Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Even more sage advice. I'm impressed. The stuff about playing live 
too true, I know this all too well. Call me a poseur, but I prefer 
not to sequence live. I come from the goth/industrial background and 
have opted not to do it. In cases where someone had a keyboard that 
played off an internal sequencer or laptop, it worked fine. They 
would then play another keyboard or guitar or something as part of a 
3-4 piece band. And i've seen the other end of the spectrum where as 
you say, they drag out the whole studio. In my opinion, it's one more 
thing to go wrong. The audience can't tell if its live or memorex 
anyway... So what I do is to record most of my set to minidisk, then 
rely on my sampler, controller and additional keyboard. This usually 
leaves enough gear for visual appeal, but not enough to make me 
regret it all after each show. On the sampler, i'd load all the hi 
hats, SFX, rolls and other things I can trigger with one hand. The 
other keybpard, i'd play some pads a few leads and even trigger 
arpeggios. So I think it's a good mix of praticality, live/visual 
appeal and also reduces the "screw up" factor by not having to whip 
around 700 knobs and buttons like an octopus. In the case of sequence 
VS playback, the aural result is the same, so why the headache? Im 
putting in enough "live" to give it the live/human presence.  I 
picked this up while playing some dorm room type parties in college 
where I didn't want to carry all the gear upstairs.  Also, don't play 
over CD.. The bass from the monitors usually skips the CD. The buffer 
on a minidisk is 40 secs as compared to the 8-10 secs on CD. It 
happened to a friend, not me haha. and I do have a laptop that allows 
me to load midi data. 

I also couldnt agree more that it's all about practice.. I've done 
lots of small gigs and garage type things to be happy with my live 
setup. I'd just like to take the next step and go more public. And 
i've learned quite a bit here. It looks like you have quite a bit of 
experience.

But yes essentials are:

Flashlight, extra cables and adpaters adpters, extension cords and 
power strips. 
 


