Being in a band is awesome :)

[gamarada717]

For the past week, we threw together a band for the talent show. I've played guitar for about 2 years, the drummer has played drums for about 6, and the bassist 1 year. We played one song, and then me and the drummer switched and I played drums and he guitar. I've never had so much fun performing. Apparently, the entire school was rockin out in the audience, and since they had us blinded by the stage lights, I didn't get the slightest bit nervous. We won the crowd pleaser award and tied for 2nd, which is a total of like 250 bucks. So we'll have to split that up between the three of us. Hopefully I'll have some pics up by Monday. And I've gotten asked out by around 5 HOT girls today, gotten too many phone numbers to count, and several people have asked for us to play at parties for them. This is awesome. Is there any thing that we might need since now we're actually going to go for this? A mixer or anything? We will definetly need to get headphones to run to our amps for practice, because we kill our ears every practice. Also, does anybody have a Les Paul or SG for sale? Right now I have a fender strat, but I prefer my friends Epi Les Paul much more.

[dwab3000]

hey does it have to be a gibson

cause i got an epiphone i could hook you up with that a friend doesnt like (he got a 7 string instead)

its a black goth

and welcome to the band world...

it kicks ***

smooth beat, plays funk

and the other im in

unholy matrimony, plays alternitive...


maybe if i can ill post some funk

[Trigger_Happy]

I play guitar, bass, and drums. I generally drum, but then sometimes we'll switch it up. It makes you look pretty talented to play 3 instruments, and the drumming builds your arms like none other ;) Music rocks like none other.

[gamarada717]

Sent you a PM dwab

[-=Squid=-]

I JUST joined an established local band called Hopewell, playing bass for them. It is cool... I played my first show with them last thursday/friday.

[dwab3000]

yeah i got the pm...and sent ya one back...

and dont call me dwab..its a joke on how a friend with a home done pierced lip talks...just call me jim or jimbo...jimmy

forms of jim...but not james

[Muzikman]

The equipment that you need will depend on what type of places you will play. If you are going to be playing parties, you are going to need mics, mic stands, mic cables, a small mixer, stereo amp and speakers for the vocals (and maybe a little guitar). You might also need a monitor or two, but that all dpeneds on the place you are playing. You can arrange the speaker so that you can hear them and not feedback a lot of times. If you are going to be playing established concert venues they most likely have everything you need. You can buy PA systems as kits and some of them are pretty good for the money.

As for headphones...forget it. Just buy a good set of ear plugs. And wear them not just when you are practicing, but also at shows. Your hearing is very important and as a musician you do not want to lose it.

Don't give up on the Strat so quick. They are great guitars and depending on which strat, it might be better quality than a low end Les Paul. Unless money is no object for you, then get what ever you want.

If you have any questions about anything, drop me a PM. I have years of experiance doing live sound and recordings for bands.

[RRfireblade]

Is there any thing that we might need since now we're actually going to go for this? A mixer or anything?

Depending on where you plan on playing,your probably going to need a PA system of some kind.Probably a Powered Mixer and a couple PA speakers on stands for starters.You can't blast the crowd with on-stage sound for ever. ;)It sounds poor overall,especially in outdoor settings and most listeners will find it to be quite.........un-pleasant at higher volumes.

Play around for awhile first and see if this band even lasts long enough to worry about it.I played for 3 years with a band that had a lousy bass player simply because he had a kick butt PA system., Owning your own,while a bit costly at first,is often great job security. :D

[boomerfoxtrot]

dude you think being in a band rocks... try being a "true" DJ.. :D

.. for your shows.. find a production company that is local, you can rent the stuff for your shows then you'll look, and sound good. It's beter then buying a bunch of cheap stuff. I work for a production company in Atlanta so if you need anything just let me know.. .
give you an idea you can rent a coffen -two turn-tables -mixer- for $50 not sure what the prices on the amps and speakers, and mixers go.. but I do know you can rent the eons for $15-$25 -300-600W plus they are self powered just plug in the XLR and the power...

plus you can get a full range of lights ... fog... lazers... etc....

mad props on your start, .. good luck

[Muzikman]

Here in Pittsburgh it's about $250 to rent a basic PA system for a weekend. In the long run, it's much cheaper to buy out right.

[gamarada717]

Thanks for all the info muzik, I didn't know that you did this stuff. It's a mexican made strat, and I think that may be why I don't like it... The Americans that I've heard and played with have a different sound. I really love Les Pauls, they feel so much easier for me to play.

We didn't have anybody singing at this show, which kinda sucked. We do have a guy that's going to sing for us, and he's one of my friends too. We will be playing at smaller parties, like 40 people max. Are you sure that renting a PA system is the best way to go? 250 seems like a lot, especially if we played once a month, and I doubt that we'll even make that much to begin with.

EDIT: just read your post again, and realized that you said it was better to buy. sorry...

[ramennoodles]

man me and my friend tim (thats my band drums and a guitar, we do stuff like the sonics, strokes, beatles, white stripes, but mostly original stuff) won the talent show and got a twenty five dollar gift card to split, exciting huh? man our local scene sucks too, nothing to play at, i mean sure i get asked out quite a bit after we play but theres no really cool girls that listen to good music, but whatever, i love playing and thats what matters, people can sense it when you are having a great time and they feed off it.

[who_311]

Playing in a band is the only thing i have in life. Sounds lame, but its oh so true. I play guitar in a thrash band called American Waste. One of the best things about being in a band, is yes, the girls. Im not what you would call, attractive, and by that i mean, pretty ugly. But that whole "Im in a band" thing works. We're playing a shoe at this girls house next saturday, and we managed to get one of my favorite local bands to play with us, its going to rule.

I remember when we played the talent shoe about 2 or 3 years ago, and everyone was all over us and stuff. It was so fun, even though i know for a fact that we totally totally sucked.

I may have a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Special i could sell you, its a nice guitar. It has alot of stuff thrown into it. PM for info, ill see if i feel like sellin it.

[gamarada717]

Here are some pics. Camera sucks, the video looks a lot better. It's not my camera, either. I'm the guy on the right in first pics, drums in second. The fro, basically.

[Muzikman]

I am digging the Frank Zappa sig...

[Muzikman]

If there is a guitar center near you, wait for one of their ugly sales and pickup a cheap PA. A cheap system will be better than nothing and as long as they are taken care of it will last longer than the band;)

The other option is to look around for a used system. You can find them cheap some times, but not always in good shape.

[who_311]

I am digging the Frank Zappa sig...

Thanks man, I had to represent Frank.

[boomerfoxtrot]

It is shocking that $250 gets you a basic PA up there... that's high...

If you needed just a PA, $60 sounds about right... plus you don't have to fix them if they break, that's what we do...

But if your in it for the long run, and are looking to do more house parties and stuff where your not really to worried about sound power then buy used. -just make sure you have someone who knows how to work on the stuff incase something goes out. It would be cheaper then to buy...

My booth is right under the lazer, if you look hard enough you can see it, but this picture was snapped by me before I started.. .. cool hun..?

[punkncat]

Hey moose , when you coming back to Dan's?

[boomerfoxtrot]

was going down today, but the weather is nasty...

I'm going to make it down there as soon as I can... I work till 3-6am on most Saturdays, and Fridays .. so when I get a day off I'll be down... I miss it... need to play again..