# I'm a vocalist and my band is starting to book some shows. What do I need?



## Asthenea (May 22, 2014)

So were going to start booking shows soon, and I literally know nothing about what I should bring. I'm assuming a mic(?), is there anything else I need?


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## Connor (May 22, 2014)

Most venues will have mic's, vocalists dont need to bring a lot except a bunch of water and maybe a towel/change of clothes depending on if you plan on sticking around etc.
I have had vocalists who prefer to bring their own mics but most venues will usually have an sm58 for everyone to use.


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## Pat_tct (May 22, 2014)

i do vocals, too for my band. technically i only need to bring a mic. i never use mics that i could get at the venue. i have my personal mic cause I know which mic sounds best with my voice and singing style and i don't like the fact that maybe 100 other singers sang/and spit into a random mic at the venue.

i made a small case where i keep general stuff that benefits the whole band.
i usually bring:

- my mic and a back up mic
- all sorts of cables as backup
- extra sets of strings
- tape
- towels
- cleaning cloth and paper towels (in case anyone spills something for example)

so just stuff that you need quick. i keep that case next to the stage or behind an amp or something so that you can reach it.

i always felt bad only having my mic there, plug it in and then be useless^^
so i thought i could bring stuff that anyone could need.


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## morethan6 (May 22, 2014)

Welcome to the best part of being a vocalist


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## rectifryer (May 22, 2014)

You bring your mic and help the drummer move his set lol.


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## Leuchty (May 22, 2014)

Talent.







Just kidding... Seriously though, Confidence, a good attitude and a healthy back to help setup/teardown.


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## eyeswide (May 22, 2014)

You're the vocalist and you're asking what you should be doing? You're doing the whole lead singer thing wrong!


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## Yo_Wattup (May 23, 2014)

Nothing at all but for gods sake help the drummer load Ina and out


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## cwhitey2 (May 23, 2014)

rectifryer said:


> You bring your mic and help the everyone move their stuff lol.



Fixed.


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## -42- (May 23, 2014)

Yeah just bring your mic and extra XLRs as well. You wouldn't believe how many venues/touring bands don't have enough cables on hand. Also, a water bottle.


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## GunpointMetal (May 23, 2014)

-42- said:


> Yeah just bring your mic and extra XLRs as well. You wouldn't believe how many venues/touring bands don't have enough cables on hand. Also, a water bottle.



Nobody ever has enough or long enough XLR cables...ever....


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## Asthenea (May 23, 2014)

Thanks for the answers guys. I had heard that I need my own PA and mic, so I just wanted to double check!


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## Asthenea (May 23, 2014)

eyeswide said:


> You're the vocalist and you're asking what you should be doing? You're doing the whole lead singer thing wrong!



Not what I should be doing, what I need to bring.


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## OmegaSlayer (May 29, 2014)

Condoms.
Usually vocalists get more gurrrrls.


Also, if vocalists don't get girls, the other members are doomed.
Yeah, pretty much that


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## Nour Ayasso (May 29, 2014)

rectifryer said:


> You bring your mic and help the drummer move his set lol.



YES


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## robare99 (May 30, 2014)

Make sure you bring a mic that actually works. Same with any XLR cables. All my stuff works fine, a couple times singers brought mics that were all beat to hell. The XLR cable was taped to it, after plugging it in and seeing it pop a couple times whenever it was moved, sorry that's not going to work for me. 

I swap out the windscreens on my SM58's after every couple gigs. Then I wash out the windscreens I removed with antibacterial soap and they are ready to be changed out again. The singer in my band said "man I don't think I've ever washed my mics ever. And I said well, to each their own. 


So yeah, if you bring a mic, make sure it's solid and no problems.


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## BenSolace (Jun 2, 2014)

Definitely at least a mic unless you wanna be sharing the same ol' rusty SM58 that every other vocalist has drenched in saliva/phlegm!

I have the glorious benefit of being my bands vocalist/lead guitarist/equipment tech, so it would be easy for me to omit bringing a mic to make things easier, but I always bring my trusty Sennheiser e840 + Optogate.


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## fenderbender4 (Jun 4, 2014)

Well, I'm paranoid, so in addition to water, etc. I also make sure I've got some of those over-the-counter drugs like Advil, Pepto, etc.

I'm not a vocalist but did do minor vocal duties. As to the meds, thank god I never had to use them, but when you end up driving to the middle of nowhere Minnesota in the winter, the last thing I want is to have a pounding headache at midnight, and realize there are still 2 more sets to plow through.

+1,000,000 on the extra cables and mic. Do not depend on the venues to supply what you need, and even if they do, don't expect it to always work. I remember I was in need of a simple 1/4" cable and the sound guy handed me a handful of ten different ones. All of them were bad.


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## Cynic (Jun 13, 2014)

would recommend water, in-ears, and your own mic (especially if you're on tour. can't be getting sick from other people).



eyeswide said:


> You're the vocalist and you're asking what you should be doing? You're doing the whole lead singer thing wrong!



i would also like to point out that if you aren't helping your band load in, set up, or tear down then you are selfish and you're lucky that your band even wants you with them.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Jun 13, 2014)

We were all on wireless mics (drummer/bassist/me on gtr/keys). Our lead vocalist had a handheld Shure, and the rest of us had headworn Shures.

I made a small rack with a power supply, all four of the wireless receivers in rackmounts, and a punch panel from Middle Atlantic Products for the connections.

I soldered/wired it up, doing all of the XLR jacks on the punch panel, all of the wireless antannaes were on front panel mounts, and you could even wire up a power connection/punch-in on the panel also.

We'd show up to a gig, connect all four of our wireless's to the house snake with our own cables, if they'd let us, otherwise, we'd default to theirs. Ours were labeled, so they never got lost. We'd plug an extension power chord into the punch on the panel, ready to go. Nice thing is, we never had to open the rear rack lid, everything was marked accordingly, and no one had the chance of being shocked or electrocuted for closing a ground loop because the venue has crappy wiring. Think about that for a sec. *Wireless is safer*!

We were still on monitor wedges then (2001), so having the headsets allowed us to kind of be free on stage, but find certain sweet spots so we could hear things the exactly way we wanted to room wise (as best you can) so it allowed us to perform a bit more rather than being glued to a mic stand everytiime a bgv came up in a song.

You can do the same thing with your IEM's too. In fact, if you are completely wireless as far as vocals go, I'd divide the rack into sections, ie; Top section is vocals going out, bottom section is for IEM's coming in. I'd use separate punch panels for each application too.


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