My last band used to laugh at me that I would pack a soldering iron…. Then we were at a gig and one of the speaker cables for the PA didn’t work due to a loose connection. Lo and behold, good thing I packed a soldering iron!
I can't believe that your bandmates laughed at you. Of everything that breaks during a gig, 90% is stuff you need an soldering iron for. I You're the smart one.
When I was in band in high school my director always made everyone physically touch every piece of gear they needed before we left for contests. Always important to check, double check, and triple check to see if you have everything. Great vid
Why would anyone give a thumbs down?? This is great and very useful info especially for the person that has not done this before . I have had to loan every accessory you could think of because something was left at home or they never thought of breaking a string .
From Leo: an old military planning motto is "Two is one" no excuse for failure. As you masterfully illustrated, success on a gig depends on prior communication and prior planning, Some really good players fail playing live without these.
Another great video Zac! Thanks. I have gigged for decades in cover bands and even there preparation is everything, never leave anything to chance. Go over the set list, listen to the tunes again, review difficult licks, spend the extra bucks on top notch patch cords and carry extra batteries as needed. We give ourselves 2 hours for set up, if there is a “surprise” then we have time to deal with it. Any gigging band is a team and every player has to be ready for the show.
I always change my strings the night before every gig, and then play them that night for at least 15 minutes. That way there is a 99.9% chance that I won't break a string, and they with sound great. But I still always have that backup guitar on stage ready to go, because you never know what can go wrong
I love that you have a book on Stevie Ray Vaughan in the back! If you're interested, I'd recommend two more books, both from Craig Hopkins. Day By Day, Night After Night - His Early Years, 1954 - 1982 Day By Day, Night After Night - His Final Years, 1983 - 1990 The first book has tons of information about his first gigs and the barroom stuff and the second is all about life on the road and his death. As the title explains, both were his Day by Day. And the second book is great because it's almost a complete list of every gig he did in the timespan recorded. They're hard to find but they're great books for SRV nerds or collectors.
Practice.... Last time out was the day after my Wife's birthday. Local bar gig. This was a reunion after years ('83 to '05). Knew the tunes but spent the Sat practicing. Took my time restringing my RR Sr (ibz '58 V) Three sets flew by (Pink Houses and Surrender to Too Hot To Handle and Voyager). One of the best times of my life.
That, my brother, is why you are a true musician, and I'm just a dipshit playing in the spare room. But, I'm still playing, and that's the goal and the dream. A little better every day. Thanks for the great videos. Proud to support the channel.
Great video, and nice office! I try to prepare the night before before playing out. I spent three years in a rapid deployable unit, and 18 of those months away from home on 9 or 10 trips (mostly exercises). We had our go bags packed at all times, and set packing lists for every flyaway box for all our equipment. We inventoried every box as we packed it, and kept ourselves sharp by repacking and reinventorying every 90 days at a minimum. I’m retired now, but play out at church every week, but I still keep everything ready to go if needed. I have my chord charts printed the night before, have my Martin packed, with the capo/picks/strap all checked the night before, and get to church early to set up (most of the time, because life happens and also because I’m not the only one that has to get out the door). But as long as I’m there 5 minutes to go, I’m ready to play. But this is easy because the DI box and cabling never moves, and the sound board guys have a notebook with everyone’s levels recorded. I do a sound check on a weekday every so often just to stay in top of things. If I had to play out at multiple venues, I’d have to reassess my go prep.
I have a check list on the door I exit from on the way to a gig.. I personally always always every time forget something !!! (I Even double check-it )Cause if anything goes awry with your equipment or something???other band mates ,bar owners ,waitstaff , patrons don’t wanna hear about your problems ..if your or not prepared people won’t want you around or in the band .also not being prepared can reek havoc on your ability to let go and play . Anyhoo good show as always Zac you inspire !!
This is vey useful information. This is the kind of knowledge that comes from experience and the pain of having crap happen. For me, I feel more relaxed and play better when I feel prepared.
Great suggestions, Zac. Most of what you mention being prepared for has happened to many of us over the years. I once had a tuner pedal go bad at rehearsal (thank goodness, not a gig) and my signal went dead. That's why now I have a mini clip-on tuner behind the headstock of all my guitars, so at least I can tune if my chain of effects go down. I use effects very sparingly, and if necessary, I'll completely unplug from my pedalboard, and go straight into my amp. Not ideal, but better than crashing and burning. I played a gig last Saturday, and the guitarist in a support band forgot a slide, and appealed to us to borrow one. I don't play slide, so they had to do their song without a proper slide part. Gigging is someplace Murphy's Law not only applies, but is guaranteed to occur. Good luck at your casino gig, man! Added.....a wise person once said, you don't practice something until you can play it right.....you practice until you CAN'T play it wrong.
