Shaster

Have you thought about turning your patterns into MP3's (say ten minutes...) and using a tablet with an on/off foot switch? I currently use sequenced tracks (bass and drums), and although I used to use a drum machine, I like the simplicity of a tablet. Of course, it's much harder to change the tempo once it's recorded.

Good for you Notes. After a crazy December and January, things have settled to about 15 gigs a month for me, but Summer and patio season are coming up. I just got my regular golf course, two Sundays a month gig back, and there are other patios that should start opening soon. I'm still getting Covid sub calls (1 or 2 a month) so that helps as too (well it helps me, sad for the sick muso). To be honest though, 20 gigs a month might be the top of what I would want to play. I was doing that and more last Summer and Xmas, and it was taxing to say the least. Happy gigging!

Glad to hear you are okay Notes. Yes, it seems like people all over the world have to consider where, when or if they will rebuild. We had bad floods in my area last year (IIRC) and it turns out people had put farms and buildings on what was once a lake. Guess what happened when we had a "once in a lifetime" rain event? Yep, instant lake. Oh well, I guess humans are a work in progress. Stay safe.

Thanks for the update daddymack.

There have been a couple of big storms lately. Just wondering how the Canadian East coast, Florida... folks are doing. At my gig last night, I met a couple from North, or maybe it was South Carolina that had a tough time getting to Vancouver BC for a visit. Just wondering how Notes and others are doing. Hoping for the best.

Cool version. We're All Alone is one of my favourite Pop tunes. I actually do that song myself, but I put it to tracks so I can better concentrate on the vocals, and even then they are tough. I lowered the key to D, which is a little too low, but when I hit the high notes, they are at least at "lounge" volume. Both We're All Alone and Heart To Heart (Kenny Loggins) are tunes I really like to play, but don't, unless I'm really warmed up. Maybe I'll do them both this Saturday just to challenge myself   Cheers!

Almost every solo artist I know had a very busy summer up my way. As one guy said, it went from no work to too much work. I actually had to turn down a few gigs, including a last minute call (Covid cancellation) for today. It's not that I'm rich by any means, it's that my fingers needed a rest. Now, will Fall be back to nothingville? I guess time will tell, but the gigs were nice to have while they lasted, and for me at least, many were outside. Bonus.

Speaking of work... Happy Labor/Labour Day!

Good rain policy re: if the gear is set you get paid. My Friday gig was cancelled today, and the most I can hope for is a rebooking. Here's a shot. Not sure what kind of car(s) are in the pic, but they usually don't park your car out front unless it's a least a couple of hundred thousand. Yep, it's that kind of a place, which is fine by me. The really wealthy people are often very relaxed and friendly.

Nice work if you can get it - and you obviously got it! Looks like a cool little spot.

I've been playing this private members club that restarted about a month ago, supposedly for their patio. The weather has been so bad up here, that so far, all the gigs have been inside. I'm supposed to do a different "pop up patio" gig this Friday, but the weather isn't looking all that great. Oh well, at least our fire season might be lighter this year.

3 minutes ago, DeepEnd said:

In the early days of COVID, Neil made a YouTube version about "Hands washing hands..." I, for one, appreciated it.

Cool. He seems to be a good sport about his songs. I guess if he's made that much money from them, he is happy to give back.

On 5/20/2022 at 6:05 AM, daddymack said:

if sometimes downright weird dealing with the mask on/mask off scenarios.

I'm still playing out at the airport, and masks are still mandatory inside the terminal, but not necessarily in the hotel. I can never keep track of when or where, so I just wear my mask on the breaks. It's easier that way.

Glad you are back at it Notes, and have found your second wind, although.... that last bit was possibly TMI! Of course maybe your second favourite thing to do is play checkers, and my mind is in the wrong place

Hi Al. Thanks for the update and speaker review. I haven't been checking in here lately, so it's good to hear you've been taking care of yourself and eating right. I've actually put on weight during the lockdown, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I've slowly started doing solo and band gigs on guitar, but have done very little live sound in the last couple of years. 

When I do have live sound gigs, I've been using two Parasource PS12Ps for mains (plus subs) and two PS12Ps for monitors. Sometimes though, I'm looking for an extra monitor or two, or for monitors that are more cost effective. I'll definitely check out the YXL 12P. Thanks again for the review. Take it easy.

I was getting pretty comfortable doing zero to two gigs a month, all through most of 2020 and 2021. April 2022 comes, and somebody switched on the lights. It's not that so much that Covid is over, it just seems like the media has stopped talking about it and so everyone is ready to go. So I did ten gigs in April and it was way too much. For the moment, I seem to have lost that killer instinct to hit the stage every day (or every other day). I guess I'm a couple of years older and maybe wiser but man, I just don't have the gig stamina that I used to have.  Anyone else lose their desire to load gear and play Sweet Caroline day after day? Okay, maybe that song was a bad example...

So... I've gone from one or two gigs a month, January to March inclusive, to ten gigs in April. It's like somebody flicked a switch. I'm gonna have to start exercising  to get my gig legs back. Not complaining, just confused at how sudden the shift was. I guess if May works the same, it might just be a trend. Still navigating playing in a pandemic, but I guess I've had enough of a rest to make me less cranky and reluctant. Anyway, I'm busy right now - hanging garlic at my door to keep the variants away.

Happy gigging everyone.

On 2/20/2022 at 3:45 PM, daddymack said:

Spring is just around the corner!

