cheddatom

11 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Looks like standard fare for many rehearsal rooms I’ve been in. It shouldn’t have been that difficult for the sound person to work out. Even our singer can use one of those!

I don't want to give the lad too much stick, I really felt for him as he was obviously way out of his comfort zone. However, we take our own mics, and make it clear it's for hygiene purposes, but the sound guy rushed on to the stage and started shouting down our mics to see if they were working - not very cool. Also, even though 8 channels isn't a lot to remember, I reckon it would have been a good idea to write down which instrument/mic is going into which channel. 

I gig a fair bit, and of all the cities/areas Nottingham consistently delivers. There's always an audience for us, and walking around at night, the place really feels alive. I assume other bands do just as well in Nottingham but maybe not!

26 minutes ago, TheRev said:

Ah- did not realise you're in Headsticks.  You've played on my stage at numerous Fueled By Cider festivals in the south west.  You guys have way less an overt political agenda than some of the bands we have on. 

Cool! I'm on drums, say hello if we're on again!

Bit late sorry...

Friday night supporting China Crisis in Nuneaton. Why would they put us (Headsticks) on with China Crisis? Anyway, I love the venue, sound was ace, and we went down well with the 80 or so people there

Saturday night supporting Terrrorvision at The Sugarmill in Hanley which is the local big venue. It was totally sold out and it's such a pleasure to play here when it's full. Unfortunately there wasn't room for a drum kit at the back of the stage so we were in a line right at the front. Our bassist played to the bar staff and communication with the guitarist was near impossible. Still, we smashed the 30 minute set and definitely won over some new fans

Sunday night in Derby - Doors were supposed to open at 4pm, but that's when the promoter arrived with a curry. The lad on sound hadn't got a clue how to use the ancient behringer PA head. He'd never been to this venue before and was used to pro theatre gear. The stage box was 4 x XLR 4 x Jack (WTF?) and he couldn't remember what he'd plugged into which channel. Thank F for ear plugs as it was just random feedback every few minutes - that's the soundcheck AND the gig. At the end of our sound check we'd got a usable sound, so I took a photo of the head and sent it to the sound guy, but that seemed to have no effect. I got a little frustrated which lead to an over the top rimshot which lead to serious pain in my left wrist for the remaining hour and 10 minutes of our set! Ouch!

Here's the PA as I didn't get any other photos

1 minute ago, Rich said:

Which undoubtedly translates as "I'd be a fan if you didn't say things I disagree with".

Yeh, indeed, which if we were saying "F the Tories" or the like, you could understand, but we're just saying "Isn't it sad there are so many homeless people in the UK in 2023" and the like - hardly radical socialism

People say my band Headsticks are "too political" or "too left wing" but if you read the lyrics, they're really not. They're generally about compassion and equality*

It's happened a few times though - someone's clearly watched the entire set, and enjoyed themselves, then they come up to us after and say "I'd be a fan if you weren't so political" 🤷‍♀️

*I have something to say about why those basic human qualities might be considered "left wing" these days, but it'd probably break the rules

You don't usually play open chords on a bass, which is the main reason for a capo. I used to play a song with an old band that had a fast riff which bounced off open E and A, but the guitarist played it a tone higher (we were actually down tuned). I couldn't play the riff in that key without a capo, so I used one for that song!

I have in the past, yeh, they're fine

only just seen this, also happy to help if you still need it doing

If someone sent me stems and there was something wrong with the bass, I'd go back to the client and ask them to fix it. I might offer to play it for them, but I definitely wouldn't MIDI it

Friday night, Salty Dog in Northwich. I'm sure it's been fuller for us before but the boss says not.

You may recall me talking about a sound engineer who had to be shouted back to his station because he'd muted the acoustic guitar? Same guy. This time he stayed at his station, but he was so glued to his phone he didn't realise we were waiting on stage, ready to play, at the allotted time. At one point it sounded like he'd undone all of his bass boosting EQ and stopped the almost constant feedback. That lasted for about 20 seconds before he managed to f*ck it up again and get back to his phone. 

Fair enough if you don't like our music, or maybe you don't like us as people, or whatever, but if you're being paid to do a job, and a pub full of people are relying on you to do the job, it'd seem to be to be the right thing to do to either learn how to do it, put the effort in, or quit and give someone who wants the job a go

Anyway, there was a dog running around while we played. I'd been speaking to the owner before the set and she explained that the dog doesn't like loud noises, which was quite confusing as she'd brought her to a gig! I've never owned a dog but I couldn't shake the thought of causing this dog distress as I played. We've had a lot of positive feedback about the gig, and several people have complimented the presence of the dog too (her name was Melon) so, I'll let the audience be the judge, and they were happy. 

I guess the fact I had to drive home later, and this pub has the best beer on our circuit, also put a damper on my mood. 

For back problems I would suggest core muscle exercises, yoga etc. but good on you for compromising!

I personally have a problem with my left wrist that can't be mediated. I expect it to get worse over time, and it already has. I used to play 6 string basses, then I could only play 4, now I can only play short scale. I used to play acoustic guitar every day, now I can't play for more than 10 minutes. I used to play drums with big fat heavy sticks, now I have to use light sticks. Lots of compromise and all of it quite depressing. I'll probably sell some basses soon, and I guess at some point I'll sell my acoustic guitars. I haven't dared try my old yamaha 12 string for example. 

