JTUK

The blues bands round here are going to have an exceptional gtr and they are just as valid than the 80's bands and they can work cheaper if they want.... I'll have a more up to date take on in as I have some blues dates coming up... not really my thing but will see how it goes. Some of the best players play in the blues pick up bands and they never struggle for people at the gigs. I think they struggle to pay 7 people but also they probably pull £350.. which is good round here in pubs. Since some of these guys normally only do pro dates otherwise, you can understand why people turn out. But sure, if it isn't done properly, it wont work. Maybe there is a bit of BS about the credibility of being able to play in a good blues band as well.... I'll enjoy if the drummer is funky, otherwise, a bit of a yawn..

I think the flight case with add more low end so if you like that...it makes sense. I'd always use 2x112 anyway...as you have to carry the case... you may as well make that a more efficient 2x112.

No, do nothing like that. If the gig is more than 30 mins away, we charge mileage tho and we'd rather not entertain it in the first place...depends on the gig

A friend of mine says he never fails to make money on blues gigs and they may range from a pickup band in the local to supporting blues artists from abroad. Blues is an 'easy' genre to make work but you need to be step up from a bar band... Having said that..a recent tour did indeed cost him money promoting it... he'd have done better just MD'ing it..???

There will be quiet a an inbalance across the cabs tho... so if running loud, the lower impredence cab will get the most power into and putting anything like 400w into a 210 would make me nervous. Of course, it will be hard to gauge how much power is actually put out anyway but I'd be wary of the same power cabs being run at different impedences..? It's not rocket science, of course, but..?? I run a 4 and 8 ohm config but the 4 ohms cab is 50% more capable power-wise and in practice, this works ok but potentially I could be running 800w or more... depending how oblivious and stupid I was about it..???

Listened to the Dogfight tracks and the gtr chords at the beginning set a nice tone. Good energy but the singer is not my thing as that sort of vocal is a bit limiting and wearing.. Still, never did AC/DC any harm..??

It is interesting to see where the market ebbs and flows. As I said, I know 3 pubs that are putting on special nights ...and I'm guessing that the bands will cost £1k plus for the night...? How much extra value the pubs will get for that is open to question but maybe it is the LL playing at promoter..? With the right act, I can see them doing ok..ie, not losing money on tickets and it might also get the place more on the map..? But I think the acts agents have actually prospected the venue. To put it a little into context... I know quite a few people who will pay £20 for a ticket as they see that as a cheap but a bit more special night out for live music..?? In that sense, pub bands will be nowhere... and to a degree, that is their fault as they don't offer anything different so one £250 band is the same as another...

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1424861969' post='2701203'] I often visualise bands like football teams. Drummer is the keeper, front man is the striker. Top class keepers and strikers are always at a premium and are held on to. I played with 3 different drummers for a while in current band before a 'stable' lineup established itself, current one is probably the pick of the bunch. I've done enough open mic/jam sessions to have run the full gammut of people claiming to be drummers right from those who were solidly professional to ones who had been gigging for decades but still struggled ot keep basic time! [/quote] I visualise bands in terms of how I think they will work together. I choose players for one band or another depending how I think they will dovetail. Throwing people together without this sort of forethought just seems a waste of time to me. I have to hear them to understand how they'll work ..or if they will work. Chemistry is key as otherwise it is just notes

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1424862546' post='2701214'] I was in a band that took this all very seriously. We put in a hell of a lot of effort, but it turns out we didn't know what we were doing. In the folk band I'm with now, at first I assumed that it was easier to get gigs as the music is more commercial than my old rock band. Then I started noticing the posters up in all the pubs we play. It turns out our frontman/booker/boss actually mails posters out to venues a month in advance, and then calls them to check they have them, and politely asks them to put them up. Then he actually talks to the audience when we're on stage! And afterwards! And he networks with all the promoters etc. It seems obvious now, but ten years ago we really thought all we had to do was land a CD on the right desk, and we went to extreme lengths to try and achieve that to no success. [/quote] I assume the guy who does all that gets admin money from the kitty..??

