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Using a music stand in a covers band


bonzodog
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[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1418109005' post='2626835']
There are of course situations and performances where you want everything polished and fully rehearsed to show standard with no stands in sight, but there are plenty of situations where this cannot be, and there are plenty of examples of seasoned professionals doing in both situations.

What I don't get is people making blanket rules for others

I've done plenty of gigs with fantastic singers who use a stand (generally set quite low and just for the odd prompt) , along with aweful gigs with no stand in sight .

When I dep I use index cards with structure prompts of required , I clip them onto my Hercules stand, not sure a singer could get anyway with something that small
[/quote]

Thank you for speaking the truth ;)

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1418072084' post='2626621']
And maybe some suggestions of what they should wear just in case they thought they were out to enjoy themselves rather than nit pik every aspect of the band!? Lol
[/quote]

That is only after half of them have walked out of the pub.. It is tough gig round here..
The better gigs aren't really open to all bands as the rosta is good enough to be picky with.

The LL..who may or may not get it, will decide if he likes your set, likes you, punters likes you..
- which is likely led by the LL's opinion, likes your singer, thinks you are too loud...
If they can afford to be picky, then that may or may be up for grabs... and judging by the
standard of the bands there are more than a few that don't get invited back.

It is more perception than anything else.. and I've done pelnty of gigs with both, but playing AC/DC
with music stands doesn't quite work :lol: :lol: :lol: and that is what most of the bands round here do..
that and Thin Lizzy.

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[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1418071479' post='2626608']
This thread reminds me of my last tutor. He went to watch Robin Trower , and he said he walked out because he was awful and just played scales. He noticed because he is a classically trained guitarist. I would imagine the rest didn`t even know what he was playing, or cared. Probably the same for music stands. The punters would never know that the stand was there, or if they did, wouldn`t know it was not normal. Only musicians would notice and care about it.
[/quote]

Really? So he went to the gig without knowing who Robin Trower was? Or knew of him and heard his music but thought that somehow on the night RT would change the way he played? Some people just amaze me at times. I trust that he was your 'last tutor' because he is now a multi million dollar seller/songwriter. good luck to him if he is.
This is not about your post, but the tutors comment. :)

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Sorry, but I don't believe any sane audience member "walked out of a gig" without hearing the band, because there were music stands on stage.

It might make a good story, but I just don't believe it.

As is being said, the band can be good, bad, professional or a bunch of amateurs, but there are far better ways of judging that band than their use of stands.

Anyone who hates a band without hearing them isn't someone whose judgement I'll take seriously.

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I would walk straight out before going to the bar, if it was a 4/5 piece [u][b] pub band[/b][/u], I dont care how good they are, nor who they are or who they think they are, with music stands all over the stage they are going to have the visual appeal of a wet weekend in Withernsea.
Nothing to do with hate, more to do with I have a choice as to the standard of visual performance of the people playing in the band.
Personally, it screams pants band that will resemble something the council put together.
If they can not be arsed to learn a few covers, then I am not that arsed watching.
I want to be in the pub with the singer with a radio mic climbing the PA stack, the guitarist fretting behind his head on fire and the bass player slapping out a fire solo whilst pretending to look the other way disinterested.

Learning to play an instrument is quite easy if you stick at it, learning some stage craft is a lot harder.

Some people might like to watch 4 people standing like cardboard cut outs reading from stands , fine by me, we all have our own choices.

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[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1418123704' post='2627005']
I would walk straight out before going to the bar, if it was a 4/5 piece [u][b] pub band[/b][/u], I dont care how good they are, nor who they are or who they think they are, with music stands all over the stage they are going to have the visual appeal of a wet weekend in Withernsea.
Nothing to do with hate, more to do with I have a choice as to the standard of visual performance of the people playing in the band.
Personally, it screams pants band that will resemble something the council put together.
If they can not be arsed to learn a few covers, then I am not that arsed watching.
I want to be in the pub with the singer with a radio mic climbing the PA stack, the guitarist fretting behind his head on fire and the bass player slapping out a fire solo whilst pretending to look the other way disinterested.

Learning to play an instrument is quite easy if you stick at it, learning some stage craft is a lot harder.



Some people might like to watch 4 people standing like cardboard cut outs reading from stands , fine by me, we all have our own choices.
[/quote]

Sorry mate, but that's just so narrow minded. You would walk out because they had music stands? We rehearse a lot when I'm home and we learn the songs very well, it's just I struggle to have time to learn every lyric perfectly. I use a stand for idiot notes. I don't stare at it all night. It's there to help me when I need it. We don't play large stages where we have room to jump all over the place, so the stand is usually quite anonymous

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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1418121308' post='2626966']
Sorry, but I don't believe any sane audience member "walked out of a gig" without hearing the band, because there were music stands on stage.

