Requirements for stage clothing

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
So I was shopping for some new stage clothes, I am very low on gigging clothes. Which got me wondering about all my brothers and sisters here, what do they look for in stage clothes?

As far as shirts go they have to be short sleeve (even in winter) and cotton, no poly crap. (Not you Pol!) No polos either. Pants have to be straight leg. I would like to wear shorts, but won't except maybe an outdoor gig. I try to stay away from tee shirts, only because they aren't professional looking enough. I want to be slightly better dressed than the audience.
I play in socks, so they must be black, even if I'm wearing white running shoes. Walking around on stage with big ole honkin white socks that are dirty underneath....isn't a pretty sight

All pockets emptied before playing, even my wallet, which I detest sitting on, even while driving.

I am interested in hearing about any clothes rules you have, especially the female contingent. Specifically, the bra dilemma, yay or nay.
 
Given Los Angeles is near summer year around, shorts and a tank top.

But if the gig requires pants and a nice shirt, I've done that too.
 
I personally hate when drummers wear shorts when i watch bands. I dont like seeing up those hair legs haha. But I am a hypocrite because i wear shorts sometimes. But only at church because i think its funny to wear wildly inappropriate attire when playing at church.
I once wore a "save a drum, bang a drummer" shirt lol
 
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Here in the eastern part of the US we call tank tops, "wife beaters" or just "beaters" lol.

DED lucky you to be that comfortably dressed to play.
I heard Vinnie used to wear shorts and still got the beater caught in the leg part, he sits so low.
(That isn't really true)
 
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Nice jeans and a nice black T-shirt for me - or a nice western shirt... That's pretty much my stage uniform - oh - and chucks on my feets! I don't wear shorts except around the house... nobody wants to see my hairy legs lol!

I'm with larryace on the stuff in the pockets - I empty my pockets into my stick bag pocket during the set. And my wedding ring goes on my key chain.
 
I'm kind of a shorts and t-shirt guy, which is appropriate for the gigs I do. I like to be dressed slightly worse than the audience! (jk).

My only weirdness is I like black shirts; not because they're sinister and scary, and I'm not out to promote anyone or anything, so my black t doesn't sport any metal band graphic or logos of any kind.

The reason is that I like contrast between my sticks and everything else. I don't like black sticks because you can't see the friggin' things, and as an audience member (and a drummer), I want to see the drummers sticks flying around.
 
Only long pants for me. Jeans or semi dress pants if I need to look spiffy.

I'm 6"4" so even with long shorts, I end up looking too gangly and apeish behind the kit.

It's either a good looking T shirt or a collared Bahamas style shirt - always dark.

A few years ago I always wore a black suit, white shirt and black tie to gigs. Not a funeral suit but a slightly worn black suit. Even if I ended up with shirt sleeves rolled up later, I always looked good.

Frankly most of my gigs now are in sweaty, smoky bars and clubs and the audience could care less.
 
I personally hate when drummers wear shorts when i watch bands. I dont like seeing up those hair legs haha. But I am a hypocrite because i wear shorts sometimes. But only at church because i think its funny to wear wildly inappropriate attire when playing at church.
I once wore a "save a drum, bang a drummer" shirt lol

Why are you looking up their legs, Larrylover? Lol - you really left yourself open for that one and I just couldn't pass it up!

Mike

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So I was shopping for some new stage clothes, I am very low on gigging clothes. Which got me wondering about all my brothers and sisters here, what do they look for in stage clothes?

As far as shirts go they have to be short sleeve (even in winter) and cotton, no poly crap. (Not you Pol!) No polos either. Pants have to be straight leg. I would like to wear shorts, but won't except maybe an outdoor gig. I try to stay away from tee shirts, only because they aren't professional looking enough. I want to be slightly better dressed than the audience.
I play in socks, so they must be black, even if I'm wearing white running shoes. Walking around on stage with big ole honkin white socks that are dirty underneath....isn't a pretty sight

All pockets emptied before playing, even my wallet, which I detest sitting on, even while driving.

I am interested in hearing about any clothes rules you have, especially the female contingent. Specifically, the bra dilemma, yay or nay.

I try to look appropriate for the gig I'm on. If I play a gig at the lake in July, it will be shorts, T-shirt and tennis shoes. If it is a western swing gig, I have very nice western shirt I wear. I usually wear a very nice T-shirt (an Affliction shirt or a retro band short) and some boot cut jeans and my Doc Martens. Larryace, black socks do exist. I hear they actually come in other colors as well.

