the worst thing about being in a working/touring band

is still:

having to load in at 4:30 even though you don't play til 9

i actually don't mind that too much but i have serious time issues and i'm early for everything anyways. we have dubbed ourselves "the most punctual band in rock and roll"

i dunno having to stay until the last band plays in order to get your money is pretty shitty, too, esp when the bands after you aren't great and you have to drive and can't hang around and get drunk

uhoh speaking of the "bands after you" eek!

having to load in when it's -20 degrees

altho to be fair i never really drove that much so what the hell am i complaining about

to me the worst thing is playing an opening set and then having to wait around for three hours and three shitty shitty bands before getting paid and being able to load out, but this again ties into my weird time anxiety and also me being lol old

xpost!

lol at me and gbx accidentally dissing each others' bands

why do you have to wait until the end of the night to load out? letting other bands use your gear?

getting paid

also it's kind of rude to load out while another band is setting up because it's basically like "yeah, we're going to leave and not watch you play" but sometimes you just don't care

yeah and in the event that you have already been paid someone has invariably left a piece of equipment onstage where the shitty band are playing now

i guess i'm just rude then. but i'm kind of compulsive about loading out so i don't have to worry about it later, then coming back in to hang out.

so glad i don't usually play on multi-band bills, i forget how annoying it can be.

my wife's old band opened for ted leo playing solo in DC and since he was playing without a band they left all their gear on stage behind him while he played. dude played for literally (no exaggeration) 2.5 hours, by himself. we couldn't leave because there was no way to get their stuff and people kept requesting more and more songs ... it was terrible, and i like ted leo

we're playing with a band from milwaukee tonight and i said the other drummer could use my kit. then i was bummed because i realized i'd have to stay until the end of the night to load out. then i found out we're playing second, which means i'll be up just as late (and be just as tired for work tomorrow) but at least i'll be playing instead of waiting.

"We're using your drumkit"
"Do you have another bass amp? I think I blew the speaker in yours"

etc etc

Oh shit we left the drum stool in Clermont-Ferrand

having to load in at 4:30 even though you don't play til 9

― roxymuzak, Thursday, January 15, 2009 2:13 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

...and you're the first band to play but you're the only one who actually showed up at 4:30. So you have to not only wait for the other two bands to show up, but wait for two bands to individually unload, set-up and soundcheck before you can even put your gear on stage.

actually the real answer to this question is "the other 23 hours of the day when you're not playing"

whiney 100% OTM

not so, sleeping and eating are generally pretty nice on tour, if you're good at planning a tour and don't have to sleep on a dogbed or whatever

this isn't the worst thing but i feel like complaining and this seemed like the appropriate place

• want to set up some shows but tired of playing all the "rock clubs" in town that will have us, but have little motivation to work on getting out of town shows
• prefer to play in non-club/bar venues like art spaces or basements but the places we know about closed down and not sure how to find out about new ones
• even if we did find out about new places, it's more fun to play those kinds of shows with friend bands but all our friend bands broke up and since i never go to shows anymore i don't really know how to make new friend bands

come to mpls

if you send me some info about good places to play and/or people to email, we will

i'll get right on it

is still:

having to load in at 4:30 even though you don't play til 9

― roxymuzak, Thursday, January 15, 2009 2:13 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark

basically OTMFM. Except what's worse than that is the fact that many venues throw an in-advance hissy fit about how important it is that you show up on time and then aren't ready to soundcheck you anywhere near on time.

Whiney also otm.

N/A also otm - I hate "music venues" more and more and generally prefer people's houses, artspaces, etc - although some can be sonic disasters.

n/a yall should come to knox

ok. apparently we need to set up a tour of ilx stronghold cities

Irvine'll have you if you want to play. Talk to these guys:

http://acrobaticseveryday.com/

Put on a lot of shows already and they've only been doing it for a year.

doing 45 minutes of improv with a friend who was DJing at the bar that nite as your lead singer because your actual lead singer didn't show up.

i think that belongs in the "worst thing about watching a working/touring band" thread

probably. we got up to some decent motorik for a bit i thought, could have been worse given the situation.

also, quitting your working/touring band to focus on a career in journalism and then having all the magazines shut down and freelance work dry up

quitting your working band to go to law school, realizing it sucks and having the LAW market dry up

earning barely enough to pay for the band's expenses (thankfully, the drinks are free in the venue, most of the times).

n/a you should remind me which band you are in and i will listen to your stuff and get you a couple of venue-appropriate mpls hookups if you want them

fart fractions

quitting your "working" band to go to medical school and having the having fun ever market dry up

just because yer obv on this thread gbx, going to the turf tonight to see gay witch abortion plus others if you arent too busy saving lives and delivering babies or whatever.

actually, from what i remember about FF, the turf would be a good choice and i can def get you the booking guys ear.

thanks for the invite, jj, but i'm in tonight.

hey you should have a house party w/the FFs, just an idea, imo

alternately i could try and put together an outdoor show in the quarry next to my parents' house. semi-serious about that

hey now i would go to that

hmmmmmm

gay witch tonight what?

12 Feb: Int'l Gay Witch Night

oh man i didn't get a costume or anything

maybe you won't need one ;)

mpls dudes:

you NEED to see thunderbolt pagoda.

ok

how

gbx and matt, i'll be back in mpls for a gig at the nomad in march (21st i think)

i might be out of town (spring break lol) but i'm around i'll go

book a show in cabo for gbx!

hey jordan can i come to your show in gbx's place?

no

yes

aw

whoohoo!

AKA suck it dan

we will come play anywhere in the twin cities. gbx, i sent h1s m1schief a message yesterday about cool places to play etc but haven't head back from them yet. john, any info you could send me would be appreciated, my email is naamme at gmail. our band is here

eyo i just saw those guys play with the mannequin men! pretty dece

ok. apparently we need to set up a tour of ilx stronghold cities

L.A. will have ya too. It appears that we're booking consistent nights at The Airliner now.

sh3ridan is a ham and a half onstage

sh3r1dan is so awesome.

LOL sh3ridan and i are buds! i should call him, we haven't hung out since i moved here basically

-groupies all up in my grill
-hung over all the time from all the free hooch
-rocking so hard noone can handle it

went ahead and emailed booking people at the turf, probably should've emailed jjusten first but oh well

did you email ry4n 0r0urk3? the next time i am in there i will stump for yer band. sorry i didnt get back to you on this, but ill try to follow through on the other end for you.

if ya'll ever want to come thru SLC, i can probably hook you up

uh probably should have said this earlier but i am a dick sorry: if anyone wants to come play chicago let me know and i'll try and help any way i can. i don't have superstar connections but could probably set something up