Great episode Zac :) I musta left a dozen capos behind on dark stages around Brisbane! And my favourite slide from a wine bottle neck Thats why you need a back up everything..... Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance!
Excellent episode Zac! I’ve had more than a few instances of “unpreparedness” at gigs, and it’s soul crushing when things go sideways. Big +1 on having backup guitar, amp, and capos, picks, pedals, patch cords, etc. The other thing I would add is be early to the gig if at all possible, and make the most of sound checks.
Learned everything the hard way , 40 years of gigging. After a lengthy layoff do to covid , I had to get all my stuff together that I had torn apart in my jam room. I normally never touch my gig rig so it is always in the trailer ready to go. I panicked for days getting everything back in the right case and loaded. Yes , everything was there in working order. Gigs going great. That was the longest period of time with no gigs since 1980.
I remember Paul! I worked with him once or twice years ago back when I was an intern at West Siloam Springs Cherokee Casino. I was running sound and lights. He's very professional and authentic, the real cowboy musician who always put on a great show. I'm not big on country music but he's one of the few that I'd go watch. I haven't seen him in a while, hope he's still doing great. As for the gig prep, I wholeheartedly agree with all you said. I'm usually making my own song charts and over the years have compiled a large list of the standards as well as "special" songs. I double on guitar and sax and I always make sure that I have spare components of each (always a spare reed or two in my pocket as we're playing, a pocket full of picks, spare cable in the amp). Just always being ready for when something goes wrong.
Good luck Zac, you are spot on with your prep! been there myself and found it hard to convince other band members to be as professional. All the best from the UK
No one had time for our bass player showing up 90 minutes late on our first gig at a bar we were hoping to get a once a month slot in. We moved in the gear, but no bass player or bass. A friend who came to watch our show, went home, got his bass, and played a first, late set with us. Our bass player finally showed up. We swapped bassists, and went right into the 2nd set. The bar owner said thanks, but no monthly gig for unreliability.
@@telecasterbear not bad for the band back then. My ex girlfriend dad is a jazz trumpeter, teaches at Berkeley, I think with all his connections at really high end jazz clubs was getting $200 for himself for a two set gig, the other musicians maybe $100 and $150 each.
Scary! I’ll stick with playing in my little home office / guitar room. What’s the story with the cowboy boots? Could you or someone shoot some video during the rehearsal that you could share with us? Loved the intro piece.
I STILL have stress dreams about many of the things you mentioned. Only one important thing I would add: “The pat down”!! BEFORE you leave the gig, hotel, and get in/the truck/bus/plane, after your stuff is packed etc… you pat you pockets/purse/whatever and chant the mantra: “WALLET-PHONE-KEYS!!” repeatedly until you’ve localized ALL 3. Don’t ask me how I learned this awful lesson. (Orders of magnitude worse when overseas!) As always Zac: GREAT data. I hear Webb Wilder’s voice at the end of most your vids intoning: “Pick uo on it!!”
Oh ! Cool !! I was just going to ask if you might get some video of a show to see how it all comes together ..... Looking forward to that .... Cheers !
Great video. I like to sit down with an acoustic and sing the songs I’m going to be playing. This is regardless if I’m on lead, rhythm or bass for the gig.
Wow, thanks for that! When our band plays out, rare these days, it was everything that stuck and just enough! Thanks Zac!! It will be like a good reunion after all the work to prepare. It has always been so for the three of us.
Great advice about putting the tunes in the car. Since I have a day job I find that running the tunes for a casual during my commute is a great way to get them in my head, and often the most "spare time" that I have. In the R&B casuals world, you may have to fill in horn lines or keyboard parts as well as guitar. The 1st call folks know everything about the repertoire. Even in the gigs you describe, if someone else's keyboard or fiddle rig goes down, you would need to decide what the most important part is and be prepared to cover that. Any band can suddenly become a trio at any time. One thing I've learned about practicing while playing along is to anticipate every change and even play it slightly ahead. It really easy to fool yourself listing and reacting and then think you've got it. The brain can react pretty fast to a next chord for example and you might think you remembered it. Turn the music off and you might not be so sure. Question, do you put fresh strings on before a gig? Some years ago Robben Ford's tech showed me how he stretched in strings so that he could put a fresh set on for every set that night, and they would stay in tune. More recently Matt Schofield turned me on to a gadget called a Stretcha that does it much easier and faster. He puts fresh strings on each night. When I played a lot, I'd change strings every two gigs, but that was mostly a monetary thing. There's nothing like the clean feel of fresh strings to not distract you.
I call it "getting the songs in my bones". Playing them in the background even quietly while I'm doing other things is beneficial for developing the instinct around structures, modulations, breakdowns etc.... Batteries and having wireless stuff fully charged within an hour or two before the gig, not a few days ago. Good Stuff!
I remember seeing a country artist Chicago twice in bars on different tours in the 90s. First time the band was dialed in and blew me away. The second he must have been hard finding guys. I felt bad for them. A guy in the audience filled in on bass a couple songs, was kind of an ass about it but covered the parts.
Great tips! I just started gigging again after so much time off. Still kicking off the rust. Lol No matter how much you practice, there's no substitute for just getting out and doing it in front of people with fellow musicians.
For years my number one guitar had a Floyd Rose. Twice I broke a string on a set with that guitar. When a string is broke with a Floyd there is no finishing the song with 5 strings. Everything goes out. The first time, my backup guitar was not in tune. It sucked. Of course I broke the string with adrenaline because it was a guitar featured song. And I was fumbling, then playing while trying to tune by ear....Not graceful. That will never happen again. Now my backup fiddle is always ready to go. Solid advice.
Good practical advice! Back around the mid-2000s, I did a bunch of gigs with a lady singer/songwriter. There were rehearsals involved, but, although the rhythm section was the same on all the gigs, the lead instrument configuration was different on each gig, and the bass player never learned all the tunes anyway. The singer couldn’t understand why a mostly thrown-together band with no keyboard, no fiddle, and no steel guitar couldn’t sound just like her highly-produced CD. On the first gig, I was the only lead instrumentalist, so I had to cover all the keyboard, steel, and fiddle parts on guitar, as well as the lead guitar parts, on all-original material, that I didn’t get to hear until the day before the gig. On the next gig, there was actually a keyboard player, who had never heard the material, and still overplayed like crazy. The guy was technically a really good player-classical training and all, but he didn’t know how to listen or to lay back-he treated everything as if it was a piano solo feature. No charts either! After I got a copy of the CD, I sat down and charted everything out. (Nashville number charts-I don’t do so well with regular notation.) I made copies for everybody in the band, and even indicated where fills were and what instrument took them. At one of the gigs we had fiddle but no keyboard, on a few we had keyboard but no fiddle, and we never had a steel player. On the last gig I did with her, she was able to bring in her former lead guitarist, and we took turns on the guitar parts and I covered the steel parts on guitar. One of the gigs was in Union Square in San Francisco, and when I turned on my amp I got this nasty hum. I didn’t have time to troubleshoot anything, so I unplugged my pedalboard, which was lined into the PA, and ran direct into the amp, which they miked up. No more hum. It was a ground loop between my rig and the PA. One of those Ebtech hum eliminators would have solved that! A spare amp and guitar is always a good idea too, but I didn’t have either as I’d have needed a roadie, and the gigs didn’t pay enough for me to hire one. No crew on these gigs! I got paid for the gigs and rehearsals, but I never got compensated for doing all those charts. If she’s still playing, she’s probably still using them!
Clamp a gopro to the headstock of your guitar. It looks like a clip on tuner so its discrete and the venue probably won't even notice. Plus the footage is fun.
Ive always loved James. Love his playing and i have always looked for someone to put it all together historically and technically as to why he is so good and significant. Great video. For the styles he plays he has such a good sense of dynamics and how to give a song what it needs as opposed to what he wants. If that makes sense?
Great advice and always excellent episodes. Saw you were originally from Kingsville, TX. I attended college there from down in the RGV. Used to go to a little music store downtown Kingsville. Again enjoy your information, gear, and interviews on Truetone.
@@AskZac That's the one. Bought my first decent amp, a Crate and later an old Hondo Les Paul Custom copy that fell apart on the ride home from wood rot in the neck...lol
When I was a band leader, doing my own stuff, I had a 7 piece outfit. Like herding cats! I held down rhythm guitar and sang, and I had a dear friend who was lead guitar and backup vocals. Great performer, but couldn’t keep his equipment straight (mid gig failures that couldn’t be resolved quickly), and wasn’t consistently solid on the arrangements. The drummer, and other people in the band (…and me) developed major beef! I had to let him go. 😢 You have to do, what you have to do. I put up with it for longer than I would have if my music was how I put food on the table. Ended our friendship. Real personal regret for me, but the right thing for the band. Wish it didn’t go down like that?
I know this is a few years old, but guess who forgot a strap one time and found some rope backstage? Yeah, you need to have a couple of straps, too.😂 by the end of the set, my shoulder was hurting pretty good.
