I learned 30 songs overnight when I joined Petty Cash, 17 songs in a weekend when I joined Fuel, and about 20 songs in 3 days when I joined Filter. This is why we get hired.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely. Fulfilling a need and helping the show go on

I have had to learn songs quickly as a drummer and honestly, I really feel it's MUCH easier to do on drums. I play a little guitar and bass and there is no way I am doing 18 songs overnight on those. I have much respect for anyone who can do it like you did. Great video!

NO WAY! I too learned those 18 songs for Crowder for the Statesboro stop. I filled in for Matt their LD with a 24 hour notice. Q and their team was a pleasure to work with!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Nice! Small world

I find that repeatedly listening is very helpful when learning tunes.

Take your daughter skiing up in Canada Michael. Calgary offers and international airport and world class hills west of the cities in the Rockies. Kananaskis has a learner friendly hill which hosted the '88 Olympics. Lake Louise as a ski destination has been rated within the top 5 world wide. The exchange rate is favorable to Americans. Credit to your capacity for learning on the fly!

Respect, Michael. That was ‘a day’ from receiving the text, learning songs, travelling, playing, travelling again. Phew!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, quite a day indeed. After that first show I was ready to collapse 😂

I did this in July. A country band (a genre I barely play) contacted me and asked me to cover for their guitarist, and learn 40 songs in 2 days. (I knew 3 of them.) some of these were originals that didn't have chords, I had to notate all of that myself. And after taking my ADHD meds I focused on that and WOW THEY WERE IMPRESSED, and now I am their regular backup when their guitarist is busy or sick.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Sweet! It’s definitely a good challenge

@moderndaygrinch

2 жыл бұрын

Wow, that's insane. Normally takes me a month to get comfortable with 1 song

Great vid, Michael. Fun coming along on your mini tour! 🔥🎸🔥

Always try to grab one of the middle bunks and make sure you sleep with your feet facing towards the front of the bus. I always found that if I wrote my own charts and wrote out the lyrics I could usually throw the paper away and it would be burned into my memory. I'm glad everything went well for you! Those are some nice gigs right there! ;-)

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, everyone has their preference. Front middle passenger side is mine! And yes, always feet forward.

Your videos are great thanks for giving us a look behind the scenes!

Let. The boy. Watch. Gets me everytime 😂

This was fun to watch! I love anything about behind the scenes and process.

@somebodysdog9235

2 жыл бұрын

We do a behind the scenes sort of thing as well on an amateur level if you’re interested!

Crowder! Great tour! Cheers!

great video! love the behind the scenes look not only for the whole band setup, but also for how you prep on short notice for the gig!

@somebodysdog9235

2 жыл бұрын

We make similar types of videos on our channel check it out if you’d like more BTS content

good news is those busses are actually awesome in the snow. I end up touring Canada in the winter a lot, and we've been through some crazy storms!

Love these vids. Great job and continued success!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

So awesome, man! Just discovered your channel. Love the content! I was at the Strength to Stand conference in Pigeon Forge, & the show was awesome. Loved “Higher Power.” 😎🙌🏼

Nice work Michael!

I was lucky enough to be in a band that toured with Winter Jam 2020. It was an incredible experience. Crowder and his crew were there, and they were all awesome dudes! A lot of familiar faces in this video. While I knew our songs, I never did anything like that before. I had the attitude of just have fun, enjoy it, make the best of it. Eventually I really felt like I was truly a part of it all. I would LOVE to do that again someday!

Digging your videos recently man! The diso+ and this video have been really great.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I really appreciate it. Always trying to get better

Very cool. That takes a lot of work bro!

Awesome content man. Really love these types of videos and use yours and Rhett’s as inspiration for our content!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! More on the way for sure

This is so insane and so cool at the same time.

Just followed. These are wonderful

thanks, loved it, subbed!

Great to watch, Strap Locks my man!!!!!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Yes.... the answer is always yes... sink or swim... gotta try

Ayyyye Crowder; good songs, good gig.

