Scott,

Though some folks are impressed by a maze of equipment, most of the audiences just want to be entertained. For every person that said how impressive the equipemt looked, there were 200 that didn't have a clue what you were doing or could have cared less.

At one time, before meeting the Three Musketeers (Donny, Dave and Fran C.), I filled the back of my van with a pair or huge Peavey SP5-Gs, two amp heads, two keyboards, large three-tier A-frame stand, vocal processors, bags of wires and cables, mic stand, and other stuff that I felt was necessary. It took 8 trips to the van to unload, and that was using a cart. Now I use the same cart, make one or two trips to the van, set up time is down to 5 to 7 minutes instead of 30 minutes, and the quality of the sound is better.

Last night, while playing at the local Blood & Guts Saloon (American Legion), a number of people said how great the music sounded, how crisp the vocals were and I kept the dancefloor filled for three and a half hours. More stuff for show just don't make good sense. Just being an entertainer is all that's necessary. Ironically, and I'm sure this has happened at one time or another to nearly everyone that entertains for a living, you'll have someone come up to you, watch you playing and singing dozens of songs, then say "Wow! You're the best DJ we've ever had." I used to get upset about this, but now I just smile and say thanks--they don't have a clue.

Stick with your current rig, streamline the system and if you want something flashy, make yourself a high-quality, backlighted sign. They'll love it.

Gary