Being now finally retired from the military and having this a hobby for two decades, this has been very insiteful. One question - have you ever have the butterflies and how to deal with it??
I loved this video........I have never played in a band until last year for our Adult R&R Session......this was my first time 'on stage' and actually, I was not nervous.....that was ODD !..............I saw some of the video that was taken and I must have been nervous as I looked like someone took me out of a casket and stood me up there.....not moving except for my hands playing the guitar. I only screwed up on one song, Take It Easy as they 'miced' the drums so freaking loud, I could not hear myself playing lead !
@@AskZac oh i have the modern AC10....it really sounds similar to yours, but yours sounds warmer since it has more age on it......but a vox with my distortion pedal on medium to low gets really close to that 90s country rock sound i grew up with.....
This is where the kemper profiler folks say you don't need an amp or pedals anymore :) although it is much lighter to carry just a guitar and kemper profiler. However, what if your kemper profiler goes haywire? :)
@@AskZac yeah, but what worries me more is that these days there are genres in which they think people with real amps look like idiots. I know it's not really important but it just seems so wrong.
You mention the Fender Mustang Micro as a practice tool. I often have a similar situation, where I'll get charts and links to Spotify or UA-cam videos. But sometimes, vocalists want a different key, or in one case, the lead singer plays acoustic guitar tuned down 1/2. So, unless there is a way to transpose the tune, playing along with a track may or may not be that useful. I usually resort to learning the guitar cues in the original recording key and then move to the vocalist's requested key for rehearsal. That works most of the time, but signature licks with open strings can be problematic, for example, Lynard Skynard, Jackson Brown, or Eagles tunes in Eb. How do you deal with that?
You’re extended background explained took almost half of your 17 minutes. If you were a teacher that can cut to the chase Id follow you. I think many of your followers have more time than I Regardless, thanks.
"Set List!!???" We prepare a set list, work out the transitions, which guitar and settings, etc..., then after the first song, the front man just does his own thing and the set list is no longer. Same for solos, three of us (harp, guitar, keys) never know which order "the nod" will come. Forces preparation, but drives me nuts.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
“Two is one and one is none.”
YES!
Was thinking same thing!
To be early is to be on time; to be on time is to be late!
My last band used to laugh at me that I would pack a soldering iron….
Then we were at a gig and one of the speaker cables for the PA didn’t work due to a loose connection. Lo and behold, good thing I packed a soldering iron!
I can't believe that your bandmates laughed at you. Of everything that breaks during a gig, 90% is stuff you need an soldering iron for. I
You're the smart one.
@@GraniteSoundtrack - thanks! Their attitude was very much ‘well if you need a soldering iron for it then it’s game over haha’
When I was in band in high school my director always made everyone physically touch every piece of gear they needed before we left for contests. Always important to check, double check, and triple check to see if you have everything. Great vid
Zac, the one thing I don't think anyone will ever accuse you of is being unprepared!!
Why would anyone give a thumbs down?? This is great and very useful info especially for the person that has not done this before . I have had to loan every accessory you could think of because something was left at home or they never thought of breaking a string .
From Leo: an old military planning motto is "Two is one" no excuse for failure. As you masterfully illustrated, success on a gig depends on prior communication and prior planning, Some really good players fail playing live without these.
That's absolutely right! It's kept the ball rolling for me many times.
"Two is one and one is none."
The one thing I always tried to remember...make sure your nails are trimmed.
Another great video Zac! Thanks. I have gigged for decades in cover bands and even there preparation is everything, never leave anything to chance. Go over the set list, listen to the tunes again, review difficult licks, spend the extra bucks on top notch patch cords and carry extra batteries as needed. We give ourselves 2 hours for set up, if there is a “surprise” then we have time to deal with it. Any gigging band is a team and every player has to be ready for the show.
I always change my strings the night before every gig, and then play them that night for at least 15 minutes. That way there is a 99.9% chance that I won't break a string, and they with sound great. But I still always have that backup guitar on stage ready to go, because you never know what can go wrong
I love that you have a book on Stevie Ray Vaughan in the back!
If you're interested, I'd recommend two more books, both from Craig Hopkins.
Day By Day, Night After Night - His Early Years, 1954 - 1982
Day By Day, Night After Night - His Final Years, 1983 - 1990
The first book has tons of information about his first gigs and the barroom stuff and the second is all about life on the road and his death.
As the title explains, both were his Day by Day. And the second book is great because it's almost a complete list of every gig he did in the timespan recorded.
They're hard to find but they're great books for SRV nerds or collectors.
