a "team player". I would love to have a KB player like you in the band. I don't care how big someone's rig is, just be mindful of the rest of the band. Also, I believe that in this band we really support the vocalists. They should be the ones out front putting on the show. Unless your Elton John, the keys should be back by the drums and give the front people room to do their thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crustee Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 You sound like a "team player". I would love to have a KB player like you in the band. I don't care how big someone's rig is, just be mindful of the rest of the band. Also, I believe that in this band we really support the vocalists. They should be the ones out front putting on the show. Unless your Elton John, the keys should be back by the drums and give the front people room to do their thing. Have you had a conversation with him about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members New Trail Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 For me it's usually issues with bass players. In one of my bands the bass player is ALWAYS trading equipment. If he gets a good sounding rig, which he has on occasion, he won't keep it. He will trade for something else, usually something of lesser quality. For a while he didn't have an amp at all and was borrowing a bass, too, which he carried around with no case or gig bag. Right now he has a well known name brand bass but it's from their import line, and a small combo bass amp that I've never heard of. His sound is all middy and unpleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Fart Rocker Posted August 23, 2012 Members Share Posted August 23, 2012 Have you had a conversation with him about this? Almost every gig. He's extremely stubborn and has a rather large ego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.