Load in / out... who does what?

[acousticvoodoo]

In YOUR band... how are the load in / out duties divided?
Everyone hauls their own stuff?
Group brings in PA?
Singer brings his mic and stand and watches everyone else hump?
Roadies or Friends help?

Whatch you do?

Personally I hate to have other people move my things I actually care about... this includes guitars and amps, my keys, and my PA mixer. But I will allow other band mates to help... if supervised! :D

michael

[JBJ]

we all do our own shit.

my bro wants to start using my electric drums for our covers project.

I said fine but he breaks it down, sticks it in the car, puts it up at the gig, breaks it down, brings it home and puts it back up for my use.

if he wants to do that he can do that.

personally for the covers gig I take my guitar and smallish pedalboard:D i hate luggin shit about.

[ZenFly]

We all do our own. Including the pa which our girl singer owns.

[Cortfan]

Our July 3rd gig was a private party. We had to leave the trailer about 100 yards from a single elevator, and then go up to the 3rd floor and then about 150 feet. Temp was close to 99 degrees. No friends, roadies, nothing. Just the 4 band members including our female singer (drummers wife). Luckily, we only used the Bose sticks, but with the lights, keys, V-drums, mixer, wireless rack, guitars, basses and spares, we had about a 3 hr. load in/out. The worse part, they wanted 10 encores, so we played an extra hour. (They paid extra). But I got home about 3 a.m. totally exhausted. The good news is they really liked us and we will get another one of their parties in a few months. All 4 of us load in and out until we are finished. Sherri works just as hard as we do. I told the band I will play for free, as long as I get at least $150 for load in/out.

[orfalot]

We haul our own individual gear in our own vehicles but we only play about a 50 mile radius and closer to 20 most of the time.

[Lee Flier]

We all pitch in and load/unload the van. We don't pay any attention to who's hauling whose gear, we just grab stuff and put it where it's supposed to go.

[caveman]

Originally posted by Lee Flier
We all pitch in and load/unload the van. We don't pay any attention to who's hauling whose gear, we just grab stuff and put it where it's supposed to go.

Pretty much the same with my crew.

[B Money]

We all pitch in and load/unload the van. We don't pay any attention to who's hauling whose gear, we just grab stuff and put it where it's supposed to go.

except for our singer (who doesn't lift a f*#king finger), my band does the same thing.
We show up about 3 hrs before show time to unload 2 vans. Once everything is in the bar, the drummer and bass player start getting the drum kit together and mic'd, while us two guitarists start setting up the PA. After the drummer is finished, we roll our amps into position around the kit, then setup the lights. Finally we start to soundcheck by setting our stage volume, then the monitor levels, and lastly the FOH levels. Then we jam out for about a 1/2 hour to tweak levels. By the time all this is done, we usually have at least an hour to 45 minutes before show time.
Singer walks in about 5 minutes before show time, grabs his wireless mic, and checks the monitor levels, and we're off.

[Brian Krashpad]

Originally posted by slyde
We haul our own individual gear in our own vehicles but we only play about a 50 mile radius and closer to 20 most of the time.

+1.

We don't have a "band vehicle" per se. But as different people arrive at the venue I try to help out unloading their vehicles too. Same for load-out, I worry about getting my gear secure and then help with whatever's left to do.

BK

[Badside]

Everybody packs and unpacks their stuff, once everything is in its case, we all throw it in the trailer. It's quite efficient I most say. Mics and PA stuff we almost never have to worry about, that's the venue's job.

The singer in my band actually has more gear to carry than me! Cause we both use the almost exact same rig (Marshall half-stack, except he has a 1960AC while I have a 1960A) but he carries around 3 guitars, while I do with 2.

But even when he didn't play guitar, he always helped.

[PBBPaul]

We are all responsible for our own gear. The drummer has the most, including the PA and lights so we all help with his stuff. The bass player and I usually handle the lights/PA setup and teardown. The keyboard player uses a B3 so we all help with that as well.

