Little Things: An Advice Thread

[wineandkeyz]

Here’s how country artist Ward Davis handles it.

 

[o0Ampy0o]

17 hours ago, bill5 said:

You really don't want me on that soapbox. But welcome to modern America...we've been trending that way more and more for decades and all those village idiots out there don't get the many many reasons why it's a bad thing. Such parents aren't just painfully stupid, but selfish, cowardly, and should have been neutered in their pre-teens. 

 

ugh. I got on, sorry. Just so (so) sick of it.

 

You left out “feel entitled’ which also applies to how people handle, mishandle, coddle or neglect their pets. 

[o0Ampy0o]

38 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

Nudging this toward advice....what solutions have people come up with for the inevitable situation of kids/drunks/douchebros thinking that the stuff is there to touch and use? What language have you found works? We can't threaten to clobber everyone. What's a safer, more effective approach that people have found?

Designate a rotation list of who stays behind to guard the stage at break time. If you really want to get the point across get a hat that says “Stage Police.” People will forget you are in the band if you are concerned about maintaining the mystique of being part of the band. Keep everyone away like bouncers do. You don’t have to be aggressive, just assertive and clear.
 

In some cases you could go so far as to have tape on the ground or small signs which have written or printed “Band members only beyond this point” or something to that effect. You could even use rope or that yellow tape used at crime scenes. It comes in different forms not designated “Crime Scene.” Of course these suggestions will not fit every situation.

 

Edit: just saw “WARNING DON’T TOUCH MY SHIT!”

[Moonglow]

I’d start with structural interventions. Maybe place a cover over the keyboards or some signage?

 

Edit: Just saw that sign too.

[pinkfloydcramer]

Don’t count your gigs before they’re hatched.

[bill5]

  

 

On 4/2/2023 at 12:21 PM, TommyRude said:

What if it was Lady Gaga?

 

Or Dwane Johnson?

Child's play. Just make sure you let Will Smith do whatever he wants. 

 

Reading all this makes me glad I never got into gigging. 

 

 

On 4/2/2023 at 1:59 PM, MathOfInsects said:

Nudging this toward advice....what solutions have people come up with for the inevitable situation of kids/drunks/douchebros thinking that the stuff is there to touch and use? What language have you found works? We can't threaten to clobber everyone. What's a safer, more effective approach that people have found?

Pepper spray?

 

Oh how about if he (I think it's safe to say it's mostly guys) is married or has a girl with him, go "how would you like it if I went over there and felt her up? Would you be cool with that? No? Now you know how I feel, dipsh##." 

[aronnelson]

My favorite one - most likely the music you love when you were young and put all your effort to, will not be the music that is popular when you grow up. For example, you will not make a living playing FUSION!!!!!

 

Secondly, as bad as it seems, the less complicated the music is, the more likely that it will be more popular and make you money.

 

Both assume that you are trying to make a living being a musician. If you don't care about audiences and making money, play fusion, play fast, and stick those chords in there! LOL

 

Oh and if you want to make a living playing music, play the music that is local to your area. Sounds obvious.... but....

 

Sorry guys....

[aronnelson]

On 3/25/2023 at 2:29 PM, miden said:

Wished I'd of learned guitar instead

 

No, then you would have twice the amount of equipment! Why do I need so many guitars?????

[miden]

50 minutes ago, aronnelson said:

 

No, then you would have twice the amount of equipment! Why do I need so many guitars?????

 

hahaha!!!

[TommyRude]

2 hours ago, bill5 said:

 Pepper spray?

If anyone actually does this to stop folks from tinkling on their equipment, please make arrangements to catch this on video, as it will represent both the apex and the nadir of keyboard hijinx, and will also make good viewing.

[bill5]

I was mostly kidding for the record  

[Floyd Tatum]

On 3/30/2023 at 4:54 AM, JamPro said:

The Hav-a-Hart traps work well for me.  I set it out every night baited with a dab of peanut butter on the corner of a cracker.  I leave one  door shut, and one open so the rodent has to enter at one end - the PB'ed cracker sits at the other end beyond the trip bar.  If there are rodents around, they will get caught.  I have to drive them far away to release them. If I let them go in the neighbor's yard, they just come back to my house.

I wouldn't release a rodent, no matter how far away.   You're just transferring the problem to someone else.   Rodents are horrible carriers of disease, and don't belong around humans.   Kill the f***ers.

