Top Ten Tips to get your band performance ready by Chris Jones (The Junction’s Youth Band Leader at Base Studios)
Being in a band is fun for a lot of reasons, for me the thrill of being on stage playing my own music to a crowd of people that want to hear new music is the main reason I play. Nothing can beat the rush you get when you play live, so here are my top ten tips to get your band performance ready!
Tip 1: Know the material!
It is so often these days that you arrive at a venue, you take your position by the bar to watch some new music from the latest and greatest in (insert genre here), the band step onto the stage, and then proceed to spend what feels like an hour arguing over the chord sequence to the intro of the first song. This is so easily avoidable by just learning the material in the first place.
When you go into your practise before a show, I always find it’s best to play through the set-list as it is going to be on the night. So, get into the practise room, set up your equipment that you will be using on the night, and play through your set. This way, if there are any doubts about any of the songs, all the members in the band have an opportunity to sort out the issue.
Tip 2: Know your equipment!
As an individual member in a band you have the responsibility to look after your equipment. Now, let’s say that we are talking about a guitarist. The minimum requirement would be to have a guitar and an amplifier. If these aren't properly maintained, then they might not work on the night of the show leaving you to walk around all the other bands to borrow that vital piece of equipment that you forgot about.
On the other side of this there are people (like me) that we call ‘Gear Addicts.’ This meaning people who are totally obsessed with buying new tech and toys for their music, e.g. a new guitar. A bonus tip here would be to never use a piece of equipment you have only just bought on the night without practising with it and the band first.
Tip 3: Practise
I know this seems like an obvious one but you would be surprised at the amount of bands that neglect this vital time. Your practise is a time for you to focus on achieving a goal. Whether that goal is to write a new song, to learn a new song, or to get ready for a show you have coming up, work hard because the time you spend in the practise room will pay off big time when you are impressing people on stage. The easy way to do this is to set a target for the practise before you even arrive, for example; write a new song.
Tip 4: Transportation
This will seem like a strange thing to be in this list but believe me this is one of the most common issues facing some bands today. When you book a show, always make sure you can get your equipment and yourselves there plus make sure every member of the band is available before you accept the show because letting promoters down is a sure fire way to get a bad reputation as a band.
Tip 5: Seek some pre-production
If your band have only just got together and you have written some new material, there might be something in the music you have missed. For example, the intro to one of the songs might go on for four bars too long. Things like this can make a huge difference to the way that people hear your music. The best way to do this is to get a friend that is musical, or someone from another band, or even just a parent, to give the songs a listen before that all important opening night.
Tip 6: Get the ‘look’ right
This is one of the things on this list that is debatable depending on who you talk to. For me, the look of a band is almost as important as the sound of a band. Now I'm not saying you have to spend £1000s on a set of custom made outfits, but more just be aware that people will be looking at you when you are on stage and if all the members in the band are dressed in a similar way, it makes the band look more professional.
Tip 7: Getting the right information
When you accept a show there are a vital pieces of information that you will need. You can get these via the promoter or organiser of the show.
- Set time. When are you playing and how long for.
- Sound check time. What time you need to arrive.
- Ticket sale requirements. How many tickets do you need to sell.
- What equipment you will need.
- The address to the venue.
These seem like really obvious things but so often get overlooked.
Tip 8: Pick the right show
Picking the right show to play on is such an important part of playing live. This scenario has happened to me before. The promoter sends you an email asking if you are available to play a show that they are putting on. You take the show without asking many questions apart from the ones listed above. You arrive at the venue only to find your playing on a ‘death metal’ night and you're in a pop-punk band. Always check with the promoter what the genre theme of the night is. It can save a lot of ‘interesting’ gigs.
Tip 9: Preparation for the show
So you have practised. You know how you are getting to the venue. All you have to do now is put all of the pieces into action. Doing this is maybe the most important and difficult thing you can do. The best way to go about this is to assign one member of the band with the task of organisation to call all the members of the band into action on the day so everything goes smoothly.
Tip 10: Enjoy the show
You have made it! All that hard work and preparation have led to this moment. You are about to step on stage and this is where all that hard work pays off. One more tip would be to take notes of things that went well and things that could have gone better and work on them for the next time around!