Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.

Subject: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 02:39 PM

Insanity: "What do you MEAN that when we invite a band to come to play, there is EQUIPMENT that will need to be set up in advance????"

Rituals: Get lots of sleep and movie time and food racked up the day before the gig, and then expect not to sleep much the night before the gig or eat much on gig day. The music will replace the missed sleep.

Rules: The band leader has last call on any song changes, equipment changes, personnel changes, and anyone's Good Ideas.

Habits (not superstitions): Never wear a clean bra on gig day; always carry lots of drinking water; and (women only please) put on sanitary unmentionables whatever the season, JUST so you don't worry.

And have a spare instrument tuned and ready to go in case a visitor you love a lot steps on your instrument case at the house. :~) You know who you are.

~Susan
(thread topic suggested by one visiting and knitting MMario)

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 07:17 PM

If you gig often enough, all insanity, rituals, rules and habits become common place... So that whatever happens you just take it in stride and play yer gig...

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Gypsy
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 08:50 PM

Rituals............show up FIRST, so you can tune and warm up in a relaxed manner. Then when everyone else shows up barely on time, or (gasp) LATE, you are calm and ready to carry the ball.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Hrothgar
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 09:59 PM

Susan, I hope you're not saying that MMario stepped on your instrument case?

If so, how is his broken leg?

:-)

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Apr 04 - 10:16 PM

:~) Near miss, no harm, no foul. Lots of laughter all around.

CH, yes, of course.

Early, not late, YES.

~S~

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: John P
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 12:31 AM

Rules:
- Get a good night sleep the night before.
- The last two hours before you have to leave for the gig always go at double
speed.
- Walk in with a smile on your face and keep it there the whole night.
- Make an agreement with your band mates and family that no one is going to be unpleasant and argue on the way to the gig.
- Really know where you are going, or leave plenty of time wander around looking for the place.
- Never believe that someone else's PA is going work and do what you need it to.
- Make friends with the sound person as soon as you walk in (this is one of the most important rules, and is apparently unknown to most musicians).
- Bring extra cables.
- Bring extra strings.
- Leave plenty of time to solve PA hassles.
- Secure your pay.
- Have a set list that includes a few alternatives.
- Don't act like a prima donna to anyone at the gig, ever.
- Be completely set up, tuned, warmed up, and sound checked at least 15 minutes before starting time. Spend that 15 minutes NOT doing anything having to do with the gig.

Insanity: If you follow the rules it is greatly reduced. Even if everything around you goes insane, don't follow suit.

Rituals: Following the rules is plenty of ritual. Maybe some of the rules are rituals, but they are also the rules.

John Peekstok

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 12:42 AM

NEVER make a tentative start just because the song is new and you aren't totally confident on performing it yet. Hit it as hard as it needs to be hit, and carry it forward from there.

~S~

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Joybell
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 01:36 AM

I'll second the idea of making friends with the sound people. Always my first move.
Next find out where the toilet is and how long the queue is likely to be. Joy

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: John P
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 01:27 PM

Susan,
I agree totally about how to start a song, although that is technically "rules for gigs", not "pre-gig rules". Actually, my rule for taking a song on stage is to not do it until you don't have to worry about how well you know it. But certainly playing with confidence and gusto (even if you make a truly horrible mistake, or totally forget how to play it) is a must for any song in any performance.

JP

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 08:57 PM

Never wear a clean bra on gig day

As a fellow bra-wearer, I am *truly* curious about the reasoning on this one. Would it be impertinent of me to request an explanation?

Cheers,

YY

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 09:12 PM

New or clean bras can sometimes be itchy, especially if they have been washed in a brand of powder that is not your usual. Worn once in a non-vital situation, they are softer, more comfortable and you know if they will a)show through or peep out from you chosen "costume"; b) you'll know if the wires are likely to stab you in the tit at an inopportune moment: c) you'll know if the wires are going to squeak every time you move or breath deeply and be heard on the mike (especially if using a lapel mike) and d)you can work out the straps and if they are likely to fall down under a sleeveless garment.

And you blokes thought choosing a tie was difficult.

LTS

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 Apr 04 - 09:36 PM

Ezzackly as LTS says! Plus, I'm going to sweat right through it in setup, so why start with a clean one???? Shower, dress in old clothes, take along a dress to slip on once the setup is done. Put on a fresh dirty bra then! :~)

We do all this for the glory, eh?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 01:08 AM

Don't forget the signed copy of the contract.

