The crowds have been sh%#

[sventvkg]

Believe me I'm up there ripping kicking ass singing my ass off and it's just crickets. It's been like this a lot lately and a lot of venues. I don't think it's me I really don't. I think it's a reflection of and oversaturated society mentally I mean. It's just a chore not to slip into refusal mode, ignore everyone and play obscure stuff...

[daddymack]

It ain't what it used to be, that's for sure. People bring their own distractions with them, now, and you are competing with iPhones etc., and people don't value musical performance like they used to.

I blame this on a number of things, but a lot I blame on the 'game' shows like the Voice, American Idol, America's Got Talent [except at one point, all the judges were foreigners...apparently we don't have talented judges]...these show make it look like it is easy, there is no sacrifice involved, you just get up on a stage in front of millions of people. The big lie. The next culprit is the internet itself, which has made free music ubiquitous.

Like the great Rodney Dangerfield often said...'I don't get no respect...'

[sventvkg]

Yea man, I can not wait to retire!!

[steve mac]

I was out last night for a meal with the missus, we went specifically because of a duo who were performing there (guitar/singer and exceptional conga/percussionist) great meal, service, venue and fabulous entertainment with applause after each song. At one point an old guy asked if he could get up and play harmonica and inwardly we groaned, however they turned one of the conga mikes around for him and he was amazing as well.

Anyhow the point is our town is strarved of decent entertainment (if I can get work anyone can 🙂) and there were just 12 folk in the place. On the drive home we passed a bar/restaurant that's renown for cheap food/drink and we could hear a strangled cat singing along to backing tracks, the place was packed.

Each to their own but, to use an old scouse expression, it does my head in.

[sventvkg]

Where are you located?

[Notes_Norton]

Here the pickings are slimmer than ever. Fortunately we have a good repeat rate.

 

Doing private parties is very different from the club scene You are less 'the star' but they pay well and there is never an empty room.

 

We play two outdoor gigs, one at a marina and another at an RV resort. The marina has been going on 9 years now and we're in our second year at the RV resort.

 

Thankfully there are no TVs on in either place and we have forged good relationships with many of the audience members. We have running gags going from week to week and although we don't always have the attention of the entire audience, and sometimes only a fraction of the audience (depends on the day) we always seem to have enough actually listening to us to make it a lot of fun for us.

 

Playing mostly for the adult audience is nice, because although they use their 'smartphones' they don't have their noses buried int them 24/7.

 

But I do remember the days of playing singles bars (when I was younger as well). Plenty of people were more interested in scoring with a member of the opposite sex than listening to the music.

 

Nothing changes but the technology.

 

Notes

 

[Voltan]

while working in a show band in new York, I caught myself muttering under my breath something about almost time to go to work... and I stopped... yes, we all know its work and more of it then most others are willing to go... and somewhere along the line I was willing to give up more of me in order to make a paycheck... and the magic was gone. I was making money not making art... no matter if I did make art it was only to make money... yeah yeah... idealistic male bovine feces... well... yes... I have strong ideals and values despite what the popularly held consensus may be.( I quit playing drums with some tim McGraw hack because of his unchecked ego and inability to see through his own hype) I started making music because of the joy I feel when sharing what I create... I mostly play eyes closed because it helps me visualize the soundscape that's forming...

 

​yesteryear, we all got up on stage, turned down the house lights and lit up a guitar... people loved it! you've got hotter licks now? one word, Django... face it, times they are a changin' and youre staying stuck in the same groove you've worn on that stage since you've picked up a plectrum... go down your song list, yes, you still use one... (multifacepalm) and see how many tunes you've been plating since ummmm when did I start playing guitar???? not taht that's a bad thing, it isn't but then you expect things to go differently than they have been the last few decades... waning crowds, lackluster clubs... and youre still playing the same shtick... what was Einstein said about doing things the same way over and over and expecting the result to magically come out different??? no, dont go buy a gong... unless you want to buy one from me? but think about what you want and how much your willing to give up... find a happy medium... i took a five string banjo on stage on a whim one night... launched a spiel about beng from West by God, and some crap about bluegrass... primed the pump, thanks Donald... and then did a haunting rendition of Geo gershwins "summertime" in g minor with a follow up of Yes "your move" and finished with manic depression... on 5 string... think like there never has been a box...

[daddymack]

Steve is in a lovely little village in Turkey...

[daddymack]

Although I agree up to a point with the Einstein comment, there is just so much one can do to reinvent oneself. