Rehearsal footage:
This was our second rehearsal where we were making sure we have all the chords/lyrics understood so we could move on to the next step of refining the songs, I struggled with lyrics of one of the songs because it was relatively new, compared to other songs because I listen to them often, I also helped Lukas struggling with a song he wasn’t familiar with, He just struggled with the strumming pattern which was vital to the song. He caught on to it very fast and discussing the problems helped us understand what were doing even further.
Gig set up:
The set up was pretty straight forward, We started of by setting up two P.A speakers on each side of the stage just behind the performers, We also had to wire the guitars and mic, which was placed on a mic stand, which we connected to a mixing desk. We ran thorough sound checks to manage the sound levels before we started, the legal limit is 72 decibels but I was happy with 76 since the gallery was pretty huge and the acts weren’t singing high scale songs. I could have managed the wires better but we were running behind schedule and the wires were behind stage.
Key Topics/Research:
One of the major reasons I wanted to do a live music event was because I truly believe that live music possess a power we can’t truly comprehend but we’re lucky enough that we get to experience the feeling regardless, I’ve personally witnessed music bringing two people from separate parts of the world together in one room and dancing like they know each other for years. It’s truly magical and that is why it’s such a shame that grassroot music venue all across UK are struggling to stay open and in most cases have shutdown due to lack of funds. After covid, a lot of hospitality businesses took a big hit right in the funds which caused the business to shutdown but the ones that survived are barely getting by. Since there are less music venues especially in Bradford, I wanted to create a platform for young musicians who haven’t had much experience with performing before to jump on and see what it feels and build their confidence. On the bright side we can see artists making an active effort to get the grassroot venues up and running all across the UK, They volunteer a sum from their tickets sale to the grassroot venues to help them. I think its a great initiative being taken by someone with a fanbase, but for somebody like me who hasn’t gotten to that point yet, We should play our part in this country wide effort to secure our future by putting gigs on that allow all kinds of artists to come on, express themselves and gain experience.
Final Gig:
Final Evaluation:
Unexpected events forced me to modify my original plan, which was to perform five songs at the mill, to holding my own gig during college lunch. The duties associated with this project are distinct. Since I’m the one planning the event, I had to plan the location and the performers, something I’ve never done before. I also had to create a poster, a stage plan, and a risk assessment. On that day, I also made the decision to play. This was my first endeavour, and Lukas served as my guitarist for the four songs I performed. In my opinion, the gig went as planned. We started a little late but ended on time. Setting up the stage was simple because I had a plan, which made it very simple for me to do it quickly and effectively. In order to ensure that the sound system was not over the permitted volume level, we also allowed adequate time for a brief sound check. We placed two PA speakers on either side of the platform, and because each artist only needed a single microphone and instrument, we simply connected them to the PA system. The fact that we were able to draw a small audience was encouraging because all of the performers gave well-rehearsed performances. Even though we made a few mistakes in the first song, we were still able to pick ourselves up and move on to the next, so even if my set didn’t go exactly as planned, we still managed to close out strong with the final song. I had to make a few adjustments because I had an act cancel, but fortunately everything worked out and didn’t significantly affect the show. There were a few things I would have done differently, though, like better managing the cables and hiding the wires better. I think I should have allowed myself more time to advertise the gig because I didn’t have enough time to do so around college. I did put up posters, but not quickly enough. In terms of my performance, I most definitely ought not to have altered the set list the day before the show. A day before the performance, the opening song was added to the setlist, which definitely showed in our performance, that is definitely a mistake I won’t make again. In addition, I was in charge of hosting, which I neglected to give much thought to until I was on stage and discovered that I should have written an introduction that would have done the performances credit; instead, I had to make do with a brief one because I hadn’t prepared anything. The benefit of this small-scale engagement was that it taught me the dos and don’ts of gig work in general, including handling the P.A system with improved wiring Make sure to prepare the set list ahead of time, start marketing the event at least a week in advance, and prepare introductions for each band.
Bibliography:
“The Spitz Celebrates over a Decade of Using Live Music to Improve Health.” Www.musicweek.com, www.musicweek.com/live/read/the-spitz-celebrates-over-a-decade-of-using-live-music-to-improve-health/089602. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Dredge, Stuart. “More than 250 Artists Back “Fans First Act” US Ticketing Bill.” Music Ally, 26 Apr. 2024, musically.com/2024/04/26/more-than-250-artists-back-fans-first-act-us-ticketing-bill/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Dunworth, Liberty. “Classic UK Music Shop Our Price to Relaunch.” NME, 26 Apr. 2024, www.nme.com/news/music/classic-uk-music-shop-our-price-to-relaunch-3751144. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Moss, Vincent. “UK Music Urges London Mayoral Candidates to Prioritise Music Industry Support.” UK Music, 24 Apr. 2024, www.ukmusic.org/news/uk-music-urges-london-mayoral-candidates-to-prioritise-music-industry-support/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
“CMS Committee Report Backs Campaign for Levy on Arena & Stadium Tickets to Support Grassroots Venues.” Www.musicweek.com, www.musicweek.com/live/read/cms-committee-report-backs-campaign-for-levy-on-arena-stadium-tickets-to-support-grassroots-venues/089753. Accessed 24 May 2024.