Band Tip #3 - Minimise Setup Time

Getting on stage and getting set up can be a time-consuming process, and if you're pressed for time, it can be somewhat frustrating. The person with the most setting up to do is probably the drummer, so saving time with the setup of the drums would be to everyone's advantage. So let's look at how we can do just that.

It hasn't happened to me very often, but I've seen drummers load their drums onto the stage still in their cases. They then proceed to unpack everything, littering the stage with empty cases while they put the kit together. Then the cases have to be taken off the stage. All of this keeps everyone else from setting up since there are dead (empty) cases in the way.
One drummer even brought all the cases back on to the stage at the end of their set and started tearing down the drums on the spot and loading them into cases.

I cannot stress enough how frustrating this can be for all involved, not to mention time-consuming.

So let's visit a technique that (thankfully) most drummers use.

As soon as load-in has been completed, the drummer should find a spot with enough room to set up the entire kit. Everything needed should be unpacked and the entire kit set up. Once set up, the kit can be pulled apart, with drums, cymbals, etc. still left on their stands. The dead cases and drum kit can then be put somewhere out of the way. When it comes time for the band to set up, the drummer can simply load all the drums onto the stage. Since everything is set up, the drums just need to be placed, saving lots of time.
To save even more time, each member of the band (and/or friends/fans) can pick up a piece of the kit and bring it to the vicinity of where the kit will be set up. The time it takes for the drummer to arrange the kit is usually about the same amount of time it takes for the other instruments to be set up, so it all works out nicely.
Once the set is finished, everyone should again pick up a piece of the kit and load it off to an area that's out of the way. The drummer can then take the kit apart without being in anyone's way and on his/her own time.

That's it for this entry.
more later soon