Never have I played a gig with so many ups and downs. The day didn't begin brilliantly with our lead singer turning up an hour late to the venue, however she was just in time for the soundcheck which went extremely well. We came away from the soundcheck feeling confident, it was about the best sound system we have played through and it all seemed to be leveled so well.
Inevitably, the sound was the major issue that let us down when it came to the actual gig. Not only was the sound leveled so poorly on stage that our singer couldn't hear the other instruments, but the word from the audience after the gig was that the first half of our gig was dominated by the bass and drums to the point where vocals, guitar and keys were hardly audible. Not to mention a lack of concentration causing a big slip up in the vocals; despite most of us playing pretty solidly and competently the numerous issues really ruined for us.
It is frustrating when a gig you have practiced so hard for is let down by poor sound on the night. Admittedly, many of the vocal errors were also down to inexperience on the part of our singer. It isn't her fault that she hasn't been singing for a long time. It just meant that while the sound issues affected us all, they affected her in particular and singing issues are always more noticeable. Luckily, I think it was pretty obvious to most there that the sound was horrible on the night and that we played our best under the circumstances. We sweep it under the rug, and live to play another day. We're looking forward to redemption at the EP launch and aim to make it a much more enjoyable gig.
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Wednesday 2 February 2011
BBC Radio Manchester Introducing...
Yesterday I emailed the producer of BBC Radio Manchester Introducing (a contact I had gained through a promoter friend we have gigged for a lot in the past). Today we found ourselves being interviewed on the BBC Introducing show.
In the email I had mentioned the Beatbullyz gig we have coming up, and the online marketing we were doing by the way of youtube videos of the Soapworks sessions. I explained how we were planning to release one video every week for four weeks in the run up to the gig, promoting it on facebook and twitter. The producer really liked the idea and so invited us in to talk about it.
Interviews aren't my favourite, but Behnam, Hollie and I did our best and managed to give the audience a feel for what we were about and plugged our youtube promo campaign. We mentioned coming back on to the show to the host, Sam Walker, and she seemed enthusiastic about the idea. I also spoke to the producer and told him that I would email him any updates and new songs etc.
We gained some good experience in radio interviews, having personally never done one before. It is up to us now to use the extra exposure to our advantage and really promote these weekly youtube videos.
*Update: The finished videos from the Soapworks shoot are below. Mike has been finishing them each week in time to upload a new one every Monday before the gig. We're all really pleased with the results, especially so with the sound provided by Paul Allen. I had gone round to his studio a few weeks ago to help him mix the tracks and they sound great. We did the right thing buy going the extra mile and paying a bit more money for higher production values and have come out with something we're all really proud of.
In the email I had mentioned the Beatbullyz gig we have coming up, and the online marketing we were doing by the way of youtube videos of the Soapworks sessions. I explained how we were planning to release one video every week for four weeks in the run up to the gig, promoting it on facebook and twitter. The producer really liked the idea and so invited us in to talk about it.
Interviews aren't my favourite, but Behnam, Hollie and I did our best and managed to give the audience a feel for what we were about and plugged our youtube promo campaign. We mentioned coming back on to the show to the host, Sam Walker, and she seemed enthusiastic about the idea. I also spoke to the producer and told him that I would email him any updates and new songs etc.
We gained some good experience in radio interviews, having personally never done one before. It is up to us now to use the extra exposure to our advantage and really promote these weekly youtube videos.
*Update: The finished videos from the Soapworks shoot are below. Mike has been finishing them each week in time to upload a new one every Monday before the gig. We're all really pleased with the results, especially so with the sound provided by Paul Allen. I had gone round to his studio a few weeks ago to help him mix the tracks and they sound great. We did the right thing buy going the extra mile and paying a bit more money for higher production values and have come out with something we're all really proud of.
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