One of everyone's fav shirts that I wear is the old MTV shirt like Jesse Ventura wore in the movie Predator. The only difference is that my chest hasn't been blown thru the front of the shirt.............yet.

You don't have to spend a lot of cash; just go (gasp) shopping and look around for something that you would think is cool and look good on you. Take your wife or your girlfriend (or both - now that's a shopping trip!).

I use my niece as my guide, her best advice would be that your socks match which shouldn't be much of a problem if your only two colors are black or white. I once asked her if this was really a problem and she told me that I wouldn't believe how big of a problem it is!

You know, I'm kind of rambling here so I'm just going to shut up. Have fun!

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com
http://www.patentcoachmike.com
http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.facebook.com/mike.mccraw
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemccraw
http://twitter.com/mikemccraw
 
here in florida, if it's outdoors then i'm definitely wearing shorts and i'm gonna have a big fan blowing on me too. that's the only way to survive! indoors i usually wear dark jeans, dark sneakers (like converse style), and some kind of music related or cool looking t-shirt. that's my uniform.
 
I like to go to resale shops you can find some very interesting shirts. I always wear button up shirts with cool patterns on them. I can't play with long sleeve shirts unless its a wedding. I try not to wear shorts. But when its 95 degrees out side and 90% humidity I'm wearing shorts. I also like to wear wrist bands, not to be a fashon statement but it keeps my wrist warm and limber and keeps me relaxed. I have carpal tunnel syndrome ever since I have had my technique tuned up and do a proper warm up before playing. I am going on three years with no symtoms.
 
So I was shopping for some new stage clothes, I am very low on gigging clothes. Which got me wondering about all my brothers and sisters here, what do they look for in stage clothes?

As far as shirts go they have to be short sleeve (even in winter) and cotton, no poly crap. (Not you Pol!) No polos either. Pants have to be straight leg. I would like to wear shorts, but won't except maybe an outdoor gig. I try to stay away from tee shirts, only because they aren't professional looking enough. I want to be slightly better dressed than the audience.
I play in socks, so they must be black, even if I'm wearing white running shoes. Walking around on stage with big ole honkin white socks that are dirty underneath....isn't a pretty sight

All pockets emptied before playing, even my wallet, which I detest sitting on, even while driving.

I am interested in hearing about any clothes rules you have, especially the female contingent. Specifically, the bra dilemma, yay or nay.

Given that my last few videos are at a backyard party and I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, I also own a tux and a nice dark suit with dress shirts for those kinds of jobs, and I even own a cowboy hat. I do prefer black when onstage though, solid black. I don't own any black leather pants though, that's a little too much for me. I tend to favor those poly black button up shirts because they retain a shine. I remember seeing Louie Bellson in a tux, and his tux had shiny threads stitched into it that sparkled when in the lights (what an show business master!).

Usually I ask what they require dress-wise for a gig and get close to it. It's all about being a chameleon. That's why basic black is popular, it's easy too!
 
My sense of fashion for shows is kind of ironic, being in a metal group.

Classy button-down(probably a Van Heusen), spectrally matching tie(pink+grey looks nice), black Merona's, and no shoes or socks. My favorite outfit has to be my black silk tie and a shirt that's the perfect shade of blue. It ticks my guitarist off so badly.

Just my style. I don't really care who's wearing what, part of being a rocker is being out-of-the-ordinary.
 
I don't put much thought into it unless it's a wedding or a bigger event. If that's the case I usually wear a black polo and nice jeans. My bigger concern is dressing age appropriate.
I'm 41 so I don't want to be "that guy". Took out my ear rings years ago, and no skinny jeans for me.
 
I don't tend to dress a certain way for a gig or anything. What ever is clean at the time i'll wear it. lol Weather i'm playing inside or outside i pretty much stick to the samething....sleeveless t-shirt, shorts, wristbands and i always barefoot ( I don't do any outside playing during the winter, it's to damn cold).

At church i do try to look a little more decent. A polo shirt, kacki pants, wristbands. When i'm done playing i'll just slip my shoes on and i'm good to go.
 
Hey Larry,

I'm with you on stuff in the pockets. How about this? It works for Tommy and nothing gets in the way. Well....almost nothing.

Cheers,
-R
 

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