The Logistics of Sundogs Gigs

This document is intended to provide clients with an overview of the following logistical issues relevant to Sundogs bookings:

Space and Access

A rock band needs a surprisingly large amount of space.  Starting from back to front, we have (a) the drummer, (b) his drum kit, (c) the other performers, (d) their microphone stands, and (e) their floor monitors.  We find that a stage depth of 12' is the minimum to accommodate all of these comfortably.  Also, we have three guitarists standing side by side.  To be comfortably spaced out, we like to have a stage width for just the musicians of at least  12' feet.  In addition, we need a few feet of  space on each end of the stage to set up the main speakers and any lights.  In summary, the minimum comfortable stage area is about 12' deep by 16' wide.  We normally prefer to have even more space than this so as to be able to spread out and have some freedom of movement.  We have, however, made do with significantly less as well, though it can be quite awkward and can even impair our ability to perform well.

Although it isn't required, it's nice to be up on an elevated platform assembled from portable 4'x4' risers.  The elevation helps keep the band visible above the heads of  dancers as well as making it less likely that dancers will stray into the tangle of wires and equipment in the performance area.

In the event that sound is being provided by the customer or the venue, this stage layout may be helpful.
Dance floor:   Any space required for dancers is in addition to the above stage area.  It is not unusual to have to move tables after the banquet part of a party or reception in order to make room for a dance floor.

Positioning:  The performance area should normally be on the far side of the room the entrance guests will be using. Because of music volume, it is also best to keep it away from any bar or service areas where people need to be able to hear each other talk.

Access:  Because of the amount of gear we need to move from the cars to the stage area, we need a place to park at least temporarily near a convenient entrance.   If applicable, a temporary parking pass for up to four vehicles would be appreciated. We might also need to use ramps or elevators to move some heavy items on dollies.

Important:  The stage area (but not the dance area) must be available exclusively for use by the band from the time of set-up onward.   Once music and sound equipment has been set up and the sound check completed, we cannot move equipment around. To do so would undo the effort that went into eliminating feedback and other potential sound problems.  Also, the stage area must be off-limits to traffic by either guests or staff  - and especially children, due to the risk of tripping on cables or otherwise disrupting the sound set-up.

Room Acoustics

If you have not yet chosen a venue for your event, it's worth at least considering room acoustics as one factor in your choice.  A great many events we have played, especially weddings, have been held in rooms that are very "lively" acoustically -- that is, they have a lot of hard, reflective surfaces like hardwood, marble, glass, tile, etc., and very little absorbing material like carpet, drapes, acoustic ceilings, upholstered chairs, and so forth.   While a room like that can be great for choirs, string quartets, and the like, it can be very problematic for a rock band with drums and amplified instruments.   In particular, there is no "volume knob" on the drums, and so the sound of drums can be overwhelming in a small,  reflective room.  Moreover, the volume on other instruments and on the band vocals needs to be brought up to be heard over the drums, so there is a definite limit to how quietly a rock band like ours can play in any given setting!  

The bottom line is this:  If you choose a room that has a lot of natural reverberation, then it will be difficult to make the band sound really good (not boomy or muddy), and it will be even more difficult to effectively control overall volume so that people sitting at the other end of the room can converse normally.  We will of course do our best with whatever room we're given, but please understand that our sound engineer has only so many ways to work magic!    It will help, by the way, when the room is full of people, since people help absorb sound -- a nearly empty room reverberates much more than a packed one!

Power requirements

If we're providing our own sound system for a smaller venue, then our complete set-up can usually run off of a single AC wall outlet, provided that the outlet is capable of providing 20 amps of current at 120V with no risk of tripping a circuit breaker.  If this is not  the case, then power should ideally be provided from two or more outlets on at least two separate circuit breakers. The outlet(s) must be located within a 30 foot radius of the back edge of the stage area.  Otherwise, the client is responsible for ensuring the availability of a heavy duty extension cord(s) long enough  to bring power to within 30 feet of the back edge of the stage.  

If we are bringing in a pro sound company, which is very likely for weddings and/or larger or outdoor venues, then power requirements may well be greater than indicated above.  Sometimes the sound engineer will want to tap directly into the power panel and use his own breakers.   We will generally put the sound engineer into direct contact with the venue manager to discuss access to power.
 
 Disclaimer: Although we have never had this occur to date,  the Sundogs are not responsible for interruptions of the performance due to tripped circuit breakers.
Important:  To avoid hazard of electrical shock to performers, all outlets must be properly grounded and have standard three-prong receptacles.  Any evidence that outlets are not properly grounded (e.g., even mild shocks from instruments or microphone stands) will be grounds for discontinuing the performance.

