When a Technical Disaster Kept Us From Rehearsing Before the Gig

One time I was playing at a special event early one Monday morning. This was sort of like a “corporate breakfast” kind of thing, where the band would play a little and someone would speak. All the musicians arrived at our bright-and-early call time around 7am, and we prepared for soundcheck. The schedule allowed for a quick soundcheck, followed by about an hour of rehearsal. Should be easy enough since we were only playing three songs. Or so we thought…

This was one of those times where from a technical standpoint….EVERYTHING started going wrong.

The keyboard player couldn’t get any signal out of his keyboard to front of house. The singer’s in-ears weren’t working at all. There was a horrible buzz in everyone’s in-ears that couldn’t be found or explained. No one was able to hear the click and tracks since signal wasn’t making it from the MD’s laptop either. The planned schedule came to a screeching halt, and before we knew it we were out of rehearsal time. We’d played through NOTHING. Guests we already arriving for the breakfast, and we couldn’t rehearse at this point even if we got the click running.

So what did we do? We did what any sensible band would do. We sat down and ate breakfast.

Haha actually we did do that, but we found a side room to gather in where we could at least talk through the songs we were about to play. Together we made sure we were all on the same page as far as song form went, and we talked through the transitions between songs. 10 minutes later, we were out there playing. Did the set go perfectly? Not completely. But without the click and the tracks we were all just following the vocalists. I don’t think we played everything as we were originally supposed to, but we stuck together and covered up mistakes pretty well.

Looking at each other afterwards, I’m pretty sure we were all thinking “man, I’m glad you guys really learned the songs!” Everyone had done their homework, knew their parts, and paid attention there in the heat of the moment. We were able to trust one another and musically play through a set without serious hiccups. This story may be short and simple, but like a lot of the “everything-went-wrong,” “heat-of-the-moment” stories, it all boils down to one thing.

KNOW THE SONGS REALLY WELL.

Every time something like this happens, I’m left thanking myself for putting in the time to make sure I was comfortable and confident with the songs. If you go into ANY gig situation with full confidence that you know the songs, AND you’re ready to listen carefully on the fly and make adjustments when you need to…you have nothing to be worried about. Preparation is key. Life is easier when you’re prepared, and things are certainly less stressful that way. Take that knowledge with you anywhere you go, stay flexible, and be ready to adjust on the fly.

God Bless,

Stephen