How many songs would you need....

Colton · Post by **Colton** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:18 am

to play solo for a night in a small joint. I got 31 I've remembered since I got home from work... I'm sure theres a bunch more I'm just not thinkin about.

But anyways, how many you think's a good idea? I know song length and shit like that will factor in, but any guesses?

I guess one way to find out would be to play them all and time it lol...

Maybe the question here is more along the lines of:

How many do you guys usually play out when you do a solo gig?

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:31 am

I guess that depends on how long your time slot would be. I know that some solo/acoustic acts play around the two hour mark. If that's so, I think that 31 would be a good start. However, if you were doing three hours, I should shoot for 45, considering they are typical radio-lenght tunes.

RamRod 1 · Post by **RamRod 1** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:54 am

When I started out doing 3 hour solo gigs I had 30 songs but had to repeat a few. 45 songs sounds good and might give you a few spares. If you can bullshit a bit over the mic you're still entertaining and you can have less songs and the crowd usually likes it too.

tonefight · Post by **tonefight** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:40 am

have a set list of 35 and have a few spares. Don't forget to learn the standards that people WILL anoy you for until you play them.

DirtySanchez · Post by **DirtySanchez** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:44 pm

1 Freebird That's all people wanna hear anyways.

/thread

Seriously though. You could get away with 31 for starters. Now get out there.

I'll come check it out for sure!

REDillon · Post by **REDillon** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:55 pm

I always try to look at the sets and do around 15 songs each set. Again, it depends on song length and how much BS-ing you do between songs. Are you there as acoustic, "background noise" or for entertainment. There's the difference in the song choices.

Gotta have the obligatory:

Jimmy Buffet tune
Beatles tune (Blackbird)
Neil Young

I wish people would learn there are more interesting tunes out there.....

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:59 pm

colton, i thought you were starting a band that played nothing but "crazy bitch" all night?

EyesOfAnguishbassist · Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:19 pm

30 normal songs
10 if your covering Opeth songs

REDillon · Post by **REDillon** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:29 pm

I played in a band a few years ago that decided to play Crazy Bitch the first song of every set for a gig. And the crowd liked it. Says a lot doesn't it?

DirtySanchez · Post by **DirtySanchez** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 5:48 pm

REDillon wrote:
I wish people would learn there are more interesting tunes out there.....

This is the only thing that keeps me from being in a cover band in Altoona.

slackin@dabass · Post by **slackin@dabass** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:50 pm

DirtySanchez wrote:
REDillon wrote:
I wish people would learn there are more interesting tunes out there.....
This is the only thing that keeps me from being in a cover band in Altoona.

come on brian, i'll start a project up with you. we'll call it crazy bitches and play nothing but crazy bitch. i could see you doing it... one condition... i wanna play bagpipes.

songsmith · Post by **songsmith** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:17 pm

That would be freaking hilarious, if only for a set. You could do it punk style, then reggae style, then country style, etc.

When I did the solo thing, I looked at the then-current market, which was basically Steve Summerhill and a few others. He does a crowd-involving entertainment show. Steve's a good friend for many years, and I knew I couldn't beat him at his own game, so I decided to be more background music. I even announced that people were supposed to talk with their friends and hang out, and I'd keep my PA low for that reason. Most nights, they'd get involved whether I wanted them to or not, so it's not as lame as it sounds, I just let them decide.
I usually wound up playing 3-4 hours with one pee-break about 2/3rds of the way through. A 15-minute break usually gave folks a chance to finish their beers and head home, so I avoided that. I generally played about 40-ish songs per night, but I did use a music stand, so I had a few hundred songs at my disposal. Crowd tastes vary wildly around here for different gigs... I had 70's/80's pop stuff, classic rock stuff, singer-songwriter stuff, country stuff, and X-rated stuff. I could cross-pollinate as necessary.
I can tell you that a solo guy seems to make a little more money than 2 or more guys each would make, BUT, it's harder than you think. There's nobody to cover up your clam-notes, if you eff up, it sticks out like a pubic hair in a bowl of rice. And the drunks gang up on you. You're also responsible for dealing with management, the sound system and all it's attendant problems, and the fact that it's your name on the marquee. It's a lot of responsibility, to do it well. Just sayin'.

--->JMS