[Guitar Guru]

We are just a three-piece, but we have a shitload of gear. Everyone contributes to the load in, load out process, and it usually just means that you grab whatever is next and put it in the right place.

I'll usually help the drummer set up his kit (it's a rackmounted kit, so it takes atleast two people to hold parts of it together until it's clamped shut) and then do my stuff last.

Damn we need roadies.......

[Lee Flier]

Originally posted by B Money

Singer walks in about 5 minutes before show time, grabs his wireless mic, and checks the monitor levels, and we're off.

Arrghhh. :mad: How does he get away with this?

[Brian Krashpad]

Originally posted by PBBPaul
The keyboard player uses a B3 so we all help with that as well.

Oh man I love the sound of a B-3, but those mofo's are like lifting a freaking Buick.

Awhile back I played a festival and the bands all got a number of "tickets" for backstage beer, which of course we ran through pretty quick. But they were shortstaffed for roadies so I ended up getting drafted for the remainder of the weekend in return for roadie beer. Even with like a dozen people, getting that B-3 onto and off that stage without casters was awful. My back may never be the same.

;)

BK

[machinegun78_2]

we have a couple of "techs" that help us out most of the time. our drummer has some back condition, and has trouble getting around. he has a friend that has been helping him set up for years.

we also have this young guitar player, who is AMAZING btw, who likes to help set up. he'll hang out off stage and hand us guitars, or change a string if we pop one....that kind of thing.

as for the load in/out it's self, we all contribute. we all show up to our rehearsal space(drummer's house) together, load the vehicals...and show up at the club together.

our tech's names are Razor(drums) and Joey Sack(guitars and bass)....:D

[hammer744]

Hi everyone.....

Mostly because I want to be in control (I guess), and because I have a minivan, I end up bringing the PA, plus my bass stuff, plus my keyboard, plus my guitar stuff to most of the gigs. I'm normally there 1 hr before the others so load-in is usually all me (I don't like to rush).

Afterwards, though, everyone helps tear-down and load-out.

[Burgess]

We all move our own gear but will assist each other once we're done with our own mess.

I'm all set up for moving in/out quickly. I can actually move everything from trunk to bandstand in one trip with my own two hands if need be.

[B Money]

Singer walks in about 5 minutes before show time, grabs his wireless mic, and checks the monitor levels, and we're off.



Arrghhh. How does he get away with this?

well, it's kinda a double edges sword. Our singer isn't the most reliable guy, and the rest of us can depend on each other to show up on time and get the job done correctly :rolleyes:
Also, our singer is a GREAT frontman and really puts on a hell of a show, expending a lot of energy in the process, so we cut him a lot of slack on the techincal details.

Actually load in doesn't bother me. It's the load OUT that freakin' kills me! It chaps my ass to see out singer hanging out at the bar while the rest of us are humping 2 tons of gear out the back door. But what can you do? Without him, our band just wouldn't be the same.

[Burgess]

Originally posted by B Money
...Actually load in doesn't bother me. It's the load OUT that freakin' kills me! It chaps my ass to see out singer hanging out at the bar while the rest of us are humping 2 tons of gear out the back door. But what can you do? Without him, our band just wouldn't be the same. It's probably better for your band in the long run if your singer works the room that way.

Working the room is more important than many musicians realize and singers are usually the best at it. Keeps the people coming back to your shows, keeps the liquor flowing, keeps the bar owner happy and wanting you back.

I've seen singers work the room in a way that each table would stay put until the frontman's had a chance to come around and chit chat with them. Of course, they're drinking until he gets there. As far as the barkeep is concerned, it's almost like another set.

[PBBPaul]

Originally posted by Brian Krashpad


Oh man I love the sound of a B-3, but those mofo's are like lifting a freaking Buick.

