Ritual
xtremehardy388
Posts: 2,759
Anybody have any "rituals" before shows? I know that I have chicken soup and sometimes wine. I also listen to music that inspires me to play when driving to the venue. Sometimes it's hard to take myself to a state of mind where I just gotta let everything out so the music helps. Also, as "madaonna-ish" as it sounds, I plan my outfit ahead of time, (Not pink pants, PJ_Gurl). I also usually place an Indian flag on my board, a Snoopy plush on the amp, and something dealing with the Hardy Boyz (WWF/E) near me (or I'm wearing it). I used to have my ex's ballet pointe shoes on my amp but after the breakup, it's a bad reminder. After the shows, I usually politely refuse help when taking down. I don't know, I guess it helps me cool down or come off the high and allows me to digest everything.
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
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We've actually got a few new songs up if anyone wants to check em out. "Snap Crackle Pop" is probably the better of the 4.
http://www.myspace.com/thebandjaslo
I don't know why, but i turn into the girl with the hand fetish before a gig. I must wash them about 20 times. Dunno why, it's like i'm compelled to. It's weird. I cannot bear them to feel sticky. Doesn't bother me any other time i'm playing. Do some stretches, shake my head and say nuh uh while the others do jager-bombs, and then usually just go sit in the corner and do some riffs to warm up.
For sentimental reasons, whenever i play, i always wear a wrist band that was made for me about 6 years ago. It's soft leather with blue beads on the end and it's stamped with these words inside and out.
For the Jedi, there is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the force.
god, it's been so long.
make sure everything is working properly, and then I tune up again.
<b><font color="red">CONTACT ME HERE</font>: www.myspace.com/ianvomsaal</b>
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leeds 26/08/06....electric
paris 11/09/06.....crushed...but estatic
wembley 18/06/07.....oh yes
'listen...you can hear the sustain...you just hold that note and you can go get a bite whilst its still going'
the legend , nigel tufnell
https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
Yah, sure!
I guess, REALLY, I look for a place to park, lug stuff in, tune up, do some stretching yoga to loosen up, sip some water, then tune up one last time and loosen up my fingers, go out there and go for it.
I don't play out much any more, but I DO have a new band, so maybe soon again.
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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usually try to eat light and have a few drinks before getting on stage but it's not really a ritual though
Show back up to the gig>tune up all the guitars>make sure everything else is ship shape>rock the fuck out
I am not a big drinker so if the crowd is not feelin it, or I feel like I/the band is playin to entertain myself, I may slip away during a break, for another little visit to the altar.
on a typical saturday gig day the whole day pretty much revolves around the gig. i get up kind of early and restring my guitars. usually just one or two but occasionally i will take care of all four of my gig guitars. if i need to get anything i will run to the guitar store and get stuff like pics and strings or whatever.
then i go to the gym and do some weights and maybe a quick cardio burn. i HAVE to work out on show day or else i will feel like a fat lazy slug and will not have the energy to jump around for a 3 hour show. i obsess about this more in the last year since i have lost nearly 20 lbs and have switched to wearing tighter, more fitted clothes on stage the last few months. if i don't feel like i look good it will affect my mood on stage.
after the workout i come home, make lunch and just kind of chill for a few hours, maybe a nap or a funny movie or something. then i practice for about an hour, run through all of my solos or work through some improvisation on those solos, and refer to old setlists to review some of our "rarities" so i am not surprised when i get the setlist for that nights show. nothing is worse than getting the setlist and being like "oh crap, i forgot that song completely..." then i tweak pedals and amp settings if necessary, then load up everything for the gig. on my way to the show i listen to whatever music is going to get me up for the show that night, whatever i have in the car at the moment. if we go on at 9 or 9:30 pm i get to the venue at 7:30 or 7:45 and load in and set up. we soundcheck at 8:15 so i noodle around and tweak settings and tune all of my guitars because we do some stuff in alternate tunings. my amp has no master volume so i have to spend some time dialing it in.
after soundcheck i have a half hour to goof around. i usually socialize with the band and any of our guests. i write all of my guitar changes on my setlist so i can plan on cutting out of a song ending a little early so i can switch guitars so there is not much "dead time" between songs. i also wear a wristband because the lacquer on the guitars rub my right wrist raw so i have to wear something to protect my skin.
