January 28, 10:09 am, 2017 I only have 10 minutes to do this so I'm taking a risk and writing it right in the website... I've lost a lot of LOoooOoOOooonnnnng blogs that way unfortunately... but whatever... gotta live on the edge right? So I'll sorta work my way backwards... since I just woke up 10 minutes ago... and when I wake up... yesterday becomes a blur. We arrived at the hotel at 5am and "bus call" is 10:30am. We're playing in Clarksville tonight and it's a 7hr drive... which you can't really do in one shot when you're a band of 4 with no crew and basically 1 driver... so (if it's safe) it's best to break it up, quick sleep, then do the rest in the morning. I was hoping we'd have to be at the venue a little later since we're opening... like 4-5pm... but we were originally asked to be there at 1:30pm. :-/ ... got it pushed back to 3pm... which is definitely better than nothing. We all grumble about these kind of short hotel stays, but it's mainly for the driver (Brendan) to get a rest. It's a team though... I nodded off a few times last night... I just all of a sudden realize I'm asleep. It's tough... especially after playing a show... and trying to get out of there as soon as you can, without disrespecting anybody... especially the headliners/our new tour mates Another Lost Year. We grabbed McDonald's after the show for a quick meal / anything to eat at 1am that's fast and "affordable". ... I forgot what they consider a medium size drink. ... I was hoping coke would keep me awake but... it's just a silly size for "medium"... the caffeine works for a bit. Overall a smooth drive... we ended up listening to Les Claypool side projects near the end... an awesome and not awesome combination when you're tired and it's 4am. The show was good... a little bitter sweet... we had no idea the venue was set to close in a few weeks. ... like so many in Toronto, it sounds like condos are eating up the real estate. We played well... and it was nice seeing people in Never Say Die shirts and singing along in the front... already. Great stage, great venue, out front sounded great... I don't mean to call anybody out but we all had similar comments about the guy working monitors (aka sound on stage). The monitor beside me was just puking bass... I looked over several times so I could motion him to turn it down... not so much for me, but for the actual monitor... it's not good for it. The other guys looked over at him as well to turn things up/down. ... and there he was... praying behind the console... a soft glow on his face. ... if I had his number I would've texted him... then maybe he would've got it. See... the thing is... if you're doing monitors, it's supposed to be a bonus because you have someone able to help out with the sound on stage in real time... not just a prop console. We all have enough experience that we can roll with it... one of my pet peeves is when people right after complain they "couldn't hear anything on stage"... sure... that's most shows up to a certain point though... you can argue it affects your show... but really, it's minor. After a while, you listen for certain things and you just play to that. I play to my click and lead vocal. I practice the entire set to just click and our tracks... not full songs... I know how the songs go. Pick a couple things as your guide, then it gets down to how well you've prepared yourself. ... I thought we still played well though... really well actually... personally (as in myself) much better than last night (Fayetteville). Oh... we were on second so we had to quickly set up drums and sound check. I get set up... sit down. ... no sticks... no stick bag??? I know it's somewhere... but dark stage and red stick bag should be easy to find. Experience told me to break up my sticks into 2 places just incase. So I grabbed them... as in two pairs... and got to work. This might not seem like a big deal, but I leave my sticks facing up in the bag... now I can't... and I refuse to put the spare/safety on my kick drum... they always roll off... so if I drop/break a stick... people are gonna notice. Things were fine though and of course, after, behind the back curtain where my hardware case was... stick bag. *relief* Opening band (Skipper The Lion) was pretty good... we were a little concerned what type of show this was going to be as they were dressed like common alternative bands in tight pants and plaid long sleeve shirts... we ware black. We didn't arrive in our stage clothes and were a little late but there's Dane and I making chitchat with them as we strip down to our undies in the green room, semi-frantically getting changed into our stage clothes. ... again... been asked many times... "are you guys political activists or some kind of band?" We joke we're a metal band. ... anyway, they had a great set and seemed to enjoy ours as well. Another Lost was great. The musicianship aside, the stage banter / crowd interaction is what sets pro bands apart. Until you're a legit A+ headliner, you're always trying to "win the crowd"... you do this between songs. #realtalk It's their hometown and the venue (I think) they played their first show at is closing so there's lots to talk about... but you just get drawn in when people are so comfortable on stage cracking jokes and making small talk with the audience between songs. Space between songs is ok... don't fear the space... if you're fronting a band... this is your place to shine. Awesome. Last thing I'll mention from the day... post office... I think I was in there for 40 minutes... which sorta messed up our schedule... but we keep getting orders and I keep needing to get them in the mail. The US ones were quick but the one we had to send overseas... so much clickin' and clackin' on the keyboard... might have to rethink our mailing strategy... too hard on show days... even though we only had a 3.5hr drive. ... speaking of... it's 10:35am and I don't hear anybody. *cough* - Mike P.S. Not proofreading... gotta go!! P.P.S. This isn't all for me... I grabbed food for everyone... the staff didn't question my actions. #TeamWork
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Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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