Practice....
Last time out was the day after my Wife's birthday. Local bar gig.
This was a reunion after years ('83 to '05).
Knew the tunes but spent the Sat practicing.
Took my time restringing my RR Sr (ibz '58 V)
Three sets flew by (Pink Houses and Surrender to Too Hot To Handle and Voyager).
One of the best times of my life.
YES! And that is a sweet guitar!
That, my brother, is why you are a true musician, and I'm just a dipshit playing in the spare room. But, I'm still playing, and that's the goal and the dream. A little better every day. Thanks for the great videos. Proud to support the channel.
Thank you so much, Dennis!
Great video, and nice office!
I try to prepare the night before before playing out. I spent three years in a rapid deployable unit, and 18 of those months away from home on 9 or 10 trips (mostly exercises). We had our go bags packed at all times, and set packing lists for every flyaway box for all our equipment. We inventoried every box as we packed it, and kept ourselves sharp by repacking and reinventorying every 90 days at a minimum. I’m retired now, but play out at church every week, but I still keep everything ready to go if needed. I have my chord charts printed the night before, have my Martin packed, with the capo/picks/strap all checked the night before, and get to church early to set up (most of the time, because life happens and also because I’m not the only one that has to get out the door). But as long as I’m there 5 minutes to go, I’m ready to play. But this is easy because the DI box and cabling never moves, and the sound board guys have a notebook with everyone’s levels recorded. I do a sound check on a weekday every so often just to stay in top of things. If I had to play out at multiple venues, I’d have to reassess my go prep.
True Zac that's why I have a stereo rig. Only one guitar don't break stings no plectrum. Fender and Marshall plexi great combination.
That Vox sounds incredible, great tone
I agree. And that's not usually the case when I see a tele plugged into a Vox. Zac's got the touch.
@@ioodyssey3740 just ask John Jorgenson and Brad Paisley...😉
I have a check list on the door I exit from on the way to a gig.. I personally always always every time forget something !!! (I Even double check-it )Cause if anything goes awry with your equipment or something???other band mates ,bar owners ,waitstaff , patrons don’t wanna hear about your problems ..if your or not prepared people won’t want you around or in the band .also not being prepared can reek havoc on your ability to let go and play . Anyhoo good show as always Zac you inspire !!
This is vey useful information. This is the kind of knowledge that comes from experience and the pain of having crap happen. For me, I feel more relaxed and play better when I feel prepared.
Great suggestions, Zac. Most of what you mention being prepared for has happened to many of us over the years. I once had a tuner pedal go bad at rehearsal (thank goodness, not a gig) and my signal went dead. That's why now I have a mini clip-on tuner behind the headstock of all my guitars, so at least I can tune if my chain of effects go down. I use effects very sparingly, and if necessary, I'll completely unplug from my pedalboard, and go straight into my amp. Not ideal, but better than crashing and burning. I played a gig last Saturday, and the guitarist in a support band forgot a slide, and appealed to us to borrow one. I don't play slide, so they had to do their song without a proper slide part. Gigging is someplace Murphy's Law not only applies, but is guaranteed to occur. Good luck at your casino gig, man!
Added.....a wise person once said, you don't practice something until you can play it right.....you practice until you CAN'T play it wrong.
"Belt and suspenders". Rules for life.
Love the tone of that Vox!
Great episode Zac :)
I musta left a dozen capos behind on dark stages around Brisbane!
And my favourite slide from a wine bottle neck
Thats why you need a back up everything.....
Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance!
Excellent episode Zac! I’ve had more than a few instances of “unpreparedness” at gigs, and it’s soul crushing when things go sideways. Big +1 on having backup guitar, amp, and capos, picks, pedals, patch cords, etc. The other thing I would add is be early to the gig if at all possible, and make the most of sound checks.
Learned everything the hard way , 40 years of gigging. After a lengthy layoff do to covid , I had to get all my stuff together that I had torn apart in my jam room. I normally never touch my gig rig so it is always in the trailer ready to go. I panicked for days getting everything back in the right case and loaded. Yes , everything was there in working order. Gigs going great. That was the longest period of time with no gigs since 1980.
I remember Paul! I worked with him once or twice years ago back when I was an intern at West Siloam Springs Cherokee Casino. I was running sound and lights. He's very professional and authentic, the real cowboy musician who always put on a great show. I'm not big on country music but he's one of the few that I'd go watch. I haven't seen him in a while, hope he's still doing great.
