It's important to know, as a performer, the difference between a restaurant, a bar, and a concert, and how to treat them when you're performing. Some people I've played with could never get some of that straight, or else they didn't care, and the result was pretty frustrating on my end.
To the uninitiated, it would seem simple: just play the song stupid. Nothing could actually be further from the truth and if you're missing out on that as a performer you'd be doing yourself a disservice.
Bar Gigs
True Confessions: When I was younger (mid 20's) and playing rock music in bars, I often made what I now believe to be a big mistake. I'd come out like gangbusters on the first three tunes like it was some kind of a concert (secretly I probably was just wishing it was a concert). I've seen others do this and in my decrepit old age I've learned the error of my ways. It's a bar gig - you've got three or four hours to play. Eight or nine o'clock in the evening is definitely not the same as 11:30. Bar audiences usually want to be eased into things instead of being hit over the head. And it doesn't necessarily mean playing different repertoire. Later on playing in a variety band, I learned how to play the same songs differently in different parts of the evening ("Brick House" can definitely be played with varying amounts of enthusiasm depending on the hour - yes, I've played "Brick House" a hundred times or what seems like it anyway). Also - if you can "read" your audience and play to them, it's a big help. This is something I'm terrible at. "Reading" one person that I know well is challenge for me, much a less an audience. Being in a band who can successfully play to a bar audience and whip it into a frenzy by altering song sequence and feel, I've always thought, is a lot of fun.
Concerts
Concerts on the other hand are a whole 'nother story. Usually you've got 45 minutes to an hour to do your thing and win over anyone who's there. Pacing and a finely honed set list are definitely in order in order to showcase your best stuff. Standing on a stage in front of a festival crowd is no place for a leader to turn around to the band and say "what do you guys want to do?" and yet, this has happened to me. It's amazing to me that a leader that could be so good at bar gigs and suck so bad at concerts but I've seen it and lived and it's not pretty folks.
Restaurants
Currently I have the pleasure of providing background music for a brunch crowd on Sundays at a fine local eatery. Many folks in the music biz call this a "wallpaper" gig. You're really just providing atmosphere for people to enjoy their food. They're definitely not there to hear me. They're there for the prime rib, oysters, etc. Surprise of surprises though - some of the restaurant crowd actually listens to what I'm playing. I know this for a fact. Really, no joke. They frequently walk up and say things like "What was the name of that tune? We've been trying to figure that out." That's how I know.
It's really kind of a funny gig - there's rarely if ever any applause. Occasionally someone will get drawn into the music and be inspired to clap but it's pretty rare. All in all I'd like to think that what I'm doing really adds value to their whole restaurant experience. As far as I know we're not chasing anyone off anyway.
In bars and restaurants, I think that the music is really an accompaniment to some other purpose (more so in restaurants, naturally). But if you ever get to play a concert or a recital where you are the only or the featured act you can be assured that whoever is there is there to see you. The pressure is on. So plan and rehearse to that end.
Keep on swingin'!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Priming the Mind With Exposure - Part II (Where's my Chicken Feet?)
Where's my chicken feet?
Ever make that trip to Giant-Mart to get those oh so essential weekly essentials and go into a frustrated fit when you don't immediately find your regular brand of detergent, beans, or chicken feet, or whatever junk you normally put in your cart? In a matter of frantic moments you find your goods and all is right with the world.
One or more things may have happened. A) The Manufacturer changed the package, and/or B) Giant-Mart moved your cherished frozen tacos to the next freezer bin over. This is all designed to make you spend more time looking around in hopes that you'll see all the other cool stuff they have for you to buy. No matter how frustrating that is for you. After all, you have the mental image in your head, you know where it's supposed to be, just let me have my stuff you a-holes! In the course of all this you just may discover there really is more than one brand of macaroni and cheese. Hey...how 'bout that? You, my friend, have just been exposed and primed. Now you're an informed shopper ready to go and make a choice between something new and same old thing you'll likely buy anyway because you have no adventure in your soul.
Look Out!
So you can understand now that what you don't know can indeed hurt you. Very much. If you're not aware of the world around you, you'll be susceptible to every conniving thieving jerk out there. And...you can miss great opportunities just because you may not catch that critical word, or acronym, in someone's conversation that could make all the difference for you.
So...the more exposure you get, the more likely you won't be blindsided like the Pacific island natives. And you won't miss opportunities because you don't understand what someone is saying. If one of your cohorts is using specialized terms that you don't know, you're likely to slough those words off as being unimportant and disregard or ignore them all together. When you do know them you'll feel included.
