Tips for a Successful Gig Part 2: Gig Tools and Tricks

This is the second of 2 posts on the subject of Gig Tips. As I wrote in the previous post, I've been playing playing gigs since I was 17 (this year I turn 50). The past few years I've been averaging around 200+ paying engagements per year. That seems like a lot, but many of my friends play more than that, and have been doing so for many more years. Still, it's a lot of gigs. There are lots of practical things you learn playing on a gig that aren't always written in instructional books or taught in private lessons or music school. These things can be just as important to having a successful gig - and to maintaining a successful career - as are your playing skills.

Here's a new list of things to remember:

Gig Tools and Tricks: Bring Lots of Stuff, and Remember Murphy's Law

1. Things go wrong. Stuff breaks. Bring spares. Just as with knowing the material, you cannot be over-prepared for a gig. Anything that can break, you should have a spare set of on hand - strings, tubes, fuses, etc.

Get a tool box and put in it at least one of everything that you know could break or wear out during a gig. Over the years, bad situations arise, and I'll be stuck on a gig without, say, a fuse or a tube or something. Every time something happens and I don't have something I need, I remember it, and put one in my tool box. Its now stuffed with all sorts of crap, but I know I have something for whatever situation arises. Make sure you keep in it spares of everything that can break or wear out:

• Strings
• Cables of any and all varieties
• Tubes
• Fuses (whatever your amp or rig takes, find out and keep several on hand)
• Picks
• Batteries (AA and 9volt)
• Power adapters for foot pedals (these are notorious for going bad, and if they fail in the middle of a song you're screwed)
• Extra mic, cable, and clips (in case soundguy doesnt have one for your amp or vocals)
• Music stand lightbulb

You should also keep the following tools on hand:

• A mini-flashlight (super important - especially in dark clubs)
• Screwdriver with multiple heads (phillips and flat)
• A set of allen wrenches
• A soldering iron and solder (yes, I've used this on a gig)
• Wirecutters and a string winder so you can change strings QUICKLY
• Needlenose pliers
• Duct and electrical tape!!! (can't do without it)
• A rag or towel
• 50 foot extension cord

Finally, these items sometimes can't be overlooked. I guarantee there will be a gig where someone will be asking for one:

• Throat lozenges (for singers with a sore throat)
• Aspirin
• Clips (for holding sheet music in place if there's a windy day on an outdoor gig)

I know there's probably other stuff too. When you're on a gig and don't have it, you'll know. So after the gig, get one and put it in there.

2. Don't break your back. Get a cart. Best $75 I ever spent. I've had to haul my equipment up elevators, across parking lots, through kitchens, and uphill 2 blocks from the parking lot to the gig. You will be glad you have this. Get the kind that comes apart and can roll horizontally with 4 wheels on the ground; they hold more.

3. Get an amp stand, or angle your amp toward your head. Putting your amp flat on the ground gives you a false impression of what the audience is hearing. I've got an amp stand that raises my little combo off the ground and angles it upward. The tone and volume are completely different, plus you can hear yourself onstage better.

4. If possible, bring an extra guitar, have it tuned and onstage in case you break a string. I know this isn't always possible and can be a hassle, but it's come in handy a bunch of times. You can force your way through a song if a string breaks, put your guitar down and plug in the other one and be playing 6 strings again in 10 seconds. Then you can change the string on break.

5. Have some picks very handy in case you drop one. I've got one of those little pickholders stuck right on my guitar just in case. This happens all the time. I also keep a pick in my pocket just in case.

6. Double check that you've got everything BEFORE you leave the house. Nothing worse than getting to the gig and finding out you've left your music, or amp, or god forbid your guitar, at home. Another reason to make it a practice of bringing a spare of everything.

7. Buy a nice power strip with a power conditioner and a fuse on it, and USE IT ALL THE TIME. Even if someone else has a power strip, I plug all my stuff into mine and then into theirs. Assume that the club/venue will have crappy power issues, and protect yourself from noise, spikes, and shorts.

8. If you do a lot of gigs, buy instrument insurance. It's relatively cheap ($250/yr for up to $30,000 worth of stuff), no deductible, and covers in case of theft, damage, or if your amp rolls into the lake accidently when you're playing on a barge (it happens). Your car and homeowners' policies will NOT cover this stuff, no matter what your agent says, and in fact probably won't even cover it if it's stolen from your car or home. I recommend Clarion Music Insurance; they've done great by me. Full replacement cost, no deductible. www.clarionins.com

If you have some tips and advice to add to this, please comment with them! I read this type of stuff and other musicians do too, and any advice we can get can only help. Thanks!

Please vist my website at www.tommein.com.