Seamus

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 09:22 AM

LTS & Liz,

Thanks for the explanation(s). If the "habit" had been "Never wear a clean bra on gig day", I wouldn't have needed an explanation, but I can't recollect a "clean" bra having been uncomfortable... guess I've been lucky!

Cheers,

YY

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 09:28 AM

I never wear a bra, not even on setup day!

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 09:36 AM

if asked - I was in Buffalo all weekend - I haven't the foggiest idea what she is talking about! (*grin*)

my rules, insanity and rituals all boil down to one thing. PANIC! enough sheer panic and the stage fright seems like a relief rather then a problem.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: GUEST,Sarah
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 10:22 AM

- full tank of petrol
- instruments/gig stands in a pile by the door
- pack cheese butty
- spare 9v battery (someone is always going to need one, even if it's not you)
- keep all cables, tuners, spare strings, mic and pre-amp in one bag and leave them there all the time when not in use (always keep bag in same place too)
- map of route to venue and eta for soundcheck if going independently of the rest of the crew

immediately pre-gig = half pint of beer to loosen fingers and a visit to the bathroom

Result of the above = no nerves and well prepared.

Cheers
Sarah

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Midchuck
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 11:19 AM

Guitar players: Change your strings less than two months, and more than two days, before a gig.

What's all this about bra wires? Haven't sports bras made it to Old Blighty yet? I think my wife has thrown out all the ones she had with hooks and wires and stuff. (I wonder if young guys now can still unhook a bra one-handed, working blind, or if it's a lost art...)

Peter.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Peter T.
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 11:25 AM

Three rules of life: learn how to tie a Windsor knot with one hand, unhook a bra with one hand, start a fire with two matches (especially by a fireside).

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: black walnut
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 12:34 PM

Oh Peter, I thought by now you could start a fire with 2 knitting needles.

My pre-gig ritual....wander around, worry, sweat, wander around, make sure other players are in tune, look worried....then have music partner tell me at the very last minute before going on stage to SMILE! which makes me laugh, and then I'm fine.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Willie-O
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 12:36 PM

Change socks, and have one of two lucky gig shirts on hand. (They are brilliant batik tie-dye creations made by the two women in my family. If it's not the right venue for them I usually wear one as undershirt. When I played in Cabaret last month we didn't wear any shirts (vests and ties only) so I used lucky shirt as a seat cushion.

Make friends with sound person? Ha, I already know myself when I get there. Make friends with bartender and/or table servers!

Avoid last-minute brilliant ideas.

Put EVERYTHING you MIGHT need in truck (including gas).

And start the evening with a large ginger ale.

W-O

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 12:49 PM

1) Signed contract.
2) Always carry your own direct boxes, mic's, and associated cables. Don't forget guitar cables.
3) I want the equipment set up, sound checked, and ready to go 2 hours before the gig. There is nothing that will start to get you jangled like wondering if the damn sound is right.
4) Bring your own sound person. If this isn't possible, then sit with the sound guy and give him/her the basic information about any peculiarities in your setup. Ex: I use an LR Baggs dual source set up in the stereo mode i.e. one channel for the ribbon transducer, one for the mic. I always let the sound person know that I have the bass cut set way down and that they should adjust the bass in. Another thing about this setup is that the internal mic should not be run through the monitors. Resolves the feedback issue. Also let them know that once the monitor mix is set, it is not to be tinkered with, and then make sure you have it where you want it. The only adjustment I want made on that monitor mix is the master volume, unless I tell them otherwise. Help them set the mains about where you like them, but let them fine tune it. The sound in the mains is theirs, the monitor mix is yours.

By being done early, it gives you time to decompress, run over last minute stuff, and mingle with the crowd to get a sense of what you need to do to entertain them. That also allows you to set the mood for the evening.

Mick

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:13 PM

1. Bring Big Mick to run sound.

2. Bra??????? DUCT TAPE! Duh!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:18 PM

Can't you people just go play gigs without all the hoopla???

:-)

I mean, it's just music....

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:18 PM

1. Bring duct tape; tape sound man to controls.

2. Bring Big Mick to run bra. Duh!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:23 PM

I think I could get to like that gig!!!

Mick

P.S. to Clinton: I just made that comment when we setting up the other night. Remember when we just played music??

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:24 PM

:~)

~S~

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:29 PM

Check the date, time and place.
Then check it again

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: black walnut
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:33 PM

El Greko....is that the voice of bad experience talking?

