Gig reality boo hoo

Question:

> If feeding off the audience’s energy is ego-tripping, then I’m guilty as > charged!

What are you… some sort of vampire that drains the audience’s energy through a mesh of hidden wires in the floor? Anyway, I don’t trip on an audience. I don’t care whether people go wild… if the gig sucks I am *not* having fun. > I used to have a long-running debate with some jazz players I knew > — they insisted that music was all about communicating with your fellow > musicians, while I said it was about communicating with your listeners.

Both are correct. Music can also simply be about amusing yourself. Whoever else enjoys the process is welcome. > Of course I dig locking in with the rest of the band and finding that perfect > groove where you’re all on the same wavelength (i.e. communicating).

Those moments usually involve lots of beer and are generally less enjoyable for outsiders. But as long as you have fun, it’s alright. > And practising is fun, working out new songs is great, recording can be very > rewarding (and very frustrating, too),

All of these activities can both be enjoyable and frustrating. The same holds true for gigging. > but I guess I’m not a good enough > player to take the music to a level where all that is enough by itself. I’m > an entertainer, not an artist. Stan Lee or Joe Schuster, not John Donne or > Will Shakespeare.

You’re proposing a false dilemma here. RS —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

Response:

I’m not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek: > Yeah, gigging sucks.. and nobody hears the bass player anyway. That’s why > I got me my own studio > RS

… but whatever, I totally disagree. Gigging is great, even when it’s a bad gig. I’d gladly take 100 bad shows over a single "good" day at the office! And, for me, recording is a very poor substitute for getting up there in front of people. As for bringing your own sound guy, it’s not really an option in many cases. I can’t imagine many club soundmen allowing a local band’s technician to fiddle with their boards. As for this: > I just checked out your website. > You’re based in Calgary? > What club was it that treated you like shit?

Thanks for looking at the website. I probably overstated the negative aspects of this gig, when it was really my overinflated expectations that were the problem. For that reason, and because we would certainly like the opportunity to play there again (now that we know what we’re getting into), I’m not going to name the establishment, and it’s not mentioned on our website. There are precious few clubs in Calgary that provide much-needed venues for local bands, and we don’t have the luxury of being choosy. Those who mentioned that a band has to have a professional approach, regardless of the conditions, are absolutely right. The audience doesn’t care, and shouldn’t have any reason to care, that your onstage sound is bad. Thanks all! md

Response:

> OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past eight > months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of ours — > one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places.

Yeah, gigging sucks.. and nobody hears the bass player anyway. That’s why I got me my own studio RS —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

Response:

If feeding off the audience’s energy is ego-tripping, then I’m guilty as charged! I used to have a long-running debate with some jazz players I knew — they insisted that music was all about communicating with your fellow musicians, while I said it was about communicating with your listeners. Of course I dig locking in with the rest of the band and finding that perfect groove where you’re all on the same wavelength (i.e. communicating). And practising is fun, working out new songs is great, recording can be very rewarding (and very frustrating, too), but I guess I’m not a good enough player to take the music to a level where all that is enough by itself. I’m an entertainer, not an artist. Stan Lee or Joe Schuster, not John Donne or Will Shakespeare. md – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Organization: Newsfeeds.com http://www.newsfeeds.com 100,000+ UNCENSORED > Newsgroups. > Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass > I’m not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek: >> Yeah, gigging sucks.. and nobody hears the bass player anyway. That’s why >> I got me my own studio > … but whatever, I totally disagree. Gigging is great, even when it’s a bad > gig. I’d gladly take 100 bad shows over a single "good" day at the office! > You’re comparing apples and oranges here. I am still making music > in my studio. > And, for me, recording is a very poor substitute for getting up there in > front of people. > Well, for me it’s all about the music. I guess I am not that > much of an ego-tripper > RS > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 > Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption > =—

Response:

> I’m not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek: > Yeah, gigging sucks.. and nobody hears the bass player anyway. That’s why > I got me my own studio > … but whatever, I totally disagree. Gigging is great, even when it’s a bad > gig. I’d gladly take 100 bad shows over a single "good" day at the office!

You’re comparing apples and oranges here. I am still making music in my studio. > And, for me, recording is a very poor substitute for getting up there in > front of people.

