Even Tuba Players Think About Quitting The Band

   So you’ve been playing in your live band for a while but it just seems like it’s not what you wanted. Believe me, we’ve all been there. I remember playing in a band where I had steady gigs three weekends a month and all I had to do was learn the songs, show up with my gear and play. But it was becoming a hassle trying to juggle band practices and gigs with my personal life. I also wanted to write and perform my own music live. I knew the time had come to quit that band but what was the best way to do it?

   Well, quitting a band is just like quitting a job. There’s a right way and several wrong ways to quit a band. Let’s discuss the wrong ways first.   

   You can always just stop showing up for practices and gigs but I guarantee you that you are going to severely piss some people off if you do that. I remember a band member quitting one of my bands by not showing up for a gig. We wanted to lynch the guy the next time we saw him. Nothing is worse than being left with a gig and not being able to play it because a member didn’t show up. It’s also bad to leave your bandmates wondering “Whatever happened to that guy?’

   Another wrong way to quit a band is to show up to rehearsal, rip everyone and the band to shreds with insults and announce that you will not be seen with that band ever again. All you do there is anger a bunch of fellow musicians and burn every future opportunity to play with these people that you will ever have. Not only that, but you’ll be gaining a reputation in the music community that you are difficult to work with.

    So here’s how to quit your band. The best way is to call a meeting outside of band practice but if that is impractical for the band then plan to tell them at the next band practice. If you can setup a meeting outside of band practice at least you can spare everyone the trouble of hauling their equipment to practice to hear you announce that you’re quitting. You can also soften the blow with an e-mail or a text message in advance letting everyone know that you are considering quitting. Don’t just leave it at an e-mail, meeting your bandmates face-to-face is a much better way to handle making the announcement that you are quitting.

   When you get together let the band know how much you have appreciated playing with them. Remember the good times you’ve had with them. Then let them know that you are worn out and that you’ve just got too many things on your plate to give the band the effort that it deserves. Also, make sure and honor any gig commitments for at least 3-months which should give the band enough time to find your replacement and train them. Let them ask you questions and let them know that you are firm in your resolve to quit.

   It’s always better to leave a band with good feelings. They may even throw you a goodbye party if you’re cool about playing final shows with the band and helping to find and train your own replacement. In the future, you can count on your old bandmates to put in a good word for you or even be involved in your future projects.

   It’s always scary but at the same time exhilarating to leave a band and start something new. Just make sure you don’t burn any bridges when you leave your old band. It will help you with the local musician’s, agents and clubs for them to know you honor your commitments and are a person who lives up to their word.

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How To Quit Your Band

Bonne Nuit Does Soundcheck On Stage Set Up By Roadies

   Every musician dreams of having their own team of roadies for their live band. I’m here to tell you that roadies are out there and that you can have your very own roadies hauling and setting up your live band’s equipment. The best thing is that most of these roadies will work for very little money or even for free dinner and admission to your shows. I’ve been using roadies for all my summer gigs this year and I’m telling you it’s been fantastic having some guys to haul my equipment around and set it up.   

   So where can you find your own roadies? Well you need look no farther than family, friends and fans. To those people who are non-musicians, being around musicians playing in a band is to be part of a very fascinating world. There are many people who are interested in learning how a band functions and want to be  involved in the inner workings of the music scene. These are the people that just want to be a part of it all and these are the people you want to approach about being a roady for your band.

   This past summer I started a band named Bonne Nuit with my three oldest sons. My Son’s are in their teens and they have a lot of friends who are fascinated with how a live band works. We recruited a couple of their friends to be roadies for us this summer. We started by having them help us haul equipment in and out of our house. We then started getting them into our gigs as part of the band and have used them to haul equipment at our gigs as well. We have since taught them how to tear down and set up the P.A. system. We’ve also taught them basic mixing and have come to use them quite a bit during our live show for sound work as well. We use them to get us cords, drinks and do whatever errands we need at gigs.

   We’ve also added our “number one fan” to our group of roadies. This is a guy that came to all of our gigs. He would show up an hour early to get a good spot at our shows and we all became pretty good friends with him. Naturally he would ask if there’s anything he could do to help while we were loading in and out so we started using him to help with various band related activities as well. He not only helps with setup and tear down but he is also learning how to run our lighting system and is the band’s official photographer.