;)

BK
He's got a kind of cradle rig for the beast so it's really easy to move around as long as too many stairs aren't involved. To make it easy, we usually will use three guys to lift it into and out of his van although he's been known to do it himself when necessary and he's 60 years old. :eek: The Leslie is actually more awkward to me. I remember the first time he played with us. He was filling in for our regular fill-in guy (we were actually auditioning for a new keyboard player at the time). I walked into the gig and my first thought was "WTF! Who's this old guy with the furniture!?" I was scared shitless until he started playing. Unbelievable. He is extremely soulful and with THAT sound (there's nothing like a B3), we immediately asked him if he would like to join. To our pleasure, he did. When I finish rebuilding our web site (http://www.pontiacblues.com), I'll post some tunes with him in them.

[shredhead666]

Everybody brings their own stuff. If there's a house PA (very likely) our singer helps load drums. Otherwise he gets most of the PA and we all pitch in on components.

[Tedster]

Usually, with my last band, Pedro (bass), Olaf (roadie) (not their real names) and I would take a truck and haul the stuff to the gig and unload everything except the drums. Igor (drummer) (not his real name either) would arrive separately with his own stuff. We were a small setup stuff, Olaf's help wasn't really needed, he just liked to come along, so we'd buy him breakfast and slip him a few bucks for helping. Between Pedro, Igor, Olaf, and I, we had it set up quickly.

But...there was another member. Miss Prima Donna, the backup singer, who'd arrive right at start time and expect everything to be set up and ready for her wonderful presence. We could have done all sorts of stuff, chewed her out, docked her pay...we decided it really wasn't worth it.

But, a note to any prima donnas (male or female, but especially the gals)...

HAUL YOUR SHARE. So, you can't schlep SVT heads and big bass bins. Who gives a shit? You know what the worst thing for me to haul is? The little shit, mic stands and stuff. Stuff that doesn't weigh much but requires a bunch of trips (unless you've got road cases for all that stuff, which we didn't). We were pretty much a "cables in milk crates" type operation.

[e-b-e]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by acousticvoodoo
[B]In YOUR band... how are the load in / out duties divided?
Everyone hauls their own stuff?
Group brings in PA?
Singer brings his mic and stand and watches everyone else hump?
Roadies or Friends help?


What my band normally does is:
I bring in my own gear (drummer). Then start setting up drum kit.
Rhythm guitarist brings in his amp/guitar/lights.
Bass player and lead guitarist/singer start bringing in PA, as soon as there's enough inside to start getting hooked up---Guitarist starts hooking up PA gear and the bassist and rhythm guitarist finish unloading remaining PA gear.

Seems to work out well for us. We usually meet up around an hour and a half to an hour before showtime.

[LateGreats]

I'm a singer, and I came up with bands that were pretty democratic, so I always show up on time and help everybody out, especially the drummer. I always feel bad for them that they have so much stuff.

[slugball]

Probably been said already in one way or another -- if you have a singer who doesn't lift a finger, point out that the audience is going to hear you regardless of whether you have a PA -- our singer doesn't own the PA but is responsible for getting it to and from gigs, and getting cables and snake run -- we take care of the mixer/sound check stuff.

[srsfallriver]

I'm an electrician so I try to show up first. I check out what the site has for power and start laying out extentions. I set up the power, then my personal equipment, then the lights. Whatever is left at that point, I help with.

Breakdown is similar. Lights, my stuff, power, left-over.

[THB]

I set up what's mine, and that includes PA, amp and pedalboard. It ain't over til the truck's loaded.

[whiteroom]

Originally posted by Cortfan
Our July 3rd gig was a private party. We had to leave the trailer about 100 yards from a single elevator, and then go up to the 3rd floor and then about 150 feet. Temp was close to 99 degrees. No friends, roadies, nothing. Just the 4 band members including our female singer (drummers wife). Luckily, we only used the Bose sticks, but with the lights, keys, V-drums, mixer, wireless rack, guitars, basses and spares, we had about a 3 hr. load in/out. The worse part, they wanted 10 encores, so we played an extra hour. (They paid extra). But I got home about 3 a.m. totally exhausted. The good news is they really liked us and we will get another one of their parties in a few months. All 4 of us load in and out until we are finished. Sherri works just as hard as we do. I told the band I will play for free, as long as I get at least $150 for load in/out.

