I can't give specifics until after the fact- but my life just took a weird turn. Monday night I got a call from the manager of a national act. They are in need of a fill-in guitar tech for this coming Friday. I of course agreed, and will be taking the day off of work, driving to the location a day early, being put up in a very fancy hotel, etc.

Not like I'm quitting my day job or anything, but pretty exciting and nerve-wracking. Also the specifics of this gig are so much more complicated than a normal show that it really is just silly.

I'll give y'all the full story when it is OK to do so.

Good luck. Try to stay as safe as you can.

Oh man, I cannot wait to hear more about this.

Enjoy it!

cjury wrote: Sun Sep 05, 2021 9:48 pm Also the specifics of this gig are so much more complicated than a normal show that it really is just silly.

You've got me real curious!
The specifics of the band's gig, or the specifics of your gig?

OK- The Specifics are that I was hired to tech for a Billy Idol last night. It was a festival, so a brutal day of loading, tearing back down, frantic setup and dealing with a level of tech and professionalism I am not used to.

It was so stressful- I was in way over my head. But everyone was seemingly pleased with my work.

I have lots of stories- can't wait to see you all and tell you all of them.

Enjoy the camp-out, wish I could have been there, but I had to make do the thing that pays $.

I think Mr. Stevens is still his guitarist? Seen a few how-to videos of his and he seems a nice guy with a good attitude.

Yes- Steve Stevens is his lead guitar player, and is very nice. I was stage left, Billy Morrison- also very kind.

brownreasontolive wrote: Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:39 am

cjury wrote: Sun Sep 05, 2021 9:48 pm Also the specifics of this gig are so much more complicated than a normal show that it really is just silly.

You've got me real curious!
The specifics of the band's gig, or the specifics of your gig?

both, really.
Global situation: Traveling across an international border during a pandemic to perform work requires a couple extra steps-and mostly rental backline. This means the amps and drums were all kind of unknown to the crew. Then it was a festival-style show- so we arrived at 8am, set up and line checked everything, then it was all struck. during the show we then had 25 minutes from last note of Metrics to our first note to reset the entire rig, run all cables and line check again.

My personal situation was literally like series of worst case scenarios. 1st, I didn't know the guitar player, any of his gear, or the normal order of work. 2nd, it was a wireless rig w/ 3 packs, plus DI for acoustic- and I have literally never touched a wireless guitar setup before. 3rd, my guitarist had a gig with his other band the night before- so his pedal board was with him, and I wouldn't get it until 4pm. This meant I couldn't do any checks, nor do the blocking for where the board was to go. 4th, the 'loom' (wiring snake to connect the wireless to the amp and pedalboard) was lost somewhere- and was finally located in a band hotel room at 7-ish.

During the show I was literally just standing next to the guitar boat (6space rack...I learned all sorts of new words). I would tune the guitar that was required for the next song, and when the last note faded I would turn on the wireless pack, hand it to Billy (Morrison), take the other from him and immediately turn off that wireless pack. One song required a mid-song swap from an acoustic that was plugged into a DI, to electric, so I was able to have that pack turned on and the guitar muted.

After the show it was a mad rush to pack- like all shows but just 500% more stuff, and it all has to be packed and put into trucks in a very particular way. This is probably what I did the worst at- My instinct is always to pack the guitars on stage so they aren't being moved...but I had to pull the venue's wireless packs, pull the loom and board, and get out of the way of The Killers, who were headlining. Got all muddled and had to dig myself out of disorganization.

The whole crew was pretty proud- we got off stage, packed, loaded, and were rolling out of the parking lot before the first note from the headliners. Dudes were all pretty cool, especially Steve Stevens' tech, who is the one who got me the gig, the drum tech, who was also from the punk scene, and the bass tech who was on my side of the stage and babysat me through the show, letting me know what I was fucking up and how to fix it.

Sounds like a trial by fire. Badass, dude.

Just reading about it is pretty damn stressful! 10/10!