10 Reasons Why I DON'T Miss Playing Live
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- Опубліковано 31 січ 2021
- I probably have 100 reasons why I DO miss it, but I thought I'd start with the bad news first. ;) I retired from live playing about a month before the big C hit, lucky timing I guess, but I realized there were some things I didn't miss about playing gigs.
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5:54 The time I was threatened with a gun after a gig story. 😮😮😮
So I guess you didn’t get shot? Did they just leave?
They just walked away?
I relate to the inhaler dilemma so much; lifelong asthmatic here. Sorry to hear you’ve got lung issues too, man.
why didnt you let him carry the amp when you saw the gun?
@@vidanjakovljevic7792 A few reasons, I wasn't afraid for some reason, maybe I felt he was bluffing, but I took a huge chance and just kept walking ready for whatever was to come. It wasn't till they walked away that I realized I had just "pardon the bad pun" dodged a bullet.
I had to load in through a crowd once. Fortunately, all three of them saw me and stepped aside.
Lol
Yep, that's the one thing for me I don't miss about playing live. The evenings where hardly anyone would show up.
Hahaha. .
The most underrated comment
Yeah, I remember the time I was playing live and tried to exit the stage but tripped over my entire audience, aka my mom and little brother! Brutal!
Gigging was an adventure. The best drug in the world is performing to a good crowd.
That and not messing up through a hard lick
Yes it is the best.
Same here love playing live
Very true
Damn right. I hate moshing but loved seeing people moshing to our music.
If someone yelled play free bird at church, I'd probably crack up laughing.
I dated a girl whose family was very religious but I could imagine her uncle requesting Freebird at church in a genuine, non-ironic sort of way.
I thought Highway To Hell would be the obvious request...
And if I had th ability to play it. I WOULD!
@@viennapalace OP is reffering to the church scene from Kingsman during which this song plays
Best thing about post-covid band life is shows are typically 7-11 or 8-12. No more trying to get home before the sun comes up. Glorious!
Having never played a gig, but having attended many...even when I was drunk I got annoyed by drunks. Now I look back and I am so glad I don't drink anymore!
When you play a lot of shows, you can spot the drunks, and if you’re doing a lot of local gigs, you see them coming... hehehehe
Being around a bunch of drunks sucks unless your one of them then it's fun as hell. Until you puke.
Exactly,even when I was drinking with my friends I was miserable.
Personal reason. Can't even find a bandmate who has something in common.
Ha! I thought I am the only one who have this reason.
@@Happylink75 alright, lets do it!
Im 15 and all my friends like modern pop, kpop and hiphop etc.. I wish I was born earlier
The single most necessary thing, ever... I’ve had so many band projects, where half the guys were down to do the work, and the other half were happy to just be there, and let everyone else do the work.....
I don’t miss that.
@@marvindroid3865 what the fuck is kpop. please dont say korean pop
"I didnt want to play in 55 degrees thats so cold." "Im from minnesota"
I'm Canadian. I was so confused
I think anyone would be cold playing multiple sets in 55 degree weather
he may be Canadian, but he's still a person, they didn't evolve differently
I played a gig once when it was in the 30s. The only fun part was it was a Halloween gig and we got to play in zombie makeup. After 2 sets we said fuck it and joined everyone else by the bon fire.
@@shallex5744 we use celcius, not fahrenheit. 55 celcius is 131 fahrenheit lmao, and people can just generally be more used to colder weather
I don't miss playing live!! I LOVED it in my 20's. Nothing sadder than being middle-aged and hitting the bar/club circuit. Writing & recording is where it's at, if you get a great offer to play live once in a while, that's a bonus!
Depends what type of music you play ...Nothing ages better than an old blues player.
Playing live is great when you're in a reasonably successful band with a descent fanbase. So you get good vibes from the audience (that shows up to see YOU), and there are some resources for crew, accommodation etc. In the underground or tribute band circuit, the negatives of playing live outweigh the positives imo.
Whatever floats your boat. Im middle aged and love playing at bars and clubs, also extra $$ is helpful!!
I once saw kim shattuck (rip) opening a show. Someone yelled “free bird!” and she answered “what this one? 🖕 .” I’ve used that one a number of times now.
Nice!!!