Well, for me it’s all about the music. I guess I am not that much of an ego-tripper RS —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

Response:

>Bring your own soundman – always. If you choose not to, then don’t cry when >the sound sucks.

Didn’t notice this one before, so I will have to say I absolutely agree with everything EXCEPT this. Bringing your own soundman is a costly thing to do for a band that’s making $50 a guy. And frankly, any soundman who will work for such low money is probably someone who may not be all that good and might be lost on a club’s board, or worse yet, blows up the club’s PA by not knowing what he’s doing. If you are one of the lucky few who can get a soundman to work for you for $50 and he’s good, then go for it. But it’s just not feasible for a band playing originals making $50 a man tops. Hell, I work with famous oldies singers who make thousands a night and they don’t carry one.

Response:

>This brings to mind a question. Where do you get your own soundman? The >better bands in my area seem to have their own guys, and I’ve always >wondered about that. Do you hire them? Or are you just lucky enough to have >a friend who’s a good sound guy and you slip him a few sheckles for showing >up at the gigs?

It’s both. Most bandleaders know at least two guys they can rent sound and lights from. Sometimes bands buy their own pa and lights and train a friend to run it for them. Sound guys come from anywhere. Just ask around music stores, other musicians, etc. I don’t think it’s a necessity to have one, and often times they take money out of my pocket so I try not to use them unless I’m getting money for them.

Response:

Super… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I "love" the local band syndrome, clubs and many locals often have. Years > ago, we were offered good money and weekend rooms for our families, to play > 4th of July at a hot springs resort in our area. This was set up a few > months in advance. > We arrived early in the day, since most of the band members had kids. The > little ones, as well as the adults couldn’t wait to hit the pool. > When we checked in with the owners, we discovered they got greedy, renting > all of the rooms. Reminding them of our agreement, the wife of, one of the > owners, just blew us off. We again reminded her, adding we had brought all > of our families with us. The attitude was , your just a local band. > You should have seen her face, when we told her we were leaving. "You’re > going to leave me without a band?", she shouted. "You left us without > rooms", our drummer snapped back. > 45 minutes later, we were back in town. We stopped in at a club, we had > played at a hundred times before. I asked the owner, " No band this evening? > How would you like us to play, no charge?" He jumped at the offer. > He got the word out. We played to a full house. A great time was had by all. > Paybacks are a bitch. – George > OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past > eight > months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of > ours — > one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places. > What a disappointment! This high-profile rock club treats local bands like > utter crap — worse than most of the so-called small-time dives we’ve > played > previously. We’re told to show up at 7:30 for a sound check. Yeah, right. > In > other words, load your gear into the kitchen then go away. No sound check > of > any kind, except maybe for the band that plays first. > On stage, finally …. to be greeted by the very worst "monitor mix" I > have > ever experienced. Ever. Anywhere. I don’t think the monitors were even > powered up. (They looked impressive, though.) The onstage sound was > horrendous. Like playing with your head immersed in about four feet of > water. I hope I sang on key, because I don’t know. I could tell some sort > of > noise was coming out of my mouth, but that’s about all. My bass was > audible > to me, but just barely. Could hear one guitar, but not the other. Could > hear > the kick drum, but not the snare. > The really bad thing is that the FOH sound is very loud and clear. So all > the uncertainty and mistakes you’re making due to the horror you’re > experiencing onstage are being beamed in razor-sharp clarity to the > hundreds > of music scenesters who have gathered to check out what’s up on the local > front. > Oh — and we found out from one of the other bands that we were supposed > to > have been given tickets to hand out to friends, acquaintances, accomplices > etc., and would be paid based on how many of those tickets came back to > the > door. Well, we were never given any tickets, so we walked out with just > the > base $50, while the other bands got $200 to $300. > And it all would have been OK if we had known what to expect. But this > place > is a frequent venue of international touring acts (Maroon 5 played there > recently) and has a reputation for being the real deal. So our > expectations > were way overinflated, and the whole night was a real downer for us as a > band. > The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning > experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be > a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it! > Thanks for listening! Had to vent. > md > http://www.dcheads.tk

Response:

You should get used to playing without a monitor for just such emergencies. If you’re band mates set up properly and you all match your volume levels to a good onstage mix, then you won’t need monitors for anything but the vocals. Get used to singing with only the PA mains on and you’ll never have a problem. When you add in some monitor it will be the icing on the cake. I’ve had some of the worst monitor mixes in the world. I’m pretty easy to deal with. I only want vocals in the monitors and not much of them. Somehow this always equates to tons of guitar and kick drum or god help me the keyboard player. I know, I’m the bass player, but I don’t want any kick drum in my monitor. I’m standing in front of the damn kick drum almost all the time I don’t need to hear it thumping from all sides. I’ve had monitor mixes so bad that during a song (after several inconspicuous attempts at getting the sound man to adjust my mix) I’ve kicked the monitor over and faced it at the soundman. That usually gets their attention. I just checked out your website. You’re based in Calgary? What club was it that treated you like shit? Jay S

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past eight > months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of ours — > one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places. > What a disappointment! This high-profile rock club treats local bands like > utter crap — worse than most of the so-called small-time dives we’ve played > previously. We’re told to show up at 7:30 for a sound check. Yeah, right. In > other words, load your gear into the kitchen then go away. No sound check of > any kind, except maybe for the band that plays first. > On stage, finally …. to be greeted by the very worst "monitor mix" I have > ever experienced. Ever. Anywhere. I don’t think the monitors were even > powered up. (They looked impressive, though.) The onstage sound was > horrendous. Like playing with your head immersed in about four feet of > water. I hope I sang on key, because I don’t know. I could tell some sort of > noise was coming out of my mouth, but that’s about all. My bass was audible > to me, but just barely. Could hear one guitar, but not the other. Could hear > the kick drum, but not the snare. > The really bad thing is that the FOH sound is very loud and clear. So all > the uncertainty and mistakes you’re making due to the horror you’re > experiencing onstage are being beamed in razor-sharp clarity to the hundreds > of music scenesters who have gathered to check out what’s up on the local > front. > Oh — and we found out from one of the other bands that we were supposed to > have been given tickets to hand out to friends, acquaintances, accomplices > etc., and would be paid based on how many of those tickets came back to the > door. Well, we were never given any tickets, so we walked out with just the > base $50, while the other bands got $200 to $300. > And it all would have been OK if we had known what to expect. But this place > is a frequent venue of international touring acts (Maroon 5 played there > recently) and has a reputation for being the real deal. So our expectations > were way overinflated, and the whole night was a real downer for us as a > band. > The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it! > Thanks for listening! Had to vent. > md > http://www.dcheads.tk

Response:

I totally agree with everything here: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->You want to be treated like a professional, then you have to start to behave >like a professional: >Know and verify the terms BEFORE you get there for the day of the gig, make >no assumptions. >Ask questions, politely demand answers. >Bring your own soundman – always. If you choose not to, then don’t cry when >the sound sucks. >Check out the venue first hand BEFORE the date of your show. >If there are several bands playing in one evening, a soundcheck for anybody >but the first band (unless there is a major headliner) is absolutely >useless, so why bother.

You know, this is so right on that it’s hard to improve on it. Too many times, bands think "Wow, we’re playing the biggest club in town adn it’s going to be totally great," but it turns out that it’s not. And many times the bands are ready to blame the venue or the people the venue hires, but a lot of times, bands create problems for themselves, especially if they’re the "I am an artist and will not sacrifice my art for anything or anybody" bands. Then they get up there and refuse to turn down even when it sounds like shit or they want the equipment to do things it can’t and start getting mad at the crew, who will be more than happy to make you sound like a 50’s transistor radio in retaliation. So it works both ways. But let’s assume the band was very professional in every way and the equipment is shoddy and the people running it suck. So what? Do the people attending your gig care? Nope, all they can see is you getting pissed off up there and making them uncomfortable. I’ve played with some of the best people in the business using the best sound equipment in the world, and turned around the very next day and played through a Mackie 4 channel and 2 powered speakers run by the drummer. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it blows. Tough shit, get over it. All the complaining in the world is not going to make crappy soundmen better or your local A-list club’s PA better. So you either better prepare to roll with the punches or you better think of a new line of work. That club’s going to be fine whether you play there or not.

