a few weeks ago we had our third gig. after our booking, well in advance of the gig date, the management changed. that night the manager asked if we could charge less, as the bar and lounge were being revamped and the customer load had diminished. we discussed this together as a band. there were four in our line up; the fifth being in another band had a gig. originally the fee for us was 400. we lowered our charge to 300. then we played a half hour less than arranged.
when we played all our sets and announced this was the last song, the bar manager ran up and wanted to know why we were stopping before mid night. I said less pay-less play. we had your full bar up and dancing all night. we played reasonable volumes and the crowd stayed. we played songs the crowd liked and they stayed. book us again for our full price (which is more and inexpensive) and you'll get four hours. they agreed.
as a band we are just beginning to come together as a group. we are starting to get the feel of one another on stage. it sure is different than our rehearsal space.
we need to add more ballads. my lap steel has gotten a lot of attention. especially when I have the overdrive pedal on and my steel is roaring. Mercury Blues by David Lindley has us peeling the paint off the room. the older country set loves the classic steel guitar tune,'Sleepwalk' by Santos and Johnny.
this coming Saturday we have a great gig and a small town's fall fest. we play to a crowd of 1,000 rural folks. the day's events are the typical family thing. there might be a ferris wheel. I know there will be baby farm animals. we play a tent, unless it storms, then we play the old town hall. a small building built in 1914 or so. we will be paid 500. yippee.
Wow - risky to play hardball, but it paid off for you. Hopefully this starts a long-term relationship.
I agree. it was the band's consensus. and they want us back.
Way to stick to your guns. Sounds like you guys earned your money and a chance to come back for full pay.
Sounds like a great gig. What little I've heard of your slide playing on Hear Here in years past, it's deserving of the attention. In southernese country speak, "you shore dew play it all perty-like". 8)
Man, I would have been 'teed-off, too. Full bar and active crowd....yeah, good call on your part. :evil: :evil:
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
thanks. it turned out fine as everyone was happy.
this Saturday we have our 4th gig.
just outside of LaCrosse, Wisconsin is a small township; a crossroads between two farm fields really.
it is an all day event for the nearby folks. my friends are bringing their alpacas for the petting zoo part, and another guy wielded a huge grill for the corn roast. the rest is chips on a paper plate. three bands under a huge tent. my bandmate, that lives out there on his hobby farm (the alpacas) is throwing together a rudiment of a stage; palettes and plywood, with the carpets from our rehearsal space. clamp on red lights.
this'll be so much fun. we plan to peel the paint of the barns during our rock set. early on we play almost a whole country set.
(the Stones play some great country and we cover some).
the first band at 4PM is the high school jazz band. next up is the Enrico Brothers (I think they are a local acoustic duo;( been around forever and live nearby) then we go on.
it is going to be a perfect night weather wise.
we haven't been able to get live footage yet.
the lap steel has been a hit. my band mates want more. :)
'Stones Country songs are fun. Sweet Virginia, Dead Flowers, Country Honk, etc. Love 'em all. Which ones are you guys doing?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Dead Flowers and Honky Tonk Woman Blues
Congrats and well done in the 3rd gig: "pay less-play less"!
Hope you are doing well!
I am doing well, thanks Nuno. we had our forth gig. it was an outdoor event. the old PA we have to use cut out several times during the evening. it is time for the shop. it is irritating as my band mate had an option of using a smaller, newer PA owned by another band mate that shares his time with another band. the band mate didn't want to take the extra time to drive out and pick it up. so the result is time taken from performing to find a pen light and fiddle with the controls, cables etc.
never again I say.
ugh! Sorry to hear that. I hope this gets resolved nicely.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
here is our stage shot. it was under a tent on the grass. we built a rudiment platform of 2x6's on their sides and screwed 5/8 inch plywood over them. then the carpet. it was a very flat and stable stage. it was huge. I never had so much room for my rig.
I play the lap steel on a keyboard stand. I should put a bag of lead weights on the legs; I get the stand to rocking when I play rock on a lap steel. I need to get more guitar stands. what a mess. leaning my guitars against the amp. very unprofessional, hey?
I have a A/B switch then a tuner beginning my signal chain. then next is a MXR Dynacomp compressor, my turbo tubescreamer, a digitech chorus, a volume pedal and then the delay unit. it all ends up my 90's Fender Vibrosonic amp. 2 ten inch vintage Jensens under the hood. the amp has beautiful responsive warmth and compression when turned to 4. that's pretty much all I need. I had it up to 7 once and it scared the bejeezees out of me it was so loud. horses in the next county, I heard, jumped fences.
the night of our Firefly gig, a friend that lived two miles away said he heard rock and roll coming over the fields. 'sounded good'.
the PA hassle is a wake up call.
when bad things happen it is an opportunity to make things right and then shows will be easier later.
when things go easy it is easy to shine and play yer best.
now that we have had a few gigs in a small region word is out. now is our time to ratchet the professionalism up.
it is time to mike the instruments instead of just miking vocals.it is time now to spend the time setting the sound for the night.
this is standard procedure for every band. now it's time for ours.
Nice pics dog! I envy you. I was in a bar/restaurant in Florida that had a similar stage setup that was modular. Nothing fancy, 2 x 6 frames and plywood but they could pick it up and lay it down as needed. They had a carpet over top. Seemed to work well. It wasn't so big though, they put their mic stands on the floor in front.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Yeah, stands are one of those expenses that is just far too easy to justify, but seems to be last on the list. Kind of like strap-locks that I'm trying to catch up on. :roll:
How are the negotiations with your 'mates on getting the sound system issues corrected?
And one final note to bother you with. anyone get any good video? I'd love to see some. Especially the slide. 8) 8)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
'Stones Country songs are fun. Sweet Virginia, Dead Flowers, Country Honk, etc. Love 'em all. Which ones are you guys doing?
The girl with the far away eyes is awesome!!!
SOunds like you guys are moving along
Paul B