My first gig was at the local “school for the deaf” it was called. They loved us and I have to say it took a lot of pressure to be perfect away. We got 3 pizzas and $150. There were 4 of us and it was the 80s. We were happy. Peace
But.. could they hear you?
@@ReizokoRyu a lot of them probably weren’t fully deaf, still funny though
150 in the 80’s made you feel rich i bet lol. cant imagine the high after that
Few things as deflating as realizing people would rather hear some tired cover than that original you were so proud of. When everything's right, playing live is the best high. But it's mostly unpaid loading, unloading, drunk-guy management, and like the man said: playing when your audience would rather you not.
On the other hand, I've really learned to respect the ones who succeed. When you see a band fire up a huge audience just in the intro of one of their big songs, you understand how rare a talent that is.
It’s not talent it’s luck.. you could play the same intro to drunk guys in a bar just like you say.. and they would react totally differently
What you are referring to is simply just sheep mentality and that really is what ruins live playing.
You really think that most music fans are into the music alone?? Absolutely not
I once shouted Freebird ironically when Soulhat was playing at a lame tech conference here in Austin and they actually played it. It was awesome. I’m pretty sure they had never played it before and it was a little rough at the beginning but they rocked it anyway and I gave them an E for effort.
Amazingly, this conference had free beer, free tacos, robot fighting, and f-ing Soulhat playing Bonecrusher live and nobody was there because they didn’t advertise it that way. I even saw a killer robot go haywire and destroy an air conditioning unit. That was one of the best days of my life.
I'm currently 15 and I really wish I could play live :(
I'm from India and doing such a thing isn't really as common I don't even have a band to jam with. Plus it's hard to find people with a similar taste in music, I like old rock songs obviously but most people like modern pop music
Sounds bad
Wanna be in a band
Yo I also like such music maybe we can doma discord call
I m new to guitar tho
Hang in there .You won't be 15 forever. I started guitar when I was 16, now I'm 48.
@@shredwithmeg8080 I'm down if you are interested. I also play guitar
Pet peeve on playing out: Worrying about people stealing gear. I've had stuff go missing, particularly after shows. ALWAYS have someone guarding the gear while loading and unloading.
Rippp
Or a venue owner trying to say some of your gear is theirs. I have my name spray painted on the bottom of my tables for that reason.
I was in a Seattle band, that came down to Sacramento, where i was born, to do a couple shows with some old friends in other bands.
We were guaranteed direct support, so it was worth it to drive from Washington to California... when we got there, we were told we would open, both nights, at 7:30 pm.... ugh...
Then, told we’d only get paid 50 bucks a night, instead of the door percentage we were promised. We did both shows, because of being professional, but as we were leaving, i let the venue owner know what a total lying asshole he was, and not to expect us to ever come back down, for any amount of money, to his venue....
The next day, i realized one of our guitars was still at the venue......
So, i had to go back, and ask him if it was still there.....
It was...
And he was nice about it. Lesson learned, even if the venue sucks, be professional at all times. Once you’re in the car, talk all the shit you wanna!!
Or being worried for the car too
@@allendean9807 "We did both shows, because of being professional..." That is not the slightest bit professional. No contract? Not professional. Still play even though you're being screwed, also not professional. Great he was nice after ripping you off. Musta been a Republican.
I can so relate to all of your recollections. 4-45 min. sets, loading out at 2 A.M., and the singer thinks packing his mic in a case was the end of his responsibility. (As he sat at the the bar zooming the girls.) Drunks approaching me at closing to tell me how great we were, then throwing up on my shoes. (A mixed message at best...) I was the spokesperson with club management and felt the responsibility weighed more heavily with me. Band members that would show minutes before we were to go on were a pet peeve. The end of band practice was often signaled by the drummer falling backwards off the throne after downing a 12-pack, so of course that behavior didn't abate for gigs. In that day, bars gave the band free booze. For obvious reasons, I finally had to ask the bars to not give us booze until after we'd played. In terms of practice, which was everyone's valuable time, if the band stopped to work out a part, etc., our second guitar player would just keep noodling through a cranked Marshall stack, making it impossible to communicate. Our singer would run upstairs every 15 minutes for a line of coke. In later years, when working in the "pro" side of the industry, producing, managing, etc., I found the very same problems at that level, but the stakes were far higher and more nerve-wracking. All of that said, I wouldn't have missed any of it. The first time I heard the sound of my Hiwatt stack bouncing off the club's rear wall and back to me, that "bark" only cranked power tubes and speakers pushing air provides, the wooden stage floor vibrating under my feet... priceless.
