Bad News for my Band

[craigb]

If more offices looked like that, I might go to work! 😁

[Jim Roseberry]

14 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Feeling more positive today. We have a candidate for our new guitarist coming over next Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

Plus the new PA arrived today. I set it up all by myself despite my bum foot. Of course, I had to have a little sit-down afterward.

And this is cool...those speaker poles have pneumatic lifts in them, strong enough to raise the speakers by themselves. However, I haven't yet figured out how to get them back down.

In a couple weeks I'll start playing keyboards through the PA instead of separate amplifiers, so I had to set them up today to test that configuration. And yes, Bapu, that means I have instruments here (at least until Friday) and can now add a part to the new Citizen Regen project.

Nice keyboard rig!

Nord Stage 3 and Kronos are two of the very best available.

Spider keyboard stand is also great.

 

My home rig has Nord Stage 4 (bottom) and Wave-2 (top) on a Spider stand.  Only use the Stage 4 live (no top tier).

 

It can take some time/doing... but if you can get to the point where you're hiring commercial sound/lights, it's a tremendous relief (mentally and physically).

In Central OH, commercial sound/lights (with good engineer) is $300-$350.

If you're typically charging say $800, that may seem impossible... but here's the thing:

• Without commercial sound/lights, an $800 band sounds/looks like an $800 band.
• With commercial sound/lights, you look and sound like a more expensive band.  You ARE that $1100-$1200 a night band.

Quality commercial sound/lights pay for themselves.

Taking it even further, get the guitar and bass player to go with a DI rig.  No carrying heavy amps... and no 100w tube-amps blasting on stage.

• Our guitar player uses a POD Go.  Nobody misses his Marshall half-stack.  No one questions his "tone". 
• Bass player is using an Ampeg Scrambler (pedal preamp).

This way, each player is responsible for his/her gear.  Simple load-in and load-out...

With adequate monitors... you'll never miss the amps.  

If you play festivals, the crews/engineers will love you.

You can get on/off stage in literally 10 minutes... and without having a coronary.  🤪

 

We all have day-jobs (careers)... so the gigs really aren't about money.

But, it's pretty nice to play a gig where you walk away with decent pay.

We wanted to have NYE off this year.  One venue kept asking us to book it... so we threw out a high figure (hoping they'd say no).

They agreed (facepalm emoji).

 

Don't limit your possibilities.

 

 

 

 

[bitflipper]

Always reassuring when Mr. Roseberry and I are on the same page!

Yeh, over the coming month the next step is going direct to the PA for guitar, bass and drums - no amps other than monitors. And because I'm re-purposing our old mains speakers (QSC K10.2s)  as stage monitors, we're going to have really good monitoring. I use a QSC K8.2 on a stand at ear level as my own monitor, and it handles the added load of the keys with ease. Next year we'll likely transition to in-ears and have no onstage amplification at all.

You're right on about the lights. All I have is a single tree with 4 Chauvet LED floods and a DMX controller that the bass player operates, plus a couple up-lights for the back of the stage. It's enough to keep us from playing in the dark, and give us some light for packing up. I'd like to add a second stand and maybe a strobe to see if I can make anybody puke.

2 hours ago, Jim Roseberry said:

...the gigs really aren't about money.

But, it's pretty nice to play a gig where you walk away with decent pay.

Exactly. My goal has always been to just play in a good band, period. But this year I've started thinking that making some money might not be a bad thing. Part of the plan is to land more corporate gigs, weddings and festivals, all of which pay better than bars. But they also expect a higher standard of look and sound. We've got the latter covered but still need to work on the former. I do wear a nice shirt on stage. That's a start.

[aidan o driscoll]

@bitflipper "Yeh, over the coming month the next step is going direct to the PA for guitar, bass and drums - no amps other than monitors. "

Beat you to it   .. we had a small covers band from 2001 to 2010 and did exactly this. Really simplifies things and can fit in smaller venues. Plus allows better control of volumes.

Edited August 2, 2023 by aidan o driscoll

[Notes_Norton]

Good luck with the replacement.

I've been in too many bands that had personnel problems, one way or another.