Hey Rick,
We played the july 4th at Buena Vista lake right down the street from you guys in hernando...except we played OUTSIDE. My amp boiled the fizz right out of my beer! Got back to Mempho just in time to unload in the downpour. Fun.

[riffdaddy]

Originally posted by Lee Flier
We all pitch in and load/unload the van. We don't pay any attention to who's hauling whose gear, we just grab stuff and put it where it's supposed to go.

Same here. My singer may be a jackass talentless prima donna, but he does know how to lift a speaker.

[forceman]

My current situation, everybody pitches in (which is nice since I generally have two keyboards, amp, rack effects, and the other "stuff" keyboardists have to lug around..

Both synths in RoadReady cases....

Previous situation those clowns watched me lug my gear myself..

A am still pretty strong but almost 50.....

[Cortfan]

Hey whiteroom, whats the name of your band? We were also outside, on the 3rd level of Mud Island. That was the hottest gig I've done in a long time.

[whiteroom]

Originally posted by Cortfan
Hey whiteroom, whats the name of your band? We were also outside, on the 3rd level of Mud Island. That was the hottest gig I've done in a long time.

Rick, You signed the guestbook on the website and you don't remember the name??? lol Yes it was hot! I emailed you a pic of us boiling beer on our amps.

8 Trackmind
http://8trackmind.homestead.com

[Derwood]

Originally posted by Lee Flier
We all pitch in and load/unload the van. We don't pay any attention to who's hauling whose gear, we just grab stuff and put it where it's supposed to go.

Yep...We're all pretty knowledgable about each other's equipment, so we just set up what we happen to grab. We also are pretty familiar with how we like each other's stuff set up, which helps.

[M-1 Fan]

The four of us, including one female, do all the work. I get stuck hooking up the PA and my stuff.

[Singin' Dave]

Well, to make a small dent in the apparently woeful batting average for singers pitching in, I'm the front man for my band and pretty much own, transport and set up our PA, power distro, stands, cables etc. along with my guitar rig, 2-3 guitars etc. My SUV gets packed to the gills. Do all the set up and mixing for practice, record and burn copies for the band of all shows and practices, built and added all content to our website, do most of the promotion and booking, organize, manage and sell all merch, produce CD's and a number of other tasks. My guys pretty much handle being on time to help move gear a bit and set up their own gear.

[Next to Nothing]

Originally posted by Brian Krashpad


+1.

We don't have a "band vehicle" per se. But as different people arrive at the venue I try to help out unloading their vehicles too. Same for load-out, I worry about getting my gear secure and then help with whatever's left to do.

BK

what they said

[MrKnobs]

Some of my bandmates have a strong work ethic and others don't. I will move anything and everything I see until it's out of the truck and onto the stage, and vice versa. I don't give a sh*t if anyone helps or not, as long as they stay out of my way.

My partner Pebblestar is a "princess" and her thing isn't moving stuff. She's usually working people and owners while I'm working gear, and I have to admit it pays off.

Besides, she usually has some sort of big bull dyke girlfriend and those women tend to know how to work. The last one could pick me up with one arm and frequently did.

Terry D.

P.S. Our keyboardist has a B3 also. We play a place that has like four flights of skinny metal stairs up the back. One of the people who works the club saw me helping the KB player get his crap up the stairs last time, and wrote me a hilarious if somewhat negative email about it. I wish I had it to quote exactly, but basically the dude said, "It's totally not worth it to hump the B3 up the stairs just so that dude can play 'wwwhhhheeeeeeeeeddlllleeeellleeeeedeeeeeee....' over all your guitar parts all night. Keyboard players are from Satan." :D

[KeysBear]

I haul a lot of gear just for myself which I'm responsible for. We pay a teenage kid relative of the drummer to move the PA, drums, and the big speaker cabs. He wears a band shirt and gets to act cool at the clubs that let him sit inside. At the ones that won't let him hang around he just sleeps in the van until it's time to haul it out.