Members SpaceNorman Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 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 None of the projects I work with are hitting the "random" button at gigs yet - but I am definitely using my iPad and a definite strategy using what I'll call "practice" playlists (15 song blocks - which have been categorized by "practice need" (A Level = play it every time I sit down for personal practice, B Level = try to hit it at least once a month and C Level = never hit these tunes) - and then run through the "A Level block....and one or two of the "B Level" blocks each time I sit down for personal practice. I try to rotate thru the "B Level" blocks so that I spend at least a couple of minutes with every tune each month to keep everything "fresh enough" that I could hit random and be comfortable that I wouldn't have an issue regardless of what song popped up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Practice more. For me, everything comes from feeling like I have something to say with the music. If I'm not feeling that, I have little incentive to perform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 992gnt Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 Well since I'm in a band that has re-formed after a 2 year hiatus, a lot. I'm taking the good from the old group (musicianship, genuine enjoyment of playing together, no egos!) and freshening things up with more structured rehearsals, gutting the old song list to appeal to the rooms we really want to play (and their crowds), cleaning up our sound (we used to sound sloppy, even though we weren't - aka keeping stage volume under control), and then starting up a multi-channel social media campaign to announce our re-birth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alan Roberts Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 I'm constantly working at getting better with interacting with the audience in-between sets and before and after shows. I let myself get stuck talking to one person or a group of people and forget to mingle. I'm pretty good at it when I purposely set out to do it but if I don't constantly remind myself I get to the end of a break and find myself still talking to the first person I ran into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 -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. We have two now, and we use them relentlessly, people DO love fog, and almost any bar format of music works well with it. -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. We are looking at expanding our par cans and getting a controller so they do more than just shine. We're also looking at a couple of floor DMX scanners or some kind of moonflowers to enhance the motion / energy both on and in front of the band. -Clothing color coordination: I was thinking of having everyone dress in stark black and white, or some other very specific two-color scheme. If you remember, I discussed this here, and with the band. We decided that image does matter, that band members should NOT blend in with the fans.. Everyone except ONE member was on board and decided a sweet image/coordination, but that ONE member refused to "conform", so the first night we did it, 3 of us showed up looking snazzy as {censored} and one looking like a car mechanic We went back to what we were doing (jeans t shirts whatever) .. why I can't say other than nobody wants to argue about it with a guy who refuses to lose an argument. (I do plan on re-addressing it soon). -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 Not for us- although I will start playing some keys in songs since we added a new singer, the other guitarist can carry a lot more guitar work now. -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. We started this a few months ago.. If a song doesn't come together quickly and well, it gets dropped. If it flops at a gig, we might move it around the set list based on the read, but if it consistently does bad 2-3 times, out it goes. -Extra band practices between now and our new gigs.. Extra practice for me on my vocal parts on my own time. Instead of extra rehearsals (we're pretty tight as a band), we are adding a "booking night" where available band-mates go bar hopping with press kits; routes are pre-planned and usually we get a good load on and have a great time, so it helps with the social aspect of the band also. -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. Something else we also started doing recently. It's had a few rough spots, but nothing worse than having a 2-3 minute delay between songs and having to re-populate the dance floor after every song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted July 25, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted July 25, 2012 [ If you remember, I discussed this here, and with the band. We decided that image does matter, that band members should NOT blend in with the fans.. Everyone except ONE member was on board and decided a sweet image/coordination, but that ONE member refused to "conform", so the first night we did it, 3 of us showed up looking snazzy as {censored} and one looking like a car mechanic Maybe he would have had to compromise the music because of all the effort involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 writing great music and playing it out more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 If you remember, I discussed this here, and with the band. We decided that image does matter, that band members should NOT blend in with the fans.. Everyone except ONE member was on board and decided a sweet image/coordination, but that ONE member refused to "conform", so the first night we did it, 3 of us showed up looking snazzy as {censored} and one looking like a car mechanic this happened with us too. A few years back We all talked about it. I thought everyone was on board. Three of us show up at a gig looking good... two looked like they just got done landscaping. It was what it was and I was told by the two others that it was not worth bitching about so nothing was said until it happened at a high paying private company party gig... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 25, 2012 Members Share Posted July 25, 2012 If you remember, I discussed this here, and with the band. We decided that image does matter, that band members should NOT blend in with the fans.. Everyone except ONE member was on board and decided a sweet image/coordination, but that ONE member refused to "conform", so the first night we did it, 3 of us showed up looking snazzy as {censored} and one looking like a car mechanic We went back to what we were doing (jeans t shirts whatever) .. why I can't say other than nobody wants to argue about it with a guy who refuses to lose an argument. (I do plan on re-addressing it soon). We were at that point for awhile. Sucks to have everyone else putting out the effort and then one guy gets to drag everyone back down to his level simply because he refuses to go along with the program. Not sure what the solution is there short of threatening him with his job or something. The only way we got past that was when the gigs started being such that clients were either requesting we dress a certain way, or it just became obvious that we all HAD to start dressing better. And even then there was a certain degree of 'threatening' involved. Never to the point of "dress up or you're fired"...more of "dress up or we're going to make your life miserable by hounding you about it so much that you'll dress the way we want you to just so we'll all shut up." But at the bar level where it's hard to show any immediate, direct financial results for dressing better---yeah, that's a tough one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 We decided that image does matter, that band members should NOT blend in with the fans.. Everyone except ONE member was on board and decided a sweet image/coordination, but that ONE member refused to "conform", so the first night we did it, 3 of us showed up looking snazzy as {censored} and one looking like a car mechanic We went back to what we were doing (jeans t shirts whatever) .. why I can't say other than nobody wants to argue about it with a guy who refuses to lose an argument. I'm a strong advocate for zero tolerance when it comes to working with folks who outright refuse to conform with a decision that was reached as a group. While I'm one of the guys who regularly argues that shorts may be OK for some gigs - I'm also a guy who has no problems firing a band mate who nods in quiet agreement as the group makes a decision - and then simply does whatever the hell he pleases. Most of my private party acts are often called on to play "tux gigs". A pair of black pants and a white shirt is NOT a tux. Although virtually all of the groups that I've been a true member of over the years have essentially "band by committee" - I have no problems taking it upon myself to tell a bandmate that ignoring "group decisions" and doing their own thing in issues involving things like stagewear is simply NOT acceptable - and am very effective at convincing even the most conflict averse bandmates to support a firing bandmate who continues to ignore what was reached as a "group decision". As far as I'm concerned - it's simply a matter of principle. A group simply cannot afford to be held hostage by one individual who refuses to live with group decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 LOL didn't mean to derail the topic... I'm wondering at times if my personal goals differ from that of the band. I impress as much as I can. The guy in question is terribly stubborn, to the point that none of us will argue with him when he gets like that- But at the same time, he is a founding member, and has several assets to the band that make it difficult to pose threats. He's a good guy at heart, and one could argue he's the backbone of the band, so no, none of us are thinking along those lines.. I guess I just want to progress forward and stuff like that IMO holds us back. It's also true that yes, we're a bar band, and the gig doesn't necessarily call for us to dress up- I'm just oldschool in my philosophy of "dress for the job you want, not the one you have". When we watch other more successful bands, it's obvious what we need to do different, but at the same time, the counter-argument is not to be a follower or copycat band, so there's a lot of room for debate on a lot of stuff. I think the two things everyone can agree on are sound and lights. Both are critical to achieve better successes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 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: And you? -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.We started with fog... we now use an expensive lazer. Lazers like fog... lazers LOVE haze. However both units have an affinity for setting off fire alarms at certain venues. Use sparingly... YMMV. -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.We run our own sound, light, stage production. We also have at least 2-3 crew members. From load in to line check takes about 35-45 mins depending on the venue. -Clothing color coordination: I was thinking of having everyone dress in stark black and white, or some other very specific two-color scheme. One of those crew members also runs the lights. Clothing has been a weak spot for us... but I think we all dress well enough to be spotted by the audience. The Wii Fit Head sweatband helps. -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 effectWe've used intros for years. For the last year we have a custom one we've made using the "Nuts... In... An... Blender" ending off the videos I produce. We keep them short answeet... no more than 30-45 secs. Any more than that people start getting itchy. -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.1... 2... 3... 3 shows and if the song isn't catching on (that could be just 2 weekends) and it's tossed. No matter how much work was involved. -Extra band practices between now and our new gigs.. Extra practice for me on my vocal parts on my own time.We rehearse every two weeks. Songs are suggested after the last practice. Everyone submits three songs... we vote privately on them. The top 4 are chosen for the next 2 hour practice. We spend 15 minutes cleaning up spots, another 30 mins doing vocals and then the remainder working on new song material. Sometimes we learn three songs and none of the three catch one. Guess what, they are tossed!-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.I have recordings from most of our shows. 1:30 minute set we average 70-75 songs and we have less than 1:30 seconds of banter and dead air. These are great rules to plan by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted July 26, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted July 26, 2012 We started with fog... we now use an expensive lazer. Lazers like fog... lazers LOVE haze. However both units have an affinity for setting off fire alarms at certain venues. Use sparingly... YMMV. We run our own sound, light, stage production. We also have at least 2-3 crew members. From load in to line check takes about 35-45 mins depending on the venue. I've been pricing fog machines/hazers/light and stuff. My old band had a hazer and yes, they're the {censored}. And LED stuff looks like it can do some cool tricks, but looking at the costs, it looks like what I'm going to end up with is a $30 fog machine and a pair of regular $40 par cans, with other stuff down the road. The budget of an unsigned original band for this kind of stuff is generally "comes directly out of bandleader's day job paycheck." Maybe down the road I'll get one of those LED strip things for center stage, since the light will be off to either side pointing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm going to grow out my reverse mohawk and hope it becomes a cool fad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 I told the guys the other day I want to add sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads to the show. Is that too much to ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted July 26, 2012 Author Moderators Share Posted July 26, 2012 I told the guys the other day I want to add sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads to the show. Is that too much to ask? Would pay to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 I am planning to add a Sundays to the practice schedule in August. I plan on bribing my two band mates with grilled meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm writing, arranging, and recording a lot of original jazz-vocal songs. Also, for the past few years, I've been aggressively stretching my stylistic range on both guitar and vocals. I think my bar is set pretty high now because of it. I don't know anyone who can convincingly do Nat "King" Cole, Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline, Pink Floyd, Oingo Boingo, Dio, and Metallica, all in one show. Next up: German Polka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hum Bucker Posted July 26, 2012 Members Share Posted July 26, 2012 More original songs, a brand new Orange amp, a new bass amp, and possibly a drummer. That last one sounds bad, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tycobb73 Posted July 27, 2012 Members Share Posted July 27, 2012 I'm a bass player. We're pretty rare already. But what's rarer than a bass player? a keyboard player. So I'm learning keys. What's rarer than a keyboard / bass player? One who can also play guitar. So I'm dusting off my guitar chops. Haven't touched a guitar in probably 15 years. This is what I think it would take to put a cover band over the top. Because of my experience playing other instruments I figure I can be competent in 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted July 27, 2012 Members Share Posted July 27, 2012 I want to get a nudi suit and wear it everywhere. I think it shows real dedication considering it is summertime in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted July 27, 2012 Members Share Posted July 27, 2012 1. Losing the iPad onstage. It's distracting to me; even if I don't need it, I feel compelled to look at it because it's there. If I have to cheat on a couple of songs, I'll do it like guido's singer and tape down some sheets with big lyrics printed out. I'm also taking the time to listen to the songs more so the lyrics get ingrained in my head. 2. Bought a 32 channel mixer and a stand for it. Now we will look Pre-fessh-ee-nal!! No more powered mixers! 3. Bought another power amp and rack case for it, so we can have this gig in stereo (and have more power, which you obviously need for playing outdoors). For smaller gigs, we'll go mono and I'll simply use the second amp for full-range monitors. A third power amp is on the list for the future to be stereo in any situation. 4. Finally bought a real light stand for the Par 38s. No more making do with a speaker stand or clipping them onto the handles of raised 2-way mains. 5. Already bought some LED lights w/stand and controller a few months back. I'm working on getting another one. 6. Working on buying another subwoofer. We'll probably continue to play some gigs with just one, though, because it's more manageable that way. 7. Changing our setlist to reflect our true roots and abilities as musicians, which is rock/hard rock/metal for us. We'll keep a few country and pop songs here and there for requests, but our focus will change to what we really do. People that hire us and that come see us will also be rock fans. It'll be a win-win for all involved. 8. No wearing shorts onstage, ever! I did that for the first set at a gig last month (it was super-hot that day and I ran out of time to change before we started). My legs are lily-white and a little beat up-looking, so it's not a pretty picture seeing them exposed, especially at a gig. I'll deal with the heat and sweating. Suffer for my art. 9. Dieting and working out. Beginning to see some results. I plan to be more fit by next year. I'm sure it will help the look of the band. 10. Acting more professional at all times. You never know who is watching and listening and what they are hearing at what time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted July 27, 2012 Moderators Share Posted July 27, 2012 I quit the band I was in. I just didn't enjoy playing with players that were almost good enough. It wasn't fun. nobody listens. Everybody wants to make noise. So I'm concentrating on writing and producing my own tunes for my songwriting reel. And I might... consider going back into album production for outside clients. I just have to solve the issue of performance edting eating up so much time. Like I say, the level of musicianship seems to decline each year, so I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 27, 2012 Members Share Posted July 27, 2012 Would pay to see Sure! But it'll cost you..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted July 28, 2012 Members Share Posted July 28, 2012 Start working out and eat better. Time to bring the sexy back. Changing over to an LED/DMX light rig. It will allow me to add lights to smaller shows for $100, while scaling up for my band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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