in the late 70's my band opened for Molly Hatchet and Humble Pie. Danny Joe Brown, singer for Molly Hatchet was totally cool and came over to our table backstage, sat down and shot the bull w/us for a few minutes. Steve Marriott of Humble Pie was very complimentary after we came offstage and said he dug our version of Chuck Berry's Little Queenie. Those guys didn't have to do or say those things, but it shows what cool people they were and I've carried those great memories w/me all my musical life. 😊
Best advice I’ve heard…. Don’t get upset!!!! I’m always amazed with how musicians let things not in their control knock them off their square. Keep teaching Brad.
Hey Brad thanks again for bringing a smile to our faces, we pick up our little cremated remains of our cat boo boo today will be bittersweet and very hard, but again last night he brought a smile to my face on the live when I ask you to do the wig pull thing😂😂 thanks for being so real dude I really appreciate it
I think it's very important for headliners to watch the opening bands. You don't want to miss the next Eddie Van Halen while you're sitting in the bus. You also might need a band member in the future. Finally, "Be nice to people you see on your way up, because they're the same people you'll see on you're way down."
The quiet, humble dudes probably don’t need this advice cuz …well…they’re probably just decent dudes who naturally know how to behave well. And the dickheads most likely won’t listen cuz …well…they’re just dickheads. 😂 Still some good words of wisdom! 👍😎
my biggest tours were drumming with Nick Gilder with a quaruple platinum single ... 1 in Japan with the Babys and the Candio tour again with NIck and the Cars but the best touring fun was The Turtles flo and eddie '77. got to be friends with Ricky Philips of the Babys and eventually we had a band with Tim Pierce and Timmy Dulaine (cool singer)
Cool you posted this today as just a couple hours ago I had a facebook memory pop up where I got to open for the punk band Fang in November 2015. So this is very relative here.
Hey man I know YT’s been a little slow for you lately but I just wanted to encourage you to push through it! This stuff is always up and down but I think you’ve built a really solid base audience here. I think you’re in a really good position to blow up sometime in the near future. And remember it’s all relative, I was happy that my recent short video got 500 views here lol. I was inactive for a good while before last week and the small audience I kinda had is definitely gone now but I’ll get it going again
that's also true about the other band's gear is all set and they just give you the space in front of it. sometimes your amp is 5' from your back, which you're not used to hearing that way - on any club stage you can put 10-15' btwn you and your amp. when my band opened for Steppenwolf the stage manager came over, said, "you guys set up here and don't touch anything else on this stage!" that's how it can go... p.s. - Southern boy - gotta have my sweet tea! 😅
Love this video Brad! Great advice! I am super fortunate to have opened for tons of great acts all of which were super nice to us. One cool story I think you’d appreciate is we opened for Cheap Trick and Rick Nielsen let me use one of his Guitars during our set and he watched us side stage. He invited me and our singer to watch their set side stage and he invited me to play Surrender with them and do the final bow of the night. Super surreal moment. The whole band were absolute class acts and everything you’d hope your rock heroes would be. Best moment for me was my Mom was in the crowd and got to see the whole thing. She had tears in her eyes and gave me a hug when she saw me after the show saying dreams come true. Yeah they really do! Love your videos Brad you are the best brother
My old band was asked if we wanted to open for DEATH in 1994 and since we had to buy and sell tickets we declined. I still kick myself in the ass to this day.
That's wild you had that early experience of Taylor Swift. I remember her doing that Big Machine release and I just thought wow that was interesting to see a startup Indie Country label with an Artist buzz. Same thing was going on with Midas and a band called Emerson Drive about 2007. Interesting times with Country. Sometimes I wonder if Kanye hadn't pulled that stunt with Taylor getting the award, would she have been seen as a crossover Artist and started that fast ride to major Artist? There is usually a touchstone that becomes a turning point.
Words of wisdom and sta......I mean sage advice. That's sounds just like common sense. It amazes me how many people don't have any. The sweet tea story is very amusing!🤣 I can envision a Weird Al styled telling of the story. "Oh give me Sweet Tea", over the Black Sabbath track. Cheers and have a great day Brad.
I remembered once opening for Ace Frehley in a medium size club. Now Kiss was my favorite band in mid 70’s and Ace is the reason I play guitar. Duuude this was going to be a perfect chance for me to meet my hero!!! NOPE before he would get off the tour bus and enter the building he had to have the green room and backstage area cleared. And at the end of the show the band continued to play allowing Ace enough time to go get back on the tour bus.
I worked a Brad paisley show at bethel woods. Original site of Woodstock. Eric church opened. I met him that afternoon before the show. Shook his hand and felt a shock..looked at him n said he'd blow up in a 2 years. 2 years later he was headlining.. Really humble nice dude.
This was good! ( I thought I felt my throat vibrating when you were saying that happens when listening to others singing live- lol. I think it does do that...)
Great video! I’ve opened for these acts in my previous bands. Coolest guys were Dana Strum (Slaughter), Chad Gray (Hell Yeah), Geoff Tate, and all the guys in Steel Panther. APHASIA (1991-1996) *Sex Love & Money *Type O Negative BLACKOUT (2010-2015) *Pop Evil *10 Years *Hell Yeah *In This Moment LNV (LAST NIGHTS VILLAIN) (August 2017 - August 2023) *Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2017, 2018, 2019, & 2022. *KIX *Bobaflex *Pop Evil *Puddle of Mudd *Shaman’s Harvest & Otherwise *Geoff Tate (Queensryche) *Steel Panther *Warrant *Saliva *Faster Pussycat & Bang Tango *Quiet Riot *Shallow Side *Slaughter & Vixen
We did an entire Canadien tour opening for Eric Church playing hockey arenas in 2013 on the Blood Sweat and Beers tour. I can understand it might not be on your radar, but there were tens of thousands every night who saw us perform.
It all sounded like common sense to me. But lol. I been on some stages n watched things and I've worked stages, never played stages only open mics n bars n such because Idc about money n fame never expected to make a living playing I just love to play here n there. And love being involved in the music as support..and getting bands on and off stage in minutes at festivals and such.. That's good nuff for me. What I find funny though is now The rage is tribute bands. N these guys act n think they are the original hahaha. It's funny I say nothing and roll with it. They do kick ass. But I have to say the best one I've seen is Beyond Purple. You can find them on TH-cam n lemme tell ya the singer has to be in his 60's and he kills it.. Left handed guitar player.. Super humble nice fellas.. We have many tribute acts in upstate ny but they travel the east coast, northeast at least. Some even further..
Very smart & valuable info.. So you had a Tay experience… I follow her bassist Amos J Heller. I’ve been sucked in… uh recruited for a TS tribute band .. very predictable song structure, but her use of synths & keyboards changed that whole country groove. Heavier pop feel. So do we call you BBSwifty? 😂
@@themobseat Dude.. were booked ..private parties & more .. mom’s dig her & their kiddies well can you say dress up in sparklies & friendship bracelets. We have a few Xmas 1 set Xmas gigs not bars either. January we’re booked at a venue for matinee & evening show.. not at bar gig rates either … mucho more dineros. It’s also the music, her album stuff versus what she does on the Era’s Tour mos def not the same.vibe heavier pop. She has some major league N’ville musicians in her band.
Also I you have a band before you and they have a bunch of difficulty technical issues don't get your head down and think your gona do the same cause it will immediately ruin your show if it gets in your head
Call me old. I’m 62 and went to see Mitski at the Hollywood palladium a few years ago and we got lucky because someone came down the line with vip tickets for the balcony. Sat comfortably while I watched everyone on the floor standing for over 2 hours before Mitski came on. That’s standing for more than 4 hours. All I can say is skip the opening act and get on with the show.
I've never understood the public's fascination with Taylor Swift. She can sing..but she isn't this super singer...her songs are good..but she isn't this world class, exceptional songwriter. But people dig her. Is it that her music is accessible and appealing to non-musicians? I just don't get it. When she first broke and started getting some airplay in the area of Canada that I live, she became popular very, very quickly...and within 6 months, she was in constant rotation. I've always found her to sound kind of whiney. ..and I used to call her Tuna Swift..bc to me, she kind of looks like a cartoon fish.
We got to open for a few big acts, and we practiced moving our gear on and off stage until it was like an Olympic event What motivated us was a determination to be better than anybody else at everything! And the fact that we once were second on a three act show, and the HUGE stage manager told the first act they had 5 minutes to clear the stage after they were through. Not 6 minutes, 5. They must have thought he was kidding because their stuff was still onstage at minute 5. All of a sudden, a kick drum came sailing off the stage followed in quick succession by cymbals, stands, a bass amp speaker cabinet, and anything else that was still up there! Hate to say it, but all these years later it's still funny as hell. We were set up in 5 minutes and off in 4 minutes after our spot! I didn't feel bad for those guys because they signed the same contract we did, but they thought they were Bon Jovi or something special. They weren't 😂
Wow that is incredible and man I get it if your the headliner and everything is union and run by the clock. Not adhering to time constraints will get your stuff tossed.
in the late 70's my band opened for Molly Hatchet and Humble Pie. Danny Joe Brown, singer for Molly Hatchet was totally cool and came over to our table backstage, sat down and shot the bull w/us for a few minutes. Steve Marriott of Humble Pie was very complimentary after we came offstage and said he dug our version of Chuck Berry's Little Queenie. Those guys didn't have to do or say those things, but it shows what cool people they were and I've carried those great memories w/me all my musical life. 😊
That is awesome!
Best advice I’ve heard…. Don’t get upset!!!! I’m always amazed with how musicians let things not in their control knock them off their square. Keep teaching Brad.
Thank you!!!
Hey Brad thanks again for bringing a smile to our faces, we pick up our little cremated remains of our cat boo boo today will be bittersweet and very hard, but again last night he brought a smile to my face on the live when I ask you to do the wig pull thing😂😂 thanks for being so real dude I really appreciate it
Jimmy, I am glad I could help you. Best to you.
Opened for a national act. The roadies and stage manager gave us massive props for getting off the stage in record time.
😬 keep smiling
Great job!!!👏
I think it's very important for headliners to watch the opening bands. You don't want to miss the next Eddie Van Halen while you're sitting in the bus. You also might need a band member in the future.
Finally, "Be nice to people you see on your way up, because they're the same people you'll see on you're way down."
I hear ya. If it’s multiple nights that happens at some point.
Thanks Brad! Lots of wisdom and great advice, for opening acts.
Thank you bro!
@@badbradreally great advice. 🙏
The quiet, humble dudes probably don’t need this advice cuz …well…they’re probably just decent dudes who naturally know how to behave well. And the dickheads most likely won’t listen cuz …well…they’re just dickheads. 😂
Still some good words of wisdom! 👍😎
Thanks Patton.
Agreed
@@Nik.No.K Hopefully even the hard headed ones listen.
@@badbrad
Nothing worse than a hard headed dick!
This advise is also very useful in real life and always served me well. Thank you Duuude😊
Duuuude thank you!🙏
I’ve seen Eric church live a couple times and I loved it. So cool you opened for him
He is awesome.
my biggest tours were drumming with Nick Gilder with a quaruple platinum single ... 1 in Japan with the Babys and the Candio tour again with NIck and the Cars but the best touring fun was The Turtles flo and eddie '77. got to be friends with Ricky Philips of the Babys and eventually we had a band with Tim Pierce and Timmy Dulaine (cool singer)
That is awesome!!!😎
you sir ☝️ are an absolute legend
Thank you so much!!!
Cool you posted this today as just a couple hours ago I had a facebook memory pop up where I got to open for the punk band Fang in November 2015. So this is very relative here.
Wow very cool!
Hey man I know YT’s been a little slow for you lately but I just wanted to encourage you to push through it! This stuff is always up and down but I think you’ve built a really solid base audience here. I think you’re in a really good position to blow up sometime in the near future.
And remember it’s all relative, I was happy that my recent short video got 500 views here lol. I was inactive for a good while before last week and the small audience I kinda had is definitely gone now but I’ll get it going again
Thanks for the support! 😎
Hey Brad still looking for that PBS special with you and Gary Lewis very hard to find
It airs on PBS from time to time but I have never seen it on TH-cam.
that's also true about the other band's gear is all set and they just give you the space in front of it. sometimes your amp is 5' from your back, which you're not used to hearing that way - on any club stage you can put 10-15' btwn you and your amp. when my band opened for Steppenwolf the stage manager came over, said, "you guys set up here and don't touch anything else on this stage!" that's how it can go...
p.s. - Southern boy - gotta have my sweet tea! 😅
Man you know it!
Love this video Brad! Great advice! I am super fortunate to have opened for tons of great acts all of which were super nice to us.
One cool story I think you’d appreciate is we opened for Cheap Trick and Rick Nielsen let me use one of his Guitars during our set and he watched us side stage. He invited me and our singer to watch their set side stage and he invited me to play Surrender with them and do the final bow of the night. Super surreal moment. The whole band were absolute class acts and everything you’d hope your rock heroes would be. Best moment for me was my Mom was in the crowd and got to see the whole thing. She had tears in her eyes and gave me a hug when she saw me after the show saying dreams come true. Yeah they really do!
Love your videos Brad you are the best brother
Man that is awesome!!!! So cool! Thank you for tuning in. Love that story.
My old band was asked if we wanted to open for DEATH in 1994 and since we had to buy and sell tickets we declined. I still kick myself in the ass to this day.
Oh man. Could have been an interesting story.
@@badbrad The memories and photos would have been worth the ticket sales we would have lost.
That's wild you had that early experience of Taylor Swift. I remember her doing that Big Machine release and I just thought wow that was interesting to see a startup Indie Country label with an Artist buzz. Same thing was going on with Midas and a band called Emerson Drive about 2007. Interesting times with Country. Sometimes I wonder if Kanye hadn't pulled that stunt with Taylor getting the award, would she have been seen as a crossover Artist and started that fast ride to major Artist? There is usually a touchstone that becomes a turning point.
Not sure about that….
I have that Herb Alpert album hanging in my jam room too. ❤ Hot chick album covers rule.
Yes they do!!!
Words of wisdom and sta......I mean sage advice. That's sounds just like common sense. It amazes me how many people don't have any.
The sweet tea story is very amusing!🤣 I can envision a Weird Al styled telling of the story. "Oh give me Sweet Tea", over the Black Sabbath track. Cheers and have a great day Brad.
You got it. Common sense, but not always common practice!
I remembered once opening for Ace Frehley in a medium size club. Now Kiss was my favorite band in mid 70’s and Ace is the reason I play guitar. Duuude this was going to be a perfect chance for me to meet my hero!!! NOPE before he would get off the tour bus and enter the building he had to have the green room and backstage area cleared. And at the end of the show the band continued to play allowing Ace enough time to go get back on the tour bus.
That happens a lot.
I worked a Brad paisley show at bethel woods. Original site of Woodstock.
Eric church opened.
I met him that afternoon before the show. Shook his hand and felt a shock..looked at him n said he'd blow up in a 2 years.
2 years later he was headlining..
Really humble nice dude.
wow very cool.
This was good! ( I thought I felt my throat vibrating when you were saying that happens when listening to others singing live- lol. I think it does do that...)
Thank you!!! I think it does to.
Iv had to play standing one foot one 1⃣ half stack and the other on another half stack also had to play standing in the dedgum crowd up front lmaof
I hear you....been there done that.
Hey man- What would you consider to be the biggest act you opened for?
Thx f/response ~
Perhaps Eric Church. We were all set to open for Lynyrd Skynyrd and the show got rained out. Little Richard was pretty cool as well.
Great video! I’ve opened for these acts in my previous bands. Coolest guys were Dana Strum (Slaughter), Chad Gray (Hell Yeah), Geoff Tate, and all the guys in Steel Panther.
APHASIA (1991-1996)
*Sex Love & Money
*Type O Negative
BLACKOUT (2010-2015)
*Pop Evil
*10 Years
*Hell Yeah
*In This Moment
LNV (LAST NIGHTS VILLAIN)
(August 2017 - August 2023)
*Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2017, 2018, 2019, & 2022.
*KIX
*Bobaflex
*Pop Evil
*Puddle of Mudd
*Shaman’s Harvest & Otherwise
*Geoff Tate (Queensryche)
*Steel Panther
*Warrant
*Saliva
*Faster Pussycat & Bang Tango
*Quiet Riot
*Shallow Side
*Slaughter & Vixen
Wow that’s an amazing list!!! So cool.😎
@ Thanks, Brad! I really enjoy your videos.
Check out my songs Villain and Old Friend. 🤙🏻
hi from canada. we ve never heard pf colt ford here
We did an entire Canadien tour opening for Eric Church playing hockey arenas in 2013 on the Blood Sweat and Beers tour. I can understand it might not be on your radar, but there were tens of thousands every night who saw us perform.
any vids of this guy playing anywhere in any band at anytime. post them.
They are all over. Stop being lazy and watch.
It all sounded like common sense to me.
But lol.
I been on some stages n watched things and I've worked stages, never played stages only open mics n bars n such because Idc about money n fame never expected to make a living playing I just love to play here n there.
And love being involved in the music as support..and getting bands on and off stage in minutes at festivals and such..
That's good nuff for me.
What I find funny though is now The rage is tribute bands. N these guys act n think they are the original hahaha. It's funny I say nothing and roll with it.
They do kick ass. But I have to say the best one I've seen is Beyond Purple.
You can find them on TH-cam n lemme tell ya the singer has to be in his 60's and he kills it..
Left handed guitar player.. Super humble nice fellas..
We have many tribute acts in upstate ny but they travel the east coast, northeast at least.
Some even further..
Right on!
Very smart & valuable info.. So you had a Tay experience… I follow her bassist Amos J Heller. I’ve been sucked in… uh recruited for a TS tribute band .. very predictable song structure, but her use of synths & keyboards changed that whole country groove. Heavier pop feel. So do we call you BBSwifty? 😂
😝
A Taylor Swift Tribute band? Yikes.
@@themobseat Dude.. were booked ..private parties & more .. mom’s dig her & their kiddies well can you say dress up in sparklies & friendship bracelets. We have a few Xmas 1 set Xmas gigs not bars either. January we’re booked at a venue for matinee & evening show.. not at bar gig rates either … mucho more dineros. It’s also the music, her album stuff versus what she does on the Era’s Tour mos def not the same.vibe heavier pop. She has some major league N’ville musicians in her band.
Also I you have a band before you and they have a bunch of difficulty technical issues don't get your head down and think your gona do the same cause it will immediately ruin your show if it gets in your head
Call me old. I’m 62 and went to see Mitski at the Hollywood palladium a few years ago and we got lucky because someone came down the line with vip tickets for the balcony. Sat comfortably while I watched everyone on the floor standing for over 2 hours before Mitski came on. That’s standing for more than 4 hours. All I can say is skip the opening act and get on with the show.
Understood but sometimes people come to see the opening act…
@ I hear you. I’ve went to shows to support buddies and actually had no interest in the headline gig. Would leave before they would play.
Be Early, Be Excellent, Be Enthusiastic and Be Easy, as opposed to a crappy, mopey, pain in the ass who's late again, by the way.
Exactly!
I've never understood the public's fascination with Taylor Swift. She can sing..but she isn't this super singer...her songs are good..but she isn't this world class, exceptional songwriter. But people dig her. Is it that her music is accessible and appealing to non-musicians? I just don't get it. When she first broke and started getting some airplay in the area of Canada that I live, she became popular very, very quickly...and within 6 months, she was in constant rotation. I've always found her to sound kind of whiney. ..and I used to call her Tuna Swift..bc to me, she kind of looks like a cartoon fish.
We got to open for a few big acts, and we practiced moving our gear on and off stage until it was like an Olympic event What motivated us was a
determination to be better than anybody else at everything! And the fact that we once were second on a three act show, and the HUGE stage
manager told the first act they had 5
minutes to clear the stage after they
were through. Not 6 minutes, 5.
They must have thought he was kidding
because their stuff was still onstage at minute 5. All of a sudden, a kick drum came sailing off the stage followed in quick succession by cymbals, stands, a
bass amp speaker cabinet, and anything else that was still up there! Hate to say it, but all these years later it's still funny as hell. We were set up in 5 minutes and off in 4 minutes after our spot! I didn't feel bad for those guys because they signed the same contract we did, but they thought they were Bon Jovi or something special. They weren't 😂
Wow that is incredible and man I get it if your the headliner and everything is union and run by the clock. Not adhering to time constraints will get your stuff tossed.
@@badbrad Oh, those Union Stages are strict, man! Nicest, most helpful guys in the world, but rules is rules!😂