[bill5]

6 hours ago, Floyd Tatum said:

Rodents are horrible carriers of disease

Ever heard of covid?

 

Humans. Kill the f***ers.

[CEB]

Don’t scoot your ass over too far to one side of a X frame bench and fall off a 4 foot stage onto a concrete floor. 

[CEB]

Oh … don’t mistake dehydration and the symptoms of on coming heat stroke with some weird unexplainable nerves and stage fright.  Yep did that once too. Thought I was going to die at a street dance in BFE USA. 

[RABid]

Your best long term gear investment is not your keyboard, it is your sound system. Keyboards come and go but good headphones, studio monitors or stage amps can last 20 years or more. 

[EricBarker]

This has already been stated, but do anything to make your setup and breakdown faster, simpler, and cleaner.

 

make snakes. Heatshrink any adaptors, get good cable ties (I’ve been loving bungie ones).

 

Have a duplicates of all cables and minor gear at your practice space, house, and gig bag. A few hundred bucks can save a lot of time, mix-ups, and confusion.

[RABid]

Color coded tape can do wonders to aid in quick setup, especially if roadies or anyone else is helping. When, as a keyboardist, you have the biggest most complicated setup on stage you will always get help if the band is rushing to set up quick. I had a color for each keyboard. I would wrap each end of the audio cable with that color, cut a little piece to mark the correct output on the keyboard, and one to mark the input on the mixer. No more reading labels for 12 different jacks on the back of a keyboard. Match color to color on keyboard and mixer and your setup is the same every time. You can carry it further by marking sustain and CV pedals the same way.

[Moonglow]

Don’t forget to load your keyboards in the truck before arriving at the gig. Yes, you read that correctly. 

[timwat]

Practice your rig set up until you can do it under pressure, in half the time you were told you'd have, and with little to no lighting.

 

Normal human nature means under stress and duress, our responses devolve to our practiced routines. So practice setting up and tearing down, over and over again, in your garage or living room, until it becomes rote. I did this until I could set up in less than 15 minutes without having to invest a ton of mental focus.

 

In the real world, I typically show up with plenty of time to leisurely set up with little pressure or stress. But there have been times when unexpected traffic interfered. Or I found a less-than-ideal stage environment. Or the wedding planner switched us up at the last minute. Or the stage lights had to be dark for the entire load in. Or.....you get the idea.

 

 

[timwat]

Don't skimp on cables.

 

Buy quality, or learn how to solder well.

 

Once you have quality cables, treat them well, coil them yourself, and realize the majority of rig failures are 1) human error, or 2) relatively simple failures like cable connection stress, or similar.

 

When eventually you have a cable failure (intermittent, or scratchy, or similar), IMMEDIATELY quarantine the offender and remove from the gene pool until repaired or disposed of. Being the one guy on stage who has chronic cable failures (usually, trying to use the same bad cable hoping for it to work) just screams, "I'm not a professional".

 

[RABid]

I used to play a 3 or 4 keyboard setup. Played a job at a YWCA with bad power and only one keyboard would work, so, be prepared to play without your favorite, must have keyboard.

 

Played a three set gig with the middle set scheduled to be live on the radio. My amp went out at the end of the first set. I had no backup. The singers refused to allow my keyboards to be routed through the stage monitors. I played the entire radio set without hearing a note, and pulled it off. So ... ... ... practice until you can play your sets without hearing them, and, a set of headphones can be a valuable backup in an emergency.

[timwat]

1 hour ago, RABid said:

I used to play a 3 or 4 keyboard setup. Played a job at a YWCA with bad power and only one keyboard would work, so, be prepared to play without your favorite, must have keyboard.

Played an outdoor summer festival in 125 degree. There was supposed to be shade over entire stage, and there was...until the sun shifted with the afternoon when our set was scheduled.

 

Was playing a MainStage rig...the heat shut the laptop down entirely. Thankfully my controller was my Kawai digital piano...so the entire gig was piano only rather than all the splits, players, and elaborate stuff I had set up in the heat-bricked laptop.

 

That was, incidentally, the last time I tried to use a laptop-based rig...I've been hardware-only ever since. 

[RABid]

I played an outdoor poolside hotel gig in the heat of an August day. The direct sun caused the plastic covering the button panel of my Chroma to start bubbling. That was the last daytime outdoor gig I agreed to.