Hey live bands! Bring your jack plugs!

“What do you mean you don't have any jack plugs?!”

I think you should try to be as serviceable to live bands and musicians as you can during a live show. For me, live sound is a semi-service industry, where the live engineer should try to make a gig run smoothly not just for himself, but also for the live bands he is working with.

But there is one pet peeve I have when dealing with bands. I absolutely hate when musicians arrive without jack plugs or instrument cables for their instruments. It's not that the sound company can't supply an instrument cable for a rookie band or a newbie act, but it's when professional musicians show up to gigs without their jack plugs that I get seriously annoyed. 

Be Professional - Bring a Jack Plug

I've been a guitarist in bands and I've played countless live shows over the years. In my opinion, there are certain things that a guitarist, like me, should NOT forget to bring to a show. Obviously this includes your instrument and any effects you need to get “your” sound. Sometimes this includes an amplifier if the venue or event organizers don't supply you with one. And last, but not least, cables to plug in your instrument! Why would you show up to a gig unable to plug in your guitar? Why?!?

Here's a different perspective:

Say you would need to bring your own amp with you, because it's a small gig and neither the event organizers nor the sound company supply the backline. They only make sure there is a decent enough P.A. to play through and that's that. If you were to bring your own amplifier, would you still forget your jack plugs? I certainly hope not, since it would be stupid to bring an amp and an instrument without the means to plug them together wouldn't it?

So please, next time you are getting ready for a gig, please REMEMBER your jack plugs. Every instrument cable you need to plug yourself into the amplifier or sound system should be your responsibility. Don't make people mistake you for a newbie and arrive with two little professional plugs in your pocket. The sound engineer will thank you for it.

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