Our set starts at 34:54
What was the main aim of our project, and did I/we achieve it?
Our main aim in this project was to write some songs for bands were starting. We achieved this by writing 3 hardcore songs for our bands Almost Over and 1 song for My animal.
Looking back, how could the planning process have been more effective in preparing for the final project?
If me and Ashton had a way of writing the instrumental parts of the song at home together we could’ve wrote them quicker.
Did we/I make any big changes to our project along the way, and why?
We decided to write the 4th song as a midwest emo song this was for the people who wouldn’t enjoy hardcore as much and to start working on our midwest emo band too.
What went really well in our project, and what didn’t go as planned?
I think over all everything went well Isaac (the bassist) not being there for sound check wasnt the best though , because in all of our monitors you could only hear bass.
How well did we work together as a team on this project?
We worked well communicating ideas and parts of what each over wants/needs.
Did we receive feedback from others, and how did it help us improve?
Lewis came in to listen to us in the practice room he suggested to use something to boost the sound of the guitar for the chorus on the 4th song which made the chorus sound better.
What did we/I learn from this project that can help us/me in the future?
We learnt how to communicate and write hardcore and midwest emo together which we will use to continue writing songs and perform them at venues in bands.
Were there any unexpected issues or events that impacted our project?
Only the bass not being there for sound check which made it the only thing we could hear in our monitors and the kit setup.
How would you rate the overall success of our performance and project on a scale of 1 to 10, and why?
Probably like a 7 the performance was good but there was a few slight mistakes like 4th song verse went on for 1 bar too long I missed the first ride section on the 3rd song and on the 4th I let my hi hat skip a 16th note on one of the verses.
How did the group dynamics contribute to the overall performance? Were there any challenges in working together as a team?
The way we wrote our songs is one of me or Ashton would have an idea and the other would rather write over it or the other would communicate what they wanted. Then after that we would talk about what we want next and we then would change the song to fit what Caleb needs for eg extending parts so he can fit the lyrics in.
Did the technical aspects, such as sound quality and lighting, meet the desired standards for the performance?
Yeah the only problem I had was my monitors but that was our fault for not having bass there for sound check.
What aspects of the performance could be improved or enhanced in future projects? Were there any technical issues or areas of weakness that need addressing?
I need to fully remember all the times it switches beats for eg how I missed the first ride section on the 3rd song I thought there was another 4 bars or something on the other beat and we could make it tighter.
How did the audience respond to the performance? Did you receive any feedback or reactions that surprised you or provided insight into the audience’s perspective?
I was surprised to see how many people was participating in the pit and moshing or even head banging. I didn’t think a lot of them would enjoy listening to hardcore.
In retrospect, how could the rehearsal process have been more effective in preparing for the live performance?
We probably couldve been more focused but sometimes we would just be there “messing” about playing random stuff till we come up with a random idea. We also didn’t know that levels 3s were allowed to book the room on Monday mornings so we missed a few practices from that.
What did you learn as a performer from this project that you can carry forward into future performances or musical activities?
This project I was a lot more confident performing it and before going onto stage compared to the first gig we did where I didn’t really want to do it , but I think its mainly because we was playing stuff we wanted and with people we wanted.
How did the choice of venue and audience impact the performance, and would you make any changes in these aspects if you were to redo the project?
I don’t think the venue really made a difference since it was a college gig doing it at boom or something wouldn’t have made much sense and the crowd wasnt exactly the target audience but it was better than what it couldve been.
Did the performance achieve its intended goals, such as entertaining the audience?
I think it did we had people moshing , head banging , pushing each other about and enjoying the music.
What went well?
Songs
We wrote 4 of our own songs. 3 hardcore and 1 midwest emo.
Live effects
I think the way I started our set with the cymbals and then with double kicks was a good way to start our set same with when we end the 4th song if it was a proper gig I probably would’ve done it for a bit longer at the end but I still had to take my double kick off and put the single back on.
Feeling
I felt a lot better before this gig compared to the other one but that’s probably down to it being what I want to play the people I was with and being better at drums.
The crowd
I think overall we did pretty good and created a lot of energy we had people moshing on peoples backs 2stepping and more.
There wasnt any mistakes that ruined anything like throwing everyone off or something like that if there’s a mistake we normally fix it quickly anyway.
Stage presence
I think our stage presence was also good i think mine could’ve been better but i was focused on drumming and not hitting the roof or the mics with my sticks while still playing loud enough for the energy hardcore needs. Caleb being the front man obviously had the best stage presence on stage and he jumped into the pit and moshed while Leo did the mic grab.
What could’ve been better?
Sound check
We could’ve been more organised especially with the sound check and not having our bassist there but there was nothing we could do about that because he had college in leeds. I also took a while to set up my double kick because the drum kit wasn’t set up how i set drums up so i had to move the hi hat crash snare to make it fit.
Monitors
The bass was sooooo loud idk if it was only in my monitors but that’s all i could hear (he wasn’t there for sound check) Ashton mentioned he couldn’t hear the drums , and i struggled quite a lot to hear the vocals.
The set
For the 3rd song i thought the first part had another bit to it for some reason then when i heard caleb say “when you jump do a flip” i realised i was supposed to be on the ride bell , i thought it would be better if i just continued the beat i was playing till the next part which i think worked out. And on the 4th song i messed up the hi hat at one point on one of the verses , it was on one of the bars where i crash after so i used the crash as kinda a reset of the beat.
Drum kit
I didn’t like how the drums was setup ,during sound check it was worse with the rag tom being completely flat and the crash being very far away. After the sound check someone moved the rag tom and crash. The tomb was still in an awkward spot where I couldn’t get as much power in my hits because the angle of the tom and the mics.
Between songs
We couldve made the song changes a bit better between songs because I didn’t know what Caleb was gonna say so I just started the songs when I thought he was done.
Crowd
Obviously the crowd was mainly peoples family and friends from people on the course and a lot of them wouldn’t like hardcore. I think if we played it in a hardcore venue with other hardcore bands then it would’ve been better but it still wasnt bad for it being a college gig .