It might make a good story, but I just don't believe it.

As is being said, the band can be good, bad, professional or a bunch of amateurs, but there are far better ways of judging that band than their use of stands.

Anyone who hates a band without hearing them isn't someone whose judgement I'll take seriously.
[/quote]

Do you think some people would take a look at the band and decide the image that band portrayed wasn't for them...
i.e the band were in biker jackets and had long hair and were all round scruffy...etc.
I could easily imagine some people would decide that wasn't for them.. same with stands.
It doesn't matter what their judgement is like, it doesn't matter that they may be wrong.
In one or two of the pubs I am thinking of, I can well see people walking out before hearing them....
they might have seen enough.
Personally, I know when some bands are going to work or not without hearing them play their set...
I can do that with drummers within a few seconds... but agree I might stay for a while to have
my 'fears' confirmed...
A regards stands, I've been party to both camps but for rock n roll gigs, stands look quite silly, tbh.

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I'd rather go out of my way to see something I've not seen before, I'm going to see onehandloose on Friday with his rockabilly band, I've never been to a rockabilly gig and I won't walk out if I don't like the look of them!

The best function band I've ever seen was a klezmer band in Manchester, they were all clearly pro players bought together by the lady bassist and front women, stands were used for some songs but they were incredible! 150 people dancing to klezmer music obscuring the band so I doubt they were too bothered?

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I suppose it’s about what you think your role is has a musician in the band.
The audience may not music stands but they do care if the bands are boring. In my expreance bands that entertain bring in crowds and make the money.
If you think the role of the band is to entertain, and your role of a band is to be part of that, I don’t mean jumping around like an idiot, its about engaging with the audience, having a personality on stage, been a band looking like a unit. The singer may be the front person but the rest of the band should support that role.
Stands are not only clutter on stage but musicians staring at a music stand all night gives little or no value to the visual performance and atmosphere.
Rightly or wrongly many bands won’t allow stands on stage and it give the impression that you have not learnt your parts. So it might put bands of using you in the future.

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Alanis Morrisette - Stand in Pocket?


Anyway
I think the general consensus is - it depends on the situation. (Who'd have thunk it!)

Personally, I have one gig where I rock up with a stand, get given an EXCEL spreadsheet with chords for 20 songs on a page, and i'm expected to use that. It works well, we never rehearse etc.

I have another gig where the singer has (as per the picture above) a lyric screen in a monitor. Rarely looks at it except for the odd word. In that gig I never use a stand, but I have a very good memory and good ears so I can generally hear the changes.

I also do theatre stuff, and reading from stands = essentially obligatory.

If you need stands, and it doesn't cause issue with your personal bands circumstances, go for it.


ps

I'm Still standing - Elton John?

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[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1418127688' post='2627064']
Sorry mate, but that's just so narrow minded. You would walk out because they had music stands?
[/quote]
If they all had them yes, there might be another band on where they are a bit more sorted out and rehearsed.
Narrow minded, yes definitely, very narrow indeed, when I go out see a band I go as a punter and my narrow mind knows exactly what it likes to see and hear.
If it was an orchestra or some cheesy black shirted and white tie wedding band, then I would expect some wet lettuce musicians stood sight reading, but for my pub bands, I prefer them to have sorted the simple issue of learning a set list before they took to the stage.
They might be really good, dont really care, I want to see a bit of a visual as well.
Nothing against those who have no choice to use stands and written notes as they have memory issues or just can not be arsed to learn the set, good luck to em, but I am off to the next music pub, along with my narrow minded outlook.

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I don't think the use of stands means under rehearsed or can't be arsed to learn the material, in our case we all do our homework, rehearse hard but don't want to drop a ball on stage with an obvious faux pas. Our lead singer is an absolute gem, interacts with the crowd, has great stage craft but, hang on, is that a stand attached to her mic stand with a set list and a few idiot prompts? Yes it is and if punters are concentrating on the stands rather than the music and performance, what are they actually there for in the first place?

I'm genuinely surprised at some of the comments here, but then again it takes all sorts.

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There was a thread a while ago where a member here had done a dep at something like 48 hours notice, learning something like 40 songs, and had used an iPad to read the gig. The band had used that as an excuse rotary and not pay her m in full. I thought that was totally unreasonable.

On the other hand, when I saw Thin Lizzy in 1978 they didn't use music stands and if you play in a rock and roll band neither should you! If you play in a function band or an orchestra pit or whatever, that is entirely different...

Edited by peteb
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