And when your day job starts earlier in the morning than everyone else's, you become super roadie for the whole band. "You stay and party - I'm taking our shit back to the space cause I gotta be at work in three hours."
Had a singer just like that, would show up late all cocked out, complain about his sound and then want to be paid more because.he thought he was a star or something, then after the gig he would just leave or set at the bar.
Ah, the Hiwatt; biggest headroom in the world, and the best platform for pedals ever....
On,y thing ive ever heard come close is the three stage Carvin valve master 100, in the clean channel. So damned loud i never had it past 3, for fear of blowing my full stack of 4x12’s.... i mean, this thing was LOUD.. 2 - 12 ax7’s, 4 KT-77’s... pure clean headroom....
"If the band stopped to work out a part, etc., our second guitar player would just keep noodling through a cranked Marshall stack, making it impossible to communicate."
Oh my god. Ergh. Once of my biggest annoyances at practices.
I played this place in Sacramento once with a rickety plywood stage. My bass player dropped his cab down and the plywood sheet sea-sawed upward and knocked my guitar over. Still has a bent tuner key from that hit. Luckily its a beater Yamaha guitar (actually plays very well)
Stopped playing live a couple years before the pandemic situation happened, haven't missed it at all. Ironically, being in a band was actually preventing me from making any progress with music, due to drama and all of the other issues that occur when you're attempting to get multiple people to focus on one goal. Working alone has been much more fulfilling and I've had more time and money since I don't have to drive to rehearsals/gigs, as well as less stress from not having to deal with band members.
Amen!
I can SO relate, to the point where the very reason I am learning guitar is so I don't have to deal with musicians & their egos any more!
E x a c t l y
I've often said that music would be great if it weren't for musicians.
And it’s usually the least talented members of the band who want to be the boss and control everything.
Ah, drunk people; a joy forever. I once quit drinking for about a year and played designated driver for my buddies - I then realized they were almost all assholes. I have other friends now ;)
Like we use to say, we play for free, they pay us to move the equipment.
Still say it.
As a Japanese American from NW Wisconsin, I love these anecdotes. Also, watch out for deer!
I was in a band in high school - we played a few talent shows and stuff - and that's the extent of my gigging life. But that brief experience taught me that being in a band involves all kinds of extraneous annoyances. Getting everyone to stop noodling with their instruments so we can hear each other talk while we're trying to work out arrangements and parts, people bringing friends or other distractions to rehearsals so nothing gets done, showing up at rehearsal to see that someone unilaterally invited a third guitarist to join the band, etc. It's a major challenge just to keep a band going beyond a few weeks - it requires dedication and seriousness.
And some serious friendship
@@jossuearias3509 Sometimes the opposite is true, the most successful bands I've been in have been ones that the other musicians were like other employees in a regular job, we show up play and piss off, didnt particularly like or dislike each other.
Totally relate. After the pandemic started I knew it was pretty much time to call it a day. I didn't miss gigging at all. Dumbass bandmates and managers, the travel and grind on my vehicle. The unhealthy, late night eating on the way home. Bandmates drunk girlfriends and friends. Playing crappy little pubs with no stage or very little stage. The prep work, the load ins and outs. The setups. Ugh! People bumping my mic while I'm singing on their way to the bathroom. Playing the same songs over and over. Crappy pay. Gas goes up, everything goes up, but musicians have been getting paid the same money on average since the 60's. I did end up joining a new cover band that had potential to be really good after things were getting back to normal. Did one gig and pretty much hated everything about doing the gig. So I quit the next day. I'm over it. I'm quite a bit older than you, 54 next month, and have been gigging pretty solid since 1988, so I have loads of great memories and road stories. I could go on and on about what I don't miss, but ya. I'm pretty much done. I have committed to a gig in June, but it's a 90 min, just bring one guitar and a combo amp type gig and decent money. And been playing with those guys on and off for years so we play a ton of classic rock and then it's see ya at the next one, whenever that is!
