Pool/house parties?

[Guitargeek]

Me & my buddies are going to do this soon, in a few weeks actually, We just started the band so we plan on doing a few covers(a few from GG allin & Bush) to fill out our set, since we don't have a whole lot of originals yet.

 

They have done these before and I have not, To those of you have done it before what was your experiences like doing these?

 

Sounds like fun to me, and the place is out in the country so we will be able to play fairly loud unlike in the city without worrying about cops crashing the party.

 

any wild experiences or memorable moments...if you weren't to drunk to remember

[Lee Flier]

Actually I think some of the craziest gigs I ever played were house parties. Such as: I was around 17 I think, and my band were all guys in their 20's. We played at a guy's house party who I think was a friend of one of my bandmates. We set up in the living room, right in front of the fireplace.

 

The place got very crowded very quickly, to the point where it was getting overcrowded. Everyone was also getting overly drunk, and then various other substances started circulating. I mean it got pretty extreme, like people shooting up in the bathroom.

 

Our living room "stage" was soon overcome with people. The drummer was the only one who had any protection as he was behind the kit, but the rest of us became indistinguishable from the crowd. We tried to keep playing but it was tough with drunk people bumping right up against us, and we couldn't see each other for visual clues. During solo sections we'd just have to wait for the singer to raise his arm up above the crowd to signal the band to end the solo. It was getting pretty scary and we started to fear for our gear if not our lives.

 

Then we heard loud banging on the door in between songs: "Open up! Police!" Oh {censored}. We knew what was going down in some of the other rooms and this was not good. We looked out the window and there were wall to wall police cars lined up all the way around the block! The guy whose house it was had deadlbolted the front door in order to keep more people from coming in (as there were literally hundreds packed in the house), and now nobody knew where he was. So there was no way to let the police in. Some drunk dude was also hanging out of an upstairs window yelling "{censored} the pigs!" which didn't exactly help anything.

 

Finally someone located the deadbolt key and let the cops in. I think the guy who owned the house had hidden in a closet or something. The cops stormed into the place and began arresting people by the dozen and throwing them in paddy wagons. The band started to be afraid we were going to get arrested too, but our singer spoke to the cops and they saw we were sober. They told us basically to grab our gear and get the hell out, which we did. Our drummer came really close to getting arrested making his last gear run, as the cops had forgotten he was one of the band, but he finally made it out... pretty nutty stuff.

 

The house parties we play now are very sedate by comparison.

[Tedster]

I was in a rather conservative cover band back in the early 80s. This was just after the drinking age in Michigan had been raised back to 21, and rock and roll gigs were scarce, so I was doing the Murph and the Murphtones loungey thing for some extra cash. We were hired to play a house party in a swanky neighborhood. A bunch of snooty people.

 

Hilarious what a little alcohol will do to snooty people. There was a pool outside. It was warm. No one brought swimsuits. I'll leave to your imagination what ensued. It was quite entertaining.

[ratthedd]

Originally posted by Lee Flier The house parties we play now are very sedate by comparison.

 

 

Who are you trying to kid? PRISON RIOTS are sedate by comparison.

 

 

:D

[ratthedd]

My band hosted a house party at the drummers house last summer. We bought the first keg and left a pitcher hanging off it for donations towards a second keg.

 

The first keg went down in a hurry. The money in the donation bucket bought the second keg, and we kept drinking and playing. Some time around 11:00 the second or third keg was dry, and some guy went around getting more donations for a beer run. He came back with a trunk load of beer in cases and still had money left over.

 

Some time after midnight we were just finishing up with the last of our material when the cops drove up.

 

When all was said and done, this little party we were hosting for friends and family ended up making us a fair amount of $ and there was free beer for a month of practice sessions. No matter how you look at it the party was a big success.

[hankypanky]

We have an annual 'soiree' at our bass player's house. We rent some extra PA gear and crank it up cause he's out in the middle of nowhere. We get 50-100 people or so....last year it pissed rain but there was some guy doing the worm right in front of the stage in the mud. Good times.

 

Did a pool party this year. Set up a stage out of two dozen packing pallets, threw down some of that green astro-turf stuff you put on your deck, and made a tent out of some tarps. A good time was had by all - it was hotter than hell but it worked out great. Had some tables set up and we were far enough away from the water that bad things wouldn't happen to the gear.

 

I'd recommend doing them. There are a few potential pitfalls (sound outdoors is always a little suspect) but they're usually fun enough that nobody cares.

[elbow]

We play at our drummer's house every year sometime around the 4th of July.. he has a farm well out of town and hosts an annual family reunion during that time. It has steadily grown over the past 3 years.. besides family attendees, it has been attracting more people from town every year.

 

We have a 32 X 24 stage 3 feet off the ground.. great for keeping the drunks well away from the equipment.. has a drum riser, and the whole thing is framed and covered! He also poured a concrete pad right in front that's about 30 X 40 for dancing.

 

It is a great place to crank it up and let it go. And I too have seen more bizzare things happening there than any club we've played.

[Cortfan]

We did a pool party/50th birthday for some bikers, last summer. Cool gig, except when one of the ladies thought it would be "cool" to give us a mist with the water hose. It was really hot, but I didn't need any kind of moisture on me when I am holding a bass hooked to a 100 watt tube amp. We kindly asked her not to electrocute us. She complied, and we kept on rocking.

[rim]

In the same vein, I would try to have a tent set up above the stage. As guitargeek said, water and electricity don't mix well and not good for wood instruments either. Even if it doesn't rain, we've played outdoors gigs were it was good to have shade from the hot sun (direct sunlight also not the best for wood instruments).

 

If you can have a raised "stage", it would also help set a barrier. Even if it's just wooden palettes, it helps.