All the best Lozz!

Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield on Friday night. We've never been here before but it's a cool venue, you'd probably get 200ish in the room, great stage, PA etc. Crazy Arm were on first, not heard of them before but they were all exceptional players. We (Headsticks) went on 2nd and absolutely smashed it. People were going crazy from the off. 40 minutes of non stop drumming and I was soaked. We have a song called "Naked" and it's about the emperor's new clothes and being lied to by politicians, but for some reason, sometimes people strip off to it. Friday night a regular fan of ours apparently stripped totally naked, went mad in the mosh pit, banged his head, and got kicked out by security. I didn't see any of this but a few people confirmed it after the set. Can't wait to see him at a gig soon

Shanghai Treason were on after us, who were great at sound check, and I feel terrible 'cos they're all lovely people, but I spent their set catching up with a good friend who lives in Sheffield and I never get to see him. I hope that's not earned me a black mark!

I've used settings similar to those in the OP when playing guitar through a bass amp, could be a possibility?

8 minutes ago, joeystrange said:

 

SV & the Eruptions

Cool! I must have seen you before at some point 

4 hours ago, joeystrange said:

I’ll be there. Playing at some point.

 

Mostly looking forward to seeing Descendents, The Damned, Republica, Bad Brains and Bob Vylan.

Which band are you playing with?

39 minutes ago, Lord Summerisle said:

Never too sure about this.

Punk was once about youth and surprising everyone with new ideas. Everything I’ve seen of Rebellion Festival seems to be male pattern balding, beer bellies and 4 barre chord songs where the chorus is just the title of the song shouted 4 times. Pretty much every emotion punk generated in 1976/77 has been lost to a well-worn formulaic approach.

Have you checked out Bob Vylan? Highly recommended

Anyway, yeh, I've been to to last 5 or 6 Rebellion festivals running. A lot of it is pretty much as you describe, but I guess that's what people go for. I don't think my band fit into that category at all, and there must be loads more. Steve Ignorant's Slice Of Life for one, which is IMO very clever musically and lyrically. The same band plus a drummer are doing a set of crass songs - musically simple perhaps but an incredible show and certainly not just 4 chords with a one line chorus.

Awesome! I'll be there with Headsticks, hopefully catch your set

15 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

I'm getting ready to head to Germany with another bunch of my students. I am playing bass with two of the vocal ensembles. One is a gospel number and the other is very Latin. I'm taking one bass (MPV-5), one amp (my Harkte kickback 12) 2 leads, truss rod tool, multi-tool, and the appropriate allen keys. Also take a couple of 9v batteries, extra AAA's for the tuner, a set of strings, and a folding stand. That should do it. I'm going to start cutting back on all the backups I haul along with me. 

Have you done the paperwork for the amp? Anyone's allowed to take an instrument for personal use but AFAIK you need a carnet for an amp

I'm sure there's a "worst gig" thread somewhere, but just to chip in... Try playing in original metal bands. Then you get to do "unpaid practise". Sometimes the other bands might watch, but we played one once where the support band left and after we started our set, the soundman left too, meaning we literally played to no-one for 25 minutes and then went home unpaid. 

A small festival in the middle of nowhere on Saturday night. A full on set 11-12. It was very warm and sweaty. This crowd are so supportive of the band, we could play absolutely terribly and still go down well. I can understand how that might undermine the motivation of some, but for me it just takes all the pressure off. I had a great time, and I managed to get home by 1:30 which was a lot earlier than I expected. 3 weeks off now

2 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Psychology.

It's still a point though - the feeling of high SPL stage could certainly influence how you mentally feel on stage. 

you get more sustain though right? Am I just imagining that?

Feedback is so much more than just screaming guitar sustain etc. I personally like a controlled amount of feedback when playing bass too. Even the strings feel different under my fingers if I'm turned up loud through an amp or PA

I get the ampless/in-ear thing and it obviously works for loads of people. One potential drawback I can see is feedback. Some feedback is desirable, especially when playing lead guitar. How do you get feedback with no monitor or amp?

13 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

I do full band and acoustic too. What's it like in your neck of the woods, is it easier to book the acoustic gigs?

 

Blue

Honestly I have nothing to do with that side of things so I have no idea! We're generally playing venues that are geared up for full bands, we just did the acoustic thing to give the fans something different, or at least that's what I was told when I begged for a floor tom

The last of our "almost acoustic" gigs on Saturday night in Wroot near Doncaster. It's very much a village hall type venue, but the sound is always great. The original plan was to have an all-seated affair, which reduced capacity, and so it sold out within hours of being announced. As footage of our "almost acoustic" gigs started to appear on the internet, the promoter for this one realised that seating may not be appropriate due to all the p*ssed up punks going nuts. This meant he could up the capacity again, but it was a bit late to shift many more tickets (although apparently he did another 20). Anyway, there were plenty for the room, we sold loads of merch, went down really well, and got loads of free pizza and beer. I don't think it gets much better than that!

I've been finding these gigs really easy in terms of physical effort. We've got loads of the "full band" gigs booked for this year and I'm worried I'll not be up to it. Better get exercising! 

There are loads of photos on Facebook in our "Headsticks Gigs" group but I'm not sure it's polite to just nick them for here. The venue is cool anyway, lots of fairy lights etc.