As for the gig prep, I wholeheartedly agree with all you said. I'm usually making my own song charts and over the years have compiled a large list of the standards as well as "special" songs. I double on guitar and sax and I always make sure that I have spare components of each (always a spare reed or two in my pocket as we're playing, a pocket full of picks, spare cable in the amp). Just always being ready for when something goes wrong.
I always bring two of everything
That intro riff was amazing! Love it 😮
Thanks, Sean!
Zac, another fun “lecture”!!! Although I rarely do band gigs, I play solo, this was great to hear. You’re my lunch time feed! Ha!
I was a full time guitar player untill my kids were born. There is a song there! ;)
Good luck Zac, you are spot on with your prep! been there myself and found it hard to convince other band members to be as professional.
All the best from the UK
Absolutely!
No one had time for our bass player showing up 90 minutes late on our first gig at a bar we were hoping to get a once a month slot in. We moved in the gear, but no bass player or bass. A friend who came to watch our show, went home, got his bass, and played a first, late set with us. Our bass player finally showed up. We swapped bassists, and went right into the 2nd set. The bar owner said thanks, but no monthly gig for unreliability.
That sucks, but all you really lost was 15 bucks in tips per band member. Nobody is paying money these days
@@voxpathfinder15r This was in the early 1980s. Probably $200 for the night.
@@telecasterbear not bad for the band back then. My ex girlfriend dad is a jazz trumpeter, teaches at Berkeley, I think with all his connections at really high end jazz clubs was getting $200 for himself for a two set gig, the other musicians maybe $100 and $150 each.
Wow, great information. I haven't gigged much lately, but troubleshooting on the job never works!
Take the tonemaster for backup and let us know how it works in the mix, if you need to use it.
Scary! I’ll stick with playing in my little home office / guitar room.
What’s the story with the cowboy boots?
Could you or someone shoot some video during the rehearsal that you could share with us?
Loved the intro piece.
Those are my late father's boots. I did record some performance footage from the shows. There were no rehearsals!!!
@@AskZac My bad. No rehearsals. Hope all went well.
Useful tips Zac. Thanks.
I STILL have stress dreams about many of the things you mentioned. Only one important thing I would add: “The pat down”!!
BEFORE you leave the gig, hotel, and get in/the truck/bus/plane, after your stuff is packed etc… you pat you pockets/purse/whatever and chant the mantra: “WALLET-PHONE-KEYS!!” repeatedly until you’ve localized ALL 3. Don’t ask me how I learned this awful lesson. (Orders of magnitude worse when overseas!)
As always Zac: GREAT data. I hear Webb Wilder’s voice at the end of most your vids intoning: “Pick uo on it!!”
Webb gets a mention next week
@@AskZac Ahhh… The “Human Sound Byte”!!
Fascinating, really interesting. Thanks!
Oh ! Cool !! I was just going to ask if you might get some video of a show to see how it all comes together ..... Looking forward to that .... Cheers !
Great video. I like to sit down with an acoustic and sing the songs I’m going to be playing. This is regardless if I’m on lead, rhythm or bass for the gig.
That is a great way, Wally. To take the time to actually know the song
Wow, thanks for that! When our band plays out, rare these days, it was everything that stuck and just enough! Thanks Zac!!
It will be like a good reunion after all the work to prepare. It has always been so for the three of us.
Great advice about putting the tunes in the car. Since I have a day job I find that running the tunes for a casual during my commute is a great way to get them in my head, and often the most "spare time" that I have. In the R&B casuals world, you may have to fill in horn lines or keyboard parts as well as guitar. The 1st call folks know everything about the repertoire. Even in the gigs you describe, if someone else's keyboard or fiddle rig goes down, you would need to decide what the most important part is and be prepared to cover that. Any band can suddenly become a trio at any time.
One thing I've learned about practicing while playing along is to anticipate every change and even play it slightly ahead. It really easy to fool yourself listing and reacting and then think you've got it. The brain can react pretty fast to a next chord for example and you might think you remembered it. Turn the music off and you might not be so sure.
Question, do you put fresh strings on before a gig? Some years ago Robben Ford's tech showed me how he stretched in strings so that he could put a fresh set on for every set that night, and they would stay in tune. More recently Matt Schofield turned me on to a gadget called a Stretcha that does it much easier and faster. He puts fresh strings on each night. When I played a lot, I'd change strings every two gigs, but that was mostly a monetary thing. There's nothing like the clean feel of fresh strings to not distract you.
Solid advice, from a true Pro. Great stuff, Zac!
I call it "getting the songs in my bones". Playing them in the background even quietly while I'm doing other things is beneficial for developing the instinct around structures, modulations, breakdowns etc.... Batteries and having wireless stuff fully charged within an hour or two before the gig, not a few days ago. Good Stuff!
