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Party On, Garth!

Vaughn McMillan

Vaughn McMillan

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As I mentioned in the Friday thread, my band played a Halloween gig last night at the Dragonhorn Tavern. In addition to being one of the four bands that plays there regularly (second Friday of every month), we have been their go-to Halloween band for years. This tradition started before I was even in the band. I think some version of this band has played for 13 of the last 14 Halloween parties the Dragonhorn has had. (If my math is correct I've played at the party for 9 of the 10 years I've been in the band.)

Last night was definitely the biggest crowd I've ever seen in the place. The Fire Marshall would have had a field day had he shown up. There were people who left because there was no place to sit or stand. Everyone I spoke with had a great time. I think it's safe to say we've already got a lock on getting asked to play next year's party. :)

Here's a pic LOML took before things got too busy to get a photo of the band...
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And here's a pic my friend Steve took a little bit later. He was sitting in the row of tables closest to the stage. Behind him was about twice as much space, equally packed...
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We had a blast. It's hard to describe the energy a crowd like that sends to the band. ;)
 
Bill Satko said:
You're a dead ringer for our local Walmart greeter!
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Paul Douglass said:
Will I think that is what he was trying for...:sneaky:
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A lot of people thought I was a Walmart greeter, but I was a manager. My name tag said 'Vaughn - Manager'.

My wife went as a 'Karen', and I was the manager. Here's a pic of three of the four band girlfriends/wives, taken at the beginning of the night before things got crazy.
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Here's a pic from my bands Saturday night. I went as 'The Dude' from the Big Lebowski. Singer went as Joe Dirt, Guitar player as the scarecrow, drummer as superman, and Rhythm guitar player as a 'bowler', lol.

They had over 200 kids go on the hayride this year and we entertained an enthusiastic crowd of parents for a while after the hayride got done.

My highlight of the night was when some random guy came up while I was playing and shouted 'Your Dudeness' at me, lol.

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Brent Dowell said:
Here's a pic from my bands Saturday night. I went as 'The Dude' from the Big Lebowski. Singer went as Joe Dirt, Guitar player as the scarecrow, drummer as superman, and Rhythm guitar player as a 'bowler', lol.

They had over 200 kids go on the hayride this year and we entertained an enthusiastic crowd of parents for a while after the hayride got done.

My highlight of the night was when some random guy came up while I was playing and shouted 'Your Dudeness' at me, lol.

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Looks like a great time indeed! How'd the new mixer work for you guys?
 
Brent Dowell said:
It worked great actually!

I doubt I'm using it to it's full potential, but it sure easier to setup. I had the control tablet on a music stand right behind me so I was able to access it easily, but honestly, once I had things setup, I didn't have to touch it the rest of the night.
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Awesome. :thumb: My tablet is in a holder that attaches to my mic stand, and I have a spare backup tablet that's on top of my rack behind me. Much like you, once things are set I don't have to do much, although I do a few minor volume adjustments if needed as the night progresses.
 
I struggled a bit to get the drums louden enough (electronic drums) But I suspect the problem I have is that the drummer is turning things down. Unfortunately, there's no output from his roland unit pre-volume knob.
The shocking part was that my guitar player actually kept the volume on his amp down enough I could get his signal to go through the mains and monitors. Gotta take the wins where I can!
At one point I had my bass on mute, but I still heard myself through the mains and monitors, and at that point I decided I don't really need to bring any cabs with this setup anymore, lol.
 
Brent Dowell said:
I struggled a bit to get the drums louden enough (electronic drums) But I suspect the problem I have is that the drummer is turning things down. Unfortunately, there's no output from his roland unit pre-volume knob...
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Did the drummer have a monitor (with drums in it) pointed at him? If so, maybe you could give him control of his own monitor feed, and that wouldn't affect what's being sent to the mains. Or if you don't want him monkeying with the mixer, he could just ask you to turn down the drums in his monitor.
 
He did have a monitor. That's a pretty good idea.

He does change 'kits' on it during the show and I think different kits have different levels, so that's why he's probably doing it.

We're actually going to work on using just the monitors up in the loft at practice this wednesday, which should get us a better sound all around instead of 2 big mains pointing at each other from the sides of the barn.

It's kind of a double edged sword. I used to just worry about playing the bass. The guitar player used to run sound, but really, really did not do a very good job at it, lol. So now it's my job.
 
Brent Dowell said:
...It's kind of a double edged sword. I used to just worry about playing the bass. The guitar player used to run sound, but really, really did not do a very good job at it, lol. So now it's my job.
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I can relate. I've never claimed to be a sound engineer, but I ended up with the job because none of the other guys would do it (including our drummer, who really IS a sound engineer). And they are the ones who are doing all the singing. :rolleyes:

Plus, not only do I have to play guitar and run sound, I have to continue to be the best-looking guy in the group. I guess we all have our own crosses to bear, huh? :rofl:
 
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