Yep. Things are picking up around here, but I'm just not as excited, or is it desperate to get back to work. I played last Saturday, that was fine. Actually remembered all the lyrics and songs. I have a date in March, and a couple trio dates in April. It's just that I can't seem to go out and pound the pavement looking for gigs, where I will be expected to bring the crowd in - and or keep them from leaving. I think I'll need to find avenues where it's about the music, and not about making the 28 year old manager happy. Nothing wrong with managers and nothing wrong with being 28, but combine the two and you get a person that takes themselves way too seriously. That's just my opinion.

Wow, I step away for a minute and again I miss all the fun. I might have mentioned that I picked up a couple of Xmas gigs because the performer had Covid. I don't think she was faking. A close friend's relative is currently on a ventilator, but who knows, maybe they are faking it. I'm sad that we have to debate this. It's like debating whether cigarettes are bad for you - oh no! What have I done!

Anyway, I have a Gospel show with a six piece band, tomorrow in a huge church, but will likely wear my mask because I don't have to sing. I did one gig in January, and the bass player and I wore our masks for the night. My first solo gig is next week at the airport. Last time I wore two masks, so I might need to do that again. I hate singing with a mask, but I would hate it even more with long Covid. I'm basically waiting for the summer, and outdoor gigs.

Stay safe everybody.

On 1/2/2022 at 10:05 AM, daddymack said:

but that is the essence of a solo gig...everything else is just 'lipstick on the pig'...IMHO...

That certainly was the essence, but the times they are a changin', even if they shouldn't be.

Besides some of the usual retro tunes I do, I get the most responses from doing stuff from George Benson, Pat Metheny, Santana, Wes Montgomery, SRV, BB King, Robben Ford and so on. So tracks or loops are pretty essential. I mean BB never even played any chords, so I'm not sure how I would capture the essence of The Thrill Is Gone without tracks - although maybe I could hum the lead guitar part

Anyway it's a moot point for me. My hands often cramp up when I do solo stuff without tracks, so I don't do it unless it's just for a couple of 45 minute sets

I checked out leftyjay's NYE video, and it's a great (IMHO) example of using tracks to one's advantage, in a solo situation. I should add there are plenty of others on this forum doing the same with great results as well.

Speaking of NYE, Happy New Year daddymack! 

Sounds great leftyjay. The guitar, which is sometimes lacking in a solo situation, sounded really nice as well. Well, for better or worse, I see that Covid looks to be over down there. Glad you had a good gig. Keep on Rockin'...

At the gig, I have my Mp3 files stored on my tablet, an identical back-up tablet, and on my phone. I also have my files stored on Google Drive, and plan to add them to Dropbox as well. Of course I also have the files stored on two home desktops and my laptop as well.  In addition, I can play enough tunes with just me doing guitar/vocal that I can make it through a gig. I don't like to, because it's hard on the hands, but I've done it.

I've had some hairy nights with equipment failures in the past, so I'm a little cautious these days.

My NYE gig was cancelled by the band leader because dancing isn't allowed in bars up here in Vancouver BC. Then the provincial health officer closed all the bars and private NYE events (over a certain crowd size) so it would have been a no go anyway. So I've had two gigs cancelled this December due to Covid. 

I work a fair bit in an airport lounge, and people aren't flying much in Canada, so I've had about five dates cancelled there in January 2022. Rather than fight an uphill battle, I might just semi-retire until the summer, and then try and hit all the outdoor gigs. Maybe I'll learn how to properly use a looper pedal in the meantime...

I guess for me, things will depend on if the next variant is more, or less virulent than Omicron. I'm hoping it's less, so we can morph from pandemic to endemic

Happy New Year!

On 11/12/2021 at 1:26 AM, Dookietwo said:

Which app did you use on the tablet? Mixing Station/Mixing Station Pro has a different screen setting that works well outside.

Doug

I'm using Mixing Station Pro, and I'll have to check my "Theme" settings, to see if it was set to Solar Dark, or Solar Bright..... It's been so long since I used My XR18, I kinda forgot about the settings until you mentioned it. Thanks for reminding me. Gotta dust those cobwebs in my mind. Anyway, I'll report back. 

Did my first sound gig since February 2020 in September of this year. Used my XR18 and tablet for an outdoor boat cruise. No dropouts but seeing the tablet in the bright sun was not fun. Maybe back to the MixWiz or something smaller for those outdoor gigs. Except for some duo and trio gigs, I'm not using any PA until who knows when. Contemplating pairing down some speakers, holding on to mics, boards, stands and such, and renting FOH when or if needed.

Some of the older Yorkville 12" speakers were insanely mid biased. I have found the newer Yorkville PS12Ps  and the not so new NX55Ps and such, to be quite smooth in comparison. I seem to recall that 400hz and 630hz had to be radically cut on the GEQ (or perhaps PEQ) in some of the older mid crazy speakers, like the Elite e210 and the Elite e12 - but YMMV.  Perhaps the EF12Ps are based more on the EF500Ps which have a whole lot of midrange (tank like speakers though, with nice projection).

Nice one DM!

I think the lounge had a bunch of plexi left over from when they had screened off the whole bar. I guess it gives the illusion of safety. Oddly enough, with all the tests needed to fly in and fly out, and our vaccination passports here, I don't feel too nervous playing in that airport lounge.  It is also huge, with really great ventilation. No guarantees, but there aren't any in life anyway.