Its Tuesday and you know what that means.
We're getting ready for our ERAS set, which will span 7 years we've been doing this. I thought this might be a good time to look back and go through some things I wish we'd known back when we started. Let's go boys (and girls).
1. You can't rely on bands to promote your show
I remember putting together a show in the early days. We had spoken with a venue and asked about putting a show on in Inverness. By this time we had a 6 song set, nothing was really finalised, and we were just figuring stuff out. We'd collectively been "out of the game" between late 2016 and mid 2019, so when it came time to check out the local bands, I found that a lot of the bands we were friends with in previous projects either weren't active or had moved on to other cities. We put together a 3 band lineup with us in the middle, paid all the costs, and agreed to split the tickets with the other 2 bands in thirds. We did our bit, sold 15 or so tickets and expected the other bands to sell the same (or more) and everyone to stay and watch each other. The result, in theory, should have been around 55 people in a 60 capacity room. Perfectly fine while we get used to gigging again.
The reality? The other two bands didn't sell any tickets, but asked their girlfriends and mates were given free entry. Messages on the group chat made it look like they'd been busy promoting the show, getting folk to come see everyone.
The actual result? Lucid Liars out of pocket to £60, playing to the 15 people we'd asked to come. I remember being very disappointed at the lacklustre turnout, especially when the last band went on and the folk we brought didn't stick around after us. It took us a long time to realise that promoting a gig is an art within itself and getting people invested is very difficult, but getting other bands to pull their weight is a nightmare.
2. Find your own path as a band
Something I've found very strange about the early days is the sheer number of people who thought that there was only one way to be in a band, and they'd usually offer advice that this single path was the only way to do it.
"You play your local town 15 times a year, you record a song at the local studio, then you repeat the same thing next year".
I enjoy playing Inverness, I really do. But I'd prefer this is a once or twice a year thing. The thought of playing the same 3 venues every year never interested me, I wanted to move on to other venues and have some new experiences. There's a handful of venues we love playing above all else. Venues like Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh, we have a good time at Upstairs in Inverness as well. Really that's it. The show is not the venue, the venue is just the place you have the show. We like to present something new wherever we play, it took us until 2021 to realise that there's something more than the same handful of venues every year.
3. It's okay to change up your setlist
This is another thing that took a while for us to realise. There's something safe about playing the songs you're well rehearsed on, have played 20 times in the last year and a half, and feel your audience wants.
"Familiarity breeds contempt"
You know how to sicken yourself of something? Take a song you once loved to play, and play it at every gig. We've had to give songs a break before simply because they were no longer fun to play. I remember sitting in our rehearsal den one day, we were running through our set for an upcoming gig, and we had a collective groan when it was time to rehearse this one song we'd played at every set in the last year. Then it became a realistic conversation - "Why don't we drop it?".
Giving that song 3-4 years off then going back to it for ERAS has been transformative. It feels new and we're having fun with it.
4. Soundchecking is the most important part of a live show
Did you know Lucid Liars rarely if ever play a gig without a soundcheck? If a promoter, venue or lineup offers a line check but not a full soundcheck we tend to pass on it. It takes time to make sure that we're getting the sound we want our audience to hear.
You know what happens with a line check? You spend the first song signalling to the sound guy whether something's too loud or quiet in your monitor, you're not comfortable playing, and the audience can feel it. Your first 2 songs become sacrificial while the sound guy figures out your monitoring and front of house sound.
We had a band conversation in 2022. It was about committing to the philosophy that without a soundcheck, we just won't be able to represent ourselves as best we can. Some of the least fun gigs we've played have been with line checks. This is usually because you're part of a multi band lineup, right in the middle, and have 15 minutes to set your gear up and get leveled before playing a 30-45 minute set. That's really not enough time to feel comfortable and confident that you're going to represent yourselves as best you can.
Everyone remembers a bad gig, especially the bands playing them.
5. It's okay to make mistakes and learn from them
A bit of a riff on point number 4. Especially in terms of active gigging.
It's okay to try something and understand why it didn't work. Maybe you wanted to try a new song that just didn't translate well to a live setting. Maybe that new pedal you got just didn't work well in stage conditions. Maybe the band you thought would bring comradery simply didn't. All that stuff is okay if it makes you a better musician, makes your band a better unit, or otherwise improves what you're doing. We feel we've got Lucid Liars down to an enjoyable system, but who knows what's waiting tomorrow?
If something seems like a good idea, try it. If it works out - great. If it doesn't - learn and move forward.
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Needless to say, we're feeling like looking back over the last 7 years. Expect more blogs reflecting on the journey.
Until next time.