The last 5-piece band I was in, we replaced the bass player and later that year the drummer. That's why we went duo. I'd tell the sad story here, but I don't want to hijack the thread.

I hope the new guy works out, in the long run, better than the friend you are losing, and you don't have to cancel any gigs.

Notes ♫

[bitflipper]

1 hour ago, aidan o driscoll said:

@bitflipper "Yeh, over the coming month the next step is going direct to the PA for guitar, bass and drums - no amps other than monitors. "

Beat you to it   .. we had a small covers band from 2001 to 2010 and did exactly this. Really simplifies things and can fit in smaller venues. Plus allows better control of volumes. In 

Yeh. Driving home from last Saturday's gig with my bassist, I was trying to assuage his skepticism about the coming changes. At the end of my pitch, he turned and said "it also means you're gonna have a volume control for ME." Oops, cat's out of the bag.

[bitflipper]

50 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

The last 5-piece band I was in, we replaced the bass player and later that year the drummer. That's why we went duo. I'd tell the sad story here, but I don't want to hijack the thread.

I've done a duo, too. Twice, a total of 10 years total. When I did this as a full-time job it was with a trio. And yes, small groups are way more stable and convenient and conducive to impromptu improvisation and a large repertoire.

My current band has been together for 17 years, and I've been with them for the past 8. I am their second keyboardist. Just since me joining we've had 3 bass players and two guitarists. The drummer can't leave because he's married to the singer.

[Bapu]

50 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

The drummer can't leave because he's married to the singer.

 

[bitflipper]

That's my favorite song that we cover! Often a set closer. Janis is our singer's specialty, although we had to take away her Southern Comfort.

btw, we do NOT include that awful guitar intro. LSD only works if you brought enough for everybody.

[Notes_Norton]

18 hours ago, bitflipper said:

I've done a duo, too. Twice, a total of 10 years total. When I did this as a full-time job it was with a trio. And yes, small groups are way more stable and convenient and conducive to impromptu improvisation and a large repertoire.

Mrs. Notes and I have been in this duo since 1985. Well, she was the future Mrs. Notes back then.

If the timing is right, I'll announce that, and add that the only group that has been together longer, is The Rolling Stones. After the chuckles die down, I'll add, “And we still have all the original members.”

Until COVID, we were never out of work, and now that the emergency is in the rearview mirror, we are back full time.

There are compromises with a duo. I make my own backing tracks, so there is never the surprises you get with other musicians. On the other hand, there is none of the drama either. Mrs. Notes and I have very strong work ethics and do what needs to be done for our clients to make money and be happy, even if it means skipping breaks, playing long, or learning customer favorite songs. We try to do a better job than our competition and we charge a little more for that.

We have over 600 songs, most of them are here https://www.nortonmusic.com/cats/songlist.html There are a few I haven't added, like ones buried in medleys. We wouldn't want a customer to look, request the song, and here it instrumentally in a 10 or 15 minute medley designed to be played for a dinner set.

Notes ♫

[craigb]

17 hours ago, bitflipper said:

LSD only works if you brought enough for everybody.

😆

[bitflipper]

Now, this is neither here nor there, but I had to laugh at my own expense and share my misery.

This morning I took my van in to have the A/C repaired. I told them I'd wait, and had brought a book. But they said there was no guarantee it'd be done today and I should not wait. So they gave me a ride home.

It was only after I got home that I realized my house keys were still on the keychain in the car at the dealer. So I've been sitting here for hours without access to my garage and the computer within, dozing off and sweating.

It'll be OK, I said, as long as no customers call me with some emergency.

Guess what happened. Somebody needed a crucial file from me RIGHT NOW. Installers would be getting on a plane tomorrow and needed the information RIGHT NOW. Sorry, I said. I'm, um, locked out of my office. So professional. Worse, a sizeable chunk of money was on the line, funds I've already spent on a new PA, and I wouldn't be getting paid until that installation was completed.

All's well that ends better, though. They charged me $500 for a resistor. A frickin' resistor. They assured me it was a very nice, very special resistor and I was lucky they had one in stock. I got to send off the file. I got to have a cold drink from the fridge. And if anybody's looking for me this afternoon, I'll be in the car blasting cold air at my face.

