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How Many Instruments Should I Run Through The P.A.?

$Mike Portnoy\'s Drumset$
Somebody, Mic That Drumset!

This is a great question and the answer is easy. You should run as many of the instruments as you can through the P.A.. It’s the best way to get an even live sound when your band plays. There are a lot of advantages to having everything running through the P.A. and it’s a must if you have a live soundman.

The biggest advantage of running everything through the P.A. is the fact that you have a central location to control the overall mix of your band. Your soundman can’t do much if all the guitar amps are running louder on the stage than the singer coming through the P.A. and the soundman can’t control them. (more…)
How To Practice

Dream Theater – Masters Of Practicing

How many times have you wished you could be better at your instrument? Or wished you could be a better singer? We all know that the best way to improve is to practice our craft. It’s the biggest no-brainer there is about being a musician. To get better, one has to practice. I’ve read interviews with the worlds elite musicians and they’re quoted all the time saying things like “I practiced 8 hours a day.” or “I even practice my guitar on the toilet.” That’s all good and fine but how many of us really have that kind of time, or actually want to practice on the toilet? Not me, but I have found an excellent bunch of ways to practice that really work and won’t take all your time.

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Live Musician Central Dance Set List 4, iTunes iMix

Today we have our fourth set list in our series of Live Musician Central Dance Set Lists. This list is Live Musician Central Dance Set List 4. Now that we have four complete dance set lists, you have enough material to play an entire night at a club. An average set in a club is 45 minutes long and you will usually play 4 sets in a night with a 15 minute break every hour. If you stick with the songs in the Live Musician Central Dance Set Lists you will keep the people dancing all night long.

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The Best Instrument Microphone – The Shure SM57

Shure SM57 Microphone

If you’ve been in any recording studio or seen any band live with microphones on the guitar amps, you’ll have seen the Shure SM57 Instrument Microphone. This mic is a dandy! (and I don’t say “dandy” very often). My experience with the Shure SM57 has been nothing but positive. The microphone is tougher than nails and my guitar amp sounds fantastic with my pair of SM57’s on it.

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A Band Is Not A Pure Democracy – Get A Leader

John Lennon Leads The Beatles

When I first started playing in bands I was very young, 14 years old actually. All the rest of the guys were about 3 years older than me. I knew nothing about playing live rock-n-roll and was more than willing to have the older guys show me the ropes. The leader in my first band was the Bass player. He was a great leader and we never felt like we had a dictator at the helm. That band was such a great experience that I’m still playing today because of it.

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Sunday Funnies – Stairway to Gilligan’s Island

I was watching this and chuckling a little bit. Then I got to the end and had a full on belly laugh! So perservere, the ending line of the song makes the whole thing worth it. Have a happy Sunday 🙂
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Weekend Album Recommendations 5-31-08

Here are my picks for new albums this weekend. Remember, stay on top of new music and learn the latest songs. That’s how The Beatles did it. Everyone in Liverpool knew The Beatles played the most current songs.

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Personality Conflicts and Bands

David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen Personality Conflict in Action

If you’ve played in bands for any length of time at all I’m sure you’re well aware of personality conflicts. A lot of very famous and huge acts have fallen apart citing personality differences or conflicts as the reason the band fell apart. Chris Cornell of of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave cited “Personality Differences” as a major reason for leaving both of those bands. Another famous example is Van Halen, Eddie has cited several times that the reason somebody has left the band was “Personality Differences”. I’ve seen interviews with Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth where it looked like it was all Eddie could do to keep from strangling Roth.

It’s something that you’ll never be immune to in a band. Part of the evolution of a band is the emergence of personality conflicts. When you start a band, everyone is on their best behavior. The members are nice and respectful to each other. You all share a common vision and in the beginning you’re focused on the same things. It usually doesn’t take long though for the differences of opinion to surface. The nastiness can come out as soon as you start trying to decide on a song list. It can get even nastier when you start trying to decide on a band name. Even deciding which harmonies each member is going to sing can bring out huge clashes between band members. (more…)
iTunes iMix, Live Musician Central Dance Set List 3

Here’s our 3rd Dance set list compiled on Apple’s iTunes. It’s available for download as an iTunes iMix. We have already compiled Live Musician Central Dance Set List 1and Live Musician Central Dance Set List 2 so when you add Dance Set List 3 you will have 3 complete sets of music for your band to learn. (more…)
How To Handle Jerks, Be Professional

Bottle Smashes Against Jacks Helmet

One thing that you will have to deal with constantly as a live musician is obnoxious audience members. It seems like no matter how good you are you still have jerks in the crowd. There’s a funny scene in the Jack Black movie “Tenacious D And The Pick Of Destiny” where he’s training to play his first gig. He’s all decked out in a football helmet and his guitar. They’ve set up chairs with paper plates attached to them as peoples heads. Each plate has a mean face drawn on it to simulate an angry crowd. As Jack prepares to play his song, Kyle Gass plays heckles from a cassette tape. They say things like “Boooo!” and “Play something douche bag!!”. Needless to say this flusters Jack as he prepares to play. As he starts to play, beer bottles smash against his helmet. It’s hilarious and frightening in it’s honesty. (more…)