The "Just got in from a gig" thread.....

[rct]

We had a really good night considering.

We've been really busy, and in the midst of it all our new drummer we picked up last fall quit on us. Like that.

So, tonight it was me and BobBass and Mr. Alessis on drums. If you haven't ever winged your way through 4 sets with a drum machine you haven't lived. We last used one over a decade ago, so it was pretty fun. All trainwrecks were low speed so no casualties.

With the volume so under control we sang better and with no drummer fails to worry about we played better and had a ton of fun.

They made us come back in July, and we stopped in another bar down the street where we have two more quiet drum machine nights coming up. All in all it was a great time, they loved us, hooted and danced and sang all night. Bought me two shots of something that I left behind my amp, with two glasses of wine I never touched. Great crowd.

 

It was a two Tele night which makes me very happy. Used the Green one all night. The requisite hi-res, super saturated HD photography follows:

 

 

g'night.

 

rct

[kidblast]

Interesting!

 

The volume is much more manageable for sure without acoustic drums, Electronic drums have come a long way,, but you still need someone to PLAY them. So did you have to program all the songs, or were canned beats good enough

 

We've played to midi tracks in some cases, for our originals mostly where the orchestration is all supplied by tracks for the songs as we wrote/recorded them. But definitely no leeway tempo wise, none, zero, nada... Dave (our drummer) does a great job keeping the proper tempo when we use midi tracks. In bands other when I've tried a similar tricks before, abject failures. These were decent Drummers, but at the end of the day, could not maintain the right tempo. there's no, "take it around again cuz I forgot the 2nd verse". Nope.. that moment is gone, there isn't another bus to catch in 5 minutes..

 

 

Good luck on the next few "drummer in the can" gigs!

[rct]

He uses a few canned beats over and over and a few we set up ourselves over and over, couple different of each in between.

 

We've really had some drummer issues, and now we are back to the guy we fired last year because he was a complete flake out. So we have June 9th, on the patio, of a bar/restaurant that has off track betting. June 9th is The Belmont Stakes, everyone is hoping for a triple crown winner. That place will be friggin mobbed, it'll be a hoot. We need drummer, so we'll do this one with him, he's amenable, seems serious, and seems to have gotten a few things together that he needed to.

 

So we'll work with the drum machine for good now. There's a few places that just don't want loud anymore, and what "loud" is just keeps going down.

 

We are working on the new old drummer to consider a good electronic set, and we'd help out money-wise if needed, hell we could trade a buncha stuff to help out. The new new drummer that just quit was working good on the electronic set, this weekend was going to be the first night out with that. Hopefully we can keep a couple of these places that are paying half decent and can support a full band and do them with electronic drums, and the machine for a couple small places that just don't want full bands and pay accordingly.

 

I used to do the midi tracks with a keyboards guy as a duo and we had a great time, and yes, there is no twirlin the left index in the air to go around again, not with that stuff!

 

I've thought about BandInABox and a decent PA when I retire. A lot.

 

rct

[kidblast]

my son has some of the newer Roland V-drums, (3 yrs or so), that kit sounds amazing. The "EVEN NEWER ONES" now even LOOK like drums...

 

the Belmont gig sounds awesome.. Hope it all works out Ron.

[saturn]

OK. It's Saturday night ( actually early Sunday morning) and I'm getting in from my 3rd straight gig. Thursday and Saturday with one band and Friday with another.

 

The other guitar player had to cancel tonight's gig because he had a heart attack yesterday ( Friday ) ! WTF. Being in a band with me is a real danger to your health! He was texting us from the hospital, so it obviously could have been worse. But still..... Coincidentally, he was the same guy who GAVE me that camper we just took to Delfest.

 

He told us to have a great gig, and we did. Packed house, lots of dancers, hot women...all that stuff. We dedicated tonights show to him. Here's hoping for Mark's speedy recovery, but odds are he won't be in any condition to be gigging for awhile.

Edited June 3, 2018 by saturn

[jdgm]

Just got in from blues gig near Havant, about 45 mins from me. A big well-appointed club with proper stage, drum riser and (gasp!) 2 dressing rooms. And crap beer.

We did ok considering we haven't had any proper rehearsal - much better than the last gig I reported on in this thread.

 

Took the Strats out this evening, and the rebuilt 10w Vox AC10 (with 12" cab) which sounds bloody great now but doesn't have any headroom; the band is too loud so I don't get proper clean tones but it feeds back controllably and wonderfully.

My clean boost (one side of an Xotic AC+) works like a Klon with this amp! Very punchy, lovely tones.

As we had to play 3 sets and didn't really have enough material, we extended many of the numbers and I got to play a lot more. Enjoyed it, got paid enough to cover expenses.

 

And I turned 64 yesterday (Fri 29/6).

Best wishes to all!

Edited July 1, 2018 by jdgm

[Mutha]

Played a hotel last night for a private party. Used the rocker 30 with the tele.

 

Went well, got loads of praise from the crowd after which is always good.

 

A few things need tightening up but isn`t there always something.

 

Set list:

 

Knockin`on Heavens Door,

Wish You Were Here,

Candy,

Ride On,

Take it Easy,

Sweet Home Alabama,

Gloria,

Cocaine,

Come Together,

Folsom,

Bad Moon Rising,

Hey Joe,

Sunshine of Your Love,

Johnny B Goode,

Rebel Rebel,

Satisfaction,

Brown Sugar,

Dancing in the Moonlight,

Brewing up a Storm,

One I love,

Fishermans Blues,

Honky Tonk Woman,

Jumpin` Jack Flash,

Heroes,

Keep on Rockin` in the free World.

[saturn]

Just getting in from a great night gigging. We made a lot of mistakes, and left a lot to be desires musically. But the crowd was very forgiving and danced and sang along with most everything we played. Plus someone bought the whole band a round of whiskey All around awesome night. Here are all the songs we covered.

 

Set 1

 

1. Rocky Mountain Way (Key of E)

2. Fly Like An Eagle (Key of A minor)

3. Feels Like The First Time (Key of F)

4. Hard To Handle (Key of Bb)

5. You May Be Right (Key of A)

6. Miss You (Key of A minor)

7. Ain't No Sunshine (Key of A minor)

8. Hurts So Good (Key of D)

9. Tenth Avenue Freeze (Key of D minor

10. Some Kind of Wonderful (Key of D)

11. Life In The Fast Lane (Key of E minor)

12. Long Train Runnin (Key of D minor)

13. I Feel Good (Key of C)

14. Sweet Home Alabama (Key of D)

15. Get Back (Key of A)

 

Set 2

 

1. Long Run (Key of Bb)

2. Hungry Heart (Key of C)

3. Two Tickets To Paradise (Key of A)

4. Love The One You're With (Key of D)

5. You May Be Right (Key of A)

6. Brick House (Key of A)

7. Let's Stay Together (Key of G minor)

8. I Wish (Key of C minor)

9. Ain't To Proud To Beg (Key of

10. Honky Tonk Woman (Key of G)

11. September (Key of D)

12. Love Train (Key of C)

13. Dance To The Music (Key of G)

14. Uptown Funk (Key D minor)

15. Play That Funky Music White Boy (Key of E)

16. I Saw Her Standing There (Key of E)

 

Set 3

 

1. Higher Ground (Key of G minor)

2. Bad Company (Key of D minor)

3. No Matter What (Key of A)

4. Running On Empty (Key of A)

5. Your Mama Don't Dance (Key of C)

6. I'll Be Around (E bass w/Ab minor)

7. Tulsa Time (Key of A)

8. Good Lovin into Twist & Shout (Key of D)

Edited July 6, 2018 by saturn

[saturn]

Back again from another great gig. This was an outdoor show on the Chuck Thompson ( Ain't the beer cold) Memorial Stage in the Hunt Valley Town Center. We played one long set. One of the other guys in the band just bought a new Gibson 335, and I played it on the last song. It played and sounded great, and I couldn't help but notice it has nibs.

 

After we finished, we all went to a bar in the town center that we previously played. Our server said he remembered us because when we played there last time, he made more tip money than any other night! So we must be doing something right.

 

Figured I'd add a shot of our stage.

Edited July 7, 2018 by saturn

[rct]

A good night, 4th Saturday night out in four weeks. Rosewood neck'd Tele into Blues Junior and Fishman Loudbox Mini for the BOSS Acoustic Thrombobulator Machine. Not a big crowd, but a happy head boppin foot stompin dancin a little bit crowd. A full evening of covers, so hate away!

 

rct

[Twang Gang]

Did our first show this year at our club the other night. We usually play outside on a deck, but the building is being remodeled this year so that section was a construction zone - result we played inside upstairs in the club proper and it was a blessing to be in the air-conditioning as it was very hot and humid outside.

 

First live gig using my Eleven rack and it was a great improvement. We don't use amplifiers anymore, electronic drums (great for controlling volume), bass through direct box and guitar through the Eleven rack, everything mixed down through the PA. Results in a very hi-fidelity stereo sound. Don't use wedge monitors anymore either (no feedback issues) and use earbuds instead. Feed the exact same mix to the earbuds as what is going out front so we hear exactly what the audience is hearing.

 

Big crowd of about 200 people who all seemed to be having a good time - lots of dancers.