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 02:42 PM

Mick... There's a Stephen Fearing song called "The Life" (as in "Ain't this the...") that's got a verse

So you pick up your guitar
And play it for yourself
These days you only play it seems
For everybody else
Pull the strings into your hand
Hold the wood against your hips
Unwind the miles of silence from your fingers.....

:-)

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Big Mick
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 10:20 PM

That, my friend, is a great lyric. I need to hear this song.

Mick

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Gypsy
Date: 19 Apr 04 - 11:26 PM

Oh man, i want that song.............with tune!

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: GUEST, Hamish
Date: 20 Apr 04 - 05:44 AM

Sing on the other acts' songs (to get warmed up).

Avoid fizzy drinks (to stop those ill-timed belches).

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Mooh
Date: 20 Apr 04 - 06:59 AM

Wedding organizers of the "professional" variety are a real pain right before the wedding gig, and I do my best to avoid them. Otherwise a personal checklist and the old boy scout motto "be prepared" works for me. I generally now carry my own mics, cords, DIs, stands, and even a decent chair if I'm sitting, to those shows where all such stuff is supposed to be provided. I'm always surprised by the lack of preparedness on the part of arts presenters. Being prepared is the difference between disaster and success.

If there's much down time it's handy to have some reading material to pass the time, or a place to play.

I can hear the household proclaiming as I go out the door, "Don't forget your glasses!".

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 20 Apr 04 - 09:39 AM

One naive question for Peter T & Liz:
"What is this "tie" of which you speak?"

RtS
(being retired means never having to wear a tie again)

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: John P
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 12:52 AM

Rule for wedding gigs: Know who the mother of the bride is, and know what will keep her from turning her ire on you, like she's doing to every other hired hand in the place.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Cluin
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 01:34 AM

For wedding gigs, I prefer a good knee-trembler with a bridesmaid before playing.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 01:44 AM

Foolestroupe - you're forgetting that time in Mudchat last month......

Midchuck - Sports bras are fine for those with tennis ball tits. For those of us with bean bag tits, wires, spiral stitching, cantelever support and possibly scaffolding is necessary unless we want to look flat chested and knobbly kneed.

Roger the Skiffler - it's that bit of coloured cloth that you use to clean car mirrors, spectacles and spoons, that you tie around your waist to hold your trousers up, around dog collars to control next door's terrier or around children to stop them running away from the shopping trolley. I understand that many of these are foreign concepts to you but believe me, it's the best use I've ever found for a tie (apart from making a skirt, but that's another story).

LTS

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: GUEST, not telling
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 02:57 AM

Bean bag tits plus a skirt made out of a tie...? Gulp!

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: GUEST,Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 03:07 AM

"Rule for wedding gigs: Know who the mother of the bride is, and know what will keep her from turning her ire on you, like she's doing to every other hired hand in the place."

Oh so right, John P. Having done wedding photography on a somewhat professional basis (when I couldn't weasel out of it); I will say the bride's mother is the *only* person you have to please. And there is no more irrational creature on the face of this planet (and I include a wounded cape buffalo in this category) that a bride's mother on the wedding day!

:-)

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Rasener
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 07:16 AM

"Check date time and location" I remeber just recently some body finishing up in Bourne in Cambridgshire, instead of Bourne in Lincolnshire. They went home in the end.

"Have a knee trembler beforehand" Good idea unless you play the cymbals between your knees.

"Avoid last-minute brilliant ideas." How many times has somebody cocked up because of this.

"learn how to tie a Windsor knot with one hand". Surely its a better idea to go to the toilet before you do your bit. Also is it that big that you can tie a knot in it.

Dont trust anybody, do it yourself.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Mooh
Date: 21 Apr 04 - 09:28 AM

Jeremiah & John P...Oh so right! My Dad, who was a clergyman for 50 years, had some hilarious mother of the bride tales and strongly cautioned me, knowing my sarcasm, from tangling with them when I started playing weddings. These days I rarely do the wedding rehearsal and leave the booking to my duo mate, so I often don't meet the dreaded mother until immediately before the service, if at all.

One wedding last year stands out though. The MOTB was fearsomely difficult (I heard) up until the wedding day and then got so blind drunk she slept through the service. Touching, ain't it? I could actually hear her breathing from across the room. I think that was the same gig they thanked us for playing Chopin when it was Bach...were we really THAT bad? LOL.

Anyway, sometimes gigs pay pretty well in amusement alone.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Pre-Gig Insanity, Rituals, Rules, etc.
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 22 Apr 04 - 04:54 AM

Guest not telling - it was several ties... remember, I have a fat arse.

LTS