Stage Clobber

[Deep Thought]

How many of you folks have specific stuff to wear onstage, or do you just play in what you got out of bed in? Obviously tribute bands have to make some sort of effort to emulate those to whom they are paying tribute, but how many have proper stage clothing, and I suppose it would be remiss of me not to ask for photographs?

[djhamer]

i generally put a shirt on n try n look reasonably tidy, compared to the rest of the band i still look the human equivalent of a tatty old wheelie bin in a wedding dress shop window

[Tait]

In my old band, Psychedellic Scream, we all had to wear black t shirts.

[beerdragon]

At our last gig i wore one of these [url="http://www.play.com/Clothing/T-Shirts/4-/1098930/T-Qualiser-Graphic-Equaliser-Music/Product.html"]http://www.play.com/Clothing/T-Shirts/4-/1...ic/Product.html[/url] it went down a bomb. every one's asking where can i get one. of course if you play at any kind of volume the things always lit up!

[Tait]

One of my friends has one of those. We have fun on non uniform day at school

[stewblack]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='57545' date='Sep 8 2007, 10:02 PM']How many of you folks have specific stuff to wear onstage, or do you just play in what you got out of bed in? Obviously tribute bands have to make some sort of effort to emulate those to whom they are paying tribute, but how many have proper stage clothing, and I suppose it would be remiss of me not to ask for photographs?[/quote]
I got in the habit of wearing a suit when playing in a ska band and find I prefer it now. It helps me get into character so to speak. Even if I'm wearing a t shirt underneath I still like to wear a suit on stage.
Having recently started a new job which demands I wear a suit and tie every day I'm wondering if the stage gear will now need to smarten down to compensate.

[jwbassman]

Depends on the gig...

For standard bigband gigs we have 'branded' black shirts with white logo...

For special (in conjunction with the Southport Melodic Jazz Club) bigband gigs we have 'branded' red shirts with the band logo

For pit work (not really stage wear I know) - casual/smart blacks

For other theatre work (when the bands on show) it's usually dinner jackets and bow ties

For everything else it's usually black of some discription


It's a good job I like black and have lots of black clothes...

[WalMan]

T shirt & a pair of long shorts even in winter. Have done for years now after starting in a hot summer & it feels really weird to do a gig in jeans now

[bassboy115]

in my band we dont have to wear any particular clothing but we usually all turn up in a black t-shirt, jeans and trainers, with a sweatband on one arm....obvioulsy its because we all like the same kinda styles but its only very recently weve played wearing a different cloured t-shirt etc...

[stingrayfan]

Black shirt, jeans, brown trainers normally. We all wore the same with loose ties for a gig recently and it looked cool. Very Moddy.

[Breakfast]

Last band was quite prescriptive about this, we went for a band "look" and then everyone dressed it- we were all flares and bright colours for a while, then we tried suit jackets and shirts, but that worked out a bit hot for gigs.

I quite like wearing a shirt, makes me feel like I care about what I'm wearing, and I avoid black simply because in very many venues the backdrop is black. As a rule I prefer to be a different colour to the background.

[woolleydick]

[quote name='beerdragon' post='57557' date='Sep 8 2007, 11:16 PM']At our last gig i wore one of these [url="http://www.play.com/Clothing/T-Shirts/4-/1098930/T-Qualiser-Graphic-Equaliser-Music/Product.html"]http://www.play.com/Clothing/T-Shirts/4-/1...ic/Product.html[/url] it went down a bomb. every one's asking where can i get one. of course if you play at any kind of volume the things always lit up![/quote]

Yupp got one of those, and I am still trying to find a way of damping the input so it reacts sensibly at gig volumes the blu-tak I tried last time was too much and it never lit up at all. Dead good though and oodles of "where do you buy them?" comments.

If I am not wearing that one then I try to wear as "loud" a colour shirt as possible over the top of a t-shirt.

Last gig it was the t-qualizer with the Brian May We will rock you shirt which has to be the most garish of all shirts ever produced - fab!

[3V17C]

[quote name='Breakfast' post='57941' date='Sep 9 2007, 10:21 PM']As a rule I prefer to be a different colour to the background.[/quote]

...haha.... dunno why but that sentence amuses me!!

anyways... i really don't like bands who just turn up and play in their normal street clothes that they've been wearing all day! you're there to put on a show so make some effort!!! Oasis used to really bother me seeing them standing around onstage in their dufflecoats and stuff and then of course all the wannabe bands started doing the same! grrrrrrr!!!

in my band we all wear black/very dark or camo or combinations there of. Normally tee shirts with some sort of 'cool' logo on and also some wristbands/jewellery etc!!

peace

c

[P-T-P]

There's definitely something to be said for having stage clothes, even if that means you just waer a different shirt and jeans to the ones you turned up in. I think it is kinda ritualistic and gets your focus on the performance. My band has gone from black trews and tidy shirts (which mainly ended up being black) to suits and ties (looks good but hot under lights and I personally found it very uncomfortable) to our current black and white theme which is proving to be very simple to achieve and effective.

If required we do the DJ and bow-tie thing but thankfully it isn't required that often, but even when itis, the jackets usually come off pretty early. When we do a pub gig, I like not having to dress up as such, but I do still always change my clothes to go on stage, even if it is just a case of putting on a different shirt.

[The Funk]

My maroon trilby and black sunglasses. I thought it might look over-the-top but I've only had good comments. I need to sort out the rest of my wardrobe to go with it though.

We don't really have any unifying theme or look as a band. Trying to figure it out at the moment.

