StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 On 27/09/2018 at 15:57, dmccombe7 said: Really odd how things are so different over here. Weddings bands here have all their own gear... PA and lighting and can charge up to £3 or £4k depending...but I believe typically you will pay a minimum of £1-2k for a decent wedding band. Unbelievable! This just does not happen here around Toronto. Everything is DJ. I often see American musicians coming to Toronto, but I don't think they stay long once they see how slim things are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Most people over here prefer a live band at their wedding if they can afford it. Typically bar bands will make anything from £200 to £500 and then moving into larger venues or clubs you are up to the £1k upwards and as you get more noticed on the circuit you can slowly increase your rates. We have been offered £1k for our first gig even tho the venue has only heard a few rehearsal recordings taken on a phone plus they know the singer from his other band. With regards your checklist i recognise most of the things you mention on it and my current band all sat down at first meet in a coffee shop to discuss basically what you had on your list. Mainly everyone's idea or expectation of what they wanted from this band (Glam Rock covers band) other commitments with their other bands all booked a year in advance and everyone accepted the band was more a side project to fit in around other commitments. We discussed the set and songs possible with only gtr, bass, drms and Vox. We did discuss possibility of a 2nd guitarist or kys but would wait until we had a few rehearsals under the belt to see how we sounded. Eventually we had the opportunity of a kys player with similar attitude that singer new from other bands. We each took a list of songs we thought would work as a 4 piece and the main point was that we all got along on a more social level hence the coffee shop meet. It al went really well altho the other commitments has meant slow progress on the rehearsal front. The guys that play in other bands have now realised that this band could potentially make some good money as well as having lots of fun and are now leaning towards this band being their priority band. We have been offered good money for our first gig which will be a in the New Year due to delays in rehearsals but we all knew that from the first meet that it would be an issue. Altho you post is long i did read all of it and it makes a lot of sense. As you say we really should make up a checklist for any audition. Dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Just my tuppence worth... Don't forget to do an impressive slap solo at some point.. before, during & after the song. Bands love that. Talk about the gear you've brought ..in detail. Not forgetting to mention all the gear you've owned over the years. Bands love that. Name drop (even if it's the most tenuous of links). Bands love that. Ask the guitarist(s) why they're not playing a strat/paul/sg (delete as appropriate). Guitarists love that. Helpfully mention the singer's a bit "pitchy". They love that. Tell the band leader (on the quiet obviously, you're not insensitive) that you've got a drummer mate who you've played with for years, and he/she is easier to "lock in with". You're smashing it at this point, they'll love you. You're welcome. Sent from my bedroom. Don't forget to come & see slappys' one man band.... 🤠 2 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) 45 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: Most people over here prefer a live band at their wedding if they can afford it. God Bless you Brits. eh! I was born in the wrong country... Checklists work for me.They're a nerve saver. Edited October 31, 2018 by StringNavigator 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) 49 minutes ago, StringNavigator said: God Bless you Brits. eh! I was born in the wrong country... Checklists work for me.They're a nerve saver. Aye we've always been a traditional lot over here Canada aint so bad. Quite fancied living there. Edited October 31, 2018 by dmccombe7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbasspecial Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: Canada aint so bad. Quite fancied living there. Whereabooots Eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 49 minutes ago, pbasspecial said: Whereabooots Eh? I have relatives in Niagara but loved Niagara on the Lake but also cousin lives in Vancouver Island and has a house in Banff but i've never been to that side of Canada. Liked Niagara on the Lake a lot tho. Its a huge place so plenty of places to choose from i reckon. I just found Canadians in the Niagara area really nice and very friendly and happy. Just seemed like a nice place to live. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbasspecial Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Canadians are just the friendliest people in the world, especially my aunt Barb (New Brunswick). They are lovely, like Americans on Prozac. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Just now, pbasspecial said: Canadians are just the friendliest people in the world, especially my aunt Barb (New Brunswick). They are lovely, like Americans on Prozac. Sounds like every Canadian I've ever met, so it must be true! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 4 hours ago, pbasspecial said: Canadians are just the friendliest people in the world, My wife (who is Canadian) would be offended at that statement 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 If I wanted friendly I'd move in with the Eskimos. Canada is a music wasteland. I'd gladly endure the British if I could play with other musicians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, FinnDave said: Sounds like every Canadian I've ever met, so it must be true! Indeed so. My cousin Lara married a Canadian guy who was over here playing Pro Ice Hockey. Big as a house. Met the rest of his family at the wedding and they were even bigger. One of his brothers was about 6'10, no kidding. All really lovely people and a total hoot. It's a bit like that Spitting Image South Africa song, but different: 'I've only ever met nice Canadians'. Edited October 31, 2018 by skankdelvar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 You don't hear much from the Canadian music scene right enough other than the very famous ones like Rush and Bryan Adams and sure there are a few more. You don't generally hear about the ones just below that level. Is it really that bad in Canada ? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: You don't hear much from the Canadian music scene right enough other than the very famous ones like Rush and Bryan Adams and sure there are a few more. You don't generally hear about the ones just below that level. Is it really that bad in Canada ? Dave Devin Townsend is as active as ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Yes, but how many years have we been worshipping at the altar of "Great Canadian Icons"... The Guess Who and Gordon Lightfoot? Really? They're entering Old Age Homes now as we speak. And these newer wannabee favourites aren't well-known famous. I'm not paying $437.95 CDN to watch their sorry sixty minute stage occupation. I'm into the hobby-band, weekend-warrior type of old man's shed bands. I would never call myself a pro and 99% of musicians in Toronto work for free. Half of them pay to play at a bar. I almost have a belly laugh when I see ads placed by "professional bass players"... How did they become "professional"? As a kid I played two shows with JL Hooker and met BB King in one night. That didn't make me a "pro". I have been paid, but that doesn't make me a professional musician, either. It also seems that in Toronto, there's a perceived difference between ages 58 and 64. "Oh, I'm 42 and a half, but I look much younger...I act young for my age... you wouldn't know it..." That's how desperate it is here. Hair tint products are flying off the shelves. But I diverse... But it's hard for a retired guy to pick up and move to a more artistic clime. They actually cut your pensions depending on which country you go to. I guess I'm waking from denial to anger as I slowly realise that the paradigm has changed. Music as I know it has disappeared. Not changed into a new generation's way of playing, but quickly vanishing. Exponentially in the past three years. Just when I have the time to play till the sun sets, I feel like I've been placed by aliens into that twilight zone episode where there's only one guy left, who always wanted to be alone, and now he is... with a store full of mannequins. But I have to rig them up to fan motors with belts to make them move and appear "human"... like in Home Alone. Hey, that's not a bad idea... kind of a Devo thing, eh...? You know, I'm watching way to many House DVD's. Edited October 31, 2018 by StringNavigator add eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 37 minutes ago, StringNavigator said: Yes, but how many years have we been worshipping at the altar of "Great Canadian Icons"... The Guess Who and Gordon Lightfoot? Really? They're entering Old Age Homes now as we speak. And these newer wannabee favourites aren't well-known famous. I'm not paying $437.95 CDN to watch their sorry sixty minute stage occupation. I'm into the hobby-band, weekend-warrior type of old man's shed bands. I would never call myself a pro and 99% of musicians in Toronto work for free. Half of them pay to play at a bar. I almost have a belly laugh when I see ads placed by "professional bass players"... How did they become "professional"? As a kid I played two shows with JL Hooker and met BB King in one night. That didn't make me a "pro". I have been paid, but that doesn't make me a professional musician, either. It also seems that in Toronto, there's a perceived difference between ages 58 and 64. "Oh, I'm 42 and a half, but I look much younger...I act young for my age... you wouldn't know it..." That's how desperate it is here. Hair tint products are flying off the shelves. But I diverse... But it's hard for a retired guy to pick up and move to a more artistic clime. They actually cut your pensions depending on which country you go to. I guess I'm waking from denial to anger as I slowly realise that the paradigm has changed. Music as I know it has disappeared. Not changed into a new generation's way of playing, but quickly vanishing. Exponentially in the past three years. Just when I have the time to play till the sun sets, I feel like I've been placed by aliens into that twilight zone episode where there's only one guy left, who always wanted to be alone, and now he is... with a store full of mannequins. But I have to rig them up to fan motors with belts to make them move and appear "human"... like in Home Alone. Hey, that's not a bad idea... kind of a Devo thing, eh...? You know, I'm watching way to many House DVD's. Depressing post. I'm 58 and having a great time over here. Since getting back into playing at age 50 i've been in more bands than i ever was in my late teens to early 30's and enjoying it far more too IMO Age is a state of mind. I generally have a positive oulook on life and if there's something i want to do i do my very best to do it. I don't look at the negatives and think its too difficult and drop it. I look at how i can get around the obstacles to get where i want to be. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) 46 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said: Depressing post. I'm 58 and having a great time over here. Since getting back into playing at age 50 i've been in more bands than i ever was in my late teens to early 30's and enjoying it far more too IMO Age is a state of mind. I generally have a positive oulook on life and if there's something i want to do i do my very best to do it. I don't look at the negatives and think its too difficult and drop it. I look at how i can get around the obstacles to get where i want to be. Dave I'm 65, gigging and making bill paying money as a weekend warrior. I'm also a lot more realistic than I was years ago. We don't play for free, we have a set fee for our bar shows if the owner can't afford us we decline. Festivals and Fairs are a different story and much more lucrative. I did see a gig booked for us in August 2019. It's a 2.5 hour drive. However they're paying us $1,000.00 plus hotel rooms for a 90 minute slot. It's still