In Conclusion
Most of what college classes are about is exposure. You learn little tidbits. Do a little bit with it and move on. Even when you specialize in biology or math or music or what have you, the object is to get exposure to knowledge that will hopefully open doors of opportunity and shield you from the great unknowns.
The broader your experiences - the more protections and opportunities you have. Educate yourself!
Ever make that trip to Giant-Mart to get those oh so essential weekly essentials and go into a frustrated fit when you don't immediately find your regular brand of detergent, beans, or chicken feet, or whatever junk you normally put in your cart? In a matter of frantic moments you find your goods and all is right with the world.
One or more things may have happened. A) The Manufacturer changed the package, and/or B) Giant-Mart moved your cherished frozen tacos to the next freezer bin over. This is all designed to make you spend more time looking around in hopes that you'll see all the other cool stuff they have for you to buy. No matter how frustrating that is for you. After all, you have the mental image in your head, you know where it's supposed to be, just let me have my stuff you a-holes! In the course of all this you just may discover there really is more than one brand of macaroni and cheese. Hey...how 'bout that? You, my friend, have just been exposed and primed. Now you're an informed shopper ready to go and make a choice between something new and same old thing you'll likely buy anyway because you have no adventure in your soul.
Look Out!
So you can understand now that what you don't know can indeed hurt you. Very much. If you're not aware of the world around you, you'll be susceptible to every conniving thieving jerk out there. And...you can miss great opportunities just because you may not catch that critical word, or acronym, in someone's conversation that could make all the difference for you.
So...the more exposure you get, the more likely you won't be blindsided like the Pacific island natives. And you won't miss opportunities because you don't understand what someone is saying. If one of your cohorts is using specialized terms that you don't know, you're likely to slough those words off as being unimportant and disregard or ignore them all together. When you do know them you'll feel included.
In Conclusion
Most of what college classes are about is exposure. You learn little tidbits. Do a little bit with it and move on. Even when you specialize in biology or math or music or what have you, the object is to get exposure to knowledge that will hopefully open doors of opportunity and shield you from the great unknowns.
The broader your experiences - the more protections and opportunities you have. Educate yourself!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Priming The Mind With Exposure - Part I
Right off the top of my head I can think of three reasons why it is of benefit to go to college.
Exposure to knowledge
Focus of knowledge
Connections
The one I want to talk about today is exposure to knowledge.
As far as I can tell through my own observations, peoples minds have to be ready to see things in order for them to see them. They have to be "primed" so to speak. When I say see I mean that in a literal sense as well as a figurative sense.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
Vocabulary Lesson
Ever learn a new word and then see it popping up everywhere? You're likely to say to yourself something like "hmmm...that's funny, I just learned that word now I'm seeing it with great frequency. What a conicidence!". It's no great coincidence. It's been there all along - you just didn't see it! The reason is that you weren't "primed" for it. As adults we can do this "priming" with exposure and that's a lot of what education is about.
Find Your Shoes
If you've ever spent any time with very young kids (maybe 3 or 4 year olds) you may notice there's a tendency to be a problem with them keeping track of their shoes. Shoes do not seem to be very relevant to them. You may say "hey kid, go to your room, find your shoes and bring 'em here". They then saunter off to their room and perhaps return with the look of helplessness alluding to something like the shoes have somehow disappeared or they're not there. At that point it's up to you to go in that room and find those shoes, no matter how deeply buried they might be under piles of toys and clothes. You walk in and there they are. Right there. Right freakin' there. "How could this child be so blind?" you say.
The answer is that the child has to be "primed" to see the shoes. He or she has to have a mental image of what they're looking for in order to match that up with the real thing. For whatever reason, if the child is not carrying a mental image of what their shoes look like, due to apathy or what have you, the shoes are not going to be discovered.
Hey, how did you get here?
I've read somewhere that the natives of the Pacific islands never, in fact, saw Captain Cook coming. For them, it was more like one day he magically just showed up on the beach out of nowhere. Just like that. Poof. Magic. Literally. Well now it doesn't take a lot for us to imagine he showed up in some kind of big sailing ship. But what if you had never seen a sailing ship? Do you think you would see it? I got news for you - not necessarily.
Next time on Part II - Where's my chicken feet?
Exposure to knowledge
Focus of knowledge
Connections
The one I want to talk about today is exposure to knowledge.
As far as I can tell through my own observations, peoples minds have to be ready to see things in order for them to see them. They have to be "primed" so to speak. When I say see I mean that in a literal sense as well as a figurative sense.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean.
