Soundproofed

Story and Photos by John Snelson

Soundproofed – great Sydney covers band – led by the exuberant Laurainne Marshall as bubbly as a glass of Moet – and what a nice lady she is – pumping out the vocals, Leon Gower on the rich bass, on the tins and skins keeping order, Phil Pender and Damien Sutton on lead guitar, .

Soundproofed – Best Covers Band

There are lots of covers bands because so many of them think it is simple to do and easier to get a gig.

Whereas this may be so, to be good at it, you need to be very good. Anyone with a pulse can play “La Bamba” or some 12 bar blues – but to play “My Sharona”, “Sweet Home Alabama”, “All The Boys in Town”, “Summer of ’69″, “Jessie’s Girl”, “Boy’s Light Up” like these guys do – and to be sharp and crisp without killing the spontaneity, you need to get several things right.

In order to be successful amateurs and get gigs every weekend you must be professional. Yes, to be successful, amateurs have to be professional in the way they go about being musicians and entertainers. If you don’t care about this, you are just playing with yourselves {grin}.

You need to :-

be well rehearsed
love what you are doing
engage with the audience
be accomplished musicians
be in control of the equipment
be talented, creative and committed
have confidence in your fellow band members
maintain a professional website and connections to social media
have and understand great instruments, equipment and technology; and
be supported by a sympathetic techolover on the sound and lights mix desk who is also a respected member of the team.

Soundproofed has all of this. If you are looking for a great band for your local event, concert or show – you need look no further. We were impressed by the kit they carry around – including their investment in text support for their playlist – the rack of guitars and stacks of amps. This translates into one word : professional.

It’s all in the hands – have you noticed that ? Some great singers sing with their hands.

A great night on Saturday up at The Hornsby Inn – an oasis on the North Shore where the live music scene is as dry as a Good Friday afternoon in the Vatican. Mind you, the venue has some way to go if it is to attract more bands of the Soundproofed quality. Some investment in a better stage, lift the permanent amps off the deck, provide a secure bandroom, better lights, clean up the walls and ceilings around the cheap as chips CHEP stage and clear the room of all that betting paraphernalia would be a good start.

We shouldn’t be too critical though, as it is the only joint that’s close to jumping north of Chop Suey Charlies in Chatswood and east of the Epping Deaf Dogs Home until you get to Newcastle !

Soundproofed – and the mystery funky chicken moon dancer

So, it sure was great to have Soundproofed in Hornsby. Great stuff – plenty of dancing infront of the band, always a good sign, including a few cameo spectacles produced by individual exponents of the funky moon chicken dance – ah well, we dunno what he’d been smokin’, but what a smooth mover – he was having a great time – like everyone else enjoying great music from Soundproofed.

There are more photos here in the Soundproofed Gallery.

Get out to see Soundproofed when you can – they play fairly regularly at The Mean Fiddler, Bayview Tavern in Gladesville, Macarthur Tavern in Campbelltown, Dicey Riley’s in Wollongong, The Lakes Hotel at The Entrance … upcoming gigs include

August
25 – Seven Hills RSL (8.30pm)

September
21 – St Mary’s Band Club (9pm)
22 – The Bayview Hotel, Woy Woy (8pm)
29 – Wallarah Bay Recreation Club

October
06 – Hornsby Inn (8.30pm)
13 – Penrith RSL
20 – Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown (9pm)

November
03 – Bayview Hotel, Woy Woy (8pm)
10 – Del Rio, Wiseman’s Ferry (7.30pm)
17 – Avoca Bowling Club
24 – Beachcomber Hotel, Toukley (8pm)

December
08 – BayView Tavern, Gladesville (10pm)
15 – Dicey Riley’s (8.30pm), 329-333 Crown Street, Wollongong (02) 4229 1952
22- Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown (9pm)

This entry was posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 at 6:01 pm. It is filed under John Snelson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.