Response:

I’ll agree that paying a soundman when your making $50 a guy is not wise, but if this was a truly important exposure gig, it would probably be worth it.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Bring your own soundman – always. If you choose not to, then don’t cry when >the sound sucks. > Didn’t notice this one before, so I will have to say I absolutely > agree with everything EXCEPT this. Bringing your own soundman is a > costly thing to do for a band that’s making $50 a guy. And frankly, > any soundman who will work for such low money is probably someone who > may not be all that good and might be lost on a club’s board, or worse > yet, blows up the club’s PA by not knowing what he’s doing. If you > are one of the lucky few who can get a soundman to work for you for > $50 and he’s good, then go for it. But it’s just not feasible for a > band playing originals making $50 a man tops. Hell, I work with > famous oldies singers who make thousands a night and they don’t carry > one.

Response:

> You want to be treated like a professional, then you have to start to behave > like a professional: > Know and verify the terms BEFORE you get there for the day of the gig, make > no assumptions. > Ask questions, politely demand answers. > Bring your own soundman – always. If you choose not to, then don’t cry when > the sound sucks.

This brings to mind a question. Where do you get your own soundman? The better bands in my area seem to have their own guys, and I’ve always wondered about that. Do you hire them? Or are you just lucky enough to have a friend who’s a good sound guy and you slip him a few sheckles for showing up at the gigs? If the latter, I’m screwed. I know one sound guy. He’s not very good, and he’s kind of a putz. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Check out the venue first hand BEFORE the date of your show. > If there are several bands playing in one evening, a soundcheck for anybody > but the first band (unless there is a major headliner) is absolutely > useless, so why bother. > OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past > eight > months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of > ours — > one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places. > What a disappointment! This high-profile rock club treats local bands like > utter crap — worse than most of the so-called small-time dives we’ve > played > previously. We’re told to show up at 7:30 for a sound check. Yeah, right. > In > other words, load your gear into the kitchen then go away. No sound check > of > any kind, except maybe for the band that plays first. > On stage, finally …. to be greeted by the very worst "monitor mix" I > have > ever experienced. Ever. Anywhere. I don’t think the monitors were even > powered up. (They looked impressive, though.) The onstage sound was > horrendous. Like playing with your head immersed in about four feet of > water. I hope I sang on key, because I don’t know. I could tell some sort > of > noise was coming out of my mouth, but that’s about all. My bass was > audible > to me, but just barely. Could hear one guitar, but not the other. Could > hear > the kick drum, but not the snare. > The really bad thing is that the FOH sound is very loud and clear. So all > the uncertainty and mistakes you’re making due to the horror you’re > experiencing onstage are being beamed in razor-sharp clarity to the > hundreds > of music scenesters who have gathered to check out what’s up on the local > front. > Oh — and we found out from one of the other bands that we were supposed > to > have been given tickets to hand out to friends, acquaintances, accomplices > etc., and would be paid based on how many of those tickets came back to > the > door. Well, we were never given any tickets, so we walked out with just > the > base $50, while the other bands got $200 to $300. > And it all would have been OK if we had known what to expect. But this > place > is a frequent venue of international touring acts (Maroon 5 played there > recently) and has a reputation for being the real deal. So our > expectations > were way overinflated, and the whole night was a real downer for us as a > band. > The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning > experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be > a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it! > Thanks for listening! Had to vent. > md > http://www.dcheads.tk

Response:

You want to be treated like a professional, then you have to start to behave like a professional: Know and verify the terms BEFORE you get there for the day of the gig, make no assumptions. Ask questions, politely demand answers. Bring your own soundman – always. If you choose not to, then don’t cry when the sound sucks. Check out the venue first hand BEFORE the date of your show. If there are several bands playing in one evening, a soundcheck for anybody but the first band (unless there is a major headliner) is absolutely useless, so why bother.

