Friday, October 12, 2001
Solid Rock Cafe, in Chillicothe, Ohio
Bands: Binding Force and Broken Thorns from Circleville
Pay: $0
Joe Waters, the manager of the Solid Rock Cafe, wanted us to break up our set into two parts. Here was his plan: We would set up (which takes around 20 minutes), play for 20 to 25 minutes and break down. The other band would set up, play 20 to 25 minutes and break down. We would then set back up again and play another 20 to 25 minutes, break down and let the other band finish. Very inefficient!
Dustin had to leave and be at work at 10 p.m. The show started at 8 p.m., so it would be impossible to make Joe's plan work out. I tried to talk with him and work it out, but he wouldn't hear me out.
"I'm the producer. Let me produce this thing. I deal with bands all the time."
He thinks he's a big-time producer when he can't even run sound. The microphones were in front of the main speakers, resulting in major feedback. Vocals were low, so as to eliminate feedback. No one was at the mixing board and monitors didn't work at all. Poorly run show!
Joe showed up five minutes before showtime and sprung his little plan on us, which left us discouraged and a little mad ... a bad attitude when you must minister to others. We did no real sound check. Mics fed back the entire show. We ended up playing a shortened playlist (Worker, Straight, Hold Me Up, Show Them and Unbroken) and left.
I don't plan to go back. Ever! I didn't feel the Spirit, and got a general bad feeling from Joe and the building. My mom felt the same way, and we didn't even talk about it beforehand. We did meet and witness to Sandy Rhodes and her boyfriend Stan Howard. She was wearing a Kiss shirt. Sandy claimed to really love our band, and said she'd come to our next gig. She still hasn't contacted us yet even though we gave her our e-mail address and website URL. Hmmmmm.
Tuesday, October 30, 2001
Columbus, Ohio, Inner City - a.k.a. The Bottoms
Bands: Binding Force
Pay: $0
Pastor Rod wanted us to show up on Broad Street, in Columbus, at 5:30 p.m., but we didn't leave Waverly until 6 p.m. because of Dustin and Van's work. We arrived at 7:30 p.m. The stage was an old bus with one side partially opened up and a sheet of plywood extending out as a stage. I didn't want to put my 4x12 up there for fear of it rolling off.
Poor Dustin had no headroom because his drums were set up inside the bus. Hahaha! He couldn't hear us very well because we were in front of him and his drums reverberated through the old bus. I forgot my ground lift plug, so I couldn't use my MB-Rocket, only the Nomad (no effects).
Our crowd was little kids 5 to 10 years old who couldn't care less about the music. They cared more about getting candy. We got set up by 8 p.m. and were given a half hour to play. So, we pretty much goofed off after seeing that no one was listening. We left feeling disappointed, having driven one and a half hours for no pay and no audience. I couldn't keep my SG in tune either!
Aaron and Della made a great audience, though. Pastor Rob was on the road (trucker) but his associate John Litchfield was there to help out. He was a pretty nice guy who paid us in little white bears.
Friday, November 2, 2001
Rock Force Promotions - A Benefit for Radio U and TV U
Columbus Restoration Church on Broad Street, in Columbus, Ohio
Bands: Binding Force, "National Recording Artist" Daniel, Foundashun/Enock and U-Turn (Bust One and Battlesound were no-shows)
Pay: $0
Event promoter, Dave Coroi, wanted us to bring our own sound system for ourselves and the other bands. We refused due to negative comments from others who were acquainted with Coroi, so U-Turn brought their system.
We were told by Dave Coroi to show up at 5:30 p.m. (two hours before showtime) but didn't make it in until about 7:15 p.m. We were told we were going on last at 11 p.m. So we had four hours to wait. First up was Daniel. Pretty good singer. He used soundtracks and played air guitar. Hehe! Also did a drum solo, dropped his sticks and played with his hands. He was not as good as Dustin but good anyway. Dustin said that his drum solo was a copy of Peart's "Rhythm Method." Maybe ... After his set, Daniel (Broxterman) handed out CD promos. Cool.
Enock and Foundashun were good for rap. I don't like rap, but it was good stuff. Della bought their CDs.
U-Turn was most excellent. They sounded like 50s rock and roll (the Ventures) or the Mamas and the Papas. This group consisted of older people, probably in their 40s. They liked our set.
I played ok but messed up the "Straight Your Path" solo very badly. Our only crowd that night was the other bands. Since we were last the only ones left to hear us was U-Turn, and that was only because we were using their sound system. Not even Dave Coroi stuck around to hear us! Man! We didn't get paid again.
We rushed our six-song demo production to have the CDs finished by this gig, which we supposed would be a big crowd. However, the crowd of other bands was small and dwindled through the night. No CDs were sold, but we gave away two. Wow!
Saturday, December 8, 2001
Enter Net Cafe, in West Union - The Takeover CD Release Party
Bands: Binding Force, Martyr, Blueprint Coalition and The Takeover
Pay: $100
This gig went pretty well as far as music goes. We sounded good, and Van had some great testimonies. We were given 40 minutes, which we filled, no problem. The only technical problem was that my effects (once again) weren't loud enough. That will be better next time.
The audience, as usual, was pretty non-responsive. I don't know if it's because they didn't know us well, didn't like the music or weren't excited because we didn't jump around. But when we started in on "Ladre/Unbroken Bond," there were some young girls (Martyr fans, no doubt) with some sort of ultraviolet glow-in-the-dark plastic things in their mouths who came up front and tried dancing. Hahaha!
Anyway ... I sold two CDs - one to Chuck and Jamey Gorman of Martyr and one to the MC of the night (I can't remember his name). I gave away three - one to Chris (an employee at Enter Net), one to Steven (the drummer for Martyr) and one for a free giveaway prize for a drawing they had. Steven said he liked our style and seemed genuinely impressed. Jamey told me in an e-mail that we were "one of the tightest unsigned bands" around. As for the free giveaway CD, it was rejected the first time it was offered as a prize. The girl who won the drawing chose an Enter Net Cafe cap instead. How embarrassing! Hahaha!
Blueprint Coalition and the Takeover didn't impress me much. Blueprint Coalition was just musically loose and chaotic. Their lyrics were indistinguishable over the loud music and their material dealt with their anti-pornography views and "being rejected by a girl." The lead singer wore a shirt that said, "Pornography rapes your mind."
The Takeover was too hard core. I hate the screaming! The crowd was violent to the point of hurting each other. It's mad! This is a Christian establishment. I think a majority of the crowd was just young locals (saved or not) looking for a good time.