 

When the remodel is finished in the fall we hopefully will play the Grand Opening - time to work on different material. Audience likes what we are doing, but we're getting a little tired of playing mostly the same stuff each time.

 

For decades I was never a fan of electronic drums and digital signal processing but after being with this set up for a couple of years and getting the right tools it has come together to result in a better sound than any of my other bands had in the past. Very fortunate to have a drummer who is a retired recording engineer and has an excellent ear for the mix.

[jdgm]

Back at the pub in Salisbury tonight. Not quite as good as last time but some very good moments....and some not-so-good ones too.

Was very pleased with the tone I am getting out of my rebuilt Vox AC10 head.

Obviously with an amp that small, there's no clean headroom but it takes pedals wonderfully and has its own particular grainy tone.

I use a Marshall Reflector reverb pedal as it has no reverb, though it does have the Vox tremelo.

Overdrive and distortions come from a VS Route 66 and an Xotic AC+. One side of the latter is set for a clean boost which works great when I use the Fender Super 60 but not with the 10w Vox.

Also the rest of the band played so loud I felt I wasn't cutting through all the time. So to deal with that I have a modded Boss EQ.

The singer/guitarist left his own amp at home and used his Line 6 Pod which....well I wouldn't use one!!

And I'm consistently knocked out by our harmonica player; very inspiring to play with.

 

Best wishes to all!

Edited July 21, 2018 by jdgm

[jdgm]

One week later and just played a dreadful gig in Southampton.

The worst gig I have played this year was back in January (detailed above somewhere) when the original singer had a tantrum and quit.

Tonight was the 2nd worst, due to the 'new' singer and due to bad sound.

 

Singer decided to ignore set list and do it on the fly, so we have to wait between numbers while he figures out what to play next. I hate that.

Why bother with a set list in the 1st place? Exactly so this doesn't happen.

He is also using his Line 6 Pod again which sounds CRAP. Horrible, crispy/crunchy noises coming out.

 

Then there are problems with the new-ish p.a. We have to stop after the 1st number of the 2nd set while there is a lot of "one, one two" etc as levels are non-existent.

Amateurish and embarrassing.

All of this is caused by NO rehearsals which is again because of the singer (see past posts).

 

At one point we get a request for "Sweet Home Alabama" which I/we don't know, and I don't wish to know because I hate it.

I have to shout at him to stop playing the intro as I don't do busking.

Throughout the gig he misses vocal cues and entry points and several times I have to jump in and play another solo; at least twice I didn't catch it in time and I don't start playing halfway through a verse as it makes me look as if I've missed a cue. I haven't; I made all my rehearsed cues tonight and most of the unexpected ones too.

 

The last number is a fXXXing mess - we used to do it in B, singer turns round to me and says "no let's do it in C", so the bassist (who cannot play by ear as he is in his late 70s and deaf) and harp player are completely lost throughout the song.

 

I get paid my pittance and travel an hour's drive back home feeling extremely pissed off. We have a club gig next weekend and we are bloody well sticking to the set list.

 

We are on our 2nd singer this year and it's not working out well as he just won't rehearse. The harmonica player has already asked another singer to join and I didn't want him to do that either; we have a rehearsal with this 3rd singer on Tuesday. She's very nice and all but I don't want a lady singer, I've done far too much time backing them already (over half my playing life). It's over an hour drive to rehearsal as well. Don't want to do it, so I will probably leave in September.

All very frustrating indeed.

 

Best wishes to all.

Edited July 29, 2018 by jdgm

[rct]

I am sorry to hear that jdgm. Discipline. It's more than just a good idea, but really hard to get bandmates to abide by.

 

Conversely, Friday night and Saturday night this weekend, both great great nights. Sang good, played good, they danced and clapped. Scored two for October and November tonight, that was another plus.

 

We'll be off until the end of September, completely. No rehearsing, I'm away a couple weekends in August and then the whole month of September. Really really glad we had such a good playing weekend before we sleep a bit. The winter really picks up in a couple of dives that like us a lot, so we are hoping to be busy.

 

gnight.

 

rct

[badbluesplayer]

Sat in with these guys last Friday. I played through his son's Supro for a couple of tunes. Something by Robert Johnson and something else.

 

There's no known footage of me playing - wife in charge - but here's my buddy with the Pro Junior we customized for him.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0MPdHmrCVE

[saturn]

Can't really call it a gig. But I sat in with on an open mic, or open jam, night at a local dive bar. It was being hosted by a guy I've played with before, so my buddy and I went to check it out. He ended. up leaving before we could play because his wife didn't want to stay.

