Some thoughts on solo performance...?

[mazz]

My wife went through a similar dilemma a couple of years ago. She was fortunate to find musicians that liked her music enough to want to play it out at gigs. But it just became unworkable trying to schedule everyone and book gigs (band gigs seemed harder to book). She finally decided to go back to solo (occasionally I'll join her if the gig is in town) and found that the audiences connected more to the songs because, guess what (drum roll please): THEY COULD HEAR THE LYRICS With a loud band bashing away and bad or non-existent sound, the vocals just got lost in a sea of mud and noise. Every once in a while we would play where the lyrics were audible but it was a rare day.So her decision was to go solo and then "scale up" to a duo or trio or more as the gig allowed. If a well paying festival gig came along, she'd hire some great cats to come in on one rehearsal and then go do the gig.Solo performing is tough, particularly if no one seems to be listening. But you are there to provide an energy and even if people aren't consciously listening, they are receiving the energy of your performance. Music is a powerful force and we musicians have been blessed to be custodians of it. Use it wisely and lovingly.Good luck,Mazz

[hummingbird]

Quote:Solo performing is tough, particularly if no one seems to be listening. But you are there to provide an energy and even if people aren't consciously listening, they are receiving the energy of your performance. Music is a powerful force and we musicians have been blessed to be custodians of it. Use it wisely and lovingly.wow, Mazz - thanks for those words of wisdom.

[southpaw]

Cool post, thats an inspiring song. Thanks Ern!Ditto what HAL said, thanks for the insight Mazz. It appears to me that in the right venue, with a polished performance and thought out delivery/production, -any- number of musicians can effectively impact an audience. I've got a bit of work to do, but from what i gather - solo performance can be pulled off without a loss in overall impact. Thanks for all the incredibly valuable input!

[mazz]

One thing I should mention in response to your last, Southpaw. I have found that no matter how polished the performance, how tight the band, etc., once you're on the stage, you have no control over how the music is received. The ONLY thing you can do, IMO, is to please yourselves and have fun. If anything is going to impact an audience, it's that energy. The bass player and drummer can be locked tight but all that's going to do to the average listener is make them tap their feet or bob their head a bit more enthusiastically, they could care less about all that stuff we fuss over. So you have to do it to make yourself happy and then let any agenda go, because chances are, the audience will impose their own agenda anyway.This is not to be negative, just what I've observed in over 30 years of performing in every type of venue imaginable, for every type of drunk, sober, high, meditating, sleeping, non-existent, listening, yelling, audience you can imagine. It was learned through some hard lessons and much grinding down of the ego.Cheers!Mazz

[ggalen]

Southpaw,I, like Mazz, have been a performer for many years, starting in 1973. I think Mazz probably has done more gigs than I have.But my experience and observation matches his perfectly.You really can't control an audience no matter how good you are. Having great talent and playing well are not a guarantee that any of the audience members will notice. Most are not musicians. If they have specifically come to hear YOU, and it is a concert, well, that's another story. But that doesn't come for a while.

[ernstinen]

I second those emotions! I've been gigging since I was 14 and playing a Farfisa organ.I still remember our first gig: Playing outdoors near a pool outside some rich guy's home. Nobody listened, nobody even came outside. We played our best, but it was deflating to our egos!1-2 years later, we played the SW Michigan "Battle of the Bands." ALL the bands were older than us and more experienced, with great P.A.s and equipment.When my young but talented band got 2nd place over all these professionals, the other bands were PISSED! I'll never forget the reaction. It was GREAT!The same thing happened (twice) in my college town, after I switched to lead guitar.1. We opened for a "name" band from Australia, and blew them off the stage. They weren't, um, too happy, and let us know after their set. 2. We opened for Mitch Ryder, who was still a big name back in Michigan, and just destroyed them! A Grand Rapids radio station next day said that we "blew them away." So, even though some gigs suck, if you're really good and play with a lot of energy, you never know when (especially in a large venue) you'll meet the challenge and kick some a$$!Ern

[southpaw]

