Tips, Tricks & Traps

[jazzyvee]

I'm sure many of us have these simple tips trips and traps that you have discovered after years of playing bass and guitar and so I thought maybe a thread to pass on simple things.


So here is one that I discovered on tonights gig as a result of these Covid times.
(1) If you visit the bathroom before going on stage and wash your hands, don't use the Gel Cleansers. They leave your fingers so tackly that the  don't slide off the strings when plucking but grip them instead so your notes start late and out of time.
(2) Don't try to anticipate this delay and start trying to hit the note earlier so that it drops on the right beat.


Fortunately after a few frustrated songs and stern looks from the other band members wondering what's going on. I recall Jimmy's tip about rubbing your fingers on the side of your nose. Thanks Jimmy J that worked a treat.

[JimmyJ]

That's pretty funny Jazzevee but I'm not sure you got that tip from me.  I guess hand sanitizers remove some of the oil that we still want to be there so we can slip off the string when intended.  A "stiction" problem, perhaps.  It's funny the things that can effect that action.  For me it involves chasing just the right length of fingernail...

Jimmy J

[edwardofhuncote]

Ed of H. preset hand-wash hack; a handful of ICE CUBES. Towel dry. One of the guys (usually Stew) always has a cooler.    Yeah, I hate trying to play with sticky hands. Ick.

[lbpesq]

As I recall, the tip about nose oil came from Mica.

Bill, tgo

[cozmik_cowboy]

My main trick is to make sure nobody can hear me......

I did, however, once roadie for a notoriously frugal (I mean, when we redid his rig, he bought a JBL 15" speaker with his penny "jar" - actually a 5 gallon carboy) bassist who had me spray the back of the neck with Pledge & wipe it down with a towel before each set.  One time (being notoriously frugal), he bought Old English instead (the furniture polish, not the malt liquor).  Felt like I'd glued a tack cloth to the neck.  The moral being - frugal is fine; cheap, as a general rule, not so much.

Peter

[gtrguy]

Fly fisherman use nose oil on their rigs.

[edwin]

Nose oil is an old trick for oboe players, since the first finger of the left hand has some sliding and rolling to do.

[bigredbass]

Top of this list if fried chicken.  Or possibly fish and chips in Jolly Olde if no chicken is close by. 

[jazzyvee]

Wasn,t Jaco reputed to have a greasy chicken bone at hand for fingertip lubrication at those sticky finger moments.

[cozmik_cowboy]

Wasn,t Jaco reputed to have a greasy chicken bone at hand for fingertip lubrication at those sticky finger moments.

Long ago I read an interview in GP with, if I recall, Harvey Brooks (might have been Harvey Mandel; as I said, long ago) where whichever one it was said he only changed strings when one broke, and then he'd immediately rub the new ones with barbecue sauce to deaden them; sounds like barbecued chicken could give you a twofer.

Peter

[gtrguy]

Another tip; if you are getting food at your venue, order it right away when you first show up. Of course, it will be always somehow be ready just before you go on stage anyway, forcing you to either wolf it down or be up there playing while watching it get cold!

Tip #2; know how many drinks it takes to make you start to play sloppy (or better).

Tip #3; label your bands gear. Especially mics and stands of any kind. If there are other bands on the bill, someone will often be helping them load in/out who will just grab whatever gear is in sight when they leave. Keep a weather eye out for this.

Tip #4; Never let anyone sit in unless you know them. Also. even people you know may sweat in strange ways, leaving your instrument covered in sticky weird stuff.

Tip #5; PAs always seem to take up whatever time is available to your band to get them set up. This is vexing but true. It takes some special gawdlike power to just set the thing up the same as last time and then move on the the rest of the band's pre-game procedure.

Tip#6; Have fun! Nobody likes to watch a band that looks like they are not having fun.

[edwardofhuncote]

I'm putting your name in the hat to join Harwell-Grice Band, David. It's like you're already doing the gigs with us!    Can you have too many gtrguys? (we already have two...)

Regarding Tip #5... one of my favorite bits of Grateful Dead stage banter: "We are all gathered here together, asking that age-old question - why doesn't it ever work?!"  

[cozmik_cowboy]

Tip #4; Never let anyone sit in unless you know them.

Or.......


Peter

[lbpesq]

Gee, Peter, I think I've seen that somewhere before! 

hehehehe

The subject of "sitting in" reminds me of my wedding.  We had JGB as our wedding band (a buddy was playing guitar with JGB at the time).  I sat in for a couple of songs, the first being "The Weight".  Before I started I looked over at Melvin Seales and he was giving me 'the look'.  I recognized 'the look' as I had given it myself on several occasions.  You all know 'the look' - someone is about to sit in with your band and you have no idea how well or even if they can play.  Are we going to have fun or is this going to be a very public train wreck?

So I did the opening riff for "The Weight", sang the first verse, and then looked over at Melvin again.  This time he had a big sh*t eatin' grin!  I admit I was a little intimidated at first, but after seeing Melvin' grin, I felt relaxed and had a blast. 

My wife hates when I tell this part:  the high point of the wedding for me  was somewhat later when my lovely wife told me she had gone over to Melvin to thank him and he told her "hey, your old man can really play".

Of course there was this other time I sat in with a friend's band, tripped over a cord and knocked the mic stand over ... but we won't talk about that one!

Bill, tgo

[jazzyvee]

A tip given to me when i did my first USA tour in Florida. We were only about two or three shows in and already had people sitting in.
If someone sits in with your band playing the same instrument as you, (i was playing guitar in those days), and playing a load of rubbish stop playing and do something else because if you both are playing, the audience won't know which guitarist the noise is coming from.
This advice was from a punter, was a guitarist who i had a chat with after the gig as he could see what was going on.