Headlining
Conventional rock wisdom says that the headlining spot on a bill should be the one everybody covets. This is not the case around here. No band seems to ever want to headline, and a significant number of audience members don't want to stay for the last band.
I guess I'm no different. When band order was discussed tonight it was like a reflex. "Well, obviously we can't go last". But tonight it made sense. We were the veteran band of the bunch!
Is it like this in other cities? H_x definitely has its music scene quirks.
Our sound was not good at the start. I like to run the drum machine into the PA as a stereo signal, but the sound system at the bar does not like it when I do this. I like the drum rolls to... well, roll from left to right. That's why I set it up that way. But a mono signal is what I should be using because that's the only way you can hear the drums properly at this venue. I never learn.
So about 4 songs in we were sounding like ass despite playing reasonably well. The drum machine has to be bumpin'. That's what we're all about. I switched to mono and things got better. Note to self: ONLY USE MONO AT THAT VENUE. Absolutely god damn right. And never get out of the boat, either.
People liked it anyway. It's funny how a band can melt the ice if they play enough. Like Old Band... everyone HATED us at first. HATED. But by the end, I think we had earned some respect. That didn't surprise me too much... we were playing a very accessable type of punk rock. But GS and BB were able to do the same thing to a lesser degree, playing far less accessable music. Especially GS... that's a band I thought NO ONE would ever get/like. But a surprising number of people did in the end.
ECT (which isn't a the most searchable band name) is also a band I would not describe as accessable. We play punk rock using a drum machine, write lyrics in french and sing almost exclusively about fucking. We do it our own way, popularity be damned. Yet tonight, several people from outside our group of friends paid us kind compliments, even with the shitty sound at first. I find strangers are harder to impress than friends. They're less likely to understand what we're trying to do. But I'm feeling more and more like there are some in this city who get it. It feels good.
I guess I'm no different. When band order was discussed tonight it was like a reflex. "Well, obviously we can't go last". But tonight it made sense. We were the veteran band of the bunch!
Is it like this in other cities? H_x definitely has its music scene quirks.
Our sound was not good at the start. I like to run the drum machine into the PA as a stereo signal, but the sound system at the bar does not like it when I do this. I like the drum rolls to... well, roll from left to right. That's why I set it up that way. But a mono signal is what I should be using because that's the only way you can hear the drums properly at this venue. I never learn.
So about 4 songs in we were sounding like ass despite playing reasonably well. The drum machine has to be bumpin'. That's what we're all about. I switched to mono and things got better. Note to self: ONLY USE MONO AT THAT VENUE. Absolutely god damn right. And never get out of the boat, either.
People liked it anyway. It's funny how a band can melt the ice if they play enough. Like Old Band... everyone HATED us at first. HATED. But by the end, I think we had earned some respect. That didn't surprise me too much... we were playing a very accessable type of punk rock. But GS and BB were able to do the same thing to a lesser degree, playing far less accessable music. Especially GS... that's a band I thought NO ONE would ever get/like. But a surprising number of people did in the end.
ECT (which isn't a the most searchable band name) is also a band I would not describe as accessable. We play punk rock using a drum machine, write lyrics in french and sing almost exclusively about fucking. We do it our own way, popularity be damned. Yet tonight, several people from outside our group of friends paid us kind compliments, even with the shitty sound at first. I find strangers are harder to impress than friends. They're less likely to understand what we're trying to do. But I'm feeling more and more like there are some in this city who get it. It feels good.
posted by the baron ash von foolishness at 2:34 AM
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