Agreed!
I remember seeing a country artist Chicago twice in bars on different tours in the 90s. First time the band was dialed in and blew me away. The second he must have been hard finding guys. I felt bad for them. A guy in the audience filled in on bass a couple songs, was kind of an ass about it but covered the parts.
Great tips! I just started gigging again after so much time off. Still kicking off the rust. Lol No matter how much you practice, there's no substitute for just getting out and doing it in front of people with fellow musicians.
Great advice Zac! I always have my Radial JDX Direct Drive from my pedal board into the PA as insurance.
Great Video as usual. That is a lot of equipment to carry. You have to really love gigging to do it. Thanks for the post
Excellent advice!
Thanks for watching!
Very good advice. I wish I had heard that stuff twenty years ago. Still learning. Thanks Zach
You bet!
For years my number one guitar had a Floyd Rose. Twice I broke a string on a set with that guitar. When a string is broke with a Floyd there is no finishing the song with 5 strings. Everything goes out. The first time, my backup guitar was not in tune. It sucked. Of course I broke the string with adrenaline because it was a guitar featured song. And I was fumbling, then playing while trying to tune by ear....Not graceful. That will never happen again. Now my backup fiddle is always ready to go. Solid advice.
Good practical advice! Back around the mid-2000s, I did a bunch of gigs with a lady singer/songwriter. There were rehearsals involved, but, although the rhythm section was the same on all the gigs, the lead instrument configuration was different on each gig, and the bass player never learned all the tunes anyway. The singer couldn’t understand why a mostly thrown-together band with no keyboard, no fiddle, and no steel guitar couldn’t sound just like her highly-produced CD. On the first gig, I was the only lead instrumentalist, so I had to cover all the keyboard, steel, and fiddle parts on guitar, as well as the lead guitar parts, on all-original material, that I didn’t get to hear until the day before the gig. On the next gig, there was actually a keyboard player, who had never heard the material, and still overplayed like crazy. The guy was technically a really good player-classical training and all, but he didn’t know how to listen or to lay back-he treated everything as if it was a piano solo feature. No charts either! After I got a copy of the CD, I sat down and charted everything out. (Nashville number charts-I don’t do so well with regular notation.) I made copies for everybody in the band, and even indicated where fills were and what instrument took them. At one of the gigs we had fiddle but no keyboard, on a few we had keyboard but no fiddle, and we never had a steel player. On the last gig I did with her, she was able to bring in her former lead guitarist, and we took turns on the guitar parts and I covered the steel parts on guitar. One of the gigs was in Union Square in San Francisco, and when I turned on my amp I got this nasty hum. I didn’t have time to troubleshoot anything, so I unplugged my pedalboard, which was lined into the PA, and ran direct into the amp, which they miked up. No more hum. It was a ground loop between my rig and the PA. One of those Ebtech hum eliminators would have solved that! A spare amp and guitar is always a good idea too, but I didn’t have either as I’d have needed a roadie, and the gigs didn’t pay enough for me to hire one. No crew on these gigs! I got paid for the gigs and rehearsals, but I never got compensated for doing all those charts. If she’s still playing, she’s probably still using them!
Thanks for the great content! That are some good advice. I hope you can record something from the shows. Looking forward to the follow up video😊
Clamp a gopro to the headstock of your guitar. It looks like a clip on tuner so its discrete and the venue probably won't even notice. Plus the footage is fun.
Ive always loved James. Love his playing and i have always looked for someone to put it all together historically and technically as to why he is so good and significant. Great video. For the styles he plays he has such a good sense of dynamics and how to give a song what it needs as opposed to what he wants. If that makes sense?
Great advice and always excellent episodes. Saw you were originally from Kingsville, TX. I attended college there from down in the RGV. Used to go to a little music store downtown Kingsville. Again enjoy your information, gear, and interviews on Truetone.
Goetsch Music
@@AskZac That's the one. Bought my first decent amp, a Crate and later an old Hondo Les Paul Custom copy that fell apart on the ride home from wood rot in the neck...lol
As always, awesome insights and storytelling Zac! Much appreciated.
My pleasure!
Great video. Thanks for turning us on to Paul Bogart.
You bet!
Take the Vox! 😎
When I was a band leader, doing my own stuff, I had a 7 piece outfit. Like herding cats! I held down rhythm guitar and sang, and I had a dear friend who was lead guitar and backup vocals. Great performer, but couldn’t keep his equipment straight (mid gig failures that couldn’t be resolved quickly), and wasn’t consistently solid on the arrangements.
