Moderators BATCAT Posted July 25, 2012 Moderators Share Posted July 25, 2012 So there's been a lot of discussion about stage performance, about complancency versus trying to really deliver and stand out from the crowd. This talk seems somewhat timely for me, because my band is about to start gigging again after some months on break to record. I feel like I want to take it further than just getting up onstage and playing, however well we might do it on a given night, In our case I'm talking about doing 90-100% original sets, but I think there's plenty of common ground covered by other original and cover-centric bands in regards to what translates to an exciting show. So post what you're currently doing or planning to start doing to stand out from the crowd. It can be purely musical, or visual, or whatever. Here's the list of what I've come up with: -I'm buying a fog machine. You can laugh, but people LOVE FOG MACHINES, and our stuff is kinda post-punk-ish and even a tad goth-ey, so it fits. -Additional lighting from the stage: Now, it's a bit different for a typical original here band because you depend on house lighting, and you sometimes have ten minutes or even less to get everything onstage and set up. What I was thinking of is getting two LED PAR cans and aiming them up and out from behind the drummer, using some kind of color scheme that looks really dramatic. I'll ask for the house lights to be in a color that complements what we use and kept low. This should also look really good with the fog machine. -Clothing color coordination: I was thinking of having everyone dress in stark black and white, or some other very specific two-color scheme. -Backing tracks and dramatic intro: We're using some synth-ey/sequencer backing tracks on songs 1 and 3. I'm having our producer take some of the atmospheric bits from the end of the first song and tack them onto the beginning for about a minute worth of intro music. Sor they'll be some wash-ey stuff that will kind of swell into the first song for maximum dramatic effect -Ruthless song selection: if it doesn't work, if it doesn't feel right, if (consistently) the crowd doesn't seem to respond to it, it's going by the wayside, even if it's particularly easy or a favorite. -Extra band practices between now and our new gigs.. Extra practice for me on my vocal parts on my own time. -Streamlining the set so that most of the songs start immediately after each other or even a seamless transition... with a break to talk/tune between the 3rd and fourth and the before the 10th (final) song. And you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 With us it's the cover band scene...but one of the big things we're working on now to a (so far) great response is adding keys. I picked myself up a synth and now haul it to gigs in an effort to get some more dynamics and an even wider range of available material in our quest to be a full on variety band. So far the only songs we use it for are Don't Stop Believin' and We Are Young. Both have yielded terrific responses. Planning on getting I Like It by Enrique Iglesias and I Gotta Feelin' by the BEP in there next. We're shooting for sure fire winners with the keys. We've also talked about doing some kind of coordinated wardrobe...but I imagine it'll be hard to get everyone to coordinate and follow through on that on a weekly basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Nothing earth shaking. We are just working on stage versions of the material on the new CD. Mostly just arrangment stuff working around the fact that we dont have mando and fiddle in the stage show. We have picked up some more PA gear. Basically its just steady as she goes as a band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 We upgraded our subs to the Yorkvilles I've mentioned in other threads. We're officially delving into backing-track territory this weekend. I have to admit, it adds another dimension to the songs. I hope it's going to raise our bar. And I plan on having a Motif by the end of summer. That should open up a few possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Nothing earth shaking. We are just working on stage versions of the material on the new CD. Mostly just arrangment stuff working around the fact that we dont have mando and fiddle in the stage show. We have picked up some more PA gear. Basically its just steady as she goes as a band. What did you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 My newest project is working to position ourselves to become one of the top wedding/private party/corporate acts in our area. To that end - we've just expanded our horns from a single sax player by adding a trombone and trumper/flugelhorn player (all three of which are public school band directors who come to us as experienced, school trained musicians with a great ear for ensemble tone and phrasing - AND - the patience and positivity that successful high school band directors seem to possess by the ton! We played our first gig with the full horn section last Friday night at a local bar (taking it in the ass monetarily speaking - but doing so as an investment to see how it goes). The response we got from the crowd was fantastic ... and the four additional dates the club offered us on the spot ... confirmed that it's likely we can make this worth our while. ...and that's not even mentioning that I can't remember having more fun with my clothes on than I did when those horns kicked in!!!! Ssssccchhhhhhaaaaaawwwwiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg !!!!!! We're also getting close to having enough content (still photos, live recordings, and coming soon - video) to launch a meaningful web site. This is in addition to our constant pruning and upgrading of our playlist. The band has been together for roughly six months ... and has been working with some regularity for 4+ month. With our line-up finally coming