Me and my friend always shout one more song at the end of a gig for an encore. However, if the band is terrible, we shout it after their first song.
Those cowboys coats are called dusters and I’ve never met somebody I’ve wanted to hang out with that chooses to wear a duster. Lol
We’ve gone from a full band to doing acoustic duos now. Still get the kick of playing on stage, but way less hassle with gear. Plus a lot of venues prefer it these days.
Hey! Dave from The Bass Channel here - one of our other hosts is a working bassist here in Vegas, and LOTS of his gigs are those 4-set, 9pm-1am jobs, so yeah, it seems it's still like that.
This is an enjoyable channel. Straight to the point. No background music or soundtrack... Like a real conversation 😮
I can relate to all of it. Even the "having asthma" and "being an introvert" part. Funny enough, even though I'm introverted, I enjoyed being in front of a crowd. As long as I didn't have to socialize with them afterward.
That was my issue too. And when you’re in a bar situation, there is no backstage that you can go to in between sets.
The second time on a highway coming home at 3:00am seeing a drunks headlights on the wrong side of the road was the last straw for me. Drunks in the bars, drunks on the road, loading/unloading gear, thieves, trouble makers and other wonders of modern chemistry....
I’m happy now just playing in my home studio and with a select few musicians. Maybe playing the occasional party if its people I know. Very relatable list!
Ah memories. Even with all the hassles it sounds like you had some fun. Would you change it if you could?
There's always one band member who'll forget one important piece of gear and dad has to drive back home to pick it up.
I was that one 😂
Nostalgia always paints things in a positive light. I have lots of fond memories of playing out but your video makes me happy they're only memories and not my current situation.
Your bases took a bass slap to a whole other level
There really is a lot more to just "going on stage" then people think. Years of lugging the gear and dealing with uneasy crowds and all the different ups and downs. But i wouldnt trade one show for anything. why is the dealing with drunk people so damn true. The pedal board and beer part,man i got so pissed cause a women did exactly that and spilled her beer all over and through my vox wah pedal and it never sounded the same again
Man, we've had people just sit behind our drum kit before now and start playing. Obviously they don't realize it's worth about £3000 :/
I knew a guy that wrapped his pedal board in plastic wrap
Brother, I was nodding along so hard with this video that I thought my head might fall off! The commentary about being an introvert in a wedding band hit HARD- I did that gig for several years and having to plaster the smile on (along with the terrible white tuxedo tails) and muster enthusiasm for the same played-to-death tunes every night definitely led me to adopt some bad coping strategies. Once I got a gig outside of music which put food on the table, I felt so much more fulfilled in my musical pursuits- I didn't feel obligated to take bad gigs or play bad music just to make ends meet. The thrill of playing music for the enjoyment of others is impossible to duplicate, but it's no mean feat to make it happen!
I played in Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to dive bars, and there were a few things about it that I do not miss. One of them was horrible and one was bad, yet hopeful.
The horrible thing was that the people running the sound board simply did not care, one bit. It was so bad that my girlfriend, who had become my drum roadie for setup/tear-down, learned how to run a sound board and would do it for my band's shows.
Others involved also seemed to not care. My old band WHIPLADS was playing at The Joint one night, Tuesday or Thursday night, for a Songwriter Showcase night. It's where people play original music and nobody gives a shit.
As we took the stage, I saw a HUGE crowd of people, which was uncommon. These people all had long, black hair, dressed all in black and leather. I didn't know what was going on, until the sound man introduced us as WHIPLASH.
I tell him we are WHIPLADS. He says, "WHIPLADS, WHIPLASH, what's the difference?" That's when I figure it out, so I get on the mic and tell everyone that we ARE NOT the Metallica tribute band, and that they can go to the box office for refunds.
Scary night.
The hopeful thing, which sprang from an LA annoyance, was something that I figured out over time. That is, the FARTHER away from Los Angeles you get, the better the pay gets, and the more excited the audience.
I think both of these problems in LA, and there are many more, are caused by people who are hyper-jaded by the whole thing.
These days, there is absolutely no reason for a musician to move to Los Angeles. It's a creative wasteland.
