Remu, that Angel Food cover was awesome. Looks like you have a pretty sweet acoustic too, what is it?
Khalid, that’s a pretty badass song. Is it original? Wish I could have seen more but I like the guitar work a lot.
I have a number of questions for the more experienced players (which is just about everyone here) about playing out:
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How did you start? Were you with a band from the beginning? Did you start out at clubs and bars or at parties and other private events with friends? What songs did you start with?
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How long did you play on your own before you felt you were ready to play with a band?
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How often/long do you practice with your band?
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How do you get the sound mix where you want it to be for every venue if you haven’t played there before? A lot of acts I’ve seen at smaller places seem to just crank everything to 11 and call it a day. Usually the vocals and any solo guitar work just get drowned out.
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Has anyone ever just completely screwed the pooch at a gig? What do you do, just start the song over or try to jump back in?
I have no illusions about being a rock star, but my long-term goal at this point is to be in a band that gigs regularly at local bars/clubs/whatever.
1 - I started at around 14 or so. Just wanted to play guitar - always loved it - even had a bunch of toy guitars as a young child. When I heard EVH in 79 or so that was it, then heard Randy on the first Ozzy record not long after and that’s what I wanted to sound like. I wanted to be a player of that high energy, technical rock guitar, I mean I REALLY wanted to …lol. Played in a band within the first year of playing but we sucked, and I sucked - we were kids.
That evolved into me actually dropping bands and woodshedding for a couple years until I felt ready and when I played in bands again it was on a whole other level. Only you can decide when you are “good enough” to play in a band. You played that Mountain tune in good time and if you can do that you can play with a live drummer and bassist, I’ll say that.
As for my first band we played a couple parties and one local club that was a shithole…lol…doing Zep, Priest, Def Leppard, Ozzy, VH, AC/DC…Shit like - You Shook Me and Whole Lotta love, Heartbreaker…Breakin the Law…lol…ah, memories. Even practiced in my folks garage - cliche!!
2 - Within the first year like I said - doesn’t mean I SHOULD have…lol…
3 - Getting on to more professional bands, I used to rehearse 2 times a week for 2 - 4 hours a pop. Depends on if it was an original band or cover band. Last cover band I played in practiced one night a week for about 3 - 4 hours. But we all spent time at home practicing/learning the tunes so once we got there everyone knew their parts - in other words not learning the song during band time, but on your own. I mean, yea, work out kinks and get it tight but we all had to have our parts down.
4 - Dude, sometimes there’s a great soundman and everyone is mixed nicely thru the PA, other times it’s fuckin raw - you just have to adapt - part of being a pro.
5 - No - not like freezing and forgetting the entire song…lol…but everyone makes mistakes - flub a chord or a fingering…you just keep playing and get your shit together pronto - again, part of being a pro and comes with practice and experience. : )
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Remu, that Angel Food cover was awesome. Looks like you have a pretty sweet acoustic too, what is it?
Khalid, that’s a pretty badass song. Is it original? Wish I could have seen more but I like the guitar work a lot.
[/quote]
Yessir, you can listen to the album version on our myspace (along with another track) Beyond Shadows | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
We’re not really youtube savvy so its hard for me to post a bunch of videos like these other badasses here! This thread is making me want to hook up a camera though, lol
Thank you, it’s an Ovation Celebrity, forget the model at the moment.
1).Started playing Metallica in my freshman year of high school around 2002, then got into some Randy Rhoads but my life changing experience was when I was looking through the music dvd section at a Wal Mart and saw Steve Vai’s live in Astoria dvd, had heard some stuff about him and decided to check it out.
Vai inspired me immensely that I enrolled in a music preparatory Conservatory and was classically trained in jazz and classical. On and off cover bands, few originals and Jazz ensembles for the most part up until about 2 years ago when I stopped and just kept playing for fun.
2)I don’t think it’s a matter of being ready to play with a band but having a band that is ready to play for people, working with a group is very valuable in the learning process and can up your level quite rapidly compared to just playing on your own. Just stay focused on becoming better at the instrument while getting a feel for playing with others.
