Outline GTO - Any Experience?

[John Chiara]

Re: Outline GTO - Any Experience?

I did a 4 band show a few weeks ago. The headliners were friends and were getting no soundcheck and were great. The 3 openers had 30 minutes for their sets. 1st up is a 2 girl act...kick/snare vocalist and acoustic guitar vocalist. They inform me while setting up that they need "3 stations"!now including a conga-vocal setup with separate vocal mic..monitor mix etc.
2nd act is 2 guitar, bass, drums and lead vocal. 3 guitar amps are on stage. "The bass player is playing guitar on one song."
I ask if he can play through one of the other amps..a few minutes of time wasted fixes that.
I knew I was in trouble when I saw that the rack toms were angled at about a 60* angle and had a big 'X' on each bottom head.. Of duct tape!
First act was like cats on a fence...2nd act..whose drummer's patents were sitting right behind me...played 2 songs..horribly... Drummer switched to bass..bassist switched to drums...worse than the drummer...guitarist switched to bass.. 2 more songs.. Drummer now on guitar and other guy on guitar. So bad it was excruciating. What a freakIn' circus!! Then when I mentioned this to the rinky dink promoter he accusers me of not being professional! He cancelled my gig for tonight.. Thank God.

 

[Jack Arnott]

Re: Outline GTO - Any Experience?

And when the last tune is done, get the fuck off stage fast along with the gear.

This is an important one to impart.
Rick Majerus has a basketball quote about, "The defensive possession does not end when the shot goes up, it ends when we get the rebound".
And I think it applies to this and many other situations. Don't bring your girlfriend up on stage, and gab with your fans. Get the shit off the stage, and then revel in your glory all you want.

 

[Ivan Beaver]

Re: Outline GTO - Any Experience?

I just participated in a local seminar here for new/young bands trying to learn about gigging, recording, promotion, etc. I really beat them up about exactly this issue - fast setup times, fast break down, not noodling around on stage with their instruments. Basically, how to make a good impression on the venue, promoters, sound guys, and the crowd. Nothing pisses me off more than a newbie drummer that doesn't set their kit up when they arrive at the venue so it's ready to go up on stage fast. Same when they decided to break the kit down on stage instead of picking up the assembled kit and moving it well offstage. I told them to get their guitars tuned up before they hit the stage. Don't riff, stay quiet until the downbeat of the first song. Don't dilly dally between tunes. Make fast transitions, keep people interested. And when the last tune is done, get the fuck off stage fast along with the gear. If you started late, end your set early. Do everything you can to keep the show on time and make a good impression on everyone. You'll be invited back and people will eager to work with you in the future.

It is amazing how many band don't "get this". I think they still think they are "entereaining"-NOT!

One thing that can help drive this home is to have a video recorder just sitting still during setup and breakdown. DO NOT move it-just let it record. When they see it-many will start to realize how "unprofessional" they look. Some care-others don't.

If you want to be professional-you have to ACT professional. But many don't know what that means.

Good for you-trying to raise the bar a bit.