Ah, yes!! The clip of Keef laying someone out cold with his Tele is legendary! He just carried on playing and didn’t miss a beat lol
I've had more experience playing gigs as a trumpet player than guitar, and some of your stories i can definitely relate to. Like playing in someone's living room, at a barn, outside in cold weather (that seemed to happen the most for me). But when i started getting (back) into guitar and played some church gigs, I didn't have a car, so i grabbed my guitar and my amp (and a back pack) and hoofed it to the bus stop. I was nervous about the people on the bus. Made me miss my trumpet.
i'm 15, from philippines :) got my guitar finally last month, watching your vids helps me so much! i'll definitely won't stop watching, luv what you do!
Always always ALWAYS unload when you get home.
It was a loooong night, I had just moved in and thought it was a "safe" neighborhood and left some gear in my van.
The next morning my back window is smashed and my cymbal bag is gone...
You hit every nail on the head. You rock, man!
Great video! I wanna hear more of your experiences.
Love this, thanks for sharing.
I love gig horror stories, ive shared many of the reasons you stated, but the one with guy with a gun … yikes, that is scary stuff.
Glad you survived unscathed.
I completely relate to everything you’re saying. I play in a cover band on the side. Bringing gear to and from the gig is a massive pain. At the end of the day, it’s a labour of love. Our band gets along great and we love the reaction we get from the patrons of the venues. But I gotta say, I love our rehearsals more than the actual gigs in some ways.
Really fascinating stuff! Thank you for sharing!
Was hired to play a local Veterans Lodge for their Valentines Ball. We arrive to play our party band set with lots of current pop (female singer, think Katy Perry) and 80s rock and realize the average age of audience is about 70. We were clearly not their thing. We rocked out as best we could but gramma and grandpa just sneered at us. Eventually everyone left except for a group of about 20 people in their 30s and 40s who loved us and stayed on the dance floor for the rest of the night. Evidently the younger members were sick of oldies and polka bands and hired us to make a statement.
Very nice to hear about the grind playing live can be. I love to hear about "the olden days" cheers!
I miss playing live with my band so much.
Thanks for the flashbacks. I related to SOOOOO much of this talk. This stuff is a real issue at small venues especially being in a cover band. Really tells the tale of paying your dues.
Interviewing for gigs and selling original content to venues is another weird scene. Did that in the Village and around north jersey as a kid. Man I swear I have PTSD from that shit to this day.
Still remember playing a club with my band where the crowd was, at best, tolerating us until intermission where "Come on ride that train, choo choo ride" would come on and the dance floor came alive. Being intermission for the DJ is definitely a kick to the balls.
We played a morning show in Arizona about 2 1/2 hours from where I live in basically the middle of nowhere. The dude said it was going to be a biker festival. It was 50 degrees and windy in the desert, and there was no-f'ckin-body at the place except the owner of the land and one other band. We played anyway because the scenery was truly beautiful and it sounded so great to play out in the middle of the desert. But we ended up leaving right after our set, even though we brought all our camping gear for the "festival."
I have been in most every situation you talked about. I have played out for 15 years, every weekend. With Covid I have obviously cut way down. I don't miss it at all. I miss the money, that's it. For me it's the songs. Popular guitar music stopped in the late 90's if we are being honest. Now, when I play out the only songs drunk people universally want to hear are the ones that make me sick. Sweet Caroline, Friends in low Places, Jessies girl, Piano Man or whatever...Drunk people suck and the younger generation doesn't give a shit about music or musicians. It used to be cool to be in band. Remember that? It was literally Sex, Drugs, and R&R. Now its pain in the ass millennials who won't shut up and middle aged people dancing in surgical masks. It's over.
@Tony Walker. 😩 You’re right you know my Friend. 😰 But to see it actually written down by someone is heartbreaking. Haven’t been able to play live or teach either. While my ax & l ‘gently weep’. 😖😭🎸😢🥺
Sounds like you just are stuck in the past, to be honest. It's always been shit.
Oh man you nailed it.
Thx for sharing!! Good points to think about.
Awesome video! I'd love to see the opposite list soon too!
And!.... Great videos, and your honesty is appreciated.
Omg you’re giving me bad flashbacks to my old gigging days. Without a doubt the absolute #1 most hated aspect of playing live is the load I and load out.