A guy who gets up on stage and sucks, is at least getting better while the other guy is sitting around waiting to get better.
3)Usually with the group i’m getting involved in now, we just set a time aside at night and play until one of us passes out haha.
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I’ve been lucky and have had some talented techies, but when they aren’t around We usually have someone stand in different sections of the venue to gauge the amount of clarity. It’s never going to be perfect though unless you’re working with pros.
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I’ve learned that the single best thing that you can do, is know the song you are playing inside and out, learning music theory and applying it so that it’s second nature will save your ass more times than you could imagine.
But most of the time people won’t notice or care if you mess up, just play some horrific tones to stay in the rhythm until you pick it back up. You may stop but the band keeps going, this takes practice as well.
Also, love what you do while you’re doing it, and the audience will reciprocate.
This is great since I realized I didn’t properly introduce myself in the thread… great idea!
- How did you start? Were you with a band from the beginning? Did you start out at clubs and bars or at parties and other private events with friends? What songs did you start with?
Started @ 12 with acoustic, at 14 I got my first electric and started my band. Played clubs+bars. Did originals but with lots of cover songs in the beginning.
- How long did you play on your own before you felt you were ready to play with a band?
On and off for 2 years on the acoustic but once I got the electric I felt very confident and started up the band a couple of weeks after.
- How often/long do you practice with your band?
At our peak it was 2-3 times a week for 3+ hours each. During writing phases it might be once a month, once every few months, or even once a year.
- How do you get the sound mix where you want it to be for every venue if you haven’t played there before? A lot of acts I’ve seen at smaller places seem to just crank everything to 11 and call it a day. Usually the vocals and any solo guitar work just get drowned out.
Those bands sound horrible. We’d usually scout out the place before we play it, and then our rehearsals would basically be focused on getting our mix right. At that point if your not tight you might as well not play the show. When its showtime try to get a sound check, if there is no time for one we developed a quick 2-minute method to get our levels right, that can basically be equated to a set of “I go, You go” barbell curls.
- Has anyone ever just completely screwed the pooch at a gig? What do you do, just start the song over or try to jump back in?
Just jump back in. Often no one will notice the screw up anyway.
Good luck with your goals man. Hardest part about being in a band is finding the right people. My best friend was our drummer in the beginning and his passing almost derailed the whole fucking thing. Instead I turned the negative into positive and used it to drive my passion and ended up making an international career out of it! Seems so crazy to see it typed out like this…
[quote]SkyNett wrote:
1 - I started at around 14 or so. Just wanted to play guitar - always loved it - even had a bunch of toy guitars as a young child. When I heard EVH in 79 or so that was it, then heard Randy on the first Ozzy record not long after and that’s what I wanted to sound like. I wanted to be a player of that high energy, technical rock guitar, I mean I REALLY wanted to …lol. Played in a band within the first year of playing but we sucked, and I sucked - we were kids.
That evolved into me actually dropping bands and woodshedding for a couple years until I felt ready and when I played in bands again it was on a whole other level. Only you can decide when you are “good enough” to play in a band. You played that Mountain tune in good time and if you can do that you can play with a live drummer and bassist, I’ll say that.
As for my first band we played a couple parties and one local club that was a shithole…lol…doing Zep, Priest, Def Leppard, Ozzy, VH, AC/DC…Shit like - You Shook Me and Whole Lotta love, Heartbreaker…Breakin the Law…lol…ah, memories. Even practiced in my folks garage - cliche!!
2 - Within the first year like I said - doesn’t mean I SHOULD have…lol…
3 - Getting on to more professional bands, I used to rehearse 2 times a week for 2 - 4 hours a pop. Depends on if it was an original band or cover band. Last cover band I played in practiced one night a week for about 3 - 4 hours. But we all spent time at home practicing/learning the tunes so once we got there everyone knew their parts - in other words not learning the song during band time, but on your own. I mean, yea, work out kinks and get it tight but we all had to have our parts down.
4 - Dude, sometimes there’s a great soundman and everyone is mixed nicely thru the PA, other times it’s fuckin raw - you just have to adapt - part of being a pro.