together (we found the right bass player two months ago ... and are just now getting the horns up to speed), the playlist moving past the typical collection of "lowest common denominator tunes" we started with to get out of the basement as fast as possible, and a dozen or so gigs under our belt - we're starting to hit our stride and are approaching the "critical mass" necessary to start considering this thing a real band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhino55 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 - color coordination. I'd like to go so far as matching suits but haven't gotten around to that yet. What I'll do is pick a color for each show and they'll do something to match. It doesn't have to be the same exact color, but I find it has a nice effect to have shades of the same color on stage. - over the course of a two hour set I'll change guitars and tunings 4 or 5 times. I've started to make notes where this is happening so somebody else can fill that space with an improvised musical intro or with talking. Buy CDs find us on Facebook etc... - working in more covers. As a songwriter it is easier on me to just pull from tunes I wrote. Lately we've been doing 90% stuff I wrote, but I'd like to get that down to like 60%. - playing longer sets. We are at a comfortable 2 hours right now, but the goal for next month is to be able to cover 3 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 With me, it's crowd interaction after the set. Rather than grabbing a 7&7 and hoping someone talks to me, I'm working on going out of my way to chat with folks who enjoyed the set. Important to build relationships to stay on people's minds down the road. And solo, I'm working to get my guitar chops back up, and learn to not look so much at the music stand. Ironic, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 For us it's coming up with more creative ways to stand out musicially and from a show standpoint. Over the last year, we've pretty much got the basic show down. We can walk in and consistantly deliver the product we're hired to deliver. So the next step is add some more little things to make the whole package more unique and "cooler". We've got a couple of mashup/medley things that the crowds really dig. I'd like to find some more of those. Plus some little moments to highlight individual members of the band more without turning it into a "just watch the band, aren't we so cool?" deal. Also, some more crowd-participation bits always work. And I need to update the promo package. Most of what we're using is close to 2 years old and we've since leap-frogged past it. When I first designed it I was worried the band wouldn't live up to the promise the promo implies. Now I'm worried that the promo doesn't fully show off everything we are and do. Biggest glaring flaw is that the two girls sing really, really well together and interact with each other really well on stage and there's nothing in the promo that shows that off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 What did you get? A new pair of JBL eon 15s. We ran into a situation where we shipped some gear up to a MO two day gig and flew up to do the show. We played up there fri and sat and our gear was not going to be back in time to play a show we had booked at a country club on sunday. So we picked up a new set of powered speakers. We have a House PA at the bar that stays there , and a couple rigs for away games. sometimes we play a couple shows a day. We are going to do some shows at the home dig where we want to set up two stages. The next thing will be to get some old eons we have reconditioned to get them back up and running. The next addition will be an allan and heath board. We got a new power amp for the bar system a short while back too. Nothing earth shaking in the new stuff ,, just gear we need to keep doing what we are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members melvinspeed Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 1. Continuing the transition from cover to original band by writing new material.2. Launching the band website and EPK.3. Improving onstage interaction between members and audience.4. Using intro music while the band gets settled onstage at the beginning of the show.5. Keeping the time between ending one song and starting another under 30 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted July 25, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted July 25, 2012 5. Keeping the time between ending one song and starting another under 30 seconds. 30? I might suggest that in general you try to cut that number by at least half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 We've done black suits for the past few years; we've recently added little rose boutonnieres to add a little formality. Now that it's become clear that global warming will consistently impact our lives, even here in the North, we're tossing around ideas for "summer formal" clothing, as those suits are brutal in 100 degree heat. We're rebranding ourselves. We were a supposedly straight country band, but kept bringing in off-genre songs, and are too democratic to stem the tide. We're now a "roots" band, and modifying all of our promo material, etc. to fit that. Fortunately, the name of the band still fits. We added a mandolinist/singer a few months ago, and we're doing a lot of 3 part harmonies now, but also really being considerate about who's singing what, when. We still do a lot of duet singing, with one guy sitting out, depending on where the notes are, etc. We're also adding a lot of what I call "background singing", as opposed to "harmony singing", where the two non-leads on a song do harmonic/rhythmic/counterpoint stuff together unrelated to the lead vocal. I have the summers off, so we've been networking like crazy for the past two months. Hitting local festivals, going to other people's