The Performers Notebook

Fire it Up
How to warm up for a major act
John Robert Foxworth

Venue:     Commodores concert    Location: Kennedy Space Center Fl.
Artist:     Topaz    Size:     3,500+
Load-in:     3:00    Start:     7:00
Promoter:     Fantasma Productions    Date:    5/15/2001

Background
Gigs can come to you in the strangest of places and ways. Driving home from an appointment, I got a call on my cell phone for a gig the following weekend. “Are you available for next weekend?” “Yes”. “Well this weekend the Commodores are playing and we want your band to warm up for them.” “Sure, can I get back to you in a couple of hours.” [The coordination stall.] There goes the weekend off and camping!

Networking
How did I get the call?  A former sound reinforcement company recommended us and only had my number!  Remember that perception is nine tenths of everything in this business. Who you see and how they remember you will be crucial to your career.

Handing off
I contacted our management company who then became the Point of Contact (POC) for the gig, and had to handle the faxing of the contracts, riders, stage plots, sound re-enforcement needs and coordination of getting everyone credentials for the event.  Remember to coordinate with them frequently, because communication is the key to success for any endeavor.

Warm up band rules
Ok, you got the warm-up slot. Now what do you do? Here are some guidelines I have learned over the years, to help you when you warm up for a major act. 

