Tips for first time performers

Inspector #20 said:
I've played some incredible dives. Biker bars are the most fun and they generally had the best crowds...

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Now, as far as money is concerned, the private estate parties are king, generally paying $2,500 for a 4.5 hour show.
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Dives are fine. Played in plenty, as long as they're the kind where you play original music. Biker bars are a special breed though, at least to me - my experience has been that they (the bikers) love terrible music and expect you to play it. No thanks, I never have and never will step on a stage to play other people's music. No matter what the compensation, its not worth it to me.
 
gball said:
Dives are fine. Played in plenty, as long as they're the kind where you play original music. Biker bars are a special breed though, at least to me - my experience has been that they (the bikers) love terrible music and expect you to play it. No thanks, I never have and never will step on a stage to play other people's music. No matter what the compensation, its not worth it to me.
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I totally understand. I think my early days working in the rough bars of Woodlake, Redbanks, Cotton Center and the like, probably made me feel quite comfortable in those environments.
 
Now, low paying dive-bars aside, 'Bad Dog' wasn't just a band. It was an incredibly lucrative business with a very loyal following and fantastic venue/band relationships. Originally formed as a 6 piece group, we frequently pulled local musical affiliates (sax, harmonica, keys, etc.) into the mix in order to cater to the client's specific requirements.

That band made a fortune and it was our primary income source for quite some time....

Frequently, we would be pad many hundreds - often thousands - more than our agreed upon amount because our clients were so happy with how we personalized our musical services...

Bad Dog 2021 Performance Contract & Agreement.jpg
 
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gball said:
Dives are fine. Played in plenty, as long as they're the kind where you play original music. Biker bars are a special breed though, at least to me - my experience has been that they (the bikers) love terrible music and expect you to play it. No thanks, I never have and never will step on a stage to play other people's music. No matter what the compensation, its not worth it to me.
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I think this one is probably fine. I have found some videos of other bands at this place and they're not all cover bands. Actually some of it was pretty unexpected to find too, pretty broad variety of music. Open mic nights and jam nights. Other events too, it looks like.

This one is pretty ridiculous lol

 
Here's something else to consider...

What will you be wearing? What kind of shoes will you wear? Will you wear a hat?

Why does this matter? You want to make sure your foot wear is not such that you may miss a foot switch or maybe hit two pedal switches at once, such as may happen with tennis shoes versus pointed boots. Practice that as you practice your songs. I had a situation once where I bought a new set of boots, but hadn't practiced with them. Well, the end of the toe curls up just a little more than my other set of boots. To properly activate a foot switch on my second row of switches, I needed to alter the angle of my foot. Is this a big deal? No, but it's one of those tiny "gotchas" that can throw off your attention for a split-second.

Also, maybe practice your set at home with the shoes you plan to wear to see if your feet will get sore.

Also, if you're going to wear a hat, practice putting on the guitar and taking it off. You want to be sure the guitar strap isn't going to get caught on the brim of a hat. Yes, I've had this happen! I now wear a hat with a narrower brim, or I'll wear a leather ball cap.

The point is, the gig will bring enough of its own unexpected issues. You want to minimize as many potential goof-ups of your own, as possible.
 
smitty_p said:
Here's something else to consider...

What will you be wearing? What kind of shoes will you wear? Will you wear a hat?

Why does this matter? You want to make sure your foot wear is not such that you may miss a foot switch or maybe hit two pedal switches at once, such as may happen with tennis shoes versus pointed boots. Practice that as you practice your songs. I had a situation once where I bought a new set of boots, but hadn't practiced with them. Well, the end of the toe curls up just a little more than my other set of boots. To properly activate a foot switch on my second row of switches, I needed to alter the angle of my foot. Is this a big deal? No, but it's one of those tiny "gotchas" that can throw off your attention for a split-second.

Also, maybe practice your set at home with the shoes you plan to wear to see if your feet will get sore.

Also, if you're going to wear a hat, practice putting on the guitar and taking it off. You want to be sure the guitar strap isn't going to get caught on the brim of a hat. Yes, I've had this happen! I now wear a hat with a narrower brim, or I'll wear a leather ball cap.

