Diary of a Band: The John Salamone Band

Dear Diary,

This week is going to be one part diary, one part bit of wisdom. This past week was my birthday so a couple of my friends, two guys who were in my old band, took me to see Built to Spill at The Troc. Let me just say it was awesome! It was the first time I’d ever seen them. I was supposed to go in ’04 but that is a story for another day. They played a great mix of songs! And the sound was mixed better than I have ever heard it at The Troc. I haven’t seen many bands live with three guitar players. Amazingly, I was able to hear each one clearly. This brings me to the topic of conversation for this week: Volume, volume, VOLUME. I have left too many shows saying, “You know, they would have been good if the (insert any band member here) wasn’t so loud.” It doesn’t matter if you have written the greatest song in the world, if you are too loud it can be awful. When one person is blowing everything off the stage it’s painful to listen to. If you want a pleasing show, aurally at least, start your volume at a moderate level. The sound guy will make sure the audience hears you. That’s what he’s paid for. Plus everyone’s head will thank you, you’ll get more repeat business, and most importantly I won’t leave saying, “You know, they would have been good if the (insert band member here) wasn’t so loud.”

beard