There are a TON of Guitar Bloggers/writers out there, Yes I am one of them. My friend, Bobbo Byrnes is also one of them. He's a guitar player from my neck of the woods, now currently residing in sunny California. Like me, he's got pretty big opinions on a lot of guitar and music related topics, and I've often found his viewpoints have a very unique angle that make practical sense. His Blog is Guitar Geek Warning. And can be found at...
He covers topics from recording, performing, and guitar and music Gear. He's just completed his latest CD "Two Sides To This Town" and is getting ready to go on the road with it this summer (it's a European tour, so he'll be on the other side of the road). We had the idea awhile back to do a "takeover" of each other's blogs, as it might expose our musings to some new readers. Be sure to check his blog out!
How To Get Ahead In The Music Business
The first gigging band I was in used to pride ourselves on how quickly we would get off the stage after our set. We’d play the second or third slot at The Rat in Boston and we would have our stuff off stage and put away before the next band finished tuning their guitars.
It was a strange thing to aspire to but I know that the clubs and bands that played with us appreciated it.
The little things, ya know?
A while ago we were playing a gig and a friend’s band was performing the set before ours. The band’s last chords rang out, house music went up, guitar players and bass player packed up and got their stuff off the stage but their new drummer brought all his cases on stage, got his gloves out for handling his cymbals and proceeded to take nearly 20 minutes to break down and pack away his kit on stage.
Patiently we waited for one of his more experienced bandmates to say something to him along the lines of “Chris, get your ass off the stage!” (Or at least help him.) But they were all doing their own thing and didn’t notice. We joke about it now but at the time it was annoying and he was new to playing out - no one had explained this etiquette to him.
Look, most of us will never play Wembley Stadium, have roadies to clean up after us or have our own crew setting up lights and getting us clean white towels - and that’s ok. We need to learn how to make the most of our time and avoid being known as a “difficult” band to work with. That label is really hard to shake once earned. So these are some of the unspoken rules that help you get ahead in the music business.
Let’s start with soundcheck.
Singers, get your own mic and keep it simple and decent. Shure, Audix, EV - don’t use a cheap-o $29 microphone or anything that requires phantom power. Many mixing boards won’t have phantom power so make this easy for the soundperson. When you are doing your soundcheck - sing something. Sing something that you are going to sing in the set. Sing it with the same energy and volume you would during your set. Just saying “testing 1, 2, 3” will not let you know what your mic is going to sound like in the monitors and it won’t help the soundperson make you sound good in the front of the house. This all goes for anyone who sings, not just the lead singer. If your rhythm section also sings harmony, they need their own mics and proper sound checks too.
Simple stuff right? But did you know it before someone told you? I didn’t.
Same general idea goes for the guitar players. Having a “sound check” volume level and then a different “gig time” volume level is going to work against everyone because now you will be too loud in the mix and I know you want to crank that Boogie half stack but this room only seats 60 people and all of them are going to hate you if all they hear is your amp aimed right at them all night.
Now you acoustic guys - you think you’re getting off easy just thinking “I don’t bring an amp, it’s not on me at all.” While that’s true about your volume level - it’s about time you got off your ass, got yourself a decent acoustic DI and stopped depending on the house to provide one. Get a DI that you learn how to operate. If it’s just a passive plug and play, that’s cool. If it has a bunch of knobs that allow sweepable mids and a notch filter - learn how it works. This is your craft, your sound. Learn it. And for crissakes don’t go unplugging your guitar without giving the soundperson time to mute you - it makes a huge popping sound in the PA that is harmful to their system.
Bass players, most of you have your proverbial shit together but if the soundperson tells you your 8x10 is too loud and you are drowning out the band - the correct response is not “Cool.” Unless your name is Les Claypool - tuck in your ugly-ass shirt and turn the fuck down.
Drummers have it the hardest - they typically have the most gear an the hardware bag has a hole in it where the hi hat stand keeps poking through and stabbing them in the side when they lift the bag out of the van. Drum heads are expensive and you’re expected to buy new heads to put on new drums, never mind the fact that you have to buy drum heads for the bottoms of the drums and never hit the damn things! (And yes, you really do need to replace drum heads occasionally!)
This next part is with love.
Soundperson: “Kick.”
Drummer: This is where you hit your kick drum. Play just a solid thump, thump, thump. Open quarter notes at 120 bpm that are solid and at the intensity that you will be playing at until the soundperson tells you…
Soundperson: “Snare.”
Drummer: Now you stop playing the kick drum and just do the same thing on the snare, quarter notes at about 120 bpm. If trying to remember what 120 bpm feels like is difficult, just sing along to the Cyndi Lauper song “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, it’s at 120 bpm and it’s a good reference for drum check.
Repeat this for however many things have microphones on them and then -
Soundperson: “Can I hear a little bit of everything?”
THIS IS NOT YOUR CUE TO HIT EVERYTHING.
This is where the soundperson just wants to make sure they are getting a full mix of your drums and everything sounds balanced. This is not “Drum Solo” time.
The best thing to play here is a simple beat of kick, snare, kick kick, snare for 2 or 3 measures, a small tom fill with a cymbal hit and then the same kick, snare, kick kick, snare but on the ride instead of the hi-hat.
Repeat until they say “Ok, we got it.”
If you blast into a double-kick cymbal-heavy freak out when you’re supposed to be soundchecking - you will hear the soundperson say “Ok, WE GOT IT!!” but they don’t got it, they just want you to STFU. You have also just pissed off the soundperson and now they don’t give a shit how your drums sound tonight or ever.
Keyboard/Kazoo/Pedal Steel/Banjo/Violin Player, for the most part your setup should be like the bass player’s. If you have stupid specific requirements for your setup, you should have all the necessary cables and connectors with you, don’t expect the club to have 4 extra DI’s for all your keyboards, a specific mic for your banjo or the ideal chair to play lap steel on.
Another important thing for everyone to remember; unless you are the one soundchecking - STFU. No guitar noodling, no Seinfeld bass popping, no random drum hitting. Drum tuning should not be happening at this time either - small adjustments at the gig, sure but full on drum tuning - No. Guitars and basses should be silently tuned. No one wants to hear you tune up.
No one.
Ok, soundcheck is over, the set goes great, everyone digs you and it’s time to break down your gear. Now seems like a good time to address a thing often called “Lead Singer Syndrome” but other band members are not immune from it. LSS can strike any member of a band and a good way to battle it is with pre-gig communication and knowing your role. My wife plays bass and sings in our band. After a gig, she packs away her bass and while we handle the rest of the gear she picks up the mailing list and goes table to table or works the merch booth. This works for us. If everyone knows what is and isn’t expected of them before, during and after the gig - this makes for more harmonious bands.
If one of your band members needs help carrying their gear or coiling cables - help them. If someone in your band brought the PA, show up early and help them set it up and don’t leave the club while they are still breaking it down or loading it out to their car at the end of the night
Ok, quiz time. You just had a great show, you don’t know the other bands playing tonight - what should you do now? Do you:
A - Load your gear out to the car and go home - you know, work in the morning..
B - Start holding court with your fans right in front of the stage oblivious to the next band now playing 8 feet away.
C - Acknowledge your fans/friends and then become an appreciative audience member by sticking around and listening to the next band’s set.
Obviously the answer is C. Don’t be that guy that never listens to other bands or other folks in your own circle. If you stick around (and encourage your fans to stay as well!) you will help build support for your local scene, you will discover new music, your life will become more well-rounded, you may even make some new friends and your band will earn the respect of your local scene.
And THAT is how you get ahead in the music business.