The point is, the gig may bring enough of its own unexpected issues. You want to minimize as many potential goof-ups of your own, as possible.
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Good points.
I'm not planning on putting on a costume or anything, no spandex or platform boots or jumpsuits and masks or anything lol
I do wear a hat all the time except for when I sleep or am showering (unless it falls off lol) so it's either going to be a beanie or a ball cap.
I actually won't be using any footswitches at all. I had thought about this before, and I think I like to use my neck pickup with the volume rolled back a bit for any cleaner tones, a quick switch to the bridge pickup with the volume up for dirtier grit. At least for this situation. Probably be wearing Chuck T's or something similar.
 
smitty_p said:
Here's something else to consider...

What will you be wearing? What kind of shoes will you wear? Will you wear a hat?

Why does this matter? You want to make sure your foot wear is not such that you may miss a foot switch or maybe hit two pedal switches at once, such as may happen with tennis shoes versus pointed boots.

The point is, the gig will bring enough of its own unexpected issues. You want to minimize as many potential goof-ups of your own, as possible.
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GREAT tips!!!

This is part of the curriculum that i teach in Live Performance Workshops for the music academy.
 
mcblink said:
Good points.
I'm not planning on putting on a costume or anything, no spandex or platform boots or jumpsuits and masks or anything lol
I do wear a hat all the time except for when I sleep or am showering (unless it falls off lol) so it's either going to be a beanie or a ball cap.
I actually won't be using any footswitches at all. I had thought about this before, and I think I like to use my neck pickup with the volume rolled back a bit for any cleaner tones, a quick switch to the bridge pickup with the volume up for dirtier grit. At least for this situation. Probably be wearing Chuck T's or something similar.
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Tried and true methodology.
 
mcblink said:
Good points.
I'm not planning on putting on a costume or anything, no spandex or platform boots or jumpsuits and masks or anything lol
I do wear a hat all the time except for when I sleep or am showering (unless it falls off lol) so it's either going to be a beanie or a ball cap.
I actually won't be using any footswitches at all. I had thought about this before, and I think I like to use my neck pickup with the volume rolled back a bit for any cleaner tones, a quick switch to the bridge pickup with the volume up for dirtier grit. At least for this situation. Probably be wearing Chuck T's or something similar.
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Perform as you practice, I say. Whatever your regular rig is, that you practice with and are comfortable with, that's what you should be gigging with. If that neck pickup trick is how you do it in the room with the band, keep on it. But if you normally use pedals for differenct tones I think you should use them so you can stay in the comfort zone. There's nothing worse than having something feel unfamiliar while you are trying to perform.

I've played backline gigs, where the amps are supplied, and even when you have a type of amp you are familiar with they can sound and feel really different one to the next - you get used to it but no reason to make things more unfamiliar than necessary IMO.
 
gball said:
Perform as you practice, I say. Whatever your regular rig is, that you practice with and are comfortable with, that's what you should be gigging with. If that neck pickup trick is how you do it in the room with the band, keep on it. But if you normally use pedals for differenct tones I think you should use them so you can stay in the comfort zone. There's nothing worse than having something feel unfamiliar while you are trying to perform.

I've played backline gigs, where the amps are supplied, and even when you have a type of amp you are familiar with they can sound and feel really different one to the next - you get used to it but no reason to make things more unfamiliar than necessary IMO.
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Yeah I agree. Hitting a pedal switch once in awhile isn't a big issue. Sounds like you guys have definitley rehearsed amd worked on material plenty.
Plus, these guys do not know your original songs.
 
gball said:
Perform as you practice, I say. Whatever your regular rig is, that you practice with and are comfortable with, that's what you should be gigging with. If that neck pickup trick is how you do it in the room with the band, keep on it. But if you normally use pedals for differenct tones I think you should use them so you can stay in the comfort zone. There's nothing worse than having something feel unfamiliar while you are trying to perform.