I’ve done this a few times. For me, it always felt like I’m cramming for an exam in a class I never attended. You pick the important parts (intro licks, band riffs, etc), make sure you have keys correct, and just know that it doesn’t have to be perfect. I think I walked offstage every time and thought, “I have no idea what just happened”. All that cramming never made it past the short term memory banks, haha.

@MichaelWWestbrook

Жыл бұрын

Haha, spot on!

I really enjoyed the video and just subscribed!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Love seeing the gig footage! Thanks for sharing a bit of the show! If you like snow, you should make a trip up here. It’s a bit over two feet deep on the front yard and we hit close to -40 with the wind chill a few days ago.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I love snow but not sure I’m cut out for those kinds of temperatures. 😂 Maybe no one really is!

@JagStar

2 жыл бұрын

LOL. Every year the snow comes, and every year we all react in shock and horror. Like six months of above freezing weather makes us forget about the other six. 😂😂😂😂

Funny how the video is about a guitarist. But in the live performance all that is heard are the drums! Thanks for sharing the fun experience. I am sure you had a blast!

Great video! Love the quick turnaround. FWIW, I keep those plastic tabs you find on bread loaves in my case. They make great emergency strap locks. Not too precious either.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Love the backstage videos! Keep em coming

@somebodysdog9235

2 жыл бұрын

Check out our channel if you like Michaels behind the scenes content. We have a similar type of content

boom. subbed. way to go man! …also, Dunlop strap locks for life😊

I'm not a touring musician, but I've done a lot of last minute gigs. Worst for me was learning 75+ songs in under 2 days before a weekend of gigs, which wrapped up with opening for a national act.

duct tape on the guitar is by far the most Professional touring musician thing you can do

the funiest thing is when I clicked on this video the first thing I said was "MIke is giving me David Crowder vibes." He literally said give me a minute

Loving seeing you on the road with Crowder! Saw y’all at The Ryman! Now your getting to fill in! That’s awesome! How does it feel to have to yard sale of percussion Todd Bragg behind you? Lol he Played at our church once and killed it. He had a kick drum that was just a head with no body. It sounded killer.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Love Todd, what a great human!

I love getting calls like this, I'm not a touring guy but the whole "hey can you learn 20+ songs for a few cover gigs" rush is really a good challenge and makes you see what you're really capable of when you pull it off

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

I love it and I hate it 😂 This one was actually less stressful in some ways because it was so last minute. There’s only so much you can do. That being said, it went really well and that’s a great feeling!

My Strat has a whiter “stripe” next to the lower strap button from using duct tape to keep a strap on it for years! It is the only way! :P Love the video!

I love these videos. I love this type of content. But I can't get past the 10min mark where you didn't have any sort of strap locks. I've seen people just use a wood screw with a giant washer over the strap. That's like the single simplest thing to make bulletproof in the entire rig. It's a hilarious and intimate that you shared that moment with us. Thanks.

Michael, I really enjoy these kinds of videos that give a behind-the-scenes look at a professional touring musician. I have a question: when you are playing with a Christian musician, is it frowned upon if you wanted to kick-back after the show and have a beer on the bus? Does it depend on the artist? Obviously, you wouldn't drink alcohol if you were playing in a place that is considered a sanctuary. Just curious. Thanks, and keep up the great videos!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

It really depends on the artist and the specific situation. I won’t go into the specifics because it’s quite polarizing on either side but I try to be respectful whatever the case.

@somebodysdog9235

2 жыл бұрын

Don’t mean to be that guy but our channel is very similar but on an amateur level. Feel free to check out our ‘Road Diary’ series!

also saw them at Passion, performance wise Crowder was definitely the best

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

I was there teching for both days

Small guitar in picks work great as guitar strap holders drill a small hole then put the screw back in the middle then tada

Strap locks are a must have for me for just that reason. I used to be Dunlop but now switched to Schaller

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I do prefer the schallers between those 2 but don’t love the extra noise they make sometimes

@kevinolear6717

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelWWestbrook Rubber washers! Great video Michael.

