live show questions

DREWDANK · Post by **DREWDANK** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:52 am

lets say i wanted to do a live show
how should i do it if i just make beats?
live sampling?
live looping and crap?

i have a sp-404
and a macbook with logic
and a shit mic

kids at school have been begging me

someone give me some tutorials on how to rock a live show anyone
anything please....

cartesia · Post by **cartesia** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:03 am

you should do a live show how you want to do it

and if you dont know how you want to do it,

- do you really want to do a live show?
- or do you just want to show off your tracks?

If you're going to play live, make sure you're bringing something new to the table, not just reconstructing your tracks.

dman5000 · Post by **dman5000** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:36 pm

i havent done this but this is what i would do(i saw your setup pic)... have the songs tracked out into the computer and put each track as its own sample in 404 like C1drumC2bassC3horn so you can assemble the song live without having to "play" it and you can still drop parts out or add effects live, throw in extra one shots, etc
then with your turntable (or a dj program i guess) have some accapella raps that you can cue over your beats and if you can you scratch the accapella a little bit hope thats some kind of help to you...

DREWDANK · Post by **DREWDANK** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:50 pm

dman5000 wrote:i havent done this but this is what i would do(i saw your setup pic)... have the songs tracked out into the computer and put each track as its own sample in 404 like C1drumC2bassC3horn so you can assemble the song live without having to "play" it and you can still drop parts out or add effects live, throw in extra one shots, etc
then with your turntable (or a dj program i guess) have some accapella raps that you can cue over your beats and if you can you scratch the accapella a little bit hope thats some kind of help to you...

damn i like that idea man...kick ass

drewzle · Post by **drewzle** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:03 am

hey drew
this video might help you with some ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ow_rbah5ds

606man · Post by **606man** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:40 am

To me, the most important consideration when playing live is continuity. The music must never stop. This is easy for DJ's - they have two decks to play with! If you are going to play live, you need to have this ability in some form.

I used to play out live a lot in melbs. We used to use two 606s, a couple of other synths/drum machines and a keyboard. This way there was always a sound going through the mixer. You can use a basic CD player with 'backing tracks' if you are short on gear. So long as there is always sound you're ready to go.

The other thing to bear in mind is rehearsal. Unless your some kind of Jazz superstar, live improv is rarely a good idea. Bands practise before they play out and so should you!! This way it will seem improvised but YOU will always know whats coming up next.

Hope that helps

DREWDANK · Post by **DREWDANK** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:28 am

Drewzle wrote:hey drew
this video might help you with some ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ow_rbah5ds

i can do that with like 50 people there huh....
well i think i will
just like practice some routines hella times

cuz a whole bunch of people want me to shit after school

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:08 pm

I did shows with the 606 and I had a minidisc player with the routine on it just in case disaster struck-

Certain vocalists who are hip to modern music will like the drum machine in the club-- it beats paying a real drummer to bring all their shit, then often times drowning out the vocalist if it's a smaller venue.
Especially if their recorded material is drum machine beat based.

As you may know many Caribbean groups have a 'programmer' drum machinist- even if it's just some high hats or something to keep the whole band in tight dance lock-

Dr. Tad Winslow · Post by **Dr. Tad Winslow** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:30 pm

dman5000 wrote:i havent done this but this is what i would do(i saw your setup pic)... have the songs tracked out into the computer and put each track as its own sample in 404 like C1drumC2bassC3horn so you can assemble the song live without having to "play" it and you can still drop parts out or add effects live, throw in extra one shots, etc
.

Yeah, this is what I do. I don't fuck with the pattern sequencer when playing live because I don't want to be adjusting and remembering the tempo on mad different patterns. I do exactly what dman said and just put all the parts on different pads, and sometimes a variation or two of them, then I drop parts out and utilize effects. It works out pretty well. I always set the tempo before I record my loops into the 404 so that they will synch perfectly if I hit the pads in time. I also usually rock a MIDI controller when doing this so I can have more precise control over my shit.

I've got a couple shows coming up in like two weeks where I'll be playing the beats live, my homie will be on the turntables scratching and playing some misc. samples and then two of my boys will be rhyming. I'm real excited and it should be pretty dope.

hXc is right on point when he mentioned bringing a backup. No matter what you're using for gear at any type of show, always always always bring a backup. I'm yet to have my 404 fail before a show, but I always bring a CD of beats to play just in case something goes wrong. Nothing is worse than a complete meltdown on stage and having no music to play, especially if you're playing at a bar and everyone is drinking. haha. Luckily it's never happened to me, but more than once I've seen some shit go wrong on stage that had me cringing feeling bad for the dudes trying to preform.