--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, erik_magrini@B... wrote:
> Well that all does apply, but my situation is a bit diefferent. I'm 
> wanting to go out on my own music though. I do like to DJ, but I 
prefer to 
> perfrom my own music. 
> 
> >>>Ok, I wasn't too sure about that. I like to Dj too but I'm with 
you, 
> playing live is so much better.  The only reason I even started 
DJing in 
> the first palce, was because I got sick of breaking down my whole 
studio 
> every weekend to play live (only to have the party get busted 
before I 
> even went on too).  Grabbing a bag of records seemed easier (it's 
way 
> easier!). <<<
> 
> My main thing is to be professional, I've been around too many 
bands to 
> know that's a rare thing and 
> probably what's holding them back. 
> 
> >>>I know a lot of people that have this issue.  A good friend of 
my was 
> in this DJ spin off contest Spundae was holding last summer.  Even 
though 
> he was the first DJ, he still rocked the place something fierce and 
was 
> going to win (promoters told me).  However the rest of the night he 
> proceeded to get drunk as a skunk and made an ass of himself in the 
> process and thus lost the contest.  <<<
> 
> Very good tips.. Something as simple as keeping a few demos and 
business 
> cards with you can be very effective, which oddly I never thought 
of.
> 
> >>>This has helped me a lot, you'll meet someone and they'll start 
talking 
> about you music and ask for a CD.  Always handy not having to 
say "umm, I 
> don't have any right now".  Even if I don't have a CD, I can at 
least give 
> them a  business card with my website addy on it.  That way they 
can go 
> and check out the tunes that way. <<<
> 
> Im curious about how to approach people, club managers and the 
like, about 
> performing. At first I figure a good place to play is a pub type 
setting 
> that reguarly features local bands then eventually move up to more 
club 
> type settings. How much of a difference is there between the two? 
> 
> >>>Huge differences depending on the club size. Clubs primary focus 
and 
> reason for being there is to showcase the music.  So they're a lot 
more 
> strict with their artist contracts from my experience.  Also, the 
people 
> running the club or bookings KNOW good music, so if you screw up 
(no 
> pressure!) then you might not get another chance.  The pub scene 
seems a 
> lot more laid back, and agreements are typically verbal versus 
written 
> contracts.  Depends on where you're from really, and what type of 
clubs 
> we're talking about here. I think that the pub method is good 
because it 
> gives you a chance to go out and do your thing with slightly less 
> pressure. Playing live is so much work, so it's good to get some 
practice 
> in before you try and go to a bigger settings like a club, where 
the crowd 
> is a lot more knowledgeable too.<<<
> 
> Like contracts and percentage of the door type things? I figure the 
first 
> thing I need to do is put together a press kit, sample CD and 
various 
> other liteature.
> 
> >>>Typically most bigger clubs let the promoter keep a large 
percentage of 
> the door, and they make most of their money on drinks.  Pubs and 
smaller 
> venues seem to deal more with flat rates (Ie, you get $200, they 
keep the 
> door and the drinks), which can be a benefit if you're not sure how 
many 
> people you can draw.  If you're just the performer, then you'll get 
a flat 
> rate.  If it's your first gig, then you may only get a couple free 
drinks 
> and $50, but it's a start (and c'mon, we'd all do it for free 
anyway, 
> right?)
> 
> If you're pushing a live act then you definitely want to do a CD of 
> yourself playing live.  Keep it realistic though, don't do things 
on the 
> CD that you know you probably wouldn't want to do live.  It's not 
going to 
> do any good to give them a CD that it took you 80 passes to get 
right, 
> when you only get 1 shot to do it for real.  As for literature, 
keep it 
> short and to the point.  Let them know of any other parties and 
clubs 
> you've been at, any CD releases you have, any special gear you 
might need 
> for a live show (powerstrips, etc), and what type of music your 
live set 
> is.  More often than not that stuff gets the cursory glance and 
gets 
> pitched in the can.  It's the CD that will sell them.  Speaking of 
which, 
> make sure you have your contact info on everything you give them: 
the CD 
> itself, the CD cover, the info letter, etc.  Promoters are always 
losing 
> contact info, so don't make it easy on them. :) <<<
> 
> I may be a bit paranoid, but I want to avoid looking like the beer 
bottle 
> holding "f*&# yea!!" band member and more like a pro. 
> 
> >>>That's not paranoid at all and it's great attitude to have.  If 
you're 
> cool to peopel they'll be cool with you, nuf said. <<<
> 
> Also, great advice again, may I copy it to a DJ bbs that I am on? 
Thanks!
> 
> >>>Sure, just include my website addy ok?  http://rEalm.iuma.com <<<
> 
> More tips for playing live:
> 
> - Practice tearing down and setting up in near darkness.  
Seriously, get 
> to know your rig inside and out, so you can do it quickly, 
confidently, in 
> the dark if need be, and most importantly you can do it right each 
time!
> - Back ups.  Always carry back ups of any files you may need, sysex 
dumps 
> of all your patches, etc.  Pain in the ass with the XX-7's since 
they only 
> back up to PC's, but it's all you have so use it.  Chances are 
someone 
> will have a laptop you can use, but don't count on it.
> - Bring extras of everything.  Have a bag with doubles of all your 
cables, 
> mains and audio ones.  Bring a few extra extension power cords too.
> - Buy a small flashlight and keep it with your live stuff.  I use 
one of 
> those AAA battery mini-mag lights.  Small but still bright enough 
to see 
> in your rack.
> - Bring adaptors (this is a biggy).  I went to radio shack back 
when I was 
> doing the live thing all the time and bought practically 2 of every 
audio 
> cable adaptor they sell.  1/4" to RCA, 1/4" to XLR, etc.  I don't 
know how 
> many times I've been to party and they were trying to set up the 
sound but 
> no one had the right adaptor for the amplifier or something.  Cheap 
to do.
> - Always have a back up plan.  If you're in the middle of your set 
and 
> something crashes, get's knocked over, etc, have a plan in the back 
of 
> your head to address it.  Professionalism = being prepared for the 
> unexpected.
> - Look like you're having fun.  Yeah, you're probably nervous or 
scared as 
> all hell, but at least look liek you're havin a good time. A couple 
of 
> drinks before hand will help you relax, but as I'm sure you know 
it's good 
> to not over do it.
> 
> rEalm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]