The best way to improve your live band is to schedule a gig and get out and play.
Bonne Nuit Playing A Live Gig
Every live band wants to be the best band that they can be. I’ve seen so many bands that practice, practice, practice and never really feel ready to get out and play a gig. I’ve seen bands begin and end in the practice studio without ever getting out and playing a live show. The biggest reason for this is the fact that the band never feels ready to get out and play a gig. So they practice and practice until they’re bored and then they end up giving up. Continue reading “To Make Your Live Band Better Schedule Gigs”
Live Musician Central author Matt Rushton and his sons will be performing in their live band named Bonne Nuit at the H2O For Mexico benefit concert.
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.
Review of the Cybergate Cafe concert performed by the live band Bonne Nuit comprised of Matt, Erik, Austin and Skyler Rushton.
Bonne Nuit Playing Live At The Cybergate Cafe
I played a gig with my sons in our live band Bonne Nuit this past Saturday night at the Cybergate Cafe in Provo, Utah. Even though we’ve played some live online concerts, it was our first live show in front of a live audience. We rehearsed a lot to get ready for the show by doing standard practices with a couple good dress rehearsals in our practice space. The pressure of putting on a live show really helps to focus band practices and we really improved a lot getting ready to do this show.
We know we’re having a real rehearsal when the neighbors across the street call the Police to come give us a listen. They’re the only neighbors that do this and I believe it’s because they want the Police to have an easy call coming to listen to our band and talk to us about it. Luckily, the Police always seem to like our band and simply tell us to carry on playing. While we were practicing for the Cybergate Cafe gig, our nice neighbors called the Police to come have a listen when we were practicing at 5:30 PM. The Police apologized profusely for bothering us and told us to carry on, that we sounded great and to shut it down at 10:00 PM. So we knew we had a hit show prepared! Continue reading “Gig Report – Bonne Nuit At Cybergate Cafe April 17, 2010”
Suggestions for how to prepare your live band the final week before your gig.
Having a big gig on the calender is the main goal of every live band. If you’re lucky, you’ve had plenty of time to prepare for your gig, you’ve got all the songs learned and your show is completely rehearsed. There are a few things I like to be on top of my game the week before a big gig.
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.
Here are some very important tips that will help you when your live band is playing a gig outdoors in cold weather.
Matt's band "In Stereo" plays outside at the 2002 Winter Olympics
It’s the time of year when many live bands will have opportunities to play outside in some cold weather. I know I’ve played outdoor New Year’s Eve gigs, gigs on outside decks at ski resorts and some sweet gigs outdoors at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. For a live band, it’s essential stagecraft to know how to deal with cold weather. I’ve played in temperatures well below freezing and I’ve learned a few things along the way. Here’s a list of things you’ll want to consider when playing outdoor winter gigs. I’ll discuss each in more detail below:
If you’re a musician, then playing any live band gig at all will help you become a better musician.
Matt Rushton Playing A Live Gig
I’m a guitarist who has been playing for almost 30 years now and I’ve played in live bands almost that entire time. The reason I play is simple, I love to play in front of live audiences. Some things I love about it are the feedback I get from an excited crowd as well as the joy that comes with really nailing the music when the band is playing well.
I’ve played a lot of different styles of music over the years. I’ve played primarily rock-n-roll but I’ve also played country, jazz, pop, electronic and other styles that don’t really fit into any category at all. I’ve played in original bands playing my own music as well as backing up other artists who write their songs. I’ve played in cover bands with all kinds of lineups from two-piece bands all the way up to full size big bands. I’ve also spent time playing in pit orchestras for live stage plays. Continue reading “Playing Any Gig Is Better Than Playing No Gig At All”
If your live band gets the chance to play in front of a very large crowd, don’t let the moment pass you by. Seize the moment and Wow! that crowd.
Shufflin' Noah Rockin' The 90's
I’ve played to audiences of 1 person and I’ve played to audiences of 10,000 people over the course of my career in a live band. I’ve made some basic mistakes over the years and I’ve learned some good lessons from them. One mistake that I made early on in my career was not seizing the moment and giving an over-the-top show when I’ve played in front of very large audiences.
I consider a large crowd to be anything over 1000 people. I have played to audiences of 1000 or more quite a few times over the course of my career as a live musician. It’s such a great feeling to look out and see a big crowd but it can also be quite intimidating and I’ve blown it a couple times. Continue reading “Seize The Moment If You’ve Got A Large Crowd”
Gig write up about Matt’s live band In Stereo playing the Canyon Inn on February 13-14, 2009.
In Stereo Bass Drum Logo
My live band, In Stereo, played at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City this weekend. It was a decent gig and a lot of interesting things happened. It was also interesting because it was on a Friday the 13th followed by Valentines Day. You would think that would give us a lot to work with from the stage but we didn’t really come up with a lot of good jokes. I think the Friday the 13th effect was in full force though because I totally lost my voice after about 5 songs. Let me start at the beginning.
Review of In Stereo playing at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 9-10, 2009.
In Stereo Bass Drum Logo
In Stereo rocked the Canyon Inn this chilly January weekend. The Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah is a great place for live bands to play and we really enjoyed being there. We hadn’t played for a while so we had quite a bit of rust to knock off for this show. We started out pretty rough on Friday night but by the time we finished on Saturday night we were back in really good form.
Friday night the effects of the U.S. economies current recession was really evident in the club. Usually during the peak ski season the Canyon Inn fills up to capacity every night. Friday it was only about half full. That was probably a good thing because we didn’t have our sharp edge intact as we were a bit rusty from the time off over the holidays. Luckily we pulled it together and ended up giving a really good show. Continue reading “Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, January 9-10, 2009”
In Stereo Gigging The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
Nothing, and I mean nothing, will have your live band working together like having a gig scheduled. When you have a deadline for a performance the whole band will suddenly become more focused on creating a great final product to present at the show. The constant tweaking of parts will stop, songs that just aren’t coming together will be dropped and the songs you do well will really start to get tight. Having an upcoming gig will give your band a sense of urgency that really will help you to polish things up and make them presentable. Continue reading “Get Your Band Focused By Scheduling A Gig”
