Whenever I used to have a gig pre covid era, I was an incredibly good at faffing.

I would be up the stairs, down the stairs about a dozen times, ensuring I had everything I need to perform at said gig.

Checklist

Amp

Guitar

Guitar Stand

Pedalboard

Jack cables

Kettle Plug

Speakon lead

Mic

Mic Stand

XLR

Mic Clip

Spare Strings

Guitar cleaning cloth

The list goes on and there are all sorts of things you need to ensure the gig can go smoothly. It is worth the time making sure you have all of this equipment to run things smoothly because if you don’t, all chaos breaks loose.

I currently spend my time faffing when preparing to cycle. Helmet, bike, tyres pumped, spare small pump, puncture kit (you do not want to be 20km from home when your tyres go flat!), water, snack.

It is good to make sure you have everything you need.

It is even better to have it all in the same place.

Something I could do with reminding myself occasionally as it would save me twelve trips back upstairs!

P.S. I wrote a song inspired by me and my bandmate’s proclivity for faffing. It is called the Almighty Faff and features a brass trio. I’m releasing a video with the accompanying score for it this week.