Thursday, June 24, 2010
I was once accused of hiding behind my effects. It hurt me a little because I like to think that I don't. Then one day my GT8 broke and I had to play without it.

I thought I could get away with it, after all, I only need a clean sound and a lead tone. My amp at the time had 2 lead channels which was more than I needed. That gig was a mess. I had no tuner to reference from, so my guitar was out despite my best efforts (I blame the wind. Thats my story and I am sticking to it)

That played on me a lot. What if it were to happen again? So I went and bought an amp with effects built in. I went for the Vox VT50, but could have easily gone for any of the Roland Cubes or the Line6 amps. Even so I reckon I had better learn to do without any effects at all.

I pitched up at a band practice without my amp or my pedal last week. I had to use my band mates Crate amp. It has a lead channel and a clean channel and I made do. Everything sounded fine, even though I use quite a few volume based effects I had to fiddle with the pickup switch and the volume control a lot more than usual but it happened.

Than yesterday, I carried my amp and all my effects but I think I hit new lows in life when I realised I didn't bring a guitar. It was too late to drive all the way back home and I knew nobody nearby with a guitar I could borrow. So I had to make do with playing on an acoustic guitar. It was an Ibanez MASA commemorative acoustic guitar. There isn't much info on this particular guitar but I can say that this one needs a slight neck adjustment, but all round it's a very nice guitar that belongs to our drummer.

So there I played. I changed a few gain and eq settings to try avoid feedback and I played what is normally electric guitar lines on an acoustic guitar. Soloing was a little tough because it has one less fret than I am used to and the cutaway is hard to get into. Add to that an action that you can park under and there you have it.

Why I write about this is that as an amateur musician, trying to get to the higher ranks, it can be good to be fussy about your gear, but if you are rushed into a studio, you might not have tome to go searching for your perfect guitar or to try find the best feel or tone. You could be in the right place at the right time and the right band will be in the studio. You wouldn't want to tell your favourite band, sorry I can't help you out, I don't have my lucky underpants guitar.

Try playing well on anything, that way you can do it at any time when asked.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I played on Saturday evening with Swell band at a birthday party. Lately with Swell we have been focusing on getting the on stage sound right. This weekend we seem to have nailed it.

The truth be told though, it seems we solved the problem by throwing money at it. Each of us had our own monitor, and we were mixing on a fairly advanced desk.
I had my trusty Vox rather close to me but thanks to the variable wattage I turned the amp down to about 30W and miked it for the Front of House sound.

I had to adjust the gain settings on my favourite lead patch on the Boss GT8 to prevent feedback and then the angels were singing.
Sometimes this is necessary. Much like EQ and reverb gain needs to be set for the venue. Too much will cause headaches and too little will sound weaker than you want it to. The tone you get in the rehearsal room is tough to mimic elsewhere.

I also decided that I was going to hold back a bit on my playing. Too often I try and be too flashy or fast and end up losing the plot. I played simple lines and kept with what I was 100% sure of. As a result my confidence was high and I left feeling like a king.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
In my experience there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a gig. if there is a possibility if it going wrong, it probably will at some point in your career. Here are 10 things I like to check before I gig, big or small.

1. Strings. Check your strings a few days before, after your last practice and the day before. If you need to change for whatever reason do it as early as possible so your strings are at least slightly stretched in before you play. Tuning between songs is fine, but if your guitar can't stay in tune for a whole song it's not good enough. Also make sure you have spare strings or a spare guitar. If you do have a spare guitar you need to check that as well.

2. Leads. There is nothing worse than the noise a faulty cable makes on a loud guitar amp. It can make you look unprofessional and stupid to not have working leads. check them, carry spares and check those. Make sure you have more than enough to rig your gear.

3. Power. Never rely on the venue to have enough extension cables or multiple adapters to supply your rig. Even if they do, they may be in an unsafe condition and could possibly kill you mid-gig. Bringing your won makes sure they are there, and that they work.

4. Batteries. Does your guitar or pedal need batteries? Get new ones. or if you use rechargeable batteries, make sure they are charged and carry spares with you.

5. Stands. Microphone stands, guitar stands and amp stands. Make sure you have packed all you need. Venues always seem to be one stand short and to save time or to prevent having to string a mic up from the rafters, just carry that one in your car in case.

6. Toolkit. A basic toolkit in case quick repairs are needed should at least have screwdrivers, hex keys and spare parts for amps and guitars. I carry around a soldering iron as well but I've never needed it to date. The further you are away from home, or a quick place to get something fixed, the more prepared you need to be.

7. Spare Clothes. You are a performer and unless your stage presence relies on you looking a mess it is advisable to have a change of clothes with you. All you need is to be waiting to go on stage, and some drunk bumbling buffoon (because they are there) will stumble and spill his drink and/or food on you.

8. Effects. I like to double check that all my effects are working as planned. I have had my pedal fail on me once and I now have backup effects which I also check are working. I try have contingency plans for my contingency plans...

9. Rest. Try get plenty of rest before hand. You don't want to perform while yawning, that sends a very bad message to your audience. If your energy levels are up you can give that to your fans and they will appreciate it.

10. Be Prepared to Rock. Get yourself into the right frame of mind. Nothing can compare to finishing a gig, having been in the right head-space. Just a short meditation or psyche up and you can get on stage pumped and full of the right energy to put on a great show and soak up some really good energy from a crowd who enjoy watching the performance. I like to stretch before I play, I don't listen to any music and I run through what I need to do in my head before I get on stage.

It's always a great idea to be prepared, you may not be the best musician playing the most technical songs, but you definitely don't want to look unprofessional.
Thanks Arjun for the topic.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I once interviewed a band for a small magazine. They had just recorded an album and were about to sign a distribution contract. They were kind enough to give me a copy of their album and it was extremely well produced, the songs were amazing and the arrangement incredible. I would go so far as saying that it was the best album released in South Africa this millenium. Yet I know few people have heard of them.
So what went wrong? I guess we'll never know. Maybe it just wasn't their time? Maybe the country wasn't ready for this calibre of artist? Maybe there is a conspiracy against SA rock music?

This story has been bugging me for some time. As a musician, especially a rock musician it plays on me. How good do you have to be to be popular in this country?

If I think about the bands that were popular in SA in the last 10 years and what made them stand out for me I see a tale of very fickle South African tastes.I don't want to look at specific bands because some of them irk me to Hellengone, but the general rule is that a band comes out that was different from the norm at the time.
How on earth is one supposed to read the market? Maybe the best bet is to watch the charts and when there is nothing that sounds even remotely like you, and you believe you are good enough, then release your stuff.

Whatever it is, there doesn't seem to be a clear formula. Maybe some sort of trend info would help decipher it and help us understand the culture better. It's either that or constant market surveilance which, I guess, is another area for record labels to handle....

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Donovan Banks
Durban, KZN, South Africa
I am a musician who does anything and everything else. I write about what I do and how I do it. Enjoy and feel free to comment.
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