Members brassic Posted November 28, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 28, 2005 Thanks! I think I've got the mojo back. (blueswoman - you've made me feel much better, Your poor keyboardist!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by MrKnobs I know what your sayin', but boy do I hate when that happens. You grab onto a single reference point (snare drum in your example) and go into what I call "safe mode." Meaning you can't hear what anyone else is playing, so you just carefully play the basics of the song locked to the beat and pray to God that your bandmates are all doing the same. It might get you though the night, but it makes for some pretty uninspired and unenthusiastic playing. The other thing it occasionally does is point out to you what you were using for cues to know where you're at in the song, now that you can't hear them. Terry D. Luckily for me im in a 3 piece where my bassist plays basically tonal earthquakes, so i feel the bass more than hear it anyway. And my drummer is an Improv-jazzy kinda guy, so when this happens he plays louder and simpiler and follows my lead. Usually it turns out ok, but i cant tell a lie, ive missed a que before. So i just did it again and called it Jazz:D ......yep thats an old joke.Sometimes i hate soundguys though..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonJohnson Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Talk about a nightmare gig. I play in a kind of comedy/deathmetal act and on our first gig we really wanted to go over the top. Silly costumes, funny samples, the works... Our singer thought it would be a cool idea to have us introduced by a guy in a bathing suit. For his "help" he paid that guy with a bottle of vodka. Upfront:( Instead of introducing us, the terribly drunk dude just remained on stage, jumping and screaming. After a song or three, we get him off the stage, where he starts a violent mosh pit. Our singer gets pulled in the pit... and thrown into the PA stand. At this point the monitors are all screwed up and all I hear is the bass player and very little drum. So i go into what has been described as "safe mode", based on the occasional drums., but to no avail... When the PA settings were restored, the rest of the set was OK, but those few moments were really, really {censored}ty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted November 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by DonJohnson For his "help" he paid that guy with a bottle of vodka. Upfront:( :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MONGOOZ Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 ok...looks like we're posting "nightmare" gigs here.....so....my long time band mate/other guitarist mistakenly (and it WAS just a slip of the mind) did some wedding gig thing on the side....so he inadvertently double booked himself for a friday night gig. we were to play at our biggest club that night and he mistakenly said he could play the wedding thing the same night.....but that was only to last until midnight....so the deal was GOING to be, we'd get one of our other guitar/friends to fill in for two sets, till midnight, then rick would be there.NO SUCH FREAKIN' LUCK. we had a bass/lead singer (yea....with "star" issues)....he decides "if rick is not gonna be there then i'm not playing either, because i'm not gonna look like a fool if it doesn't work with the guy filling in".....so now i have to not only get one of our friends to fill in on guitar....i had to get a lead singer AND a bass player set up, and up to speed on the set list......5 days before the gig......these were all people we knew, and had played with/jammed with before....so we thought it might work.....bass player decideds to bring his 4x10 cabinet....and play LEAD BASS.....the singer didn't bother to learn any words, nor even use cheat sheets.....so he knows the words to like 2 songs.....the other guitarsist figures, since it's mostly classic rock, he'd wing it......can you say PANDIMONIUM??????"one way out" came off ok....except the singer sang the first verse four times......oh yea....he did know ALL the words to the Black Crow's song.....(wooopppeeee!!)when rick finally did show up.....at 12:45.....i damn near kissed him......needless to say...that band did NOT last too much longer.....what a freakin' nightmare..... :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blueswoman Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Brassic, actually watching that happen with the keyboard player was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on stage, because it was a very slow sink - like a slow motion movie, I'm behind him watching him go lower and lower, and the look on the face of the audience - well, waiting for the big crash, it was all I could do to not fall over laughing. Of course, we all asked, you allright and tried to keep a straight face. Another time, we were doing an important gig in Queens, NY for this club we'd been wanting to get into for a long time. Our lead singer (female at the time) had spent the weekend before in Riker's for getting stopped with a gun in her car - she had been mugged, her boyfriend was speeding in Central Park, and well - they were busted. Her father was a psychiatrist who had been a Nazi youth - I am not making this up. She was normally a very cheerful person, but her weekend in Rikers put her in a depression, so her father gave her some meds to relieve anxiety. Anyway, she loved beer, so while we were waiting for a couple of other groups to play their set she kept drinking. Finally we get to go on. She started the song and just melted down - the meds and beer, just sunk to the floor, slurred her words - needless to say, we ended it after that song. That was awful. Living in Manhattan and playing various dives with various sound systems, over time I learned, just follow who ever you can hear - even if you can't hear the rest of the band, play, and trust (pray?) the soundman is doing his job. I'm sure your next gig will be excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted November 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by blueswoman Brassic, actually watching that happen with the keyboard player was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on stage, because it was a very slow sink - like a slow motion movie, I'm behind him watching him go lower and lower, and the look on the face of the audience - well, waiting for the big crash, it was all I could do to not fall over laughing. Of course, we all asked, you allright and tried to keep a straight face. :D I keep picturing that bit in Spinal Tap where Nigel Tufnell bends over backwards too far and can't get up. The sort of slow-motion aspect of your description kills me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 {censored} happens... Learn from your mistakes, move on. Pretty sad though that a guitar tech can't properly tune a guitar. When all else fails, don't hesitate to ask that age old question.... "Hey, can you give me an A?