@JohnReidNoizebox

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelWWestbrook the new schallers aren’t noisy. Big improvement.

thanks for the behind the scenes look! Crowder is so fun! the stage sound with IEMs is less satisfying. what guitar rig did you use?

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, for sure. It makes it tough to get decent camera audio for sure. The only thing makes any noise on stage are drums and bass. Everything else is run through Kempers or direct.

Drink Grolsch. Every bottle comes with a red strap lock. Great video, MDubs. Subscribed!

Great video man, love your humility and gentle nature. It comes through well on this video. Also, representing Charlie Fox!

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Snow

Really cool video, loved seeing the behind the scenes and the diso clip with iridium, question. Are you ever using the totally portable portable WAZA airs as a basic sandbox to run through materials ? I’ve been pushing on using midi to wirelessly link those to modellers so you can get down the footwork and timing on effects pretty much anywhere - adding The Button for wireless access of effects right on the guitar. What’s your take at all on having midi controllers attached to your axe ?

@somebodysdog9235

2 жыл бұрын

We the same sort of thing on our channel if you’d like more content just on an amateur level

Does the artist usually travel with the band in a bus? Or on their own bus? Or fly separately? I'm sure it varies by artist but always been curious about that aspect of touring. You have to live with these people way more than just the couple hours on stage a night while on tour.

Really great video Michael, fair play! I wonder, it must be sad to leave a band once youve got into the groove? Do you have your own regular gig?

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yeah, I have felt that for sure. You start to settle in musically and on a personal level but in the end it’s not a long term thing.

@leonbarron368

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelWWestbrook it feels like thats a skill in and of itself. You played great man. Well done!

Love the video bro, super insightful and I had no idea you filled in for Crowder from time to time which is cool! Also that’s a cool hat, where’d you get it?

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

I think I have 3 different hats on in this video. The Atlanta one is from Citizen Supply here in Atlanta, the denim one is from Greer Amps, and the black one for the show is a Crowder hat

Strap locks?

I can learn 18 songs in a few hours because I'm the tambourine guy.

How much $$ do they pay you for a fill-in gig or for their band members? I’ve seen videos of of other musicians for secular bands, but was curious what top tier Christian bands pay their musicians… Thanks

Question when you sit in with the band do you have a tech?. Thanks

@MichaelWWestbrook

6 ай бұрын

No, one or the other!

Hey man, what pickups are in your tele?

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Fralin %5 overwound (I think they call them Blues Specials)

Once you go white ...... Rubber strap gromets bag of a lifetime supply around 20 bucks. Way better than strap locks or nothing .

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

That is my preferred strap lock. That Tele has small strap button for the Schallers strap locks that don’t work well with grommets.

I GUESS YOU NEVER HEARD OF LOCKING NUTS FOR STRAPS... BUT THEN AGAIN I HAVE NEVER HEARD YOU PLAY ANYTHING THAT SOUNDED GOOD !!!!

Who is B.J.? Who is Kenny? Who is Krauter?

If you're not allowed to go to the bathroom on the tour bus where do you go

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Just no number 2! Gotta wait til the venue or a stop for that

@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender

2 жыл бұрын

@@MichaelWWestbrook how often do they stop though?

wondering how many people clicked on this thinking something else lol

30 cent rubber washers from home depot

No way. Can definitely learn 18 songs...... Probably in 4 days.

I can learn songs fast…I can’t learn lead lines that fast…especially songs that are effects heavy. That’s tough tough tough.

Great video Michael. Stupid as it sounds, what's the model of your shoes?? haha I want them.

@MichaelWWestbrook

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! They are Air Jordan 1 Mid “Triple Black”. They are the suede version

I’ll bet you are tired, that’s a lot of stress. Crazy how you can get by on adrenaline as long as you usually need though…

Playing live and not having something securing your strap is a rookie mistake. 🤦‍♂️