i have experimented with preshow rituals to "get my mind right". i used to smoke a lot of weed but never liked the way it made me feel when i was playing a lot of high energy music. then i used to drink energy drinks before a show and they made me too jumpy and i didn't like that. now i have it figured out, i have to have 2 drinks prior to taking the stage. usually its 2 beers but lately its been jagerbombs. any less than that i get anxious, any more than that i am a little too careless and i make mistakes. we then take the stage and start drinking. between sets we always take jagerbombs together. not really a ritual, just something we like to do.
after the show we all break down together and help each other load out. we usually discuss all of the funny stuff we saw going on in the crowd and make plans for the next week's practice/gig.
whew that is long....thats pretty much it, but its pretty much the story of what i do on gig day.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
this would be interesting to hear from the current people on here to see if there is anything you do before shows. it would also be interesting to hear if some of the people in this thread are doing the same things for gigs.
my prior post was long and some of that has changed.
i no longer change strings before every show and my day no longer revolves around the gig. i have gotten a lot more laid back and less anal about things. i still work out on gig day and i still practice on gig day but not to the point i used to. i no longer drink beer before taking the stage, rather i have a few between sets. i think i have gotten confident enough to where i don't need to get my mind right before a show. i have not smoked weed in a couple of years now.
i do try to eat a nice meal before the show and get to the venue early enough to where i can relax a bit because i hate being all agitated going on. it makes my left hand less coordinated when i am jumpy. i do wear a wrist band on the right wrist because i don't like the way my right wrist rubs on the laquer of my guitars. i used to get it rubbed raw from the friction. and i always play the same song in soundcheck...rockin in the free world....for some reason the chord progression of that song always gets people's attantion and they always turn around and look at the stage when i crank it during soundcheck. and it always seems like i soundcheck my pedals inthe same order, clean stuff like chorus, delay, and reverb and phaser, then i crank my guitar volume and hit my overdrive and my distortion pedals, so that can be a ritual i guess. i also always wear the same necklace that i have worn the last couple of years. we no longer help each other load out, it has kind of become an every man for himself race to get out of there afterward. i always do the "idiot check" to make sure that nobody left anything there since i left my sg sitting outside the front door of a gig a few years ago, so now i always double check before i leave....it is amazing that our drummer has left his kickdrum behind before and his throne a few times...
that is about it, but to me it is interesting how my gig days have changed over the years.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
But anyway, I usually try to have two or three beers before the show. No more and no less, because I find that it sets me in the right mood without going as far as affecting my playing much. I also try to tune up every instrument because I'm usually the fastest to set up my stuff and have time to do all our instruments. I also try to remember to put on my beautiful Rat-sound wristband ( :ugeek: ), which I use for the same reason as gimmesometruth. I kept having problems with my wrist rubbing on the laquer of my bass.
When I soundcheck my mike, I usually do a bit of Splendid Isolation, because I really like the irony in doing that. If I find the time for warming up my my fingers, I recently started playing the main bassline of Good Times by Chic. I think that it's one of the best lines to warm up my fingers for what is about to come. Strangely though, we don't have any band rituals...
one thing i forgot to add that we do as a band is before a big show, like a big outdoor festival with a few thousand people or a very big show where we know people with connections will be watching us, or if we know we are recording, there is always the potential for one or more of us to be very axious or nervous. usually i am one of those that are anxious or nervous, but i think we can sense that as a group. we come together in a little 5 man huddle like you see so many bands on dvds do backstage, and we say a few words to encourage and settle everyone down, have a group hug, and break the huddle and walk out from behind the curtain and onto the stage. it is funny how much something like that can have such a calming effect...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I agree. There's some great information in the archives. Every once in a while i dig into it too. It's great fun to revisit some of the old stuff. I sometimes wish that I had decided to contribute to all this a lot earlier than i eventually did. But somehow, at least for me, the move was also kind of a good thing, because I think in a way it prompted me to finally participate. Well, who knows how many people come here to read and haven't yet decided to join the party...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Also, I haven't heard from PJ_Gurl or Andy (I forgot his board name) but I remember them helping me with my EMS/Fire Fighting training decisions. I was hoping to touch base with them
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy