I know that this post will be worthless to you experienced KJ's but I know a number of newbies also check in here so I think it's a post worth making.
Last night I was hosting a show (first time at this venue, playing their GRAND OPENING! Ugh!) and at about 10:30 my player got all skeetchy on me. At first the music started skipping like the discs were dirty, then it just quit playing all together.
Fortunately, I always carry a backup player and a backup amp in my van just in case one or the other goes south. Since this happened early in the evening, the potential for disaster was incredible. So, I slipped a dance track disc into my CD player, slipped out to the Big Mike Karaoke Mobile, and grabbed the backup player. I swapped cables from the dead one, and was back ready for karaoke before the Real Slim Shady could please stand up, please stand up.
Carrying a backup saved my evening, this show and my reputation. I hate to imagine what could have happened if, at 10:30 on the night of a grand opening, my equipment stopped working and I had to pack it in!
I also use the fact that I DO carry backup equipment as a selling point to justify the prices I charge when bar owners tell me that so-and-so can do a show for X dollars less than me.
Remember the 7 p's:
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pi$s Poor Performances!
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