Not only is it stressful enough physically carrying all that heavy stuff. But you also have to do it in record time. So you’re frantically lugging equipment and making cable connections, finding a decent power supply/outlets, etc.. then a quick sound check, tuning, making sure you’ve got enough space (always a problem for lower level bands). By the time I would actually start playing I was already sweating! No matter how zen like of a state I put myself into before a show, I’d still be frazzled by the time the 4 stick clicks began.
Then, after the gig, assuming you weren’t headlining, you had to disassemble your gear and get it out of the way in the same short timeframe. You’re stressing out about keeping tabs on all your stuff, because by now the club is packed, you’re being approached by people to talk to you about your band or your gear, etc. getting distracted.
And there’s never good parking or loading zones for clubs and bars. So it’s a mile hike in the cold while still wet from sweating.
Hell, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to “make it” was just to get a roadie and a tech for the load in/out.
Ever had a member of the audience telling you how rude you are for cutting their chit chat off cause you're busy loading and making sound checks ?
Also, I always help friends that perform with loading stuff out
Dude, you nailed it! I have experienced every single one of those things except for allergy issues. I haven't played live for a few years because I was too burned out.
I read a book once about tribute bands and cover bands. In one part of the book, it listed the five c’s, places that bands could play:
Casinos
College fraternity parties
Carnivals and fairs
Corporate events
Clubs
The first four are decent gigs because you usually get paid a good amount in advance. The last type of places (clubs and bars) are really to be avoided. The pay sucks, and even after you fulfill your obligation to play, the owner doesn’t want to pay what you originally agreed to play for.
One time I had to play a gig for our rhythm guitarist's sister's graduation party. And 95% of the crowd was old people that did not want us there (some of which even covering their ears), and we had to play 3 sets. It took alot of beer to get through that gig.
excellent video -- I've played in bands since I was a teenager and yeah the nightmare stories start to add up
This is a video I can really relate to!
My old band Jupiter Falls played o2 Academies around the UK, and went on tour around Europe with Jake E Lee's Red Dragon Cartel... albeit was fun, but away from the stage was more fun than playing the shows!
I'd much rather sit in my flat, recording with my own rules, at my own pace etc....
Thank-you for putting this video out. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one who feels like this!
I relate to the introvert one😭😭😭
Such a great video...The story about the dust and not being able to see just gave me flashbacks of a gig we did in San Antonio. They had a small stage setup in the middle of a rodeo area. You know where they ride the bulls and horses. So when started to play, the crowed began to mosh and the dust just engulfed the whole area. Was a great show, but at the end we were wiping down all of our gear..
Man that list nailed it. I echo every point you made there.
It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n roll
It's been years since I've played live and have been getting the itch lately. Thank you for reminding me why I stopped!
Love your channel, man. Definitely one of my favorites of all the youtubers.
This was a great vid… ive experienced pretty much all of that… fun stuff. Ha
Talking about loading and unloading, don't forget some gigs needing to move gear for sound check, move gear so someone else can sound check, move gear again to play, then either move gear to go home load, or move gear, and move gear again after gig for the home move. It can be like 6 to 8 gear moves for one gig, those times from the 90s won't be forgotten by me.
Been there done that with 98% of everything you said playing in a band(s) One thing I do NOT miss, is getting home after a gig just when the sun was coming up. Then you sleep till 3:00pm. I use to throw all my clothes from the gigs outside because of the cigarette smoke stunk so bad, even my Guitars the next day when I opened the cases stunk like cigarette smoke. I definitely don’t miss that! You DO NOT get paid for playing, you get paid for all the hard work before and after the show.
After 20 years of playing out almost every month, I can honestly say I still truly miss it though to this day. Those times being on stage playing was probably the greatest times of my life. Once it’s in your blood it never leaves......
As a gigging musician, I've gotta say this vid was absolutely spot on on every point!
I too played a bar that had the TV projecting a sports ball game above the stage behind the band. It took me a moment to realize the random cheers in the middle of a verse had nothing to do with us. The back of that stage had the door to the only bathroom in the bar and the folks that walked up to the stage weren’t there to great the band but had to shimmy past the guitar player to pee.
we played a Christmas light on thing in a town and it rained hard, amazingly the audience stayed outside to listen.
