Rookie mistake tonight

Bo Eder

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
Due to quite a bit of miscommunication between me and a band leader, I ended up bringing a drumset to a festival gig only to discover from the stage crew that there’s a house kit that everybody is supposed to use.

I didn’t have a problem with that - I just put my gear back in the car thinking “cool - I just need sticks and my computer/in-ear rig for the show” and just relaxed for the 90 minutes I had to wait until we took the stage.

Show time comes and I go out on stage to see the guy who played before me and discover I have to use my own bass drum pedal, snare, and cymbals! The stage crew said it’s how they always do it, and I just assumed when you say “house kit”, it’s ALL of the kit (we do this at Disney and when we provide a kit, they guy gets everything)!

So I tell them I have to run to my car outside the venue to get what I need, but the stage manager wants us to start ASAP. I was blessed because the guy who was vacating just said I could use his Black beauty (that he put a new head on), his cymbals and his bass drum pedal. He was very cool with it and I felt even worse I didn’t have any cash on hand to at least give him a tip for helping me out!

I may have to find him and give him free tickets to Disneyland or something. This was such a rookie mistake. I should’ve checked what they meant by providing a house kit and not assumed it was the whole thing. But considering how much info between me and the band leader was just wrong, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

I suppose there’s no standard for this, but any of you experience this when told there’s a house kit? Maybe my arrogance got the best of me as I can pretty much play anything in front of me, but I shouldn’t have assumed “house kit” meant “the whole kit”? Which is weird because my last gig the house kit was everything!
 
Don't beat yourself up too bad. The term "house kit" means everything is provided.

Your only "crime" is not asking a whole lot of "dumb" questions before the gig. I'd give you extra points for bringing your entire kit, even though it was a mistake and you didn't have to. If I'm playing a new venue and am promised a "house kit", oftentimes, I'll still bring my own just in case.

We'll let you off with a stern warning this time. :D
 
Definitely need to find that guy and give him Disney tix or something. That was very cool of him.

You lived through one of my worst nightmares as a drummer, which is why I always show up with too much stuff instead of too little. It’s a lot more work, but man…. I am sure there were moments when you were panicking about what you were going to do at this show. Not what I want to go through.

Glad it worked out.
 
Bummer about that confusion, but I bet you killed it and everyone was happy to have got to work with you Bo. I would be proud to hear my stuff played by you albeit left-handed.
I was in similar situations and was super stoked to hear my stuff being played by more experienced players (no charge, thanks appreciated.)
 
We played a festival yesterday, and I was told there would be a backline set and I didn't need to bring anything, which to me, means bring a snare drum and cymbals anyway. It's a good thing I did, as there was no snare. Had I not brought a snare, I would have been screwed, because the band that went on before us was an acoustic act with no drummer.
 
It happens. Very smooth of the drummer to hook you up. Around here, house kit means kick, toms, throne, pedal, and stands. Luckily, I keep everything but shells in my trunk just in case. All hardware, cymbals, and 2 snares. Last week’s house kit on Friday was missing a hihat stand, pedal, snare and stand, and throne.
 
What I learned from this: "house kit" means bring a pedal, hi-hat clutch, snare, cymbals, any cowbelly things, maybe a rug, sticks and such.
 
These "band/drum contract" terms seem arbitrary and not well defined...obviously.
House Kits......Breakables (other thread).....Just Your Sticks........
These terms are interpreted in so many different ways.
It appears all parties do not share the same definitions.
Some contracts have a definition of what said items actually are....But not all of course.
There should be a national standard definition for these terms.
You guys are brave men.....
My Take-........"Always" have your Zendrum in the trunk.
 
I'm so glad that 99.9% of my gigs are "bring your own everything" gigs. Given how relentlessly mediocre people are in my neck of the woods, if I had to do backline house kits on a regular basis I probably would have quit by now. Stories like this just confirm my feelings about "house kits".
 