Vocabulary Lesson
Ever learn a new word and then see it popping up everywhere? You're likely to say to yourself something like "hmmm...that's funny, I just learned that word now I'm seeing it with great frequency. What a conicidence!". It's no great coincidence. It's been there all along - you just didn't see it! The reason is that you weren't "primed" for it. As adults we can do this "priming" with exposure and that's a lot of what education is about.
Find Your Shoes
If you've ever spent any time with very young kids (maybe 3 or 4 year olds) you may notice there's a tendency to be a problem with them keeping track of their shoes. Shoes do not seem to be very relevant to them. You may say "hey kid, go to your room, find your shoes and bring 'em here". They then saunter off to their room and perhaps return with the look of helplessness alluding to something like the shoes have somehow disappeared or they're not there. At that point it's up to you to go in that room and find those shoes, no matter how deeply buried they might be under piles of toys and clothes. You walk in and there they are. Right there. Right freakin' there. "How could this child be so blind?" you say.
The answer is that the child has to be "primed" to see the shoes. He or she has to have a mental image of what they're looking for in order to match that up with the real thing. For whatever reason, if the child is not carrying a mental image of what their shoes look like, due to apathy or what have you, the shoes are not going to be discovered.
Hey, how did you get here?
I've read somewhere that the natives of the Pacific islands never, in fact, saw Captain Cook coming. For them, it was more like one day he magically just showed up on the beach out of nowhere. Just like that. Poof. Magic. Literally. Well now it doesn't take a lot for us to imagine he showed up in some kind of big sailing ship. But what if you had never seen a sailing ship? Do you think you would see it? I got news for you - not necessarily.
Next time on Part II - Where's my chicken feet?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Set Lists
Ah, the set list. A musician's master plan. Architecture for a showcase of emotional waves. Outline of tension and resolution. A showcase of repertoire that we hope will become not so much of a run down of the known, but more of a catalyst for synergy and a path to something more magical, something more than the sum of it's parts. Even when it's not followed, it can become a lifesaving document.
Some folks don't even use them...who are those people anyway? Man, I've got to have it
The way it works for me is that sometimes I wind up pouring so much into the performance of a song, I don't really have much left over to contemplate what should happen next. It's best however, when the playing of one song suggests the next, and that's the best feeling. When the set list becomes more of a safety net than a master plan. Then we're riding on the coat tails of emotions and feelings, much like the improvisations included in a jazz arrangement.
Currently I'm trying to keep about a hundred tunes in my repertoire and I'm playing a steady restaurant gig once a week gig. When I started out with this gig I wasn't making set lists - I didn't want to work that hard. Then I started to notice how stressed out I was getting instead of having a nice time. Turns out the stress of deciding what songs to play was ruining the gig for me. It turned out to be much easier to plan ahead. Plus when I don't have one, I always find that I miss out on some songs I wish I would have played. This lead me to keeping track of what tunes out of my repertoire I perform each week. I'm occasionally surprised to see how many times I've played "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" or something like that over the course of a couple of months. Is there some deep meaning in that? I don't know about that, but I do know that keeping track of what's happening every week and having a planned set list makes for a more interesting and fun gig.
Set lists - you don't have to stick to 'em and it's great to have 'em.
Some folks don't even use them...who are those people anyway? Man, I've got to have it
The way it works for me is that sometimes I wind up pouring so much into the performance of a song, I don't really have much left over to contemplate what should happen next. It's best however, when the playing of one song suggests the next, and that's the best feeling. When the set list becomes more of a safety net than a master plan. Then we're riding on the coat tails of emotions and feelings, much like the improvisations included in a jazz arrangement.
Currently I'm trying to keep about a hundred tunes in my repertoire and I'm playing a steady restaurant gig once a week gig. When I started out with this gig I wasn't making set lists - I didn't want to work that hard. Then I started to notice how stressed out I was getting instead of having a nice time. Turns out the stress of deciding what songs to play was ruining the gig for me. It turned out to be much easier to plan ahead. Plus when I don't have one, I always find that I miss out on some songs I wish I would have played. This lead me to keeping track of what tunes out of my repertoire I perform each week. I'm occasionally surprised to see how many times I've played "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" or something like that over the course of a couple of months. Is there some deep meaning in that? I don't know about that, but I do know that keeping track of what's happening every week and having a planned set list makes for a more interesting and fun gig.
Set lists - you don't have to stick to 'em and it's great to have 'em.
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