I've played backline gigs, where the amps are supplied, and even when you have a type of amp you are familiar with they can sound and feel really different one to the next - you get used to it but no reason to make things more unfamiliar than necessary IMO.
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Good Point...(and I mention Bad Dog only because it was run more like a business, not because we were "all that" or anything)

In 'Bad Dog,' a rehearsal was exactly like the live show, including audience banter and breaks.

The actual performance was like auto-pilot...
 
gball said:
Perform as you practice, I say. Whatever your regular rig is, that you practice with and are comfortable with, that's what you should be gigging with. If that neck pickup trick is how you do it in the room with the band, keep on it. But if you normally use pedals for differenct tones I think you should use them so you can stay in the comfort zone. There's nothing worse than having something feel unfamiliar while you are trying to perform.

I've played backline gigs, where the amps are supplied, and even when you have a type of amp you are familiar with they can sound and feel really different one to the next - you get used to it but no reason to make things more unfamiliar than necessary IMO.
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I'm a no pedals kind of a guy. Guitar, cable, amp, maybe an EQ in the loop. So yeah, usually I play like that, with the switch and volume knobs.

I've messed around with switching channels and/or turning a dirt pedal on or off during jams before and it works fine, but I'd rather not mess with it if I don't have to.
 
mcblink said:
I'm a no pedals kind of a guy. Guitar, cable, amp, maybe an EQ in the loop. So yeah, usually I play like that, with the switch and volume knobs.

I've messed around with switching channels and/or turning a dirt pedal on or off during jams before and it works fine, but I'd rather not mess with it if I don't have to.
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You are light years ahead of the game, my friend.

Very minimal chance for a problem. Put all your energy into the performance.

I frequently see guys bending down to unhook dead Pedals, or turn their back to the crowd to mess with amp settings that NOBODY will ever hear in a noisy club.

You will KILL this...
 
mcblink said:
I haven't been the guy dealing with any of that, so I don't really know.

Poking around the website of the place, it looks like there's probably a PA
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You really want to get that detail nailed down. You definitely do NOT want to travel to a gig just to find out that PA system isn’t what you expected. Don’t leave anything to assumption.

First, you need to identify your needs. What needs to feed the sound system? This includes all microphones and other audio feeds. Then, how many monitors do you need? Who is going to run the sound?

Once you figure all this out amongst yourselves, someone in the group needs to call the venue and make sure the PA will support your needs.

Our band has its own PA gear and the band leader’s husband drives it to each gig in an enclosed trailer, so we never have to rely on the venue for sound or lights. This makes for more work as we all have to set up and tear down each night, but it alleviates a lot of uncertainty.
 
Inspector #20 said:
Good Point...(and I mention Bad Dog only because it was run more like a business, not because we were "all that" or anything)

In 'Bad Dog,' a rehearsal was exactly like the live show, including audience banter and breaks.

The actual performance was like auto-pilot...
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We improvise the banter etc. Keeps it natural. In spots we plan it but for the majority go with the flow.
Tight, but loose....
 
smitty_p said:
You really want to get that detail nailed down. You definitely do NOT want to travel to a gig just to find out that PA system isn’t what you expected. Don’t leave anything to assumption.

First, you need to identify your needs. What needs to feed the sound system? This includes all microphones and other audio feeds. Then, how many monitors do you need? Who is going to run the sound?

Once you figure all this out amongst yourselves, someone in the group needs to call the venue and make sure the PA will support your needs.

Our band has its own PA gear and the band leader’s husband drives it to each gig in an enclosed trailer, so we never have to rely on the venue for sound or lights. This makes for more work as we all have to set up and tear down each night, but it alleviates a lot of uncertainty.
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Same but local bars have their own PA and personnel. We use our own gear everywhere else. That is partly why they don't pay much it is pretty simole for us.
 
Jethro Rocker said:
We improvise the banter etc. Keeps it natural. In spots we plan it but for the majority go with the flow.
Tight, but loose....
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For us, usually at the rehearsal immediately prior to a gig, we’ll focus on making it like the gig as much as possible. The band leader may not rehearse each word she’s going to say for banter, but she‘s kind of developed an “outline”, if you will, of the kinds of things she’ll say.

But, she’s also good at reading the crowd and doing things very impromptu to perpetuate the energy.
 
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