 

It ended up being me sitting in and jamming with some pretty good guitar players, bass and singers, to a pretty disinterested bar crowd. We just played a bunch of fairly simple rock, country and blues songs and took turns soloing. It was still fun getting to know some new people and jamming with them.

[saturn]

Just came in a little while ago from a nice Thursday night gig at an upscale place in Baltimore. Would have been outside, but weather forced us to play inside the bar.

 

We were a little loud for indoors, but otherwise a great night for us. I used my Boss Katana instead of the huge Carvin and that little amp cut right through the mix. We had to compete with the Ravens game on the TV but still had 'em dancing.

 

No more gigs for a few weeks now.

[jdgm]

Another club gig tonight in a suburb of Southampton (Woolston). Over an hour to drive there.

The club was near-empty which is becoming the norm for gigs by our band. Very dispiriting.

At the end we were told that a pub up the road was having a music day with 10 bands playing until midnight.

 

We played a lot better than last week but singer started changing set list again, 2 songs in.

There are 2 more gigs booked with him in a fortnight, then nothing until the New Yrs Eve one.

He's a nice guy, a much better front man than our 1st singer but I can't wait for this to stop. It's just getting worse.

 

Everyone except Pete the bassplayer (who had been in it as long as me) took me aside briefly this evening for a quick private chat/moan.

My answer to all of it was "if only we rehearse we will sort it out just like that".

 

I didn't play 100% tonight - some bits were good and some weren't.

 

Best wishes to all and goodnight.

Edited August 5, 2018 by jdgm

[Karloff]

had a fun gig last night @ a local carnival. played 7 to 9. another nice thing was it was just 3 blocks from my home.

 

set list :

 

Hush

Flirtin' with Disaster

Bad lil Doggie

Waitin' for the Bus / Jesus just left Chicago

Southbound

Closer to Home

Game Face

Folsum Prison Blues / Pinball Wizard

Midnight Train

Dreams

Sometimes Salvation

Beautifully Broken

Breakdown

the Sky is Cryin'

Too Rollin' Stoned

Remedy

Whippin' Post

Edited August 23, 2018 by Karloff

[saturn]

I played a gig last night too. It was with my old band, that I left a few months ago. They got a replacement, but couldn't get this gig covered so I did it. We're all still friends so it was nice playing with them again.

 

Venue was an old Stone Mill (that's the name too) up in Pennsylvania. A little bit of a drive but it was a beautiful night for an outdoor gig and a good crowd. I rode with the drummer, so I took my smaller Boss Katana amp rather than the massive Carvin and the little Boss was more than enough to handle it.

[Marky Forrest]

I played a gig last night too. It was with my old band, that I left a few months ago. They got a replacement, but couldn't get this gig covered so I did it. We're all still friends so it was nice playing with them again.

 

Venue was an old Stone Mill (that's the name too) up in Pennsylvania. A little bit of a drive but it was a beautiful night for an outdoor gig and a good crowd. I rode with the drummer, so I took my smaller Boss Katana amp rather than the massive Carvin and the little Boss was more than enough to handle it.

 

That sounds like a good time. Playing with old friends, good crowd, very cool.

[saturn]

3AM I must be lonely.

 

Just sitting unwinding after a great gig. The Maryland State Fair is happening and place is right next to the Timonium State Fairgrounds. Te weather was rainy and we were outside, but covered. Even with bad weather, there were lots of people and the crowd was great. Fair must have helped.

 

Now I'll have one drink of whiskey and go to bed.

[Mutha]

Acoustic fund raiser for a local team. Played two hours which is short for us and the crowd liked the music.

 

A change from the usual "diddly-i" that they normally get in there.

[saturn]

Getting in from a gig up in Towson Md. tonight. Great night with lots of hot. dancing women. Although we called a bunch of audibles, here was the Set List.

 

 

 

[jdgm]

Good gig tonight in our favourite club in Totton, Hants UK. 60th Birthday party.

Considering we haven't rehearsed or played with the singer since the last gig (same club 2 months ago) we did ok.

It was rocking - it got hot! - though a bit rough. They wanted 60s stuff to dance to in the 2nd set and "Keep On Running", "You Really Got Me", "Walking The Dog" and "Honky-Tonk Women" got 'em going.

We also played a few bumhuggers and I didn't have to play bloody "Mustang Sally" either.

 

I had good enough tones but hadn't set my pedals exactly right for the amp volume, had to tweak occasionally....but by the end I was getting a satisfying punch when I kicked in the od, and I think that was because I turned the amp down very slightly....

 

I'm meeting a possible new singer in a couple of weeks to have a chat and a play, see what happens.

 

1.33 a.m. I'm enjoying a beer.

Edited October 21, 2018 by jdgm