 

Try to have a fairly powerful PA. Sound doesn't carry as well outside as it does indoors (where sound can bounce off walls and back to listeners).

 

If they're running extension cables from the house, try to have them run two (or more) from two different circuits. Depending on your setup, one outlet may not have enough power and you may trip the breaker. If they're providing a power generator, try to have them set up as far from the stage as possible as they tend to be noisy.

 

These gigs definitely have the potential to be crazier than at bars and clubs and are fun!

[dix0r]

you can't cover gg -

 

you'd have to shove bananas up your ass, rape women, roll around in broken glass, and shoot up (simultaneously).

 

gg rocks.

[superiorparts]

some of the guys in the band that i play in now have a horrible pool party story. they were playing this pool party and drunk guy got naked, dived in the pool, hit the bottom with his head, broke his neck, and died about a month later. that was back in 1995.

when i got together with these guys in 2000, they were telling me about it. come to find out, this guy was in some of my classes at college. i had no idea what fate had come of him. i felt bad. alcohol and pools can become a dangerous mix. also set your pa gear well away from the water. nobody cares how much you paid for it and they don't mind trying to splash the band.

 

kevin james

 

www.monkeyboneband.com

[greaseenvelope]

House shows are how all the interesting experimental music happens in my town. My space rock-absurdist-evangelical freakout band played our second gig at the last show of a very well liked band in the sweaty art-punk basement scene. Because I was downstairs watching the gear/the other bands I had no idea how insane the party was getting upstairs: pierced dykes chicken-fighting in the kitchen, everyone getting ridiculously {censored}faced, spliffs and blow aplenty. When we played a large part of them filtered down and got really into it, with a large "mosh-writhing" pit forming right in front of me. At one point I almost lost my keyboard off the stand: if my ass wasn't saved by a audience member I would have been screwed. Then, after I move the keyboard between me and the wall, I grabbed the mic and started singing/cajoling the audience and got dragged into it, STILL SINGING, and somehow keeping my mic cord from being untangled, while being carried on top of this pile of audience, and was able to make it out without the cord getting around anyone ankle and without missing a beat. Wthout a doubt one of my biggest kicks while performing so far to this day, but i've only been at it a few years you know.

Wish I had pics, I don't even know if they could come out in that crazy basement.

[Guitargeek]

Originally posted by dix0r you can't cover gg - you'd have to shove bananas up your ass, rape women, roll around in broken glass, and shoot up (simultaneously). gg rocks.

 

LMAO! we are covering the songs Bite it you scum & Hanging out with jim, but not his "stage presence" HAHA Although my guitarist Jim(which is why we are playing that song) wants to whip out a bottle of jim beam and we'll all take a swig from it and give people shots.

 

No breaking over our heads and cutting people up with it though

 

Sounds like you guys had a rocking time(with exception to your class mate dying, sorry about that).

 

We havn't planned exactly where to set-up yet,Although it will be outdoors near the pool(but far enough away to avoid the horrors of water mixing with electricity).

 

But if it's a really {censored}ty day with rain or snow(very possible in Michigan HA!) then we can set-up in the living room.

[Meatball Fulton]

Originally posted by Guitargeek We plan on doing a few covers(a few from GG allin) to fill out our set, since we don't have a whole lot of originals yet. They have done these before and I have not, To those of you have done it before what was your experiences like doing these?

 

The GG Allin covers always go over the best in my experience

[Scafeets]

Seriously: If it's a paying gig, get the money up front. I've done a bunch of these, and by the end of the night, the "host" is often too drunk, or too involved with some crisis, to bother paying up. Also, these things can break up early due to cops, drunks, neighbors, electrical overload, etc. It's not the band's fault, but they might try to short the band or stiff you altogether. Here are a few choice quotes I've heard, or some of my friends have heard:

"You were too loud and ruined my party"

"somebody stole my wallet"

"I'm too drunk to count"

"I forgot to go to the ATM"

"My husband (passed out in the corner) will pay you"

"That's not what we agreed to"

"You're supposed to play until 4AM"

"You not the band I hired"

 

Try to set up some sort of barrier between you and the party-goers. Otherwise, you'll have several guest singers and soloists joining you. Do not leave your gear unattended during breaks. Someone WILL attempt a drum solo.

 

As for the pool thing: Never set up within 25 yards of a pool or other body of water. Bring a lot of long HD extension cords and let the host know in advance that poolside is a deal-killer. There's no private party gig worth the trashed equipment and potential electrocution.

[tdempsey]

one of this summers more fun gigs was at a high school graduation party.

 

there is *nothing* like a teenage girl in a bikini talking to you between sets. one of the girls I had dancing to my bass lines was perhaps the most beautiful young girl I've ever seen.

 

the downside is that they likely will have been drinking since before you even arrived, and there is something sad about drunk underage kids. I must be maturing.

 

on the way out, i even saw the beautiful young girl squatting, peeing in the bushes.

 

I would NEVER host a party like that, think of the liability fromm a legal point of view. I'm sure there were DUI incidents that night.

 

Plus, the client will almost always want to pay by check so you better not need the money right away.

[mrcpro]

My last pool party was a few weeks ago...a surprise birthday party for a guy who turned 60. A far cry from the ones I used to do 20-30 years ago.

 

If the one you're doing is of the wilder variety, carefully plan where you set up. With no bouncers or stage, drunk guys showing off will walk right through your equipment, grabbing mics, drumsticks, whatever... to get attention. Try to get paid before everyone's drunk. And make sure that you guys have a sober ride home. Have fun!

[B Money]

my band played a great backyard/pool party this summer. It was one of the funnest gigs ever. Tons of drunk chicks, bikini contest ( of course I "M.C.'d" it ), rowdy rednecks, etc...we got paid to have a good time.

 

Check out the pics at www.baconlips.com

 

click on "pics"