   These guys are all working for free meals and gig admission. But that’s not what their true motivation is. They really just want to be a part of the whole thing and learn how a band functions. We recognize them from the stage at gigs, we make sure they know how important they have become to us. The rest of our fans know who they are. It’s working out well for all of us and hopefully someday we can pay them in more than good times.

   Even if we can never pay them, the memories we’re making will last a lifetime. I’m sure all you live musicians out there have had people come up to you at gigs and tell you stories about how they “use to drive a van for a band in college” or how they used to “help my buddies do shows back in the day”. They always seem to follow up those statements by telling me that it was one of the most fun times of their lives. I believe we as musicians are doing a good thing by letting our friends, family and fans become band roadies. So here’s another shout out to Brent, Jake and Jake. Thanks you guys for making our lives easier and I hope you’re all having a blast!

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Finding Roadies For Your Band

Heidi Nedreberg, Matt Rushton and Tom Nedreberg in Highway 6

   I play in multiple live bands as well as record with these bands in the studio. One band I’m involved with is named Highway 6 and is headed up by my good friends Tom and Heidi Nedreberg. They are a Father-Daughter team who write and perform their own original music. I’ve been playing with Tom in various bands for the past 20 years or so. This past year they’ve recorded their debut album, Love Songs To The Desert.   

   I was fortunate enough to be asked to contribute all the lead guitar to the album and it was a real pleasure to be involved in this project with Tom and Heidi. The songs they’ve written are excellent and I was given a lot of creative license to contribute any guitar that I felt would work with the songs. I had a lot of fun working on Love Songs To The Desert with the Nedrebergs. The resulting album has been extremely well received locally and we’re starting to play more live shows in support of the album.

   I played my Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster through my Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier on almost every track of this album. If you like my custom programmed Cyber-Twin SE preset patches then you’ll enjoy hearing them used all over Love Songs To The Desert. I did play a nylon string spanish guitar on the track My Water which fits perfectly with that song. But everything else is my Stratocaster through my Cyber-Twin SE.

   Live Musician Central is proud to announce that Highway 6 - Love Songs To The Desert is now available for direct digital download on iTunes. You can download your very own copy and check out some excellent tunes and my unique guitar tones on the album.

Just click the album link below to check out the new Highway 6 album.

Dowload Highway 6 - Love Songs To The Desert

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Highway 6 Releases Love Songs To The Desert On iTunes

Bonne Nuit Is A Band Featuring Live Musician Central Author - Matt Rushton

   Hey everyone that lives in Utah. Me and my sons will be playing with our band Bonne Nuit in Provo on Saturday May 8, 2010. We are part of the Utah Valley University charity concert called H2O For Mexico. There will be 9 bands playing from 12:00-9:00 PM. We are slated to play from 4:00-5:00 PM.

   For details on this event including the address, check out the event page on Facebook: Bonne Nuit @ H2O For Mexico Benefit Concert.

We hope to see you all there!

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Matt’s Band Bonne Nuit Playing At Brincos

Bonne Nuit Playing Music You Can Dance To

   I’ve been playing in live bands for years now and have seen their popularity swell and recede at various times over the years. I remember when I was going to High School in the 80′s that we rarely had a big dance without a live band. Live band’s were the best and it was always a special occasion when we had one. I ask my kids if they ever have live bands play dances at their school and they don’t.

   When I started playing in clubs there were dozens of them for our band to play at. Over the years and especially recently I’ve seen a lot of clubs switching over to using DJ’s. It seems like a lot of gigs that bands used to get are now going to DJ’s. I personally haven’t played a High School Prom in years because all the schools are using DJ’s in my area.  

   I’ve talked to a lot of my musician friends and we’ve narrowed the loss of gigs to DJ’s down to two main reasons. The first and most obvious reason is the fact that DJ’s cost a lot less than a band to hire. You can get a DJ for a couple hundred dollars for a 4 hour show. A band just can’t make it playing for that small amount of money. I think the financial motivation to hire DJ’s instead of bands is really the biggest reason they are getting hired more than bands.

   The second reason that clubs and events are moving to DJ’s are simply because the quality of a lot of live bands has slipped. The musicianship is at a good level but the small things that make live bands fun to watch and dance to are being forgotten. I’ve seen great bands with extremely poor song selection. To fill up a club you need to be playing what the people want to hear. That’s why the music that bands play is so important for being successful.

   I’ve also seen great playing and sounding bands with horrible showmanship. The biggest edge a band has over a DJ is a band’s ability to interact more directly with the audience. It’s little things like making eye contact with the crowd while you perform. Even things as simple as smiling and looking like you’re having fun playing seem to have been forgotten by a lot of bands. Talking to the audience and interacting with them are key things to making it a memorable show. Some DJ’s are excellent at interacting with their crowd but I think a band has the personnel to do it better.

   I don’t think there’s any problem with bands playing original music either if they can bring a large audience to their shows. I do believe though, that to take back the clubs from the DJ’s good bands are going to have to start learning some great cover sets that people want to dance to. I think it would be great for any excellent original band to learn a couple hours of covers and get out there and throw a big dance party. It would go a long way in reminding people why it’s more fun to party with a band than a DJ.

   The thing that original bands get caught up in is the whole artistic integrity thing associated with playing original music vs. covers. But in this battle against DJ’s bands are losing because they’re losing the crowds that like to dance to music that they already know. It’s in any band’s best interest to play for as many people possible and if that means playing some cover songs, then so be it. Having those big clubs for live bands to play at will increase the chances of your original songs getting heard as well.

   Live bands can bring a much bigger and more interactive show to an audience than a DJ can. It’s much better for an audience if a live band can give them the songs they want to hear along with a great interactive experience. That’s why I believe that live bands are better than DJ’s.

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Why A Live Band Is Better Than A DJ

   The first thing I do is spend time alone practicing any parts that I have trouble with. This includes complicated guitar solos, tricky lyrics or anything that gives me rhythmic problems. I like to just put a little more polish and sparkle on my playing the final week before a big gig so I put in some extra time playing with a metronome as well. I try not to overdo it but the extra practice really settles my nerves.

   I also like to do an equipment check to make sure all my instruments, amplifiers, microphones and cords are in good working order. If anything needs to be fixed or replaced, the week before your gig is your last chance to do it. I do a check on the P.A. and lighting systems as well to make sure all cords and connections are in good working order.

   I like to have a final band practice the week before a gig. We usually have just one rehearsal the week of a gig because by this time all the problems in songs are usually ironed out and having too many practices the week of a gig can kill your energy. We’ll run through whatever music is the trickiest to play but then we usually just have fun enjoying hearing ourselves play some good music. This final practice is usually fun and easy although there will be times when you’re rough and out of sync. That’s not a problem if you’ve had some good recent practices. It usually means you’re going to have a great gig so don’t sweat a rough final practice.

   Finally, I get the songlist all finalized and make sure there are enough copies for everyone. I like to pack all my gear up the night before the gig so I don’t have to rush around packing things the day of the gig. That way I can just haul equipment and set up on gig day. It’s a simple gig week routine but that’s the way I like it. I also enjoy spending some time with the family or just hanging out having fun. It’s good to relax before all the work on gig day.

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Week Before Gig Preparation

Bonne Nuit Is A Band Featuring Live Musician Central Author - Matt Rushton

   My band, “Bonne Nuit”, will be playing a live online concert on March 3, 2010 from 7:30 pm-9:00 pm Mountain Time. The band members are Matt Rushton, Erik Rushton, Austin Rushton and Skyler Rushton. Bonne Nuit plays a few cover songs and some original music too. It’s all guitar based rock-n-roll with the instrumentation being two guitars, bass and drums. We’re very excited to be playing an online concert as it’s a real thrill to explore new ways of playing live in a band and reaching an audience. 

   The show will be broadcast using a Shoutcast server. It’s very easy to connect and enjoy the show. The name of the Shoutcast station will be Bonne Nuit Live and that’s what you will want to search for when you go to Shoutcast.com.    

   The best way to listen to this concert is to listen to it using either Winamp or iTunes. They are both extremely stable for listening to online Internet radio broadcasts. I have written a tutorial on how to use either iTunes or Winamp to listen to a live online concert. You can find the tutorial here: How To Listen To Internet Radio Using Winamp Or iTunes. 

   The easiest way to listen is with the built-in Shoutcast Mini-Player but it is also the most prone to crashes. We’ve had a lot of reports of browser crashes and freezes using the Shoutcast Mini-Player. If you want to use the Shoutcast Mini-Player to listen just follow these easy directions: 

1 – go to www.shoutcast.com 

2 – In the search bar, type in: bonne nuit live 

3 – when you find the station, click the button labeled “Tune In” 

4 – select ‘Play In Mini Player’ to listen. 

   So take your choice of these three ways to connect and listen to the concert. I personally recommend using Winamp but if you already have iTunes installed on your computer, it’s very easy and convenient to just us iTunes. 

   We will also be having a live Chat session going on at the same time as the online concert. To join the Chat simply sign on to Live Musician Central Chat. If the Chat isn’t working, you may need to install Java on your computer. To get Java go to http://java.com/en/ . We will also be watching the Bonne Nuit page on Facebook so feel free to become a fan and leave comments there as well.

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Bonne Nuit To Play Live Online Concert Saturday March 3, 2010

I’ve had a lot of listeners complaining that the Shoutcast Mini Player has been crashing browsers and computers. So today I’m going to write a tutorial on how to listen to Shoutcast Radio streams using either Winamp or iTunes.   

The first step is to download and install either iTunes or Winamp on your computer. If you have an Apple iPod, iPhone or iPad you will most likely already have iTunes installed on your machine and you can use it to listen to Shoutcast Radio streams. Click the links below to download your player of choice.

• Download iTunes
• Download Winamp

After downloading, simply run the downloaded file to install your preferred player.

How to connect to a Shoutcast Radio stream using iTunes

1.) Go to www.shoutcast.com and hover over Help and then click  Settings.

Hover over "Help" and click on "Settings"

2.) Then select the button for “Play SHOUTcast stations in default media player ( eg: Winamp/iTunes/Windows Media Player)

Select "Play SHOUTcast stations in default media player"

3.) Select your connection speed then click Save Settings

Select your speed and click Save Settings

4.) Go to www.shoutcast.com and type in the name of the station you’re looking for in the Search box. In this example we will be connecting to Bonne Nuit Live.

Click "Play" button by the station name

5.) When Shoutcast finds your station (Bonne Nuit Live) simply click the Play button by the name of the station and the stream will open in your default media player.

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How To Listen To A Shoutcast Stream With Winamp Or iTunes

Bill Barely Passed His Audition

   The other day I wrote a post about joining a band by answering Musician Wanted ads. Naturally the next step in the process is going to the audition so that’s what we’ll discuss today. I’ve played in a lot of live bands over the years and been to my share of live band auditions too. Auditions are always an interesting process and I’ve always learned something going through the band audition process. Today I’m going to give you a few tips on preparing to audition for a live band.

   The first thing you want to do is make sure you have the correct address for where the audition is going to be held. I remember once getting so lost going to an audition that I was an hour late. Needless to say, it didn’t make a good impression and I didn’t get the gig. Get directions and a phone number you can call in case you get lost or you get stuck in traffic.    

   Which brings me to my second tip, be on time. Showing up late to an audition is the ultimate way to show you don’t care about being a part of the band. If you have a lot of equipment to set up then you should ask if you can show up a few minutes early. Don’t just show up early because you’ll look a little too eager which isn’t cool for a musician. But if you let the people know you have extra equipment to set up then they’ll appreciate you asking if you can show up early to set up.

   The next tip is, don’t bring any unnecessary equipment. It’s a good idea to ask what equipment you should bring to the audition. Just bring along what you will need to complete the audition. Believe me, you don’t want to be stuck setting up and tearing down for an hour if everyone is uncomfortable with each other.

   Don’t bring your best equipment either, especially if you’re auditioning for people you’ve never met before. If you have a vintage collectors Les Paul, you should leave it home and just bring your Les Paul Studio guitar. You never know when you may run into some unscrupulous types that may want to relieve you of your best equipment.

   Make sure you know how to play the songs you are going to audition on. If you’ve been told “just come over and we’ll jam on something” I can guarantee you that the band is completely unorganized. If you just show up and jam on 12-bar blues for an hour, that’s not a lot to go on when choosing musicians to form a band. You have to remember that you’re auditioning the band as much as you are being auditioned. You’ll want to hear how the other musicians learn their individual parts and function together as a band. That’s why it’s a necessary to choose at least 3 songs that everyone will know  to have the audition.

   Remember to relax and have fun! Whether you get in the band or not, at least you’re getting the chance to play with some new musicians. It’s always a learning experience to get with some other musicians and see how they do things. It’s good to see how the members interact with each other. If you’re in a band, you will be spending a lot of time together so pay attention to how everyone is getting along.

   When the audition is over, ask them what they thought. They may tell you that they’ll call you and let you know. It’s a good idea to say something to the effect of “If I don’t hear from you in a week, can I call to find out if you’ve filled the position?”. Auditions are a lot like job interviews that way and it’s important that you follow up.

   Good luck out there, and keep on Rockin’! -Matt-

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Tips For Auditioning For A Live Band

Frank Brought His Own Drums And Cords To The Audition

   I’ve played in a lot of live bands over the years and I’ve answered my share of “Musician Wanted” ads as well. Finding auditions are always an interesting process and I’ve always learned something going through the band audition process. Today I’m going to give you a few tips for when you answer a Musician Wanted Ad before you set up an audition.

   Let me start off with a little story. One time when I was about 18, my bass playing friend and I were at the local music store looking at musician wanted ads. We picked one out that said something to the effect of “Wanted, musicians to form rock band. Need guitar, keyboard and bass player.” So naturally we gave them a call. The guy on the phone said “bring all your equipment and come to our practice studio at this address.” We asked what constituted “all our equipment” and the guy said “microphones, amplifiers, mixer, speakers…whatever you have”. Luckily, we didn’t have much but we loaded up our beat-to-crap microphones along with our beginner guitars and amplifiers. We then set out to find the address of the practice studio.   

   The “practice studio” turned out to be an abandoned barn out in the middle of a field, well off the beaten path. The guys were a bunch of rough looking, middle-aged gentlemen in Levi’s and leather. There wasn’t a shred of equipment to be seen other than the stuff me and my buddy brought. Needless to say, it soon became apparent that these guys were looking for music equipment, not musicians. We never played a note while our equipment got closely scrutinized. It was obvious that we’d gotten more than we bargained for answering this “musician’s wanted” ad. Luckily a couple of our friends had tagged along and there were four of us that showed up so the numbers were about equal in terms of us vs. them.

   Finally the guys looking over our equipment conferred together in a huddle and had a good hard laugh. They told us if that was all the equipment we had, then they’d have to keep looking for “musician’s” and that we were free to go. Let me tell you, we loaded up as fast as we could and sped on out of there. We knew these guys were looking to steal somebodies equipment and we were glad we didn’t have anything worth stealing that day. I learned a very valuable lesson from this experience.

   Now, I’m going to give you a few simple tips when answering “Musician Wanted” ads. First and foremost, take the time to check out who you are going to meet up with and audition for. Be sure to get full names and a bio from the people you are meeting. Ask where they’ve played, how long they’ve played and where they plan to take the project you are auditioning for.

   If you can get names of clubs that the other musician’s have played at, try to get some references you can call and check out. In todays world of social media it’s a good idea to check out MySpace or Facebook pages as well. The more you know about the people and live band you are auditioning for, the better you can prepare and the safer you’ll be. It’s also good to see if they have a clear idea of where they want to take the project as well. If they’re vague about their goals, that’s a warning flag for you.

   It’s always a good idea to bring a friend or two along with you. It can be risky business meeting strangers alone especially if you have some expensive music equipment with you. Which brings me to another tip, don’t take your prized instruments with you when you audition. If you have a collectors Gibson Les Paul Custom, leave it home and take your trusty old Les Paul Studio guitar and a practice amp. Unless you’re answering an Ad seeking a musician with P.A. equpment, A serious band will already have micrphones and P.A. equipment for you to audition through.

   Finally you’ll want to know in advance what songs they want you to play. If they say “just come over, and we’ll jam” then you can be sure that it will be a very short meeting. It may be that they don’t even know how to play any complete songs and that would definitely be a waste of your time. Try to agree on at least 3 songs that everyone will know how to play so that you can get a gauge on everyone’s talent level. Even if they’re planning to play original music, you should be able to play a few cover songs that everyone should know.

   I wish you success in finding other musicians to play with. There’s nothing wrong at all with answering “musician wanted” ads and you may even find that band that you’ve always dreamed about being a part of. Just make sure and follow the simple tips in this article and you’ll have an even greater chance for success!

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Tips For Answering “Musician Wanted For Live Band” Ads