- It’s been 25 years since I performed live and I do not miss it one bit. My last band was so dysfunctional with egotistical lead singer and lead guitar player that made it very difficult to have a friendly relationship with either of them. It was all business and nothing else. I would have anxiety before every gig, I needed happiness in my life and I found after I walked away from the music scene and devoted myself to my family and nothing else.
Hi! Regards the load and unload part. I have a friend that was playing in U2 tribute band in Sweden. They were opening act for some other artist. The artist had actually some crew members that loaded the PA and boxes but they asked my friend if he could assist so they took huge box probably for some PA speaker or something dropped that huge heavy box down stairs to some small area and the crew members said yeah thanks for helping but that box is actually empty and should not bring to the stage. haha
I did lighting for about 6 years so I know exactly what your talking about. Fortunately we worked with a few bands that we were friends with so we acted as security for each other. I dont miss it either.
Once I saw your shirt in this video, I immediately clicked the bell.
I am watching this after playing a gig in 3 consecutive nights and driving almost 1000km eating and drinking crap sleeping where ever only couple of hours. Luckily I still have two weeks my holiday left so I can hopefully recover.
I've been playing guitar for 43 years and haven't played out in at least 16 years. I was in a cover band and we played a club in Richmond RI called Tumbleweeds and there was a girl on the bar with her legs spread and a guy was yodeling in the Valley.
Totally relate to every single thing you said. I've lived all of that too brother
Great points!!
A few comments:
1. Yup, every 3-4 hour gig is about 8 hours of work.
2. Competing with a local sports team is indeed terrible... but, at one of our gigs we started right after the Chargers won a big playoff game and we inherited a very psyched enthusiastic crowd. Worked out well for us!
3. So true about the bad food. Either at the bar where you play or fast food on the way home at 2 in the morning, not good for you either way.
4. Loading in through a crowd is tough and so is loading out through a crowd. We warmed up for a much bigger band one time and basically played to an almost empty place and as we're loading out the crowd for the headliner was pouring in and it was tough getting around them. Doesn't help when the venue moves your guitar and pedalboard cases on you. :/
5. Finally, I never had to defend myself with my guitar but one of the bands I was in somehow ended played parties for an outlaw biker gang. I look pretty conservative and someone associated with the gang liked my playing. After the gig he said (very drunk) "I was looking at you setting up and I was wondering who's this effing guy and then you started playing and I thought hey he's good!" I said "Maybe I should work on my rock appearance!" He said "No stay like you are man, it's like you're a sleeper, it's cooooool!" OK, will do. :)
Wow. Pretty crazy. I don't think there was a single thing on your list I didn't bump into playing in Nebraska/South Dakota area.
Dude, I've also experienced all this same stuff gigging lol. I'm from WI so I've also had to play in front of a big screen with the Packer Game on and they don't give you any attention. Or having people slam into your mic stand and you get a mouth full of microphone lol. Drinks spilled or people falling into your space. Everything you said was something I think alot of gigging musicians experience. Still miss it though. Good video man
The wonderful "crowd load"... that's even better at the end of a gig 🙄. My cover band has been using less gear with each passing year, lighter stuff whenever possible - We don't even bring amps. It's all about 😆
Sounds scary like something will certainly disappear. Maybe even a pretty big something.
Hey, what about making a video about how to get gigs as a musician? Like the process, where to find people etc
My older brother plays both guitar and piano. At one point he had a weekly gig at a club and I used to help him load and unload his Rhodes piano when I was like 13. Not fun. That got him into the habit of just plugging into the venues PA and use a small amp on stage as a monitor. He used a Roland KC for his keys and not only is that incredibly heavy but other than the handle, there’s like nothing to hold on to for two people carrying it. We would wheel it and just do stairs one at a time. He did get a hand truck eventually but it didn’t make that much of a difference.
I’m not a live player yet, but I understand about playing and practicing a song so much you grow to not want to play it at all after learning it. It’s the blessing in disguise though. By that, I mean, there are hundreds of other songs to learn, so it’s easy to take a break from the ones you don’t like playing. It is imperative to embrace the learning process, and like it too! It’s all about the journey!
Imagine being Ian Anderson and how many times he's played Aqualung!!! Almost every gig I've done has been 3 hr gigs, allway's 3 set's except for special multi band deals like a concert in the park thing. I'm almost 70 and still enjoy playing for people, my biggest issue was allway's inner band stuff. And tho my gear is lighter it seems heavier. My buddy asked me why I was playing "that" guitar, I said it's lite! We now have an extra band member, the sound girl, so all I bring is my guitar small 20w head 1x12 cab. If I need louder a 50w and 2x12 or just mic it. Good and bad, music for me was not my profession so money just needed to cover gas, any more was was nice.
Ha! Tell me about it. I have experienced all this. But:
"Live performance is the ritual humiliation musicians have to put themselves through to fulfil their ambition to be a musician".
For me, there is NOTHING like the thrill of playing with other musicians in front of a crowd. I'm 69, have ailments, run the PA and my own gear and, being a trio I'm the one that sings, plays rhythm, lead, and has to try and establish some kind of rapport with the audience. But I am NOT going to stop until they carry me off.
The money is piss, some crowds are indifferent, it's hard work and I'm fit for nothing the next day. But . . . the buzz!
I agree with all you say (and why do they all congregate at the exit at the end of the night?).
But you have left some stuff out.
You didn't mention the cost of parking which in my town centre is limited to one hour close by or eighteen pounds sterling in a multi for the duration of the gig! What???
You didn't mention having to deal with the twats in the band who think that turning up for a rehearsal or gig is an option.
you didn't mention having to deal with the twats in the band who think that "being in a band" is enough and they don't have to learn their bit, in their own time: "How does this one go?" How does this start?" " What key is this in?"
I have a slipped disc, plantar fasciitis and the onset of arthritis in my fretting hand. Despite my gear getting ever-lighter and more stripped-down, it's still a hassle.
I think, the trick is just to play the nice venues and that's pretty much what we do.
I implore you to rethink. You're famous now! You would be an asset to any band, and treated accordingly. Better still, form your own band and do just the nice gigs.
I think it would be a different scene.
Anyway keep up the good work, I like your stuff, it's good, amongst the best I'd say.
You laid it out very well!
Loading: respect the commitment of the drummer. Moving all that kit then playing a set. Absolutely knackering. Good Times!
I was going to someone's gig, and the best directions they could give were to the drummer's house so that I could follow him. I was so used to roadie-ing for my bass playing friend that I just started grabbing his equipment, and loading it in his car. You could have knocked him over with a feather when he saw me helping him. I started to help him unload at the venue, but the person I was meeting up with got so dickish about it, I just stopped. It was awkward. I'll always help the band if they need it. 🤘💖
Nice story and totally true. The bad thing is that it always can get worse. It sure happens.
OMG...!!!!, except for the allergy thing, I've had all those crazy events. Mostly hate loading in the rain. The weirdest one was playing in a machine shop, they have wall plugs with a thing called a "stinger lead", it 140 volts for starting motors. Well, you probably guessed it, I plugged my equipment into that, the rest is a smokin history..
I remember we used to play shows when we were 18-19, and our singer and bass player were over 21 so they would book us these giant bars which was awesome but me and the drummer would have to wait outside for like 2-3 hours until our set came up. And sometimes our set would be like 30 minutes.. so we would have wait outside, sometimes in really shady area we didn't know just to play lol. I don't miss those days..
Damn Bro, it sounds like we've played in the same bands. This video brought back a lot of memories. Even with all the bull shit I still miss playing live sometimes. Nothing is better than having a good night on stage.
That gun story was scary. Glad we don't have that here. People can go nuts when drunk, it gets exponentially worse for (number of drunks) > 1
If you are anywhere in America, you "have that here". Don't kid yourself. This is Murica and there is a firearm for each one of the third of a billion of us. Guns are everywhere.
I played an outdoor gig decades ago where one of the organizers rode up on a lawnmower in the middle of our set to announce lawn darts on the other side of the field. Good times.
Everything you said mirrors my experiences as a mobile DJ. I've been at it for 25 years and have the wobble about 10 million times.
I miss concerts.
I really felt point 9. Great video👍👍
sad. i love pre show:backline.soundcheck,lights,and i love to play. ive been doin shows 30 years now.