I used to smoke. That means I quit smoking once. We all know that smoking is more than a habit; it’s an identity. If you smoke then you’re a “smoker.”
Here’s the hardest lesson I learned when quitting:
Just because you don’t have a pack of cigs on you doesn’t mean you’ve given it up. Nope. You haven’t given it up till you toss the lighter in your pocket. (And the ones in your glovebox, junk drawer, night stand, yesterday’s jeans…) That’s harder to do than it sounds, believe you me.
I don’t know why, but that’s what I think of when a guitar player or bass player walks in and asks, “Hey, do you have any guitar chords and a guitar stand anywhere?” I think to myself, “I know your type – you’d ask me for a smoke AND a light.”
If you don’t have (1) all your own chords and enough of them, (2) a tuner with a mute switch, and (3) guitar stands for all of your axes then you are no more a “guitar player” than a “smoker” without a lighter. And, no, that pick in your pocket doesn’t mean a thing. Drummers don’t ask for sticks and sound engineers dislike roadie duties.
OK, this is a fun little rant but honestly, I don’t mean to impose my personal standards upon everyone else. The answer is actually yes. We have a few guitar chords. We have a few guitar stands littering the back stage. You can always grab some if they’re available but, please, put them back. Remember that they’re only there in case you forget your own. Guitar cables like to walk so I don’t like to stock up on them.
What I’d like to point out to fellow volunteer musicians (I am one too) is that when you show up with everything you need and display a sense of self-sufficiency your confidence level as well as the confidence level of everyone around you goes up. It says something about how seriously you take your gift; God’s gift to you that you give back in worship to him. Nothing says “pro” more than a player who only has to say, “just give me your XLR for my acoustic” or “my amp’s ready for a mic.”
A tip for the road: Don’t take any non-church gigs without having all that stuff. The sound guy down at that super-cool club will stare at you blankly and only for a second or two. You’re on your own.
OK. Go shopping. Need suggestions for what to get? Leave a comment.
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