House kits I always bring my own snare, kick pedal, cymbals, and seat. The snare & cymbals because I want to sound like me. You might get a gosh-awful sounding snare with worn heads, and trash-can cymbals. You might get a squeaky kick pedal that sticks, or is tensioned too little or too much. You could get a weird ill-fitting throne that is broken or you can't adjust. I always bring snare, kick pedal, cymbals, and seat; even if they're provided I don't use those house components.
 
Visions of backline kits= black Thor 5 piece..one stripped spur..no bottom head floor tom..duct tape mania snaredrum..pearl ride cymbal..wobbly throne with pawnshop sticker on a leg..no felts on hihat clutch..soundman says..you gonna need anything else?.
 
Bozozoid said:
Visions of backline kits= black Thor 5 piece..one stripped spur..no bottom head floor tom..duct tape mania snaredrum..pearl ride cymbal..wobbly throne with pawnshop sticker on a leg..no felts on hihat clutch..soundman says..you gonna need anything else?.
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Yeah, a whole new complete set that works!
 
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so basically count on a bass drum with spurs, a small tom w/a holder and a floor tom with legs
Bring: snare, snare stand, hi hat stand, bass drum pedal, cymbal stands, seat, cymbals, sticks, and a drum key.
(just reviewing my own rules) (I did one year where I was house drummer with a bar owner owned Pearl 10/12/14/22/5 kit)
 
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In my experience, house kit provided can mean almost anything. I always bring my snare, cymbals, and pedal. That way, if everything is provided I can just leave em in cases behind me, but I have them if I need them.

And most times I've needed them. The few times the house kit has included a snare, it has sucked immeasurably.

Someone else mentioned bringing a throne. I don't, but that's not a bad idea either. I've been burned by the lack of a throne. At one place, I ended up sitting on a milk crate. At another, my choice was a super tall bar stool, or a regular chair from one of the tables.

Backline at larger festivals has been more reliable, but still often didn't include a snare. I think that's because a snare sound is such an integral part of a person's sound that venues assume you'll want your own. IDK.

In any case, glad it worked out for you.
 
I imagine the walk "back to the car" at a Disneyland (to get what was missing) is much different than walking out to the parking lot to the car to get what is missing at a local bar/lounge.. like maybe elevators involved? or pass a security bunny? or..


 
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Once, "House kit" at a multiband show date was kick, two ride toms, a floor tom.... annnnd.... that was it.
No cymbal stands.
No hi hat stand.
No snare stand.
No kick pedal.
No cymbals of any variety.
A nearby friend bailed me out with some gear. Phew. For me, lesson learned.
It's great you had a person there to help you out. Oh, how was the gig?
 
Bo Eder said:
Maybe my arrogance got the best of me as I can pretty much play anything in front of me, but I shouldn’t have assumed “house kit” meant “the whole kit”? Which is weird because my last gig the house kit was everything!
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I don't see arrogance coming out here... it takes a lot of humility to share these experiences. Thanks for taking the time to "decompress" here. There's a lot here to glean from so that we can keep doing what we love to do.

As far as equipment goes, I've had my share of close calls including having to haul timpani in my van because at the last minute because someone decided they weren't going to play nice and share. Still, at the end of the day, the performance went well.

Yea, send the guy some tickets to go see the mouse! ;)
 
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JoeVermont said:
Once, "House kit" at a multiband show date was kick, two ride toms, a floor tom.... annnnd.... that was it.
No cymbal stands.
No hi hat stand.
No snare stand.
No kick pedal.
No cymbals of any variety.
A nearby friend bailed me out with some gear. Phew. For me, lesson learned.
It's great you had a person there to help you out. Oh, how was the gig?
Click to expand...
We’re a machine. It always goes off without a hitch. This particular one was my Talking Heads tribute band and there’s only three of us and computer tracks on about 8 of the songs. Just so long as we have the blonde bass player, I don’t think anybody notices anything else 😉C84A8C1B-7ACF-4024-ACFB-94C23A546D1F.jpeg
 
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