Collaborative Project

Planning

Outline and Plan

For my collaborative project, me and my group have decided to create a band called DICE and will work together to produce a 3 song EP. All of them will be released on Soundcloud or Bandcamp. The purpose of this project is to create, rehearse, record and perform our original songs to a live audience to showcase and promote our track releases. We want to develop a specific brand by creating a social media account, and artistic vision for our band which we can showcase at a gig. 

In order for us to achieve this we need the following resources:

• A studio for recording and rehearsals 
• Bandcamp account

Artistic Vision and Target Audience

Artistically, we are trying to achieve a sloppy punk sound and want to combine musical aspects from different genres to really make our sound our own. Our target audience leans towards younger people and college students who are interested in discovering new, alternative music. We would like our music to feel relatable to this audience through harsh sounds and emotional lyricism.

Proposal for event and concept

We propose to The Loft that we use their venue for the day in order to host an album drop party for students from strode live, so that we can perform our original music to a live audience. This gig gives us the opportunity to perform in a professional style environment while gaining key skills in live event planning. We will be able to bring in a size-able audience, so the venue will profit from the bar. 

Venue Details and Presentation Format

The gig will take place at a venue in Street called The Loft. It is a club/lounge which can provide a great environment for live music. There is room for us to create a stage, fit equipment and tables and chairs for the audience. The loft is in the perfect location for us as it is local to most, if not all of the students on the music course. Presentation wise we have agreed that we want a more of a club like set up. In order to do this we will need to move some of the tables out of the way of the front of the stage to create a dance floor area. The night will follow the format of a typical gig, with multiple performances from multiple different students, allowing a 20 minute interval in the middle for pre recorded track drops and for everyone to rest and chat.

Roles and Responsibilities

Each person in the band has a specific performance and technical role within the project.

Performance roles

Poppy - bass

Ozzy - guitar

Kam - vocals

Harry - drums

Technical/administrative roles

Kam - social media and merchandiser

Poppy - health and safety + risk assessors for the gig (+ band management???)

Harry - health and safety + risk assessors for gig

Ozzy - events manager

My performance role is to create bass-lines for our original songs. My technical responsibilities will be risk assessing the venue and stage setup along with others in my group, and potentially a bit of band management. Although we each have our assigned roles, all of our song writing will be collaborative, with everyone contributing their creative and musical ideas. 

Marketing and promotion

To promote our gig and music release, we will use: social media, posters and word of moth advertising.

Posters:

We think that the most affective way to promote our gig would be through physical marketing. Someone on the level 2 course created a poster for us to use for promotion. Our plan is to stick the posters around the college and street to gain a local audience, as well as branching out and reposting the gig on social media.

According to research, the best time to market an event is from 2 weeks before the set date. Knowing this, we will embargo our marketing plan until the 14th of April.

Timeline and milestones

This project will be completed over several months. Here's an outline of the timescale between January and the gig day on April 28th:

January

Week 1 : Discussing and settling on creative ideas and goals for the project

Week 1 - 4: Development of first song

February

Week 1 - 4: Development of second song

March

Week 1 - 4: Development of third song.

April

Week 1-2 : Refinement and rehearsals of all songs

Week 3-4: Begin marketing for gig

Day of gig: Live record songs

May

Week 1: Release recorded songs on Bandcamp

Contingency Planning

As a part of the planning process, we need to make sure that we are prepared for any possible problem that could occur on the day of the gig. Me and my team will be risk assessing the venue to ensure there are no trip hazards that could cause injury to performers or audience. In case of dodgy equipment, spare cables and instruments will be brought along. If any technical difficulties were to happen, we have a team of multiple sound engineers to support each other and ensure that the sound is to its best quality.

Equipment and Resources

The equipment that we are required to bring on the day includes:

• 1 x Bass Amp
• 2 x Guitar Amp
• Drum kit
• Microphones
• PA system
• Jack to Jack cables
• Foldables
• Pedals
• Wires
• Guitars and Basses

The venue will provide us with lighting and sound equipment such as speakers to support the performance.

Stage Plans, Budgets and Running Orders

The stage plan positions the drums to the back right side of the stage, the bass in the back centre, with two guitars to each side, and vocals front and centre.

The running order consists of both original music and covers to maintain variety within the gig. Bands will play multiple songs consecutively to ensure changeovers are smooth.

Budget wise, costs are going to be minimal because the equipment we have and venue resources are already available. However, some of the students releases are being put on to a Strode Live vinyl, and cost £38 pounds to make so we all agreed on buying two to have on display at the gig for promotion and one for the course to keep.

Meeting 1

Gathering first ideas

• Mixing electronic with punk
• 3 song EP
• Best song going towards Strode Live release with the rest going on Soundcloud

Development of first song

Song name - Indie Freak

Key - A 

My bass line for verse - 

Since the genre we are tying to achieve is punk, I've made the bassline simple and punchy. I am going to keep the bassline the same pretty much the whole way through, apart from the chorus where i am going to stab the root notes.

