Today I performed with Gabriel Mark Hasselbach’s Zen Soundscapes at the Capilano Suspension Bridge.
This was a very cool gig!
First because a couple of musicians were new to the project.
Secondly because we were performing with the Pixies from Cirque du Soleil!
Third because I was going to try using my new Pod X3 Live pedal and use my flamenco guitar with my strat.
Here is Episode 5 of Guitar Slinger! What it’s all about performing with Zen Soundscape and Cirque du Soleil…
The entrance to the Vancouver Club
Today I’m back at the Vancouver Club to perform for a wedding reception. I’ll be playing in the Georgian Room where I have performed in the past for other weddings. So I know exactly what to bring for a sound system for this event.
The parkade elevator entrance
I am to arrive at 3pm to set up today. I’ve been instructed to have everything ready to go at 3:45pm. Then I can go relax elsewhere until the downbeat at 4:30 pm. (the downbeat is my official start time)
My performance today is from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
So, here’s the best part about playing guitar at the Vancouver Club on a Saturday, parking is only $7.
My solo guitar set up in the Georgian Room
Now here’s the worst part, the elevator in the parking garage is only available until 5:30 pm and my gig ends at 6:30 pm. What’s worse is that I had to park on the 4th level.
My solo guitar set up in the Georgian Room
The good news is that it’s all down hill to get to my truck on level four and I truly welcome the exercise!
I began by setting up my sound system for the reception in the Georgian room. Once I was set up I had time to listen in to the Lebanese band from Michigan that is here to perform this evening in the Georgian Ballroom.
The Georgian Ballroom for the wedding dinner and dance
Also here to perform for the wedding ceremony will be a local string trio. So the event will begin with the string trio playing as guests arrive and then again for the ceremony at 4 pm.
The room adjoining mine where the wedding will take place
At 4:30 pm-ish the wedding will end and that’s were I’ll come in performing solo guitar for the reception from 4:30 until 6:15 pm-ish. I’ll keep it very soft and in the background as instructed by the wedding coordinator.
Once I’m finish I have been invited to a bite to eat upstairs.
Btw, another nice thing about playing these events is meeting other musicians. Today I met Fin, a guitarist that plays friend of mine in a group called Van Django. (Well worth a listen) Fin was playing in the string trio and although we knew each other we never officially met.
The behind the scene view of the gear storage room
So now it’s 4:15 and I’m hanging out in the stairway next to the room listening for the wedding ceremony to begin. Then I’ll sneak into the back of the room to be seated and ready to begin playing when cued be the wedding coordinator.
My view of the wedding
I quietly entered the room were I was to play at 4:25pm, the wedding began and once it was finished that was my cue to begin. I performed from 4:45ish until everyone left for the dinner down the hall in the main ballroom. (about 6:30pm)
When I was done my performance space became the kids room and I quickly packed up to leave.
Leaving the Vancouver Club rear loading bay
Once I arrived at the parking garage I found that I could take the elevator from inside to the lower level where my truck was parked. So much for that wonderful exercise I was anticipating!
From there I loaded the truck and off I went.
Next up I’ll be playing an event for the Canadian Pension & Benefits Institute.
Stay tuned…
The back door entrance to the Vancouver Club
Today I’m off to perform solo rumba flamenco guitar for a private corporate event for HUB Insurance at the Vancouver Club on Hastings street in downtown Vancouver.
The entrance to the Grill at the Vancouver Club
Originally my performance time was to be 7 pm until 10 pm. This morning however, I received an email to play a 4 hour call. So today I’ll begin at 6 pm and play again to 10 pm.
The estimated attendance for this event will be 50. I’ll be there to provide live ambient solo guitar music for the clients reception and dinner.
The main room I was performing in
Being that this is a very small group I’ll provide a smaller sound system
consisting of 2 small PA speakers and a small powered monitor. I also bring 2 fifty foot speaker cables to place the main speakers as far apart as necessary to fill the room at a nice ambient level.
The adjoining room were I could not be seen. Only heard.
I’ll be leaving my home in Langley at 3:30pm and plan to arrive at the venue no later than 5 pm to meet my on site contact. Then it will be time to set up and get to work.
So, traffic wasn’t to bad and I arrived at the venue at 4:40 pm. The parkade is right beside the venue so it was an easy load in.
A shoe shinning station in the men's washroom, how cool is that!
For this event the client would be in two room so I set up to play in the larger room close to the door of the adjoining room. From there I could put one of my speakers in the other room to fill both.
As a rule I always bring more gear than necessary because you never know what you’ll need until you arrive on site. If I had brought in a single amp as most guitarist, I believe I could not have done a very good job filling the rooms.
My amazing beef dinner at the Vancouver Club
For this gig the main room I was in was full of people for the reception then for the dinner everyone went to the adjoining room. I performed the rest of the gig to an empty room! Of course everyone could still hear my performance. I guess it’s kind of like playing on live radio. You can’t see anyone however everyone can still hear you.
My performance set up and location in the Vancouver Club
One of the great perks to performing can sometimes be an amazing meal. As a rule I never ask for food or a drink other than water. I know musicians that have never been re-hired due to eating the clients food without an invitation.
This gig was one were I was invited to have a meal while on my break. Tonight it was beef and wow! It was amazing!
Towards the end of the event I had a lot of people thanking me for my performance. That’s always nice to hear at a corporate event that’s really all about networking and not listening to a live performance.
My performance location at the Vancouver Club
At 10 pm the last of the clients had left and it was time to pack up. Another bonus on this gig was that parking only cost me $14 instead on $18. The parking attendant had closed the till for the evening and couldn’t accept my credit card so she accepted the $14 cash I had on hand.
Stay tuned as Friday I’ll be performing another corporate event out in North Vancouver
I have to thank Matt Stevens for his tweeter tip to check out Topspin Media. This site rocks!
Topspin is a direct to fan music marketing site. The cool thing about being a member here is that I can put a lot of my web music business all under one roof for a very reasonable price!
Topspin will allow me to quickly create an internet store front to sell everything! And I mean Everything! I can n0w easily sell concert ticket’s online, cd’s, mp3′s, sheet music, and so much more.
Topspin has completely opened my eyes to merchandise bundling, selling products via coupons. They are making it so easy. They will also handle my mailing list!
I just signed up and I’m just scratching the surface of what is available here. I’m really excited about this!
Not only are the tools there amazing with great widgets for my web site and blogs but their customer service and weekly web casts are fantastic.
Anyways, I just had to put a quick shout out to all the indie musicians out there. This is one company worth having on your music marketing team.
Here is my experience before joining Topspin…
Day 1…
Here is my experience as a Topspin member…
Day 2…
It’s now midnight and Day 3…
(& I’m still entering Meta Data for all my uploaded tunes, I’ve got to get some sleep!)
Day 4 at TopSpin…
Time to hit the road on a short tour so I have my new digital download cards to share and sell at my gigs and will log back in to Topspin once I return.
Today I’m back from my little BC tour and ready to get back to work on my TopSpin site.
I have to admit that I really enjoy tuning into the TopSpin webcast every Friday morning at 11am. It’s a great place to ask questions and get in on what’s new.
This morning I have re-shot all my cd images and will upload them to my topspin account. Then it’s time to continue building my online store.
TopSpin is making it really easy to put my merchandise together for online distribution in a lot of great formats.
I’m now planning to sell physical and digital products from concert tickets to cd’s to video and audio guitar lesson downloads.
TopSpin also allows me to very easily bundle my merchandise.