Response:

ha ha! great story there! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I "love" the local band syndrome, clubs and many locals often have. Years > ago, we were offered good money and weekend rooms for our families, to play > 4th of July at a hot springs resort in our area. This was set up a few > months in advance. > We arrived early in the day, since most of the band members had kids. The > little ones, as well as the adults couldn’t wait to hit the pool. > When we checked in with the owners, we discovered they got greedy, renting > all of the rooms. Reminding them of our agreement, the wife of, one of the > owners, just blew us off. We again reminded her, adding we had brought all > of our families with us. The attitude was , your just a local band. > You should have seen her face, when we told her we were leaving. "You’re > going to leave me without a band?", she shouted. "You left us without > rooms", our drummer snapped back. > 45 minutes later, we were back in town. We stopped in at a club, we had > played at a hundred times before. I asked the owner, " No band this evening? > How would you like us to play, no charge?" He jumped at the offer. > He got the word out. We played to a full house. A great time was had by all. > Paybacks are a bitch. – George

Response:

Well, I saw the "green room" they have for touring acts, and it was an embarrassment. A couple of cheap futon couches facing each other about two feet apart fill the entire room, and the ceiling tile is literally falling down, water-stained and gross. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Organization: AT&T Worldnet > Newsgroups: alt.guitar.bass > The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning > experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be > a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it! > I would make an effort to find out if other bands routinely get similar > treatment there, including the big names. I would be especially interested > in knowing if the monitors are always that bad, as that goes beyond being > annoying, it’s downright unprofessional and is likely to degrade the quality > of performances. > There are well-known venues that provide fairly shabby treatment even to big > stars, Pete Townshend posted some hilarious photos on his web site of the > meal that Shoreline Amphitheatre provided the members of the Who in their > dressing rooms back in 2000, styrofoam fast-food containers with globs of > something unidentifiable in them, big jars of mayo and mustard along with > plastic cutlery etc., a real deluxe spread, even if Pete’s post had a Spinal > Tapesque air to it.

Response:

>There are well-known venues that provide fairly shabby treatment even to big >stars, Pete Townshend posted some hilarious photos on his web site of the >meal that Shoreline Amphitheatre provided the members of the Who in their >dressing rooms back in 2000, styrofoam fast-food containers with globs of >something unidentifiable in them, big jars of mayo and mustard along with >plastic cutlery etc., a real deluxe spread, even if Pete’s post had a Spinal >Tapesque air to it.

You’d think the Who would be smart enough to enforce their riders.

Response:

> The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it!

I would make an effort to find out if other bands routinely get similar treatment there, including the big names. I would be especially interested in knowing if the monitors are always that bad, as that goes beyond being annoying, it’s downright unprofessional and is likely to degrade the quality of performances. There are well-known venues that provide fairly shabby treatment even to big stars, Pete Townshend posted some hilarious photos on his web site of the meal that Shoreline Amphitheatre provided the members of the Who in their dressing rooms back in 2000, styrofoam fast-food containers with globs of something unidentifiable in them, big jars of mayo and mustard along with plastic cutlery etc., a real deluxe spread, even if Pete’s post had a Spinal Tapesque air to it.

Response:

I "love" the local band syndrome, clubs and many locals often have. Years ago, we were offered good money and weekend rooms for our families, to play 4th of July at a hot springs resort in our area. This was set up a few months in advance. We arrived early in the day, since most of the band members had kids. The little ones, as well as the adults couldn’t wait to hit the pool. When we checked in with the owners, we discovered they got greedy, renting all of the rooms. Reminding them of our agreement, the wife of, one of the owners, just blew us off. We again reminded her, adding we had brought all of our families with us. The attitude was , your just a local band. You should have seen her face, when we told her we were leaving. "You’re going to leave me without a band?", she shouted. "You left us without rooms", our drummer snapped back. 45 minutes later, we were back in town. We stopped in at a club, we had played at a hundred times before. I asked the owner, " No band this evening? How would you like us to play, no charge?" He jumped at the offer. He got the word out. We played to a full house. A great time was had by all. Paybacks are a bitch. – George

Response:

The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning experience. We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be a real pleasant surprise when we do get it! *Or you could learn that the so-called "big deals" in this business are no better than you. Expect and demand to be treated as a professional. As jazz impresario Norman Grantz once said "If you don’t get substantially what you want, be prepared to walk". — Learning funk bass? visit www.js3jazz.com/store.htm "Speaking the Truth in times of Universal deceit is a revolutionary act." — George Orwell

Response:

It’s a process of rip-off’s lying, thieving and cheating – by who and to who, when and where is not important – I wish you all the best, just be www.union-revival.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hopefully your first lesson learned is that you ultimately control your own > destiny. You should have known the environment before you got there and > dealt with it directly, ie, demand your own sound people have input on the > overall set-up, etc. Now you know. Good Luck in the future. > OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past > eight > months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of > ours — > one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places. > What a disappointment! This high-profile rock club treats local bands like > utter crap — worse than most of the so-called small-time dives we’ve > played > previously. We’re told to show up at 7:30 for a sound check. Yeah, right. > In > other words, load your gear into the kitchen then go away. No sound check > of > any kind, except maybe for the band that plays first. > On stage, finally …. to be greeted by the very worst "monitor mix" I > have > ever experienced. Ever. Anywhere. I don’t think the monitors were even > powered up. (They looked impressive, though.) The onstage sound was > horrendous. Like playing with your head immersed in about four feet of > water. I hope I sang on key, because I don’t know. I could tell some sort > of > noise was coming out of my mouth, but that’s about all. My bass was > audible > to me, but just barely. Could hear one guitar, but not the other. Could > hear > the kick drum, but not the snare. > The really bad thing is that the FOH sound is very loud and clear. So all > the uncertainty and mistakes you’re making due to the horror you’re > experiencing onstage are being beamed in razor-sharp clarity to the > hundreds > of music scenesters who have gathered to check out what’s up on the local > front. > Oh — and we found out from one of the other bands that we were supposed > to > have been given tickets to hand out to friends, acquaintances, accomplices > etc., and would be paid based on how many of those tickets came back to > the > door. Well, we were never given any tickets, so we walked out with just > the > base $50, while the other bands got $200 to $300. > And it all would have been OK if we had known what to expect. But this > place > is a frequent venue of international touring acts (Maroon 5 played there > recently) and has a reputation for being the real deal. So our > expectations > were way overinflated, and the whole night was a real downer for us as a > band. > The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning > experience. > We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional > treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be > a > real pleasant surprise when we do get it! > Thanks for listening! Had to vent. > md > http://www.dcheads.tk

Response:

OK, so we’ve been working our way "up" in the local scene for the past eight months or so. Finally got booked at a club that was a major goal of ours — one of those "you know you’ve made it when you play there" places. What a disappointment! This high-profile rock club treats local bands like utter crap — worse than most of the so-called small-time dives we’ve played previously. We’re told to show up at 7:30 for a sound check. Yeah, right. In other words, load your gear into the kitchen then go away. No sound check of any kind, except maybe for the band that plays first. On stage, finally …. to be greeted by the very worst "monitor mix" I have ever experienced. Ever. Anywhere. I don’t think the monitors were even powered up. (They looked impressive, though.) The onstage sound was horrendous. Like playing with your head immersed in about four feet of water. I hope I sang on key, because I don’t know. I could tell some sort of noise was coming out of my mouth, but that’s about all. My bass was audible to me, but just barely. Could hear one guitar, but not the other. Could hear the kick drum, but not the snare. The really bad thing is that the FOH sound is very loud and clear. So all the uncertainty and mistakes you’re making due to the horror you’re experiencing onstage are being beamed in razor-sharp clarity to the hundreds of music scenesters who have gathered to check out what’s up on the local front. Oh — and we found out from one of the other bands that we were supposed to have been given tickets to hand out to friends, acquaintances, accomplices etc., and would be paid based on how many of those tickets came back to the door. Well, we were never given any tickets, so we walked out with just the base $50, while the other bands got $200 to $300. And it all would have been OK if we had known what to expect. But this place is a frequent venue of international touring acts (Maroon 5 played there recently) and has a reputation for being the real deal. So our expectations were way overinflated, and the whole night was a real downer for us as a band. The only positive is that it was definitely a powerful learning experience. We will never again expect or even hope for decent sound or professional treatment, no matter what the gig or where the venue. That way it will be a real pleasant surprise when we do get it! Thanks for listening! Had to vent. md http://www.dcheads.tk

Response:

Hopefully your first lesson learned is that you ultimately control your own destiny. You should have known the environment before you got there and dealt with it directly, ie, demand your own sound people have input on the overall set-up, etc. Now you know. Good Luck in the future.

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