5 - No - not like freezing and forgetting the entire song…lol…but everyone makes mistakes - flub a chord or a fingering…you just keep playing and get your shit together pronto - again, part of being a pro and comes with practice and experience. : ) [/quote]
#3 here is a very valid lesson, and has to do with what I said about finding the right people. Everyone needs to do their homework! Its like training, if your lower back is holding up your squat, you are going to have to fix the imbalance before you can continue improving your squat. Having a band member who doesn’t do their homework is like having a weak lower back.
1)I started when I was 11, and a couple of friends at school started shortly after, so we naturally got together to play after school etc. We played school events and stuff, playing stuff like Sum 41 covers and things like that, and a couple of instrumental blues numbers we put together ourselves. We all went our separate ways after school and I haven’t played with a band since, which is a shame but it means I can decide what I play, and if I want to pick something on a whim then I can. On my own I play in pubs and stuff.
2)I felt ready to play with friends as soon as I knew the basics - I found that competence with a band comes from playing and learning together, and getting to know each others’ playing.
- We practiced in school (music lessons weren’t strict), pretty much every day after school and sometimes on Sundays too.
4)Depending on where you play you could always turn up early and do a little sound checking to avoid stuff like that. The more you think you’ll need to screw around, the more time you should leave yourself. It’s not so tough for me anymore since I only have to worry about the guitar, my voice and the harmonica, not several other instruments.
5)I can’t say I’ve ever made any huge fuck ups, but if I make mistakes I just try and get back into a rhythm while trying to calm myself down and just get straight back into it.
Sounds like you’re doing it for good, fun reasons. Do you have a band yet? If you pick your set list carefully you could probably accomplish your goals within a fairly short timeframe. Always exciting stuff, good luck!
[quote]RTJenforcer wrote:
Sounds like you’re doing it for good, fun reasons. Do you have a band yet? If you pick your set list carefully you could probably accomplish your goals within a fairly short timeframe. Always exciting stuff, good luck![/quote]
I don’t have a band yet. My good friend plays guitar and can also sing. He knows a guy that plays bass but we haven’t been able to get together with him yet because of scheduling conflicts.
Any suggestions for a set list? I was thinking of that a while back, which is the reason I learned Mississippi Queen. It’s short, easy, and recognizable.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]RTJenforcer wrote:
Sounds like you’re doing it for good, fun reasons. Do you have a band yet? If you pick your set list carefully you could probably accomplish your goals within a fairly short timeframe. Always exciting stuff, good luck![/quote]
I don’t have a band yet. My good friend plays guitar and can also sing. He knows a guy that plays bass but we haven’t been able to get together with him yet because of scheduling conflicts.
Any suggestions for a set list? I was thinking of that a while back, which is the reason I learned Mississippi Queen. It’s short, easy, and recognizable.
[/quote]
In terms of stuff which is fairly straightforward but fun to play, I’d recommend anything by The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival or The Rolling Stones! Most of their big tunes are instantly recognizabe too. Hope it goes well.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]RTJenforcer wrote:
Sounds like you’re doing it for good, fun reasons. Do you have a band yet? If you pick your set list carefully you could probably accomplish your goals within a fairly short timeframe. Always exciting stuff, good luck![/quote]
I don’t have a band yet. My good friend plays guitar and can also sing. He knows a guy that plays bass but we haven’t been able to get together with him yet because of scheduling conflicts.
Any suggestions for a set list? I was thinking of that a while back, which is the reason I learned Mississippi Queen. It’s short, easy, and recognizable.
along those lines, how about some ZZ Top?
[/quote]
I have a number of questions for the more experienced players (which is just about everyone here) about playing out:
my answers to questions posted.
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I started learning when I saw a bunch of older musicians jamming, i would say I was around 14 yrs old. I started to play seriously in a band by the time I hit 19 yrs old.
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a few years, maybe 5. I ended up joining said older bunch of musicians.
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practice with the bands I play with now, maybe once a week, to twice. depends on the gig and how many dates get booked, and the event. say its a house party, we can jam it out. something more serious like a public event, entails more practice usually.
