What it takes to be in my band

Performing, in my not-so-humble opinion, is the greatest job on earth.  (It is also the only job I've ever had.)  The highs are high, the lows can get pretty far down there.

A lot of people don't know what it takes to put on a show like ours so we thought we'd let you slip backstage with us and get a little tour.

Several things are required to get ready for a show.  One of these is stretching.  Kathryn and Dad are our top stretchers and they will lead us in a muscle loosener before a show.

Then there is vocal warm-ups, we all warm up together and concentrate on tight harmonies and singing together as a group.

Now it's time for Kathryn to work her magic.  She chooses our costumes for the show, then we dispute them, come up with different arrangements, argue over the changes, and eventually put on the clothes she originally chose for us.

Then there is makeup.  We've learned over the years that stage makeup is best applied with a trowel (or a paint roller).  Unless strictly necessary we don't put on tons of makeup, but for every stage it's different.  Some have more lighting, some have no lights at all, and some are so blinding that you'd rather wear sunglasses during the show.  Over all though, makeup can take a long time.

Now that we are all dressed and ready for the show it's time to tune and warm up our instruments.  We have 69 strings to tune before each show.  We split them up fairly evenly between the group... sometimes (Kat and Andy have the most I think.).  Then there are 12 drum heads to tune and some more stretching :)

Next it's time to 'pack up'.  We each have 3 wireless packs (in-ear monitors, an instrument pack and a vocal pack) that project our sound to the world.  These are strapped to our bodies on super sturdy, fail-safe... plastic cell phone holders.  Hey, they get the job done.

Once the show gets underway we do a lot of dancing, I mean a lot of dancing.  But dancing isn't the only physically challenging activity on stage.  Extensive testing in our top secret ShaeLaurel lab revealed that Christian's right foot, the one that plays his bass drum, traverses the equivalent of more than five miles during a single half hour show.  Five miles.  As a band we perform anywhere from 1-6 shows a day.  That's 30 miles, more than a marathon.  And that's not even dancing.

After the show is over and the lights dim, it's time to say goodbye.  If performing is the fun part (and believe me, it is) than the tear-down is the work.  Because we do it so often though, we are very good at it.  In a rush, we can pack onto a stage in less than 5 minutes with all our instruments and stand equipment.  (The State Fair was great practice. We got to pack on and off between each show!  We are a well-oiled machine.)

Now that the show is over, it's time to celebrate.  Our family has a motto:  "Work Hard, Play Harder."  And we stick by it no matter what.  ShaeLaurel parties can be crazy and a lot of fun and you can be sure there's a lot of homemade popcorn involved.

Performing, in my not-so-humble opinion, is the greatest job on earth.  If you have any questions about performing or being unbearably close to your family members, drop us a line!