Pass-It-Along Tips From Vets

[DevilRaysFan]

I thought this would be a good idea for a Thread. Basically, if you are a veteran musician from the road, studio, or been involved in the biz for a long time, pass along some of your ideas here. You dont have to be a vet, but just post from the area of expertise that you feel that you have a greater grasp on the general reading population here. Maybe the younger generation of players reading this will garnish some great ideas and not make a lot of the mistakes that I know I made over the decades..(Plus, maybe us old wiley vets can still learn a thing or two from this thread as well)

 

I'll start:

 

Make sure you have contact information on EVERYTHING that you send out. Be it a promo-pak to a local club or a record label, make sure every piece of paper, CD, DVD, whatever media has your contact info. I remember the clubowner of a local club finding a demo CD that she really liked, but the CD had no information on it about the band and the Promo Info that came with it was long gone so she had no idea who it was or how to get ahold of them

[germs]

this is going to take exacly a single response to devolve into a raunchy sexy afterparty do's and don'ts thread.

 

so without further ado:

 

never say never. always buy and bring condoms.

[lp_junkie]

My experience with the industry-

 

The people that are feeding you coke and booze aren't really your friends and when you hit rock bottom you will be alone and broke.......

 

So stay away from that crap if you are serious about being successful.

[BlueStrat]

Exhaust every possibility before playing for free unless it's a benefit. Make it a last resort, not a first one.

 

Your instrument is like your woman. You can't ignore it all weekend and expect it to put out on the weekend.

 

Accept the fact that while it might be tempting to think otherwise, you probably aren't an artist, producer, recording engineer, graphic artist, mixing and mastering engineer, PR man, booking agent and distributor. Get some help and don't be afraid to pay people who do these things for a living. It may seem like a lot of money, but it can earn you a lot more in the long run.

 

Always try to play with people better than you.

 

Don't be a dick to your bandmates. You'll get what you want from them a lot better if you treat them with respect.

 

Don't be a dick to the audience. They could have chosen to go anywhere else and spend their hard earned money. Don't take that fact for granted.

 

Treat the staff of the clubs with courtesy and respect and tip them. They have a lot more influence of you getting rebooked than you might imagine.

 

I carry two of everything to gigs-extra amp, extra guitar, extra mic and guitar cords, backup powered mixer for the PA, etc. It's a little bit more of a PITA to load it all up, until the day comes when you need it and don't have it.

 

Don't put out an inferior product and then make excuses for it. Get it right before you make it available. You don't get a second chance with first impressions.

 

If you're young, find some older guy you admire to mentor you and help you get ahead. If you're older, find a younger guy to help.

[DevilRaysFan]

If you are on the road - especially an original band all packed in a van and making barely enough ca$h for fuel - there are ways to eat decent meals without resorting to good ol' Raman Noodles

 

heres a recipe at about $6 (can feed two, sometimes three):

 

1 pkg Chicken drumsticks (qty 6-10)

1 bottle of wing Sauce

1 Cuban bread loaf

 

Empty wing sauce in medium soup pot. Skin, defat, and wash drumsticks. Put drumsticks in pot and set on simmer (a little above low heat). Let chicken simmer until meat is ready to fall off bone. You can dip bread in spicy sauce in pot. You can substitute Wing Sauce with others. "Tiger Sauce" is actually the BEST for this dish, but its a lil more expensive and you get considerably less in the bottle..but it is definitely the best

 

Theres a whole bunch of dishes like this

 

If you go Fast Food, you'll find that Taco Bell will usually be best "Bang-For-The-Buck" (no pun intended) as in "most food for money spent".

[RupertB]

People are either your friends or your business associates. Rarely are they both, for long. Know the difference & don't make assumptions.

 

Learn how to sell yourself. If you can't, won't or don't know how, find someone who does, will, & can.

 

Don't use your amp as a beer-stand.

[Dancebass]

That vibration in the steering wheel that you don't remember being there before means you're going to blow a tire in 20 minutes.

 

Never tolerate a band terrorist. If one member holds the rest of the band hostage and uses the fact that "you can't do it without them" just to get their way, cut'em lose on the spot!

 

Carrying other people will kill your will to persevere faster than anything else you will encounter. If someone is riding in the cart and not pulling, cut'em lose on the spot!

 

Music is a collaborative art, there is no way around this, it is not painting or sculpting or writing novels. In order to succeed you MUST have others with the same drive and desire or you will fail. Chemistry is EVERYTHING!

[Lee Knight]

Don't talk negatively about a band mate behind his back unless you are hoping to go separate ways. Treat them with respect behind their back too.

 

If you drink, tip the bartender big at first. Even if it's all you giving for the whole night, pay big up front and enjoy a buddy behind the bar.

 

'Course I don't drink anymore and that's why.

 

Always... always... learn the thing you're bitching about in your mind regrading your band mates. "He drags..." Practice with a metronome. "He's flat on his harmonies..." Start warming up vocally and recoding your warm up sessions. "He's stiff..." Learn to loosen up and play instinctively.

 

In other words, don't get hung up on your band mates short comings. You get better. You can control you.

 

Nothing wrong with changing players if they're not to your liking, but don't live with them and bitch. Nothing wrong with lighting a fire under the ass of a player, just don't expect miracles. People tend to do things on their own clock.

 

So do your stuff.

[kmart]

Figure out a way to help you memorize/remember the names of the soundman*/monitor engineer*/production assistant/venue staff, and be sure to address them by that name for the rest of the night.

 

If you remember their names the next time, bonus. But if you don't, or they are new staff the next gig there, MAKE A POINT of introducing yourself by name, and ASKING FOR THEIRS in exchange.

 

Asking someone BY NAME to take care of your needs is more likely to get good results than if you yell across the stage "Hey...guy? Buddy? Yo! Can I get some more vocals in my wedge, pal?"

 

 

 

 

* Assuming you don't bring your own crew. If you do, I suggest you forget their proper names and refer to them only by demeaning, degrading, inappropriate or downright quizzical crew names like "{censored}pants", "Queef", "Ballsniffer" or "Kmart"...

[Severed Pumpkin]

Les Pauls and Strats make for poor weapon choices against obnoxious drunken idiots. Go with a Telecaster instead.

[Flogger59]

If you're on the road, WASH YOUR HANDS, early and often. You aren't immune to the new bugs you'll run into, and it takes a lot longer to get over one on the road.

[Lee Knight]

Don't go under the mistaken impression that because you are a musician, you're special. It's good to live the life, be an entertainer and all that...

 

...but the second you start taking yourself seriously and believing you're special. You're not.

 

You're just like a plumber or a teacher or a cop. An important contributing member of the human race. Nothing less, and nothing more. Do it right. Do it well. Give it your best... but there's always someone better. So be you.

[TrickyBoy]

 

Treat the staff of the clubs with courtesy and respect and tip them. They have a lot more influence of you getting rebooked than you might imagine.

 

 

THIS IS HUGE ^^^^ One of the bartenders of a club we played at was the fiance of the owner (we had no idea!)

 

In addition, if you get free drinks in your rider, still tip the bartenders.

 

Never rest on your laurels. The day you think your the best, someone will come along and knock you off your pedestal.

 

Piggybacking on the above statement, the better you get, the more you realize you have to learn. The day you believe "I've got this" is the day you stuck your head in the sand.

[ckcondon]

Always play for the people who showed up and don't be pissy about the ones who didn't.

There may only be 10 people there, but those 10 people deserve the same show you give a packed house.

Plus, you never know who's watching... More gigs can come from overplayed/under-attended shows than you'd imagine.

[newmaxnew]

 

Don't go under the mistaken impression that because you are a musician, you're special. It's good to live the life, be an entertainer and all that... ...but the second you start taking yourself seriously and believing you're special. You're not. You're just like a plumber or a teacher or a cop. An important contributing member of the human race. Nothing less, and nothing more. Do it right. Do it well. Give it your best... but there's always someone better. So be you.

 

 

Lee, that is some good advice there. I have met way too many "local rock stars" that have the too cool for the people attitude.

 

Just because you are playing some music in some local venue doesn't mean that you are more special than anyone else in that venue.

