Rough gigs

EricTheWeary

PolarityMan said:

thomasross20 said:

!! Serious - do the song sheets detract or not? I'm not a fan but have said that before... 

Lol...

I'd say it looks a bit crap.

well, this really. It certainly doesn't look rock'n'roll and at least an effort to make them less the focus.

thomasross20

Those lyrics sheets are going nowhere, let me tell you...

The only thing going will be me if I join an in your face rock band lol...

jeztone2

I think my nadir was when a beautiful but rather rough venue refused to pay the agreed fee, despite a packed crowd. So I told them the flight cased back line would be leaving out of the venues beautiful period windows instead of the stairs. They coughed.

thomasross20

Why would they withhold an agreed fee? Cheeky buggers!

Cabicular

thomasross20 said:

Lol  

Seriously - if your gear gets damaged in a situation like that - I wonder if insurance covers it... doubt it...

It should do depending on the insurance I've had a venue pay for a mic stand a punter fell into and snapped but it would be a different story if it was one of my Falcons

vasselmeyer

thomasross20 said:

!! Serious - do the song sheets detract or not? I'm not a fan but have said that before... 

Lol...

Looks terrible TBH. In my new band our singer learned all the 20-odd songs she didn't know out of our 40+ song set within the first three gigs. She keeps a couple of notes on the floor by for the tracks she might get a blank spot on.

thomasross20

Good feedback. A few off here thought it was ok to have the song sheets. I was against. Will feed this back (again).

I learnt about 2 hours worth of songs in 3 weeks for the band when I started...!

Norwegian_Blue

Anyone else have any rugby fuelled rough ones last night? In Hindsight, was not the right occasion to be playing in a rough little English pub, especially when a large group of lubricated Welshmen came in to watch the game... Luckily the singer I was working for is Welsh, so he had them onside, but by 2 songs into set 2 I had two police officers helping me protect my PRS from the brawl!

thomasross20

Pics of PRS or doesn't count... lol

Norwegian_Blue

I wish I'd thought of getting a snap in the moment! The poor landlady did not help by grabbing our mic and screeching at the punters...

ElectroDan

thomasross20 said:

!! Serious - do the song sheets detract or not? I'm not a fan but have said that before... 

Lol...

Seiously Thomas, those sheets are just there as a crutch so the gal's can look down there instead of having to look up and interact with the audience. If one were to forget a line, there are two other singers to interject so there's no worries there.

It sounds like you are unhappy with the way things are going in that band. I'm not against making joint purchases (I've done it many times), but I expect to be fully consulted before being included in one. And the Bass players partner taking an equal cut! Is that agreed by all members? You need to have a sit down together and have a good chat I think. You don't have to threaten to leave and put everyone on the defensive. You can come from the angle of wanting the band to be the best it can possibly be and try to get them to come with you.

thomasross20

Fully agree - it's one of the main points I made when I threatened to leave. 

I'm 50/50. It's still good to play with a band and get myself out there. 

But as soon as something else gets off the ground, I'll likely go (with the drummer). 

I'm auditioning a new (really good) singer on Thursday who is more professional - no song sheets, has gear etc. 

We're going to try and hit the nail on the head regarding money matters this weekend. 

ElectroDan

It's never going to be plain sailing in a band with everyone's different idea of the best way to do things. I also think it's better if someone is known to be taking a lead role, as long as that doesn't become a dictatorship to force shitty decisions onto the rest. You have to weigh up the pros and cons. It's great to play live, but if the rest of the time you are feeling put upon or taken for a ride, it can really sour the experience.

You are a good player. If you have the drummer on side and a potential new singer, it sounds like there might be an exciting new venture on the horizon. Good luck.

FarleyUK

Bloody hell! The worst we've had so far is the usual drunk punters requesting stupid songs and asking to sing.

Out of interest, what do you guys find to be the best way to politely tell these people to f-off, and no, they cannot sing or play a song?

Just wondering as I tend to come across as pretty..... 'aggressive' when I say no (being 6ft 5 and 18 stone probably has that effect!).

viz

Phil_aka_Pip said:

viz said:

Used to play in a lesbian pick-up joint in Durban and often saw seedy antics taking place on the bar top, other women cheering them on.

Pix!

Couldn't hold the camera straight, sorry

Cabicular

FarleyUK said:

Bloody hell! The worst we've had so far is the usual drunk punters requesting stupid songs and asking to sing.

Out of interest, what do you guys find to be the best way to politely tell these people to f-off, and no, they cannot sing or play a song?

Just wondering as I tend to come across as pretty..... 'aggressive' when I say no (being 6ft 5 and 18 stone probably has that effect!).

To be honest thats no bad thing

Problem with drunk peoiple is they think persistence wins the day.

I don't mind the banter, I don't mind the odd slagging. They do NOT set foot on the stage

EricTheWeary

FarleyUK;805273" said:

Bloody hell! The worst we've had so far is the usual drunk punters requesting stupid songs and asking to sing.

Out of interest, what do you guys find to be the best way to politely tell these people to f-off, and no, they cannot sing or play a song?

Just wondering as I tend to come across as pretty..... 'aggressive' when I say no (being 6ft 5 and 18 stone probably has that effect!).

I was watching some footage of The Pretenders playing, I guess in the mid 80's, where Chrissie gets potty mouthed because people were taking her photo. In those days photography was forbidden at gigs and official gig photos were sold. Anyway, I wondered what she would have been like had somebody done something really bad, like trying to borrow her guitar for a jam with their mates.

I think the advice that Kone gave to keep calm and to keep on playing is right. Unless their aggression is aimed directly at you then don't get involved. Punters block door ways when you are trying to load/ unload and piss me off just for starters but I'm very polite and I can smile pleasantly at any kind of drunken rambling. I remember some chap trying to engage me and our singer in an attempted conversation about his views on Asian people. We are both liberal left PC types but add in that our singer's wife is Asian then this could have been the basis for a huge row, but we smiled beningly, made our excuses and moved on. Pick your battles I guess.

not_the_dj

Regarding the lyric sheets suggest just having a single sheet with the first lines for each song on (you can even put that on the set list)...and keep it on the floor. That usually helps as a memory jogger and the rest of the song will flow.

PolarityMan

Are the girls actually vocalists or just girls who have an alright voice?

 I see lots of cover bands picking their front people for pretty poor reasons.

gubble

I've gigged in Gosport - enough said