Quote:One thing I should mention in response to your last, Southpaw. I have found that no matter how polished the performance, how tight the band, etc., once you're on the stage, you have no control over how the music is received. The ONLY thing you can do, IMO, is to please yourselves and have fun. If anything is going to impact an audience, it's that energy. The bass player and drummer can be locked tight but all that's going to do to the average listener is make them tap their feet or bob their head a bit more enthusiastically, they could care less about all that stuff we fuss over. So you have to do it to make yourself happy and then let any agenda go, because chances are, the audience will impose their own agenda anyway.This is not to be negative, just what I've observed in over 30 years of performing in every type of venue imaginable, for every type of drunk, sober, high, meditating, sleeping, non-existent, listening, yelling, audience you can imagine. It was learned through some hard lessons and much grinding down of the ego.Cheers!MazzQuote:But my experience and observation matches his perfectly.You really can't control an audience no matter how good you are. Having great talent and playing well are not a guarantee that any of the audience members will notice. Most are not musicians. If they have specifically come to hear YOU, and it is a concert, well, that's another story. But that doesn't come for a while. Well, i guess that'll be the title phrase, amidst the book of knowledge i just recieved! Being a perfectionistic kind of person, i think itll be very important to keep the right frame of mind and not let the way 'things sound' effect my enthusiam while performing. As a producer, my ear is pretty picky and precise.. I can say with a fair amount of certainty, it will be hard not to learn not to nitpick the areas of my overall 'sound presentation' that arent sonically up to par.. (If you know what i mean)For example, the last perfomance i had was 'basically' an open mic type of thing.. I was singing a personal song i wrote called "heroes never die". I coulnt help but be distracted while i was singing.. I kept thinking 'hey sound guy' you dont hear the 2k ring, or the overly present 8k over the mains, what kind of a monitor mix is this, turn the backing tracks up dude, do your job!... etc. etc. I felt somewhat ashamed afterwards because i know that my performance suffered because i let myself get distracted with these little things, when, my whole point was to honor my buddies and their families who were killed in action overseas. These little things outside my control are no doubt pretty stupid to get distracted by... Nonetheless, was a hurdle, and i could feel it was a pretty lifeless performance. To be honest i havent performed on a stage, since, and have been pretty adamant on making sure next time everything will be polished and i am %110 ready. So your comments Mazz, Ggallen, Ern, hit right on the head. I suppose just like anything else it will take time and practice to not focus on the petty musicianship/production technicalitys..?I dont think a few thank you's can really say how much i appreciate these pearls from everyone... But its about all the little ol brain could come up with right now.. So thanks again! Jamie

[ernstinen]

Mar 14, 2009, 4:30pm, southpaw wrote:For example, the last perfomance i had was 'basically' an open mic type of thing.. I was singing a personal song i wrote called "heroes never die". I coulnt help but be distracted while i was singing.. I kept thinking 'hey sound guy' you dont hear the 2k ring, or the overly present 8k over the mains, what kind of a monitor mix is this, turn the backing tracks up dude, do your job!... etc. etc. Man, I can relate! When I bought my Soundcraft board for my band back in Kalamazoo, it was the BEST board money could buy at that time. But without a good soundman, what good is it?I eventually hired my younger brother, who mixed us for a long time and was excellent at his job.But playing venues with "house" soundmen is another story. I learned to ignore their ignorance! There's not much you can do, except ----Next gig story: My band in L.A. was playing a very important showcase gig in a major room, with A&R weasels crawling around.A few weeks before the show, I had our band play a dress rehearsal, and paid the club's soundman $125 to learn how to mix us properly. It was a good rundown of our material.A couple of days before the showcase, I called up the soundman to go over a few notes and balance changes.His wife answered the phone, and I asked if "Joe" was there.There was a long pause at the end of the line. Finally, his wife said "Joe DIED last night." --- Seriously.So what could I do? --- Stop payment on the check! --- Old joke, sorry! Luckily, the sub soundman did a pretty good job overall. We ALMOST got signed to Epic/Capitol records, but things eventually didn't work out.Speaking of soundmen, you're at their mercy. My final acoustic solo/duo gig was in a showcase club in Hollywood. We had worked up a 30 minute set, as was in our contract, and after 15 minutes came a voice through our monitors: "Last song!" I was so pissed, I just tore into our final number, just shredding it to pieces with anger. It was GREAT! --- But afterwards, I was still livid, and confronted the soundman aggressively. I'm surprised they didn't call the cops! And so is the music biz --- Ern

[mazz]

Nitpicking your performance is for rehearsal. Performance is performance, and you can't rehearse for that energy, you can only perform a lot to get that kind of practice.Speaking of soundmen: I challenge each and every one of you to run the sound at a club where multiple bands play each night. After one night of clueless prima donnas, I guarantee that you will have much more compassion for our tin-eared colleagues. It is truly a labor of love and the poor sound person gets way more grief than they deserve. I've found that if I make friends with the sound person right away, they will be more likely to get me what I need and actually may listen and try to give a good mix (within the limits of the house "system", I use that term loosely). Remember, you're putting your sound, which in amplified music is a huge percentage of your performance, in this person's hands. I have a hunch you'll want them on your side since they have a lot of power while you're up there putting your heart on your sleeve! Not only that, but a professional respects everyone he/she works with and tries to bring them up so they can perform their best, at least that's what I believe."You catch more bees with honey""Check the ego at the door"Mazz

[ernstinen]

Mar 14, 2009, 5:16pm, mazz wrote:"You catch more bees with honey"True, Mazz! I ALWAYS try and do that, like paying the guy $125 who DIED before the gig! I'm talking about these clubs that book 4-5 acts a night. The management puts pressure on the soundmen to get the acts on and off in record time. I've got multiple examples how the soundmen are the "hatchet men" for the club owners. They are more like the police than soundmen. They are bigtime jackasses to the performers, at least in L.A.Ern