 

Max

[flanc]

Never underestimate the benefits of a good sound guy at the helm of properly-sized PA. A good soundman with the right tools can make an average band sound great!

[MrKnobs]

Play your joy. If you agree to a project for any other reason, you'll subconsciously sabotage yourself again and again and be left wondering why you failed.

 

If you don't absolutely love playing music, there are numerous other job choices where you'd get paid more, work fewer hours, drive fewer miles, not carry heavy things or risk your life in seedy clubs. If you stop loving it, quit before you make yourself and everyone else miserable.

 

If and when you get popular, things change. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with the changed things.

 

People will start buying you drinks. Great, right? But if you drink all the free drinks, you'll be hammered and puking pretty quickly. If you decline the drinks, you might offend some of your fans. Soo.... before the night starts, tell the bartender(s) that if someone buys you a drink, leave out the alcohol. Not only will you be popular and sober, but you'll stay well-hydrated.

 

Perception change. "Why YES, come to think of it, *I* am the reason for our success!"

 

Often, when a band gets popular, some of the band members get very serious and others don't. This creates conflict. Jim's formerly amusing stage act now becomes "embarrassing." Sara's quirky backup vocals that were formerly "fun" now "suck."

 

Always remember that you didn't get where you were by yourself. Often the whole is greater that the sum of the parts, and your band did *something* right to get where it is. Resist the urge to "purge and improve" it to your taste - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

Note that latter also applies to the HC 2.0 debacle underway, but I'm not going there......

 

Be aware that success makes some people quit. Seems crazy, but there are always good reasons. Maybe "Bill" has a family or a good day job and doesn't WANT more gigging on the road. Maybe "Jane" is under pressure from her jealous boyfriend. Maybe *your* idea of success isn't theirs.

 

Communication is essential. As many bands break up due to success as due to failure. Just as with a marriage, change stresses the relationship and requires finding a new equilibrium.

 

Some tech issues:

 

Someone once said that the "three a's" everyone needs are an alias, an alibi, and an alternate plan. Very true of a gigging band!!!

 

Leaving aside the alibi for the moment, it's sometimes not a good idea to give certain people your full name. Sting isn't called Sting just because it sounds cool! Some people who come to mind are shady club owners, promoters, one night stand girlfriends, etc.

 

I've been in several bands where some or all of the members used an alias. One guitarist called himself "Barnell" at shows. I was running sound one night and two girls he had shagged in the van on the break were jumping up and down squealing "Oooh! Barnell's gonna play a solo!!" and the like. I finally couldn't take it anymore and told them, "Oh for God's sake, his {censored}ing name isn't even Barnell, it's ROB! R O B, ROB!!!"

 

They slunk out. Fortunately Rob was such a player he wasn't even upset. He just laughed and said, "Stupid bitches!"

 

Alternate Plan: VERY IMPORTANT!

 

You don't have to bring two of everything if you think it through. Just do a mental "what if" at home, imagining solutions for every likely failure scenario.

 

One night my amp went out during a set. I had the guys play a three piece song (we have one where each of us can sit out if needed, we hold those until needed or sometimes until the end of the night). I quickly discovered may amp was still working but both 12" speakers were blown. The second 12 *was* my backup plan, but I improvised by snagging a mid speaker cab from the PA stack. I could just as well have used a floor wedge or sent a line out to the PA, had I had a cab emulator in my bag.

 

Picks, cables, capos, tuners, strings, you can all cover for each other so to avoid some needless stuff to carry - IF you prearrange it. An organized band has these items in the gig cases.

 

PA is even more redundant. Generally you have two stacks fed by several power amps. No big deal if one speaker fails, just unplug it or disconnect it to take it offline. Same with power amps. Most stereo PA power ams have separate sections so that you can disconnect the power to the left or right blown side and use the other in less than 10 minutes. The show goes on, just a little less loud.

 

If the FOH board dies completely, just pull the monitor mix board and use that, doing monitors from the front.

 

If the poweramp crossover dies, a crappy but workable subsitute can be jury rigged using a graphic equalizer.

 

Point is, if you look around the stage, you'll see there's actually a whole lot of redundancy to be used when needed.

 

Alternate plans also apply to gigs.

 

Shows get canceled. If the club owner / manager is nice, maybe he'll tell you before you load up the trailer and drive 200 miles. But sometimes you show up to find confusion, another band playing, some {censored} up that you didn't expect.

 

We once traveled to a gig in Nacogdoches in July only to discover the AC was out. The manager told us to "go home." We pointed out that we had a cancellation clause in our contract that paid us half if we didn't get 48 hours notice.

 

The manager said, "You're not gonna hold me to that {censored}, are you?"

 

We said we were sorry but he had to understand that we had already incurred expenses getting to the show.

 

He said, "{censored} no, if I have to pay you assholes, you're gonna play!"

 

He made us play the full four hours to the empty, sweltering club. It was so hot we had to pack the dry ice we were going to use for fog into the back of the amp rack to keep things cool. Even so, our stupid soundman "wanted to air out the PA and see what it could do" and blew a couple of speakers.

 

The full story about that can be found in the link in my sig.

 

So, contracts are great, but they're not always honored and usually there's {censored} all you can do about it. Instead, network network network and be able to squeeze in for a shared gig nearby to at least recover some of your lost revenue - since you've already paid the mobilization cost. Best way to make this happen is be pre-acquainted with the local bands and clubs nearby.

 

Terry D.

[ggm1960]

Never drink from the bar glasses or pitchers, opt for plastic cups or bottles/cans.

[tlbonehead]

Don't go under the mistaken impression that because you are a musician, you're special. It's good to live the life, be an entertainer and all that... ...but the second you start taking yourself seriously and believing you're special. You're not. You're just like a plumber or a teacher or a cop. An important contributing member of the human race. Nothing less, and nothing more. Do it right. Do it well. Give it your best... but there's always someone better. So be you.

this is a good one!

[tlbonehead]

somewhat similar to what Blue Strat said. My thoughts are (and I always like to remind my bandmates this) you can't play for the people who chose not to be there. If the crowd is slim, don't pout and give a half-assed performance. Be grateful for the ones who did show up and give 'em whatcha got.

[germs]

on a serious note:

 

be modest. learn to accept compliments.

 

learn to smile at any and everyone you meet. being on stage is an act. maybe it's cool to be angry in front of a mic or behind your guitar, but in real life people will think you're a d*ck. gg allin you ain't...

 

everyone you meet on the way up, you WILL meet on the way down. so play nice with everyone you work with.

 

don't sell yourself short for the night. if you can earn more, ask for more.

 

don't let local cost of living determine your prices.

[pinkfloydcramer61]

If you find yourself making witty (and not totally unappreciated) comments to a waitress on your break, the odds are astronomical that she is married to the 300-lb bouncer who is glowering at you from the DJ booth. Who has multiple lawsuits pending from stomping someone into a coma in the parking lot.

[bnelly428]

If you find yourself making witty (and not totally unappreciated) comments to a waitress on your break, the odds are astronomical that she is married to the 300-lb bouncer who is glowering at you from the DJ booth. Who has multiple lawsuits pending from stomping someone into a coma in the parking lot.

 

In other words, don't {censored} where you eat

[Kramerguy]

My only contribution is this:

 

If your monitor mix isn't right, don't just let it go as acceptable. You won't piss off the sound guy so long as he's not a dick, and you aren't cocky about it.

 

Way too many times, I've been too loud in the monitor mix, asked for an adjustment, and I'm still too loud. Instead of being adamant, I chose to just deal, not wanting to irritate the sound guy, or my band mates, with wasting time on my "mix".

 

For me, having myself too loud in the monitors just destroys my performance - as my style depends on my being able to control my own dynamic. If I can't hear myself properly, I'm dead in the water.

 

This might be a little bit of a tangent, but it's still fresh for me, as I made that mistake at a very important venue recently, and still am kicking myself for it.

 

Bottom line - Don't under-estimate the importance of a good stage mix!!

[kmart]

In other words, don't {censored} where you eat

 

And vice versa: don't eat where you {censored}.