I’ve spoken of something similiar in the distant past, and last night it was entirely my fault that it happened again. I’m being facetious because the only thing I did wrong was not get to the pub first for the first time in a long time.
So I pulled up to the pub for last night’s gig and both the bass player’s and guitarist’s cars where already there. The room we were playing in was long and rectangular with us setting up at the far end of the room. The load in was fine, a narrow room but enough space between the bar on one side and the tables on the other to carry our gear down to the performance area. So I got down to the back wall, the place where obviously a drummer would put their kit, only to find two guitar cases, flight cases, two PA speakers and various other items pushed against that wall. I pointed out that it would be a good idea to move everything because that’s where the kit would go, the guitarist agreed, then proceeded to keep on fetching stuff in :-/ So I took my bag, placed it on the floor roughly where the monitors would be and said “let’s move all of our gear past here and put it in place as we need it, that way the stage will be clear”. Not only did that not really happen but after finally managing to get my drumstool down I lost my patience after the guitarist spent 5 minutes attaching LED panels to two light stands and effecting a repair on one of the stands exactly where my hi hat and bass drum would go. I had to point out that I wasn’t being lazy, I literally couldn’t start setting up with him assembling stands on the stage where I needed to be. Eventually I managed, however my exit was slightly compromised by the positioning of a spare guitar on a stand in the gap which I was using to get in and out of the kit, a spare that could easily live in a case for the duration of a gig until needed.
Honestly I despair. We used to be a two guitar band and they were both the same, it’s not like he’s a selfish idiot, but something just seems to switch off in his head (as it did the other guitarist) when a load in happens.
I know what the answer is, turn up early, start being firm, literally move his gear if he puts it down to show by example, but I’m wondering if this is this peculiar to me, peculiar to guitarists or something many of you have to deal with?
So I pulled up to the pub for last night’s gig and both the bass player’s and guitarist’s cars where already there. The room we were playing in was long and rectangular with us setting up at the far end of the room. The load in was fine, a narrow room but enough space between the bar on one side and the tables on the other to carry our gear down to the performance area. So I got down to the back wall, the place where obviously a drummer would put their kit, only to find two guitar cases, flight cases, two PA speakers and various other items pushed against that wall. I pointed out that it would be a good idea to move everything because that’s where the kit would go, the guitarist agreed, then proceeded to keep on fetching stuff in :-/ So I took my bag, placed it on the floor roughly where the monitors would be and said “let’s move all of our gear past here and put it in place as we need it, that way the stage will be clear”. Not only did that not really happen but after finally managing to get my drumstool down I lost my patience after the guitarist spent 5 minutes attaching LED panels to two light stands and effecting a repair on one of the stands exactly where my hi hat and bass drum would go. I had to point out that I wasn’t being lazy, I literally couldn’t start setting up with him assembling stands on the stage where I needed to be. Eventually I managed, however my exit was slightly compromised by the positioning of a spare guitar on a stand in the gap which I was using to get in and out of the kit, a spare that could easily live in a case for the duration of a gig until needed.
Honestly I despair. We used to be a two guitar band and they were both the same, it’s not like he’s a selfish idiot, but something just seems to switch off in his head (as it did the other guitarist) when a load in happens.
I know what the answer is, turn up early, start being firm, literally move his gear if he puts it down to show by example, but I’m wondering if this is this peculiar to me, peculiar to guitarists or something many of you have to deal with?