shows, hitting open mics, even dropping in at as many muso parties as we can. We're approaching what I call "Norm" status among certain segments of the music scene, where people notice when we walk in, greet us, and offer to get us on/sit in/so on. We've already entered the groupmind as a reliable band to suggest if you can't make a gig, have to back out, etc. We just scheduled our highest-paying gig so far based on a recommendation from another band. We're also starting to see some of the scene regulars making a point to come out to our shows--drawing a crowd has always been a problem for us, though we've always been able to keep a crowd. We're just wrapping up the high from our first album--the interviews, radio spots, and reviews are pretty much over. Symbolically, we've just heard from a radio station mole that our CD has just been moved off the "New Local" shelf into General. It's been a good ride, but we're planning to really have our foot in prime ass-kicking position when we release the next one so we can really milk it for as much exposure/as many sales as possible. We're already working on new material, and may be able to keep to a release every year if we can keep costs down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 For us it's coming up with more creative ways to stand out musicially and from a show standpoint. You guys should all wear purple in your promo shots..Oh you do that already- carry on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 You guys should all wear purple in your promo shots..Oh you do that already- carry on You obviously missed the "red" shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Not much... I went through an insane period in June where I was adding 5 tunes a week to my set. There's not much more I plan on doing right now except adding more original material to my gigs. It sucks though because i dont have a CD to sell right now. I just purchased the IPad and a new sub so I'm just about all good. The one thing I can't stress enough is having a clean "stage". I Velcro my cables, keep the stage symmetric looking and keep my gear looking good. Although I'm not a fan of using setlists, I've done some cool things with the IPad the fast few weeks. I figured out that out of the 225 tunes I do, I like about 175 of them. Out of those 175, I probably play about 100 of them regularly. So I took the 175 and put them in a giant setlist in my IPad and hit random every gig. I've been goofing with just playing them the way they sit in the setlist. It's been cool, I'm always surprised at what song is next, and the people that see me regularly are hearing tons of tunes I don't normally play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Ostrich hat just got some small compact DJ LED lighting, a banner and yes a fog machine. Working on another video demo and going after bigger places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 You obviously missed the "red" shot. LOL... Is this you or the drummer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Not much... I went through an insane period in June where I was adding 5 tunes a week to my set. There's not much more I plan on doing right now except adding more original material to my gigs. It sucks though because i dont have a CD to sell right now. I just purchased the IPad and a new sub so I'm just about all good. The one thing I can't stress enough is having a clean "stage". I Velcro my cables, keep the stage symmetric looking and keep my gear looking good. Although I'm not a fan of using setlists, I've done some cool things with the IPad the fast few weeks. I figured out that out of the 225 tunes I do, I like about 175 of them. Out of those 175, I probably play about 100 of them regularly. So I took the 175 and put them in a giant setlist in my IPad and hit random every gig. I've been goofing with just playing them the way they sit in the setlist. It's been cool, I'm always surprised at what song is next, and the people that see me regularly are hearing tons of tunes I don't normally play This is the one use that has me wanting an iPad. Badly now. First, the Fishman soloamp and a better acoustic. The expenses are harder to swallow right now without knowing how tough it will be to get booked. Fortunately, my fiancee is stepping into portrait photography and might be looking to acquire one to give clients some instant gratification. So I could borrow that in theory. I love that idea though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 LOL... Is this you or the drummer? Must be the drummer. I don't smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crustee Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 I plan on working on my memory, so I can remember the names of people I talk to in a crowd. People routinely come up to me @ gigs to tell us we sound great, and I always ask them their name as a way of connecting with them. Problem is, ten seconds after they say it, I've already forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 5. Keeping the time between ending one song and starting another under 30 seconds. I'd say under 15 unless you have something semi-important to say to the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 We're doing a few things right now... 1. Hiring a fulltime manager/promoter2. Creating a coherant "look" on stage (a schtick if you would)3. Refining our setlist quite a bit4. Looking at revamping our lighting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 One more: Working out. Getting the cardio up to keep my breath through more demanding passages. And fitness has never hurt a performance, save for the rare guy whose size is a part of his identity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Must be the drummer. I don't smoke. LMAO! That was good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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