How to cue drum track on stage?

NoahP.

NoahP.

New member
Hi everyone,

So I'm trying to figure out how to cue drums once i'm on stage
So basically i want to walk on stage with the beginning of a song (just the drums) looping. its this song just to let you know: The Kills - Future Starts Slow - YouTube
Then once my guitar is around my shoulder and im prepped, is there away i can start the song (e.g. stop it looping) at the touch of a button?
I don't have Jamie's (the guitarist in the above video) fancy setup (drum machines and such)
I have a Korg R3 which i could use as the "button i need to press"
I imagine I'd have my laptop with me, hooked up to a P.A.
I created my own backing track of this song in Logic, fyi.

Thanks!

Noah
 
What about a stereo looper pedal like the JamMan that has USB connectivity so you can load the tracks on to it from your computer?

Or maybe you could use a MIDI controller pedal in conjunction with Mainstage if you have Logic Pro...
 
I guess another option, if you didn't want to buy any new equipment, is to loop the drum track for like 10 minutes and save that as a WAV file, then load the 10-minute loop track into Logic's sampler (ESX24) along with the track you want to cue after the drum track (this track could be silence if you don't want to loop anything after the drum track). You could then set both tracks to "1Shot" mode and put the tracks into a group with a polyphony of 1.

This would basically allow you to cue the tracks with your keyboard if you're set up through MIDI.
 
Or enlist a friend off-stage to hit the volume-off on the recorded drum loop when you give the nod?
 
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Work out how many bars of drums you need to walk out on stage and put the guitar on. Use a few extra bars and if you are a bit early on stage fiddle with the guitar in a rock star way (like the guy in the clip). Have a cue in the pattern like an open hi hat 2 or 4 count, if you listen to the live clip on the link, this happens with them, the end of the cue is the actual start of the song.

U used to play in an electronic dance act and we used programmed drums, samplers and sequencers on stage with a live percussion, guitar, keys, bass and vocals. I used to do all the programming and often there were cues in the arrangements like a crash cymbal or double snare hit that would indicate the end of a long number of bars before a change, just in case one of us lost count (or did not want to count), as long as it sounds like a natural part of the song or arrangement the audience won't know or care.

Alan.
 
I've had this question come up when bands wanted to play to a click live in order to sync sound effect or other shit that was added to the record live.

The easiest way to do it is not giving a shit if it's in stereo and use an ipod connected to a small mixer next to the drummer. Use the L ch for click, use the R channel for everything else that gets played live.

If it's just an intro thing though, then the Jamman is a good suggestion.

Like so, this is a bit more intensive but it's one way that's done @ 3:00 mark:

 
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