General Music Chat

Back in the early 90's, I was in a band that really tried to do a few things differently. One of the things they did was to "hide" the equipment, which was way different than any other band I've seen or been in, at the local level.

They used to drape colorful fabrics over the speakers, & it gave the whole stage a rather dreamy look, more like a 60's television studio set than anything you'd see in a bar. The board, PA head & everything but the guitar & bass amps were unseen. I quite liked the look, & it didn't take up too much time to do during set up & breakdown. They also had a cool backdrop, which is something you don't see anymore, save at big shows.

One thing the drummer was working on, but I don't think he ever finished, was this efficient drum riser. It was a series of wooden boxes that held the drums & racks for transit...all hinged together in intricate ways. The racks were to be all black piping, & they only touched the floor at the 4 corners. All the cymbals & such were to hang from pipes coming down from the top, which also would hold lights. At the time, I thought this would be just too difficult & bulky & heavy to be efficient to pull off, but I think it's a cool idea.

What have you done in this area? Lights? Lazer show? Bubble machine & smoke? Colorful outfits? Slide shows? Or do you just "let the music speak for itself?

Lemme know.

These are ideas I am always in contemplation of.
To have a "show" not just play the music.
So far we have only utilized a projection of some artwork and running lyrics at a couple of shows and I tell you it does not take much in this area to make a real visual impression on those whom are at the show.
Comments like " We did not expect such a professional show "
Give more than expected and you will be rewarded.
I have several designs I have been working on for a drum riser as well as addition of haze and lights to our show.
Weather proof transport - set up and tear down times - and the variation of the size of the venues we typically play to are all overbearing considerations.

Great thread idea !!

I wish I had pics of that band. I've always been neglectful of pics when I work!

It was actually pretty damned cool, truth be told. Unfortunately, it was just another local cover band...

Most of my ideas involving lighting has been to incorporate stage lighting beneath and beside / behind the band instead of overhead.
Without complicated draping and curtains a mobile overhead set up looks ... well ... junkie.

Man this stuff is soooo expensive though jezz.

I've often thought of doing the painted screens in from of the equipment, or even in front of the band, letting the front man stand alone in the foreground. That, combined with proper lighting, could be very dramatic! Imagine the band being totally invisible until the lead guitar solo, & then the guitarist "magically" appears behind the singer, as a footlight or overhead spot starts to glow on him. You could even put movies on the screen to hide the band, then dim the flick & shine lights behind the screen to emphasize the band at certain points in the performance.

I love dramatics in performance!

I saw a show on the TV about how they used to use an overhead projector a glass clock face and water / colored oils to produce the "psychedelic" effects back in the 60's early 70's that wold be projected behind the band. Simple and ingenious.

The first drummer of The Farleys, Chris Farley used to set up facing the back of the stage (with his back to the audience). This allowed the audience to see exactly what he was doing. Simple but truly different effect.

That just seems so odd to me, jimmy! But it's great to think outside the box, ain't it? I'll bet you got lots of comments on that, too.

Yep - anything that makes you stand out makes you outstanding (as long as the music's good)!

All the big groups show up with LED displays that are nothing short of spectacular. It seems that almost every inch of stage is alive at any given time. Now that would be nice to have. They do waterfalls, photographs, videos and all types of digital graphics.

Hmm, I wonder if those are within the local band budget? Roadies with colored flashlights just don't cut it.

Not mine Slacker

What I need is ten short guys with flashlights smoking cigars under the stage. LOL

LMAO sans!

There are lots of cool lighting effects available, SG, & most of then can be had at reasonable prices, for the discerning performer.

Here's one site, but there are dozens of co's out there providing cool effects - http://www.stagelightingstore.com/s.nl/ ... .144794/.f

Hey thanks for the link. Bookmarked

Not mine Slacker

What I need is ten short guys with flashlights smoking cigars under the stage. LOL

I had some buddy's back in the day that has some light boxes that were supposed to flash different colors to the beat of the music.
Was a great idea that did not work well at all. Stage volume pretty much just kept them on.
I see this technology for sale still today.
I have to wonder if they have improved on it at all.

Lets see Aint Yo Mama, we have a drum riser, but we dont carry it around anymore. Its basically some 2inch sheets of plywood cut up with slots, so it all fits together and then a couple of sheets that just lie on top. We quit setting all this stuff up cause it is just a big hassle. I think our drummer has it set up in his practice room at home.

MOst places as far as lights we use a couple of bars with PAR 64 cans, 8 total, we have another set and a smaller bar with smaller lights that can be hung behind the drummer. There again over the last couple of years we have streamlined our setup.

We use smoke and little lazers every show. If you plan on lazers, you need smoke otherwise it just doesnt stand out. We play some smaller venues and our singer keeps all the smoke equipment, he lost the controller, so he jsut sets a timer on the smoker, you dont ever know when it will go off. One night we set up and the rest of us left. He was late and was setting up his smoke machine, I said you better set it for a short burst. Well he turned the thing on and didnt check it and it was set for a long burst. We had run out to get some food and when we came back the door was open and smoke was just pouring out of this place. It was one of those old style roadhouses that have a seperate bar and band room. Of course everyone had cleared out of the band room.

I have a couple of projectors and projector screens. Also was using a camera wired in so during the night I could change the input on one projector and show the crowd dancing in front of the projector. They got a kick out of this. Made up some dvds with Rob Zombie and Tool videos and stuff like that to just run during our shows. I was going to get more elaborate and get a small laptop to load stuff in, but there again noone wants to pay for the show. LOL

Sadly in my area its tough getting anyone to pay up for gigs and equipment. Sat night I went to one of our regular venues and this country band was in there. They basically flew a couple of 1x15 mains and had a couple of monitors. They were using house lights. I know the main guy and they get paid the same thing that we do. Whats really sad is that at this particular venue we always pack the place, Our average there so far is around 150 people. Sat night there probably werent 30 people in the place. The owner talked to me, they want us once a month, but want to pay us the same thing as everyone else. They mentioned take the door but there policy has been Ladys Free, so you only get half the door. Ive given them a different price and so far they havent bit. It just looks like to me if someone is a proven producer they should get a little bump up. Im looking at totally revamping my PA to the most sttreamline setup I can do and no lights or videos or smoke or lazers. I know Im ranting a little, but this has been a weird deal. I know the owners well, but just dont get any mercy when it comes to money>LOL

In the late 80s and early 90s there were some metal bands in Memphis that did soem very elaborate setups, with curtains and and things covering amps like you said.

But sadly if a venue wont pay for all that then why bother?