We said 2 gigs a month from the start and it is prety much still that. We are wary of taking 2 gigs in a row as this hurts the vocalist but in the summer we may feel it is workable. We have very good BV's but none of them is good enough to frontline a song so that isn't an option. Other factors are members with younger familes so altho we 'accept' bookings via an online diary, we still put it out by e-mail for members to confirm as they do have other lives. We don't flog things and everyone is mostly ok with a dep principle but mostly this doesn't really work. It might be ok in a pub and/or a party but some gigs just aren't depable. I do have a new project and that is hard sell to get people to commit on it as we will only do 5-6 shows in the summer. The booker insists that we invite them to a preview show and that is going to be difficult to arrange.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1424777563' post='2700256'] Just because a guitarist suggests a drummer it doesn't [i]necessarily [/i]mean that said drummer will not be any good... [/quote] I always reserve judgement, of course, and then find out I have to undo all the [email="cr@p"]cr@p[/email] we've just gotten ourselves into I am more inclined to listen to a keyboard's suggestion of a drummer tho..for sure..

I hate it when a gtr suggests a drummer...and if he is a friend, look out BIG TIME, as this means the gtr or proposer wants him in at all costs. Most gtrs players would not know a drummer for love nor money, IME...so I make sure it is a band vote on such things and even then... it is still very dodgy.

I'm of the opinion that there are too many bands and too many gigs around here. That lowers the standard to a degree and thins out the type of people who will travel to go and see bands. 20 years ago, people would pack two very popular and close pubs on a wednesday night and people would come out for that. Now, music is centred around the weekends and a local town could have as many as 9 bands on a saturdy night. Other towns may well have 15-20 or so gigs within the towns limits over the weekend. So, my theory is that relaxing the license laws has made 'live' music very easy for a LL to take up.. and that has provided 'work' for bands that maybe wouldn't have gotten gigs a few years ago... and the sheer numbers keeps the fees down as it isn't a special event anymore.. This is why a lot of the better bands are moving out of pubs and being a bit more exclusive. There is a level of player who will entertain pubs in a very loose sense ( ie decent pick-up bands ) but puts all their effort into a band with more earning or musical satisfaction potential. And that arena is tough... as people aren't used or just will not pay to see a ticketed event..or rather it is very hard work. One or two of the better organised pubs are putting on ex names as a special event and the bill for those bands is likely to be in the region os £1000 in a pub so the ticket prices are around £10;00. I think there is a rise and demand for the upto 350 capacity 'pro' gig and some pubs want a little piece of this. I think agents are targetting decent music pubs with these 'special' events.

Most decent drummers already have gigs so you need to get one on the gig and then thats your audition as well as paying them so they now know the score. If you can't offer them work... then it is more difficult. I tend to offer them gigs and go from there....

So, all your workmanship on show..?? that is going to add a premium...??

Play cleaner....or use it as an exercise to do so..

14kgs isn't bad for a 112 which goes low. The 'best' reference for a low 112 I've heard is a GS112x2 which sound huge but I sold mine on as I just wanted a bit more clarity higher up...and they were heavier, for sure.. I'd tend to pair up a 12's and that should extend the lower end so you could afford to go for a higher mid bias..?

I checked in every now and then... to both this show and the Las Vegas show... and checked out.

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1421279712' post='2659474'] I was told recently that compression really benefits SLAP bass. Is that correct? If so, why? [/quote] No, I don't think it is absolute... I definitely don't want any compression on my live bass monitor as I want all those peaks out there, and I can get them heard, high and low to cut thru a pub band type mix... What helps tho is if the band is EQ'd properly ..which isn't a given.

If you go down in the bars there and you get re-booked, you must be doing things right for the market.

When I first started, I used a Marshall gtr amp... and that was awful awful awful but I think it taught me a lot.

Ever started a thread and then thought, 'oops, that didn't work out very well, I'll leave them to it'..??

You've got to be sensible about it. There is work to be done and that needs time set aside, but the balance you find must because you've both determined what it is... There is no point killing the the goodwill ( ie, she accepts it so far ) so be reasonable about it.

Even Stevie Wonder can't drop that from his set.... the problem with it is people play it with no groove or purpose beyond the riff... I'd ban the gtr from the riff... but then you'd need a funk gtr player.

What was the desk..??