Dead time between songs ideas???

Lots of good suggestions and ideas in this thread.
Mick, looks like this is a cover/bar band (which is something I do as well).
My question is - what type of music and crowd is it?
Are these 'listening bars', where the crowd is chill, maybe sitting at tables and watching?
Or is these active/dance bars where you have bachelorette parties climbing on stage all night?
That answer would drive which of these suggestions are really relevant to you.

My suggestion of no breaks, is assuming it's a dance crowd, and the moment you create a lull, the momentum dies a bit.
The rooms we usually play are of that nature (which is due to the demographic of the room). We are that type of band, we play those types of rooms, and we have tailored our show to that type of gig. So knowing what you're doing may help with some more direct suggestions.
(sometimes a break is good....sometimes it is not....totally depends on the gig)

We have a set list that we stick to tightly, I do pull audibles and we have signals for that.
Our band has a working chemistry of who leads and who follows (song by song), and everyone is professional, so there is never an issue of someone 'backing out of a song' because they can't perform it. There are no instrument changes unless someone breaks a string, and even with that, there is a plan on how we cover that without losing momentum.

Every band is different, so take the suggestions that seem to work with your situation.
Only time we (I) talk to the crowd is to make them yell/sing...or get them to drink...so maybe I'm not the best example..lol.
 
Muad'zin said:
Have you sat them down and talked this through with them? In a constructive way of course as yelling only makes people defensive. Because partying so hard your voice suffers is bad. It should be a wake up call, not 'oh, lets skip a few songs then'. Less partying (as in no party at all) is in order, so she can spend the time developing new routines and learning new songs. Because routines, just like songs, need to be fresh. That's why bands learn to play new songs and put old songs to pasture. And it sounds like the other guitarist REALLY wants to be in that Kiss tribute band. He should really make a choice, either stick with the Kiss tribute band, or understand this is a different gig that requires no one person Kiss medleys. Unless its on the setlist of course. Although in theory it does sound like something he could do as part of a routine while you change/tune guitars.

If you have talked this through with them, in a constructive way, then maybe you should start to think is this the band for me? If yes, then accept that this will be the way things stay until it hits them in the face. If not then look for something else and leave. Or stay in the band while you do something else and make that your main project, while this becomes something you do on the slide for extra $$$$.
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Oh yeah the talks are monthly, goes in one ear out the other. She's 32 and singer bar life is where she's at. I feel for the other guitar player his home life is a total state of turmoil out of his control. He's gigging 1/3 to have some me time, 1/3 its fun playing and 1/3 he can really use the money. All the elements are here if I could just whip it into shape. Life is hard and time is hard to come by. As far as another band, uuuugh I'm sure I could do that but the thought of 50 more new songs and the time dialing them in...............Time will tell.
 
Tom Morris said:
Oh yeah the talks are monthly, goes in one ear out the other. She's 32 and singer bar life is where she's at. I feel for the other guitar player his home life is a total state of turmoil out of his control. He's gigging 1/3 to have some me time, 1/3 its fun playing and 1/3 he can really use the money. All the elements are here if I could just whip it into shape. Life is hard and time is hard to come by. As far as another band, uuuugh I'm sure I could do that but the thought of 50 more new songs and the time dialing them in...............Time will tell.
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If you had the talk(s) and they're going in one ear and out the other then this is what it will be. You're only causing yourself stress and grief trying to fix things. Only an outside context change, as in a sharp drop in the number of gigs, will probably get through to them. Doesn't mean they're bad people, just that where they are now, that's where it will stay. As it is is probably just fine for them.

So again, the question becomes how much of an issue will it be for you to keep on doing it this way? The only change will the one that you chose for. Yeah, it will be a daunting task to find a new band and learn its repertoire, but once you do and its a good band your musical life will be so much less filled with stress. As with everything in life you have to invest first in order to reap the benefits later. If that's still too daunting for you and you want to stay, I reckon with this band the best improvement you can hope for is by streamlining your setup. Cut the number of your guitars to the absolute minimum. 6 is ridiculously crazy for a bar cover band. You're not The Edge. He's got a 24/7 live in guitar tech. You don't. Find one guitar that you could gig with for an entire show. You need different tunings and a guitar with a tremelo? Install a trem stopper and buy the Digitech Drop. You need both a Strat and a Gibson sound? Install a humbucker with coil splitter or learn to live with a humbucker all the time, your audience will never notice the difference anyway. Try to play with one guitar for the entire show and bring only one additional guitar in case of string breakage, that would eliminate at least some dead space between songs for changeovers. Streamline your rig, I reckon that's probably the only thing you can do with this band.
 
If your band is really badass, you could try taking a page from the master and just vamp while you introduce your band and where they're from and make a few jokes.
 
Coming from my roots of coffee house solo performer, and Borcsht Belt/ cruise ship act, banter between most songs has always been natural and correct to me , but I have very rarely been in a band in a dance club environment, the demands are obviously different.
 
Rehearse your banter just like your songs. Have well-practiced filler so you know it will go well. Maybe ad-lib once you have that down.

I saw Dwight Yoakam and between songs he's like "so, just last night Dale and I were talking about when we wrote this song...". I'd place a bet that he says that same thing just about every night ;)
 
fractalz said:
Rehearse your banter just like your songs. Have well-practiced filler so you know it will go well. Maybe ad-lib once you have that down.
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That! Everybody likes spontaneity, but only very few people are spontaneous. Most of us have to work very hard for it. There is no shame in practicing and rehearsing your banter. After all, don't we do the same by rehearsing our songs?

I saw Dwight Yoakam and between songs he's like "so, just last night Dale and I were talking about when we wrote this song...". I'd place a bet that he says that same thing just about every night ;)
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Probably. You could probably check if you can find some of his concert bootlegs. I reckon he might say something different when he's playing multiple shows in the same city.
 
DILDO SOLO!

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Muad'zin said:
I reckon the vibrations might get you some ebow like infinite sustain. But then the more interesting question becomes, how did this guy discover this? :D
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Reeves Gabrels was the first person I know of using a vibrator for it, but EVH is usually the one associated with popularizing the use of battery powered drill for the same effect, though I'm sure others were doing it before him... Any battery powered device with a motor will work, adjustable speed leads to more flexibility though. Whatever you do, don't try it with any corded device!
 
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