Sound check?

[mdlbear]

It crossed my mind at the last Très Gique gig at Westercon that my usual sound check song, "Jabberwocky" as a talking blues, is totally lame. A proper sound check song should be a throwaway, sure, but it also has to be something that everybody in the group can sing on, with verses we can trade off singing, geeky, totally silly, and loud.

"Old Time Computing" came to mind. Then I came up with:

When your drummer plays a doumbek
You had better run a sound check
Or you'll end up sounding like heck
And your audience will flee...

... Possibly with a chorus about a real-time musician, after which things could easily degenerate into verses about emacs/vi, unix/vms, and other software religion. But I'm not going to go there right now.

Comments

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

Without the computer-related verses, it could veer off toward the creation of an "Old Time Musician", which might also be fun. (Or maybe that already exists...seems like a natural.)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

seems like a natural

Just don't let it go flat. :)

[mdlbear]

I thought of "filk song musician" as well.

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

"filk song musician"

Hmmmm. I can imagine that idea being promoted throughout the filk community and inviting anyone who wants to play to submit a verse about themselves.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

OK... I got one, or at least the germ of one....

Aww, axes flash, cymbals ring
shiny costume? just the thing
gophers run with a harried gaze
sound guy threads a snaky maze
Midnight concert, filk til dawn
who here knows what's goin' on?

Let not one pre-reg pass by...
HOW MANY CONS CAN WE SURVIVE!!!!

(There's more there... :)

[mdlbear]

I'm not sure we need to go quite that loud! But it's certainly silly enough.

Trouble with that one

[capplor.livejournal.com]

is that you'd have the audience screaming & ruining the check.

[mdlbear]

and another criterion I neglected to mention: it has to be either PD or something I have rights to, since it's going to be on the front of every darned concert recording from now on.

[smalltowndad.livejournal.com]

:D

Good lyrics.

[mdlbear]

Thanks. Only thing I've written all year, though. And OTC (if that's what you're referring to) is over two decades old at this point, and far from my best work. But parts are OK, and silly enough for a sound check.

[aerowolf.livejournal.com]

when your guitar sounds like sitar
and your vocal sounds just bitter
just get rid of the filter
cuz your engineer works free

(Seriously, though... how hard is it to properly match levels, and maybe put a touch of reverb on the vocals?)

[mdlbear]

I'm not a sound guy, but I've watched them work. It's not hard, but you really have to know how loud the band is going to get, where the feedback frequencies are, and whether everyone can hear themselves on the monitors.

[smalltowndad.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been told I've got, ah, adaptable tastes.

I still think OTC is good for a chuckle or two, or maybe even a 'yuk.'

And, as you observed, "silly enough for a sound check."

[ifics.livejournal.com]

I have a few ideas, but being a sound tech, I try to avoid giving feedback...

[mdlbear]

Chortle!