Lighting

The client is responsible for general lighting of the performance and dance area.  Depending on the venue and the nature of the gig, the Sundogs may provide two light trees, each with four PAR-38 lamps with colored gels to help illuminate and accent the stage area only.  However, these cannot be relied upon for general-purpose lighting.

Ideally, the venue overhead lights can be dimmed selectively for different areas of the room. Usually, there should be more light over the stage area than over the dance floor and surrounding area.

If you have a larger event in which the lighting described above will be inadequate, let us know and we can plan to hire professional lighting.  This may add between $50 and $200 to our fee, depending on how large and complex of a lighting system is required.  Added lighting will also place signficantly greater demands on the available electrical power (see above).

Client use of PA system

When the band is not performing, clients may use our PA system for announcements and/or background music. If desired, one of our vocal microphones may be detached from the stand and hand-held by an emcee.  We will show a member of your party how to control the volume for that microphone.  If background music is required prior to our performance, then you should plan to burn a CD, or load up an MP3 player (e.g., an iPod), with the desired selection of songs. You will need to (1) provide the actual CD player or MP3 player used for playback and (2) delegate responsibility for the music playback to a trusted member of your party.  Your player should have a 1/8" output jack -- either headphone or 'line out'.  We will connect the player to our mixing board during the soundcheck period (see schedule, above) and show your designated person how to control the volume.  

Please let us know before the date of our performance whether you plan to play music through our PA system, so that we can ensure the availability of a suitable cable (e.g., 1/8" stereo plug to two male RCA type plus) for connecting your player to our console.

Summary: We are happy to make our PA system available for announcements and music playback. We will show a designated person how to control the volume on our mixer board. However, the Sundogs will not be responsible for overseeing the actual playback of any recorded music.

During the Performance

There are several issues that can come up once the party is started, and you should give these some thought in case they come up at yours.

Sound Volume - Sometimes the bride's mother approaches us at the stage and tells us we're too loud.   When we turn down, we are then approached by the bride who tells us to disregard her mom and turn back up again.  We don't want to get caught in the middle of differing expectations concerning sound volume, so our rule is very simple:  Whoever booked us is the boss.  If anyone else approaches us about turning up or down, we will always ask them to talk to our client and have them tell us what they want.

Coordination - Sometimes we are asked to be part of a special activity, such as a Dollar Dance.  We are told what to do (e.g., announce Dollar Dance) and when to do it (e.g., at the end of the first break).  Not infrequently, however, we go to do what we're asked to do at the appointed time and discover that a key person (e.g., the bride) is missing.  If you have activities planned for for our breaks or during our performance, please make sure that everyone who needs to be there gets the word.  We will not leave long periods of "dead" time, so in the event that something can't start on schedule, we'll return to playing our usual material again until we get the word that it's time for another try at the activity.

Time

When the Sundogs are hired to play 3-3.5 hours of music at a wedding reception, that's all that most of the audience sees. What they don't see is the significant time and labor that goes into preparing for the gig and packing up afterwards.  For an in-town wedding that begins at 8:00 PM and ends at midnight, here is the typical schedule:

  1:30 PM  Band members and/or sound tech inventory instruments and PA equipment and load vehicles.
  2:30 PM  Band members leave home.
  3:00 PM  Band arrives at venue.  Carry in and set up equipment.
  4:00 PM  Thorough sound check, adjustment of monitors, etc.  Note:  A full sound check includes trial performances of selected songs at full volume. The time set aside for sound check must not conflict with other activities scheduled in the same building!  
  5:00 PM  Stop before guests start arriving; eat dinner (probably at local restaurant)
  8:00 PM  Begin performance; take three 15 minute breaks in a 4-hour period.
12:00 AM  End performance;  begin dissassembling and packing up equipment
12:30 AM  Carry packed gear to vehicles and begin loading
12:45 AM  Drive home
  1:15 AM  Arrive home, begin unloading gear from car
  1:30 AM  Finished unloading.

Bottom line:  A typical in-town wedding costs each bandmembers 11 hours from beginning to end!  In addition to the performance itself, this time includes at least two hours of physical labor due to carrying heavy equipment up and down stairs, from cars into the venue, etc.

If the gig is out-of-town, then the transportation time is greater.  If the gig is more than an hour away from Madison, we will usually spend the night in a local hotel and drive home after breakfast the following morning rather than take to the roads at 1 AM.  If there is a block of rooms reserved at a local hotel in connection with your event, please consider whether you could spare one or two of the rooms for band members.