Mark’s gear for the Alan Reed shows

As Mark gets ready for another outing with Alan Reed and the Daughters of Expediency on the 25th April in Derby, we asked him to give us the inside track on final preparations:

The Daughters at The Peel – ©2013 Jane Armstrong

Mark, which instruments will you be playing at the next Daughters’ gig?

“As of writing, I’ll be mainly playing bass, though I’ll be on keyboards for my arrangement of Twelfth Night’s Love Song that has been adapted for the Daughters gigs. I’m glad that I’ve trimmed the rig down a lot, to be honest. My back can’t cope with lugging too many guitars around… :-D”

It’s well-known that you own far too many guitars than is legal for a single person. Which ones have you chosen to use for this gig, and what made you choose those?

“My Yamaha five-string bass, which is a BB model. I have three of them, so will probably take whichever is the least conspicuous one. Too many people on stage to be having flashy guitars out! I also don’t use hardware bass amplification now – my sounds are usually produced either on the laptop by Line 6 amp emulation or using AmpKit on my iPad, which I’ve been using with Galahad for a while now. I don’t take backup guitars as there isn’t the room! My audio is fed directly into the PA and I use in-ear monitors. If I’m doing guitar work live – especially heavy stuff – I like using Toontracks’ EZMix system with the Metal Guitar Gods bundle – I get to instantly sound like Devin Townsend.”

And what other gear/hardware do you have to take with you?

“In-ear monitors, which is a Sennheiser transmission system and Ultimate Ears moulds and drivers – lovely and loud. I can always pull one out slightly if I need to hear the room or whatever anyone else is doing. Most of the time, small gig PA rigs can’t supply a decent dedicated audio feed back to my monitors, so I just take my feed directly from my gear. I’ll also have a USB controller keyboard with me. I play keys on Love Song via my laptop, with most of the sounds generated by combinations of software synthesisers and samplers. I think we’re planning to do a feature or two on some of that kit at a later date. It’s mostly Native Instruments, Korg, G-Force and M-Audio, though I keep adding to it all the time.”

Any particular recommendations for working out what gear to take on the road?

“Depending on the scale of the gig, try not to pack the kitchen sink… I’ve been using in-ear monitors for over ten years now and have never looked back. Such a great way of controlling your own volume against the room without blowing other people’s heads off. Plus, you always get your mix wherever you are in the room, which is a liberating thing in terms of performance. If you’re a guitarist, bassist or singer, invest in Line 6 radio gear. For me, everything else is not as good, however much money has been spent on it. And batteries. Lots of them.”

On the day of the gig, how do you like to prepare for the performance/going on stage?

“I’ll stake out my little spot on the stage, once drums are in, and probably have a quick run through any phrases or sections of songs that I know are troublesome (there are always some). That settles your mind for the show. I then look through the set-list to refresh my memory about any transitions I need to jump on quickly or any cues that I have to give the rest of the band and then I head for the dressing room. I don’t generally do “hanging about” well, so I make sure I have something else to occupy my time, whether that’s reading, working on some other non-music stuff or just playing games on the iPad.

If I get cold, then that is a problem. Due to an old injury, I have permanent pain in my hands which the cold exacerbates, so I try to stay reasonably warm. I don’t really get nervous, so I just get on and do my best. I’m really only stepping in for Jen Clark, so there’s more pressure on her! It’s Alan’s show and he needs me to lock in with Henry on the drums and provide a bottom end that is stable, so I focus on that.”

The Daughters backstage – ©2013 Alan Reed

Any superstitions?!

“None whatsoever. I never drink before I go on, though I’ve watched loads of other musicians put away pints and pints, after having said exactly that! :-D”

What do you most enjoy about a performance like this?

“Getting to work in a live situation with good musicians is always good. Even if you’re already in a band with some great players, other people give you little insights all the time. It’s always a learning experience, and I’m hopelessly addicted to learning. Standing in for someone as talented as Jen is quite daunting, but I think I can cope for a few gigs! :-)”

Thanks, Mark, and have a great gig next Friday!