[craigb]

8 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

Now, this is neither here nor there, but I had to laugh at my own expense and share my misery.

This morning I took my van in to have the A/C repaired. I told them I'd wait, and had brought a book. But they said there was no guarantee it'd be done today and I should not wait. So they gave me a ride home.

It was only after I got home that I realized my house keys were still on the keychain in the car at the dealer. So I've been sitting here for hours without access to my garage and the computer within, dozing off and sweating.

It'll be OK, I said, as long as no customers call me with some emergency.

Guess what happened. Somebody needed a crucial file from me RIGHT NOW. Installers would be getting on a plane tomorrow and needed the information RIGHT NOW. Sorry, I said. I'm, um, locked out of my office. So professional. Worse, a sizeable chunk of money was on the line, funds I've already spent on a new PA, and I wouldn't be getting paid until that installation was completed.

All's well that ends better, though. They charged me $500 for a resistor. A frickin' resistor. They assured me it was a very nice, very special resistor and I was lucky they had one in stock. I got to send off the file. I got to have a cold drink from the fridge. And if anybody's looking for me this afternoon, I'll be in the car blasting cold air at my face.

Apparently, you are on a Boss level in this game Dave!  Damn!

[Notes_Norton]

16 hours ago, bitflipper said:

They charged me $500 for a resistor. A frickin' resistor. They assured me it was a very nice, very special resistor

OUCH. It had better be a very nice, very special, very rare resistor.

[mettelus]

16 hours ago, bitflipper said:

They charged me $500 for a resistor.

I got the "wow" reaction from this as well. The only two resistors I know of are for the blower motor and cooling fan, and neither of them would take 5 labor hours to replace.

It does remind me of a funny story where a specialist came in to troubleshoot a complex piece of equipment and marked the location with an "X" with a piece of chalk so the company could expedite repairs. He billed them $50,000, to which they got irate and wanted an itemized bill. He promptly sent them back their request which read, "One piece of chalk - $1. Knowing where to put the mark - $49,999." I guess he didn't tax them, so they should have considered themselves lucky.

[Grem]

17 hours ago, bitflipper said:

They assured me it was a very nice, very special resistor and I was lucky they had one in stock.

I'm sure it was, and yes you probably lucky they had one. But it was mostly labor charges, I can grant you that.

[bitflipper]

16 minutes ago, Grem said:

...it was mostly labor charges, I can grant you that

No doubt. Everything about this vehicle (well, most modern vehicles) looks like a nightmare to get into. They probably had to remove the dashboard and work upside-down to get it done. The days of quick backyard auto repairs are no more.

I miss my old 1972 Dodge Tradesman, with its engine on the inside between the seats so you could work on it in the rain. Or my 1974 VW bus, which I'd pull over to the side of the freeway to quickly tune the timing for higher RPMs when driving long distances. It all started going downhill when they began putting fuel pumps inside gas tanks, and the public meekly said "OK, that makes sense".

[PhonoBrainer]

2 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

 It all started going downhill when they began putting fuel pumps inside gas tanks, and the public meekly said "OK, that makes sense".

Technically, just a bit before that, when they opted for hydrogen instead of helium in the Hindenburg:

 

[craigb]

43 minutes ago, PhonoBrainer said:

Technically, just a bit before that, when they opted for hydrogen instead of helium in the Hindenburg:

 

Sorry, off-topic, but this IS the Coffee House!  There's a new Mandala Effect about the Hindenburg disaster.  They now say most of the people survived! 😮

Quote

Anyone who has seen the graphic newsreel video of the Hindenburg plunging to earth in flames may be amazed to know that of the 97 passengers and crew on board, 62 survived. The disaster’s 36 deaths included 13 passengers, 22 crewmembers and one worker on the ground.

I saw the video and read about it many times when I was young.  There were no survivors and even a ground-crew person perished.  Now, two-thirds somehow survived?  Um, ok... 🙄

 

[PhonoBrainer]

62 survivors? That's a gas. So, @craigb, where did you get that quote about the "survivors" from?

This thread IS on topic, it's an analogy for Bit's band . . . 😁

Edited August 4, 2023 by PhonoBrainer