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted November 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by Burgess {censored} happens...Learn from your mistakes, move on.Pretty sad though that a guitar tech can't properly tune a guitar. When all else fails, don't hesitate to ask that age old question...."Hey, can you give me an A?" Should have made that more clear. It wasn't a guitar tech, it was my boyfriend. I panicked, which, considering that before August of this year I'd never set foot on a stage, shouldn't be that surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by brassic Should have made that more clear. It wasn't a guitar tech, it was my boyfriend. I panicked, which, considering that before August of this year I'd never set foot on a stage, shouldn't be that surprising. Ah, yeah well that's different. I certainly hope you cut him off for awhile...OK newb here's a tip. Don't trust anyone to tune your axe for you unless they're somebody you can fire on the spot. Nothing like the fear of dismissal to properly motivate an individual. You should check the tuning of your main and backup before each set, assuming you've a backup.Lastly, no need to panic in that situation. Just declare the guitar faulty, take your time, calmy grab your backup, plug in and start ripping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zookie Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 And don't be afraid to draw attention to technical glitches. I remember watching a mandolin player in 1992 play. Something broke in the cable to the amp and it started making awful noises. He could shift his weight a little and it would settle down, but as soon as he started tapping his foot, that screeching feedback would start again. He stepped up to the mic and apologised, saying he'd just ordered this Bosnian mandolin; it acts up every few minutes. That topically horribly inappropriate joke broke the tension in the room and put everyone squarely on his side while he switched cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted November 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 I eventually figured it out myself, so that's the last time I look to someone else for help Lessons learned. I think it's going to be quite a while before I can do this by ear though. at the mandolin player. Funny though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zookie Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by brassic at the mandolin player. Funny though. Mandolin players are not to be trifled with. He also introduced a song as that timeless collaboration between Elton John and Michael Jackson; "Don't Let Your Son Go Down on Me". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimi Ray Halen Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Another thing to remember is that your average bar patron who's had a few drinks doesn't have as critical of an ear as a musician does. I used to think that people noticed everything like I do. Then I saw a band that was just plain bad. The singer was off key on every song, their "harmonies" could've peeled paint, and they were barely proficient on their instruments. But they had a crowd on the dance floor all night. They went over. I thought that I was at a meeting of the tone deaf society or something. Then my friend told me that not everybody hears the same way as a musician does. He's right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MONGOOZ Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by Jimi Ray Halen Another thing to remember is that your average bar patron who's had a few drinks doesn't have as critical of an ear as a musician does. I used to think that people noticed everything like I do. Then I saw a band that was just plain bad. The singer was off key on every song, their "harmonies" could've peeled paint, and they were barely proficient on their instruments. But they had a crowd on the dance floor all night. They went over. I thought that I was at a meeting of the tone deaf society or something. Then my friend told me that not everybody hears the same way as a musician does. He's right. actually....you'd be surprised at how often this is painfully true :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zookie Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by Jimi Ray Halen Then my friend told me that not everybody hears the same way as a musician does. He's right. That would explain a lot. I've long since learned to not mention my own mistakes, but I've frequently felt I was being patronized when no one else mentioned them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brassic Posted November 29, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by MONGOOZ actually....you'd be surprised at how often this is painfully true :eek: Case in point. No one noticed! I really can't believe it, we sounded SO AWFUL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimi Ray Halen Posted November 29, 2005 Members Share Posted November 29, 2005 Originally posted by MONGOOZ actually....you'd be surprised at how often this is painfully true :eek: Alcohol is my friend... when the audience is drinking it. Not only didn't that audience notice or care how bad the band was (and they were exceedingly bad) but the bar manager didn't care either. They couldn't care less if your band sounds like a cat in a washing machine as long as they sell alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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