a pain to drive that far for me. Blue Edited October 31, 2018 by Bluewine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 22 minutes ago, Bluewine said: I'm 65, gigging and making bill paying money as a weekend warrior. I'm also a lot more realistic than I was years ago. We don't play for free, we have a set fee for our bar shows if the owner can't afford us we decline. Festivals and Fairs are a different story and much more lucrative. I did see a gig booked for us in August 2019. It's a 2.5 hour drive. However they're paying us $1,000.00 plus hotel rooms for a 90 minute slot. It's still a pain to drive that far for me. Blue But its what you do for a living. The travel is a part of gigging. Guys in my band play in other bands and they will travel 3-4 hrs for a gig stay overnight and travel back home following day. They'll be lucky to get paid £500 for that gig minus travel and accomodation expenses they might break even but they love playing. Current band is a bit different for me as they will be aiming at corporate gigs and clubs who have already offered £1k for a first gig. This will be the first band i've been in that will be makng good money. I guess that will be worthwhile and welcomed bonus for me. Might even buy some new gear with it. The better gigs for a lot of tribute bands are usually down south in England so a minimum of 2-3hrs each way is the norm if you want paid more and have a more enthusiastic audience. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: Depressing post. I'm 58 and having a great time over here. Since getting back into playing at age 50 i've been in more bands than i ever was in my late teens to early 30's and enjoying it far more too IMO Age is a state of mind. I generally have a positive oulook on life and if there's something i want to do i do my very best to do it. I don't look at the negatives and think its too difficult and drop it. I look at how i can get around the obstacles to get where i want to be. Dave You're my hero, Dave! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) I guess if one lives in Las Vegas, they take stardom for granted. They're everywhere, supermarkets, gas stations... People in Washington D.C. take job security and pensions for granted. People in California take everything for granted. If you live in the UK where tourism is a way of making a living instead of manufacturing, everyone drinks, goes to pubs, listens to live music, (4000 per wedding!?), and depends upon Big Brother to divvy out the dole when they hit a rough patch (and they still can make money under the table in a black market), then I guess it's hard to imagine a place where music has died. People in Kansas do without French cuisine. People in Alaska do without people. People in Seattle get wet and people in Chicago get shot. I'm sure that in the UK you have learned to live with less than your first world counterparts. But I'd be the last to try and sound like a hero and explain how I live off the stock market in North America. Or describe the water while you're drowning. I tried to discuss a real issue that will soon affect you, too. But instead all I got was pop-psych and psycho-babble. No one wants a gu-ru. I'm simply stuck in a DNA locale where people think that a good ear is one that doesn't wax up. Where music is becoming a thing that older people used to do. AI is a small thing with a great affect. When the first record was turned, live music began to die. Millions died with it, in essence. Music was a career for many talented people. Just as we can now create anything with 3D software, causing millions more to become unemployable, and manual skills to become useless. Like the video, I decry the loss of music, and we are seeing it in this part of the world first, because there is always a lag across the Atlantic Yes, The Beatles were merely a product copy of American R&B and later a poor man's copy of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. The cascading shut-down of music venues as property values go through the roof is unstoppable. But you cannot see the train, because it hasn't hit you yet. But that shouldn't make you chuff... Trains always appear to be farther than they are. And they used to kill messengers. Edited October 31, 2018 by StringNavigator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 39 minutes ago, StringNavigator said: I guess ... they used to kill messengers. ^ I am very much enjoying your posts ^ Nice work, Sir 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) Cheers! You always were a devil, Del! Keep us smilin'. Edited November 1, 2018 by StringNavigator add always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 14 hours ago, StringNavigator said: Checklists work for me.They're a nerve saver. Indeed. When I'm feeling a bit like taking a risk, I just do a mental checklist (this may sometimes result in minor things like PA speaker stands being omitted). When I really, really want to get things right, I use an app called ColorNote on my phone which allows me to create a checklist which I can reuse to my heart's content. Oh, and when I have more than one silver case and I want one and not the other, I open it up to check I've got the right one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringNavigator Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, tauzero said: When I really, really want to get things right, I use an app called ColorNote on my phone which allows me to create a checklist which I can reuse to my heart's content. Oh, and when I have more than one silver case and I want one and not the other, I open it up to check I've got the right one. God bless your military mind! You'd be promoted in no time. In my little world, I use index cards. I keep them in a leather folder. Too late to change, now!. See what you're missing.. Edited November 1, 2018 by StringNavigator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, StringNavigator said: God bless your military mind! You'd be promoted in no time. In my little world, I use index cards. I keep them in a leather folder. Too late to change, now! The batteries will never run down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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