(1)    Be on time or early for the load-in. Because the concert was on a NASA installation (he gig was to promote the Kennedy Space Center Visitors center to the tourism industry. Believe me they pulled out all the stops for this concert.) You had to get a security badge at the Visitors Center and be escorted by personnel to the Venue. The whole security thing was running behind schedule due to the number of persons for the concert and the number of support personnel.
(2)    Have Good Road cases.  You always want to sound your best. I chose my big concert rig (A Rack guitar amp system with a 4x12 speaker cabinet and a slaved vintage Bandmaster amp with a 2x12 speaker cabinet).  We got to the stage and a forklift lifted my equipment onto the stage. Crunch. Remember everything you want still to work when playing out better inside a “good quality” road case.   If you cut costs here, you will loose.
(3)    Check your ego at the door. I started setting up my rig and one of the roadies remarked “Man you got more equipment then the main act!” I took a hint here and left my band master head amp I usually slave off of my main guitar rack and amp unconnected. I also left some of my backup guitars (I usually bring four) in the cases. This was “Roady-speak” saying “There is no way you are going to get all that stuff off of the stage in time.”
(4)    Be adaptive. We were supposed to start at 7:00 and the promoter asked us to start at 6:00 or earlier (Read ASAP) for the early concert guest arrivals, and to play longer. “No problem” goes a long way.
(5)    Be polite. Remember you want to do this again. Don’t bug the main artist; you will be able to tell if they want to talk to you. 
(6)    The Front of House (FOH) sound engineer (The guy mixing the main PA.) is always right, unless the promoter or owner of the venue says he’s not. You want this guy on your side, period. Luckily, the FOH engineer had seen us play before and was familiar with our set list. Let him do the mixing. I learned this the hard way in my career. Rhythm sound should be about 3-4 Db less than your lead. Let the sound system do the work. No matter how loud you play no one past the third row is going to ever hear you, and you might be driving the FOH sound guy nuts. Set a good level and leave it there. Tell the monitor engineer what you need. He has a lot more amplification and speakers then you do!
(7)    Have backups. Something always will break (more like explode, I have pictures!) it’s the law. If you don’t have the luxury of a tech, then make sure you can get through the gig without it.  I carry a “gig box” that has a soldering gun, duct tape, batteries, connectors, solder, flashlight, screw drivers etc. With this box we have actually saved the day for the whole band more than a few times. Also, I take backup guitars (Currently I take four. I have actually made it to the third guitar from broken strings), anything that could prevent me from doing my job at the show. Remember the slave amp I mentioned I had brought to the gig. If the main one blows, I can still play through it. You think that’s enough? I once had to play through the monitor system.
(8)    Sound check, what sound check? It was two hours before stage time and we asked the promoter, to ask the Commodores when they planned on doing there sound check (it was scheduled for 3:00), and it was now 5:15. Someone told them and even thought they were very tired from flying in from the Bahamas they came out and did it. Remember let the major artist finish the sound check completely and only get on the stage after they completely exit the stage. They don’t need extra bodies in the way. Many times we get our sound check at the first live song we play.
(9)    Go online.  Have your information on line, if you can. We have our promotional materials online which contains a stage layout (plot) showing band members and their stage positions, monitor needs and input requirements for the sound system. This helps him give the FOH sound engineer a sheet they can print out and follow. It also shows the monitor sound engineer where to position the monitors. The Commodores use in-ear monitor systems, so we were free to use as many monitor wedge’s as we need.  Also, on the web we have our mike preferences and positions, and transmitter frequency list. This is a very important thing to have. It has save us many times from showing up to a gig and not being able to use our wireless systems (we have 7 wireless systems) so conflicts will show up.
(10)    Prepare yourself. Go to the bathroom right before you play, even if you don’t think you have to.  Never, ever, go in the tour bus! Warm up (I do with scales and modes) before you go to load in. You might not get the chance once you get to the venue.
(11)    Record yourself. If you make friends with the FOH engineer, ask him to make you a recording so you can critique yourself. Also, I bring a digital 8mm camera to record our performance. Ask permission first and do not record the main act. (This is against the law and if someone is there from the main acts record company; you will be taken out and stoned.) You can really get some good still and moving shots of your band for critiquing (“I did that on stage? I wore that on stage?”) and for promotional materials.
(12)    You have no rights. Remember you are a warm-up act; basically your job is to get the audience in a happy, enthusiastic, and energetic state for the main artist to entertain. You get in quickly do the best job you can and get out just as quick. Your equipment must fit around and not interfere with the main acts equipment (Yes, drummers this includes you.) If you are on a big enough stage, this won’t be a problem.
(13)    Be professional.  Get yourself and your equipment off of the stage a quick as you can. Have cards with you and extra CD’s and promotional materials. It will be in your rider if you are allowed to sell merchandise at the venue. I carry extra materials to distribute to “important people”. Remember fame doesn’t always go to the most prepared, but that’s the way to bet.
(14)    Stay on schedule. Have a song list prepared with songs that will fit in the time limit. Don’t go over the time you are supposed to play to.  Also, we have extra songs at the bottom of our set list, so we can play longer and not have to call out songs.  This was the case at this performance. 
(15)    We must not be in Kansas anymore!  Place the name and location of the venue at the top of the set list.  So you won’t say “Alright, San Francisco!” when you are in Los Angeles. With all you have to do to prepare, you don’t want to worry about where exactly you are. If you this happens to you, joke about it. I have seen this many times, where the wrong location was written at the top of the set list whether intentionally or unintentionally. 
(16)    Minimize dead air. Don’t mess around between too long between songs. This is unless of course that someone is having a technical problem. Don’t point out the problem (Like “Oh flipping great!”) and use your best Master of Ceremony skills to cover while the problem is being addressed (Bassist broke a string. Cover for him while he changes basses).  Also, no body wants to hear your long emotional interpretation of a song you are performing next they don’t know.  Remember build up for the main act.
(17)    Have fun and smile! Remember the difference between professionals and amateurs is not the way the handle the perfect sets, it’s the way they handle the train wrecks (I have been in a quite a few of these in my days and still have the bruises to prove it.) No matter what keep smiling! Nine times out of ten, the audience will never know you exchanged the bridge with the chorus in that last song.

“Carpe Stagium-Seaze the Stage!”
John Robert FoxworthTM is a composer, studio and live guitarist
He does session work and gigs in with several major bands, and is currently
the lead guitarist for TopazTM Latin Jazz, and The OfferingTM Christian alternative band.
You can contact him and check out his Discography and Videography at:
http://www.johnfoxworth.com

Topaz, The Offering, Fantasma, and The Commodores are Trademarks of their respective owners.

 

Theansweris: Topaz!

The best in Top40/Jazz/Rock/Latin/Swing/Disco/Classic Rock/ Light Alternative Rock/Original -
A nine piece entertainment band that plays the best of today’s and yesterdays Dance, Jazz, Top-40, Latin, Swing, and Favorites.  This band composed of Florida's finest players for concerts, major act warm-up, larger clubs, corporate events, and weddings.  With 3-5 horn players, this band is the coolest ticket in town! John Foxworth provides lead, rhythm, synthesizer, slide, and acoustic Guitar, and lead and backup vocals for Topaz.