[Kiwi]

We're having this conversation in my band right now as our photo shoot is coming up next Sunday. We're a bit resistant to the idea of a uniform as such, whats important to us is that we're distinctive and memorable - our individual personalities will count most for that. But the girls all have such divergent dress senses that its hard not to look a little chaotic.

For example, one of our singers likes her bangles and jangles, another is more urban chic and a third tends towards gamourous. Its hard to reconcile those tastes into a look as such. However, the Spice Girls did a pretty good job of it and I'm still trying to crack their formula. I think the lack of accessories helped a lot, they didn't generally wear patterns onstage and each of them chose a look that didn't overlap with any of the others.

Of course, in some ways the singers are the easy bit. The musicians are a little harder because we are in more of a supportive role and so our personalities aren't so crucial. I completely agree about black and the backdrop - we've had this experience ourselves mainly because the lighting was rubbish at most of the venues. If you look at some of the Jools Holland HipHop/RnB DVD acts most of them are looking good wearing black. I suspect this is because the lighting in the studio was a lot better than we've had on stage.

Wearing something lighter in tone definitely helps lift the band out of the background a little.

[wateroftyne]

We have a kind-of code... it works for what we do:

[P-T-P]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='58133' date='Sep 10 2007, 12:28 PM']We're having this conversation in my band right now as our photo shoot is coming up next Sunday. We're a bit resistant to the idea of a uniform as such, whats important to us is that we're distinctive and memorable - our individual personalities will count most for that. But the girls all have such divergent dress senses that its hard not to look a little chaotic.

For example, one of our singers likes her bangles and jangles, another is more urban chic and a third tends towards gamourous. Its hard to reconcile those tastes into a look as such. However, the Spice Girls did a pretty good job of it and I'm still trying to crack their formula. I think the lack of accessories helped a lot, they didn't generally wear patterns onstage and each of them chose a look that didn't overlap with any of the others.

Of course, in some ways the singers are the easy bit. The musicians are a little harder because we are in more of a supportive role and so our personalities aren't so crucial. I completely agree about black and the backdrop - we've had this experience ourselves mainly because the lighting was rubbish at most of the venues. If you look at some of the Jools Holland HipHop/RnB DVD acts most of them are looking good wearing black. I suspect this is because the lighting in the studio was a lot better than we've had on stage.

Wearing something lighter in tone definitely helps lift the band out of the background a little.[/quote]

I think it worked for the Spice Girls because they had a hefty amount of marketing behind them to reinforce their individual appearances. Posh, ginger, Sporty etc. weren't nicknames the fans came up with, they were created in a boardroom somewhere and the girls were sensible enough to live up to the images.

Individualism is great, however it can also come across as too eclectic to be memorable. On the other hand, uniform can be uninspiring and bland.

That's why we've settled upon a colour theme of black and white. We wear pretty much whatever we like as long as there's the B&W colour theme strongly represented. I think that's probably the way I would go if I was in your situation, say to the girls they can wear what they like as long as there is a common colour thread weaving it's way into the mix. The rest of the band could then either reinforce the colours or contrast with them.

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='3V17C' post='58087' date='Sep 10 2007, 11:08 AM']Oasis used to really bother me seeing them standing around onstage in their dufflecoats and stuff and then of course all the wannabe bands started doing the same! grrrrrrr!!![/quote]
That was a uniform in itself, I betcha they changed into that stuff especially for the gig.

[nik1093]

im rockin a gnarly super multi color sports jacket plaid pants and plaid nikes

plaid all the way

[Breakfast]

I think it's important to look like a band- Oasis may not have looked like they were trying but when they walked into the room people would have looked at them and thought "that's a band" and the clothes would surely be part of that.

Some of it is creating an impression of being slightly apart from the audience and being slightly a team with the rest of the band. It doesn't have to be marked, but it can help if you're a little over the top because there is something a tiny bit theatrical about going on stage to play to a bunch of people so thinking of it in those terms can be helpful, especially if you're reluctant to change out of your slippers, string vest and trackie bottoms to go on stage.

[wotnwhy]

for me, gigging is a whole package. sound, look and presence are very important when live. if you play to a crowd like you play in rehersal they might as well buy a CD because they're not going to get much more from seeing you on stage. Performance in terms of looks and actions are as important as performance in terms of sound (for me at least. obviously not everyones views are the same).

and so as you might have guessed. dressing up is a big part of playing for me. we have bin bags and boxes overflowing with dressing up clothes, and choosing what to wear before a show with the band can sometimes be almost as much of a laugh as playing!

obviously, the venue being played and the crowd being played to are a big factor of whats to be worn. ranging from a bit of simple, plain style:





to somthing a bit more outlandish for a bigger occasion







to full on outrageous for parties and the like

[Pbassred]

I can't wear what I get out of bed to a gig. It scares people.

....but this got me sacked once.


I prefer neat/sharp. The punters can wear jeans if they want to.

Edited September 11, 2007 by Pbassred

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='Pbassred' post='58872' date='Sep 11 2007, 06:26 PM']I can't wear what I get out of bed to a gig. It scares people.

....but this got me sacked once.


I prefer neat/sharp. The punters can wear jeans if they want to.[/quote]

I think they may have thought you were going to pull a "Rick Wakeman" and eat a take-away curry onstage during the guitar solo...

[EdwardHimself]

I wouldn't say i wear what i got out of bed in. I don't actually wear all that much for bed u see. Well we've only done 2 gigs and on those we just wore what we put on that morning. However i was thinking of wearing sunglasses to our next gig (aswell as my normal clothes), just 'cos i'm the bassist and that's what we're allowed to do y'see.

Edited September 12, 2007 by EdwardHimself