The drummer, and other people in the band (…and me) developed major beef! I had to let him go. 😢
You have to do, what you have to do. I put up with it for longer than I would have if my music was how I put food on the table.
Ended our friendship. Real personal regret for me, but the right thing for the band.
Wish it didn’t go down like that?
That's tough!
You should do a scoop on Danny Groah, Allan Jackson's guitarist, style, equipment etc.
Great player!
Awesome advice Zac!
I know this is a few years old, but guess who forgot a strap one time and found some rope backstage? Yeah, you need to have a couple of straps, too.😂 by the end of the set, my shoulder was hurting pretty good.
Great video as always Zac, how about sharing those amp settings for us please!
Volume up a quarter turn, cut on 3/4th. Only 2 knobs
@@AskZac thanks for replying. Love your videos and love your playing!
Being now finally retired from the military and having this a hobby for two decades, this has been very insiteful. One question - have you ever have the butterflies and how to deal with it??
I try to get the butterflies to fly in formation. I try to harness the nervous energy.
@@AskZac Hmmm.... I'm gonna work on that!! Thanks!!
I loved this video........I have never played in a band until last year for our Adult R&R Session......this was my first time 'on stage' and actually, I was not nervous.....that was ODD !..............I saw some of the video that was taken and I must have been nervous as I looked like someone took me out of a casket and stood me up there.....not moving except for my hands playing the guitar. I only screwed up on one song, Take It Easy as they 'miced' the drums so freaking loud, I could not hear myself playing lead !
i really enjoy your channel man. i was just wondering what do you think of the fender blues junior 3 humbolt hot rod.......
oh and good luck at the gig bro
I like it
Wise words 😎🎙🎸✅
Got to put those 10,000 hrs. in. Literally.
But grinding alone will never make you elite without the requisite talent.
It might make you competent.
@@cedarbay3994 Agreed.
Fill in gigs are tough because you have to put the same amount of work in for one or two gigs as you do for a full gig schedule
Often not worth it
You are spot on. If he was not a good friend, I would not be doing it.
I love vox amps on country songs, is that a AC30?
1964 AC10
@@AskZac oh i have the modern AC10....it really sounds similar to yours, but yours sounds warmer since it has more age on it......but a vox with my distortion pedal on medium to low gets really close to that 90s country rock sound i grew up with.....
Would you post the set list, I would like to listen to country but I don’t know where to start
Did you ever have to play another instruments solo on electric?? Like the fiddle solo on your tele?
All the time
What song did you play after the intro with the capo on
"Better with my Baby," by Paul Bogart
Professional = be prepared
10 pints and 20 cigarettes. And maybe a tele.
This is where the kemper profiler folks say you don't need an amp or pedals anymore :) although it is much lighter to carry just a guitar and kemper profiler. However, what if your kemper profiler goes haywire? :)
I am trying to figure out how to use an Iridium, but I don't want to show up to a gig with one and look like an idiot.
@@AskZac yeah, but what worries me more is that these days there are genres in which they think people with real amps look like idiots. I know it's not really important but it just seems so wrong.
Also gaff tape. And or duct tape.
You mention the Fender Mustang Micro as a practice tool. I often have a similar situation, where I'll get charts and links to Spotify or UA-cam videos. But sometimes, vocalists want a different key, or in one case, the lead singer plays acoustic guitar tuned down 1/2. So, unless there is a way to transpose the tune, playing along with a track may or may not be that useful.
I usually resort to learning the guitar cues in the original recording key and then move to the vocalist's requested key for rehearsal. That works most of the time, but signature licks with open strings can be problematic, for example, Lynard Skynard, Jackson Brown, or Eagles tunes in Eb. How do you deal with that?
Sometimes you must reframe a sig lick, or worse, have a guitar tuned up or down just for that song.
You’re extended background explained took almost half of your 17 minutes. If you were a teacher that can cut to the chase Id follow you. I think many of your followers have more time than I
Regardless, thanks.
"Set List!!???" We prepare a set list, work out the transitions, which guitar and settings, etc..., then after the first song, the front man just does his own thing and the set list is no longer. Same for solos, three of us (harp, guitar, keys) never know which order "the nod" will come. Forces preparation, but drives me nuts.
how to build a band , i need a band first zac
Zac don’t have no band
"if you mess up..." ha ha ...not an option 🤔
I like to prepare by taking a nice long bath
How I prepare for a gig… 🍺🚽🍺
Good method
@@AskZac 😂👍
Is there really enough money for musicians to really make gigs worth it anymore? Better off probably doing private shows for patreon supporters.
"responsible and professional"......
Prepare and plan DONT repair and repent.