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Hey there community,

Our band is looking at playing some smaller, shorter events to get some experience (we're new, we're finally getting all of our member slots filled, and we're finally getting some songs down). We've talked about doing an open mike, but whenever I see people doing open mikes they seem to be acoustic sets. We're a very loud rock band... Can we do open mikes?

You can if you are able to set up and tear down quickly enough to suit the venue.

That's a good point, Rick. THe venue in general is a major question. Around here (in podunk WV), the only place that runs a regular open mic is actually a Venezualan restaurant!! Excessive volume levels wouldn't keep ya on the stage long.

Look into some of the posts per jw123. John makes some valid points about volume in rock music. He's got me / us looking into the quality and quantity of sound vs being loud. Good rock is about the sound wall you put up it does not have to nose bleed loud to be effective.

There's a big difference between power and volume. The power in your music is the effect it has on your audience. You don't have to be loud for your music to have a powerful effect on your audience. The volume you play at only has a negative effect if your music is too loud. Also the lyrics of your music is very important to most of your listeners. If you can't understand the words you won't have any effect on your audience. Therefore you've lost power over your audience. Play everything with BALANCE. Make sure the vocals are out front. When the lead singer is singing tone down the volume so he or she can be understood. Hopefully there's a jam session nearby where you can play at the desired volume, but BE CAREFUL TO MAINTAIN POWER OVER YOUR AUDIENCE. You can't do it if the audience can't hear you. Later...

I knew there was gonna be trouble when I read you were a loud band.

1st - EEeeek! Ppl don't go out to hurt, & being too loud hurts ppl. When it's too hard to order a drink, the house isn't very happy, either, cuz the customer is frustrated & the venue isn't making the $ they should be when you're too loud.

2nd - in my area there ARE a couple electric open mics, but you gotta be quick to set up & break down, you only get like 3 songs unless you have the crowd in your pocket from your 1st song, & no, you can't get too loud, either. You may have to search for them, but they are out there.

3rd - if there are no venues to play your style in, try to do a couple short sets acoustically, while keeping the energy level up. It's a challenge for you, &, if you succeed, may get you some gigs &/or a following, too.

all I got to add to this is a really good open mic listing site-

http://www.openmics.org

Good luck!

Loud has its place.

Dont get me wrong I have played in bands that are louder than anyone on here. Even today when we do a big show I set up a couple of full stacks for the look.

But I have turned my volume way-way-way down. Why cause people in general do not want their hearing affected by you. OSHA has a formula, anything over 96dbs causes ear fatigue. We actually use a db meter these days, this past weekend we were at 98db. What happens when you take this approach is that you can really hear everything around you, all the little nuances of the music, dynamics become dynamics. You work your gear less hard, your sound people love you, and the audience loves it. Live on stage there are no hot spots, I can walk anywhere on stage and hear all the instruments clear as a bell. When you are younger and I did this up until a couple of years ago, you use volume to compensate for talent, you think if the world hears me loud and proud then Im somebody. Ive learned that isnt so, there is always that person or two who yells turn it up, but believe me the other 200 people there are not in agreement, they are a silent majority.

In my opinion if you are a loud rock band you shouldnt do an open mic. You will have guest musicians, I think you need the smaller combos 20 watt tube amps, not the stacks. I recently went to one to see a friend of mine who plays acoustic. The place had a Marshall Half Stack up there, every guitar player who went up turned it louder and louder to the point you couldnt understand the singers, you couldnt distinguish the other instruments. If I came to your open mic and you are playing too loud, I would just leave, I might mention its too dam loud, but I would leave.

I have never lost a gig because I was too quiet, but I have lost a lot cause I was too loud. Think about that. If you can keep your volume level under control then any venue is possible to play. When I was younger we were limited to the loud rock bars that catered to musicians instead of the general audience out there that could make you some serious money down the road.

But dont listen to me go out there and blast the world for awhile and see where it gets you. If you play long enough you will learn what Im talking about. Another point before I go Tone Has Nothing To Do With Volume, Ive learned to get a good solid guitar tone at any volume level, so why would I beat my ears up.

Get a power brake if you don't have a master volume..

LESS IS MORE!

I can be very quiet; I run a Triaxis through 2 1x12 cabs, so no full stacks or anything. I learned a long time ago that when you're playing distortion, you have to cut back on the overdrive at higher volumes, because the higher volumes distort the sound by themselves.

However, it's our drummer that has me concerned. He plays very loud, and I have no idea how a drummer can 'turn down' is volume.

Thanks for the answers about the setup/teardown times. That was something I thought would come into play. I had no idea how many songs an open mic would allow you to do, so that's welcome information too.

For myself, my setup/teardown time is literally a couple minutes. I have everything rack-mounted and programmable via the Mesa, so for me, setup is taking guitars out of cases and plugging in speakers and power. That's it.

my last drummer used oversized drums, so even when he turned down, they were still way too loud. I don't think I would ever accept that situation again. Just too loud, and we did heavy rock.

Drummers need at least two kits, imo. One needs to be a much quieter set than the other. I have played with some godawfully loud bass-turds & it's a pain in the earwax. Different sticks can help, too. Don't let your drummer ever tell you he can't turn it down. That's pure BS! Make him play with brushes & stuff his kick drum with pillows until he can get his crap together. I have no tolerance for ppl who are too loud, unless of course it's me. Then it's perfectly acceptable, isn't it?

I've learned to like the electric sets, even if drummers think they're too cheesy. You can play in virtually ANY venue with them, if your drummer is good enough to practice with them enough to use them well.

Your drummer needs lessons if he can't play at a decent volume. If he's always too loud, you may need to think about a replacement.

I played with the same drummer for about five years...we used to have jam sessions, just the two of us. There were ALWAYS moments in those sessions where the drummer would simply fade out-never losing tempo or the beat. Gradually he would bring the volume back up. It's a great practice, and while I believe that it takes a certain amount of talent , I also think that it's a necessity for a drummer to learn this. Dynamics are a musical tool, just like anything else. I don't mean to go on about it, but I'm so sick and tired of hearing drummers say "There's no volume knob on these things! HAR HAR!"
Yes there is...it's called impulse control.

A friend of mine has a cover band that plays out pretty frequently. I went to see them recently, and you could literally hear their drummer from outside and across the street.
I went to see them again this past weekend, and they had a different drummer. Why? I don't really know why, but I'm guessing that from the amount of complaints I heard while sitting at the bar, the band was told to get a new drummer or forget the gigs.

Yeah, a good drummer can play softly.
If he insists that he has to play loud, don't believe him . . .
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He's either inexperienced, or just wants to be the center of the show.

You have to watch out for people who say they CAN'T do a thing.
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The word 'can't almost always means "I don't want to," or I refuse to."

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I don't know about you, man, but I will not work with people who "don't want to . . ." or ". . . refuse to. . ."
If I had a drummer who refused to play softly, I'd tell him: "Ok, fine. You don't have to play softly. That's ok, you don't have to go, we'll play without you."
I'll give you a call when we need you.
And - then I'd work without him, and only call him back if I'm desparate.
Are you desperate?
. . . cause maybe he's holding you back . . . .