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you almost never get the mix you want. nothing ever works 100%. the best thing to do is listen to each other, and then make adjustments. but if I am playing at a venue with other bands, usually we just are as loud as the last.
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hell yeah. all the time, you just go back in when you can and try not to look pissed about it.
yeah gigging definitely takes your musicianship to the next level.
Thanks for the ideas guys. I should be able to come up with a short set list based on that.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
About 4 years ago ( pre-bulk 
)[/quote]
Forgot your shoes, eh? Lol - Nice Tele…what Boss boxes are those?
[quote]SkyNett wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
About 4 years ago ( pre-bulk )[/quote]
Forgot your shoes, eh? Lol - Nice Tele…what Boss boxes are those? [/quote]
DD-3 Digital Delay (I usually use 2 of these in-line), CE-5 Chorus, and OD-3 Overdrive.
I have original Japanese CE-3 Chorus and HM-2 Heavy Metal pedals which I loaned to a friend of mine’s kid who plays around (I don’t think I’ll ever see them again though…). I have a compressor/noise-gate laying around too.
That guitar is an American Highway One Tele with grease bucket tone circuit that keeps that bridge pickup nice and hot.
I’ve been playing through a Fender FM-212 100w (solid state/Chinese build) which has absolutely the cleanest clean for a SS that I’ve ever heard. Beautiful quacky clean with the Strat.
It’s not my Carvin 100XB (which I literally have kicked myself in the ass for selling every day for the past 20 years), but it gets the job done. Real wide frequency and with the HM-2 through the Tele single coil can get pretty grungy.
This is just a discussion generating Q:
How/when did you find your tone? Who influenced it? What does your rig look like? Does anyone need more than one guitar for a gig?
I still haven’t found mine yet, mainly because I just have a modeling amp that is capable of mocking just about anything but not capable of sounding particularly good in any configuration.
I like so many different tones it’s tough to settle on one. I love Dicky Betts, Zakk (from his early Ozzy days), David Gilmour, Gus G, and John 5. I don’t have the cash to simply copy any of their rigs though.
Right now I just play my ESP LTD Viper through my Vox VT-30. So far I’ve only customized one setting for a distorted sound, but it’s not fat enough. I need to adjust the mids I guess. I haven’t even messed with a clean setting yet.
Man, everyone has been playing since they were little. I picked up my first guitar about a year ago and im 25!!!
I guess that something to look forward to… WHEN IM 40!!! /sadface
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
This is just a discussion generating Q:
How/when did you find your tone? Who influenced it? What does your rig look like? Does anyone need more than one guitar for a gig?
[/quote]
Tone is like fine wine and all that shit.
My 3 main influences, like that I can trace me wanting to play guitar are Eddie Van Halen (1st album when I was 7), Stevie Ray Vaughan (got 1st guitar shortly after Texas Flood came out), Billy Gibbons (1st concert Eliminator tour). I found my ‘voice’ (specifically a nice vibrato) after a couple years and a little longer to develop a tone.
To the dismay of bandmates, I can spend a long time dialing in a tone depending on the venue (room size, composition, humidity, etc). Usually just tweaks to the dials.
I dig classic tones and overdrives (well, when I’m not just totally metalling out). I’m not huge on effects outside chorus/delay/distortion/reverb. The guitar straight through the amp should dictate the tone, the guitar’s voice.
Gimour’s tone is pretty classic, but it takes a PHD to follow his signal flow from guitar pickup to speaker. Later tonal influences Ty Tabor, Satriani, DiMeola, G. Lynch, Eric Johnson, bunch of jazz guys. Metal-wise Dimbag Darryl just had a wicked warm solo tone with tons of sustain.
Ever play through a Roland Chorus Jazz Chorus 120 amp with a Strat on neck pickup or a Gibson ES-335? Ho-ly shit-- WICKED best clean amp ever.
This could lead nicely into a tone-wood and/or pickup dialog!
John Fogerty/Joe Perry/Noel Gallagher/Nils Lofgren