#182312 by fretwork
Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:01 am
Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:01 am
It’s 2:30 PM on a Saturday, at the rehearsal place 2 guys are already there 2 more to come, meantime the bass player and I begin to pack our equipment from instruments to electric cords, cables, stands, spare strings picks, mic, Amplifier, tuners, 9V batteries, 2 electric guitars, 1 acoustic.
Drummer and keyboard player are here they proceed to pack their stuff. While everybody is casually chatting away nobody is distracted from the task at hand nobody wants to forget and leave something behind… it has happened before.
With all the equipments loaded we hit the road, the venue is one hour away now the conversation turns on the song list somebody asks what would be the best opening piece for this venue, few suggestions are mentioned then we settle for the usual instrumental which allows while playing to introduce the band and welcome the patrons to the joint.
We are now at the club, unload and carry the equipment through a service door making sure not to hit and damage anything while carrying our stuff through a gantlet of beer cases, crates and kegs.
Finally everything is on stage it’s time to set up everybody know the layout on stage and place their instruments accordingly, we’re using the house PA and that is a good thing.
It’s time to turn on everything, what was dead weight is now alive
the bass player is the first to pluck the strings causing the snare drum to vibrate, too loud shouts somebody behind the bar while the keyboard player is testing his mic already plugged in testing 1-2 testing 1-2 he says but the speakers are dead, somebody from the house walk over the sound board and turns a knob now the speakers are alive too alive in fact there is a feedback, lower the treble says the keyboard player.
Meanwhile all the mics got plugged in and after 10 minutes of give me more mid range, lower the bass, a bit of reverb the PA system including the monitors were set at least for now.
I tuned the guitars and turn my amp on, played few lics, few chords, few sounds with my pedals while somebody shouted if I knew a song that he likes I told that I did know it but my band mates didn’t causing a stern look from my band, he’s full of it shouts the drummer he doesn’t know it either the guy laughed.
We left the stage to go change our outfits by the time we came back the stage lights were on the we were getting exited and pretending that we were not so to appear consumed pros, it happens every time but nobody wants to admit it.
By this time the joint is beginning to fill up and while having a beer at the bar the manager comes over and tells us that we’re up in 10 minutes, we were supposed start at 10:00 PM it was 20 to ten but that was OK with us, the anticipation was cut short and that is a good thing.
2 Minutes into the opening number in spite of few volume level kinks all the tension and apprehension dissipated replaced by an enjoyable feeling thus remind me and the band mates why we put up with all the hardship, work and expense involved in playing in front of a live audience.
Can anyone relate?
Drummer and keyboard player are here they proceed to pack their stuff. While everybody is casually chatting away nobody is distracted from the task at hand nobody wants to forget and leave something behind… it has happened before.
With all the equipments loaded we hit the road, the venue is one hour away now the conversation turns on the song list somebody asks what would be the best opening piece for this venue, few suggestions are mentioned then we settle for the usual instrumental which allows while playing to introduce the band and welcome the patrons to the joint.
We are now at the club, unload and carry the equipment through a service door making sure not to hit and damage anything while carrying our stuff through a gantlet of beer cases, crates and kegs.
Finally everything is on stage it’s time to set up everybody know the layout on stage and place their instruments accordingly, we’re using the house PA and that is a good thing.
It’s time to turn on everything, what was dead weight is now alive
the bass player is the first to pluck the strings causing the snare drum to vibrate, too loud shouts somebody behind the bar while the keyboard player is testing his mic already plugged in testing 1-2 testing 1-2 he says but the speakers are dead, somebody from the house walk over the sound board and turns a knob now the speakers are alive too alive in fact there is a feedback, lower the treble says the keyboard player.
Meanwhile all the mics got plugged in and after 10 minutes of give me more mid range, lower the bass, a bit of reverb the PA system including the monitors were set at least for now.
I tuned the guitars and turn my amp on, played few lics, few chords, few sounds with my pedals while somebody shouted if I knew a song that he likes I told that I did know it but my band mates didn’t causing a stern look from my band, he’s full of it shouts the drummer he doesn’t know it either the guy laughed.
We left the stage to go change our outfits by the time we came back the stage lights were on the we were getting exited and pretending that we were not so to appear consumed pros, it happens every time but nobody wants to admit it.
By this time the joint is beginning to fill up and while having a beer at the bar the manager comes over and tells us that we’re up in 10 minutes, we were supposed start at 10:00 PM it was 20 to ten but that was OK with us, the anticipation was cut short and that is a good thing.
2 Minutes into the opening number in spite of few volume level kinks all the tension and apprehension dissipated replaced by an enjoyable feeling thus remind me and the band mates why we put up with all the hardship, work and expense involved in playing in front of a live audience.
Can anyone relate?