Bass line for chorus -

Demo

Meeting 2

Ideas, Adjustments and Challenges

Since our last meeting, we have decided to scratch the idea of adding in electronic components as we don't feel it will fit with the music we want to release. 

Unfortunately, due to us being behind on our original schedule, we have decided that it is best for us to drop a song and only release two original songs as an EP. To make up for this loss, we are going to learn a cover to play at the gig in addition to the two originals.

Meeting 3

Development of second song

Song name - Windowsill

Key - E

My bass line for verse - 

My bass line for chorus - 

Demo

Meeting 4

Today we discussed how we would record our songs. We settled on a live recording of the gig as it would be more rough and raw than a multi track recording.

Meeting 5 

Today we settled on which song to cover for the gig. We came to the agreement that we should play: Fell In Love With a Girl by The White Stripes.

Here's the bassline I need to learn -

Day of gig

Performance preparation

Around 3 hours prior to the gig, we made sure to play our loudest song at the soundcheck to ensure there was no signal peaking when it came to our actual performance. We used our rehearsal time to organise the structure of our setlist and decided on playing in this order: Indie Freak, Fell In Love With a Girl (cover), Windowsill. We though this would be the most effective order as we have our strongest song last, and a cover in between our originals to maintain variety. We were lucky enough to have the interval right before we played, so took the opportunity to make sure our instruments were in tune and go over any final adjustments.

(picture from soundcheck)

Audience engagement

As a whole, we were able to encourage some audience participation through our energy and movement. We had a group of people dancing in front of the stage the entire way through our performance. In between songs, Kam was great at communicating with the audience to introduce songs and interact with the crowd. As the song we covered is extremely well known, lots of the audience recognised the track, which ended up in people becoming more involved and singing along.

Technical and music execution

Harry played a key role in our performance, he kept the tempo steady and the rest of us in time. Ozzy lead the band with his tight guitar playing while I supported with bass to accentuate the depth of our sound. Kams vocals were both aggressive and sloppy, which perfectly reflected our sound and how we wanted to be perceived as a band. We were able to recover quickly from any little mistakes we made through out the performance, whether we came in late or hit the wrong notes.

Creative presentation

Clothing wise, we didn't want to make much of an effort to appear 'punk' to the audience as we felt that in a way not conforming to a punk aesthetic is the most punk thing we could do. We made sure there weren't any awkward pauses in between songs to maintain a steady level of energy throughout the entirety of the performance.

Final Performance Video

(from start to 4.20)

Risk assessment

My role during this gig was to ensure that the venue and stage area was safe and accessible for everyone there. My responsibility was to prevent any possible dangers that could happen before or during the gig.

One of my main jobs was to check the stage and seating area for any trip hazards. I did this by inspecting the stage setup for any loose wires and cables, and making sure the walk ways weren't obstructed by chairs or equipment. I also checked that things like amps and microphone stands were secure and not likely to topple over onto anyone or walkways. This helped to create a safe environment for the performers and the audience.

Another part of my job was to make sure that disabled people could access the venue safely. I made sure to check the ramp and alternate entrance and make sure there was enough room for wheel chair access. I made a point to move a sofa out of the way of the door of the disabled toilet and checked the lift next to it was working.

Reflecting on the outcome, I believe I did my job well as the gig ran smoothly without any accidents. Everyone was able to move around the venue safely and the stage stayed organised until the end of the gig.

Evaluation

Overall, I believe the project went relatively well! We were able to work together as a team to compose two songs to perform to a live audience. 

What Went Well

I was able to create basslines for our songs and take peer input and constructive criticism while working collaboratively with my band. We all had a say in all of our big decisions and ideas for the project. I managed to play well at the gig with minimal slip ups, keeping tight with the band. I communicated effectively with my bandmates to ensure that rehearsals were productive and ran smoothly. I executed my technical role well and worked with my peers to ensure the venue was safe.

Even Better If

We were unable to manage our time effectively which meant cutting a song out from our setlist, and not setting up a band social media account to promote ourselves properly. Usually, there was at least one person absent from rehearsals the majority of the time which made it hard for us to make decent progress. I was not there to set up the venue which meant missing out on key health and safety hazards, so other people had fixed them before me. I could have had a lot more stage presence and brought more energy to our performance.

Skills developed

Through all of the rehearsing, planning and performing I have learned a better understanding of what it means to work collaboratively with others. Rehearsals have helped me to become more confident in my performance skills. Producing our songs have helped me gain key skills in song writing as I was able to contribute all of my ideas to the band. Working collaboratively with my band allowed me to strengthen both my teamwork and communication skills. I developed my problem solving skills throughout the project as there was quite a few adjustments and changes we had to make in order for us to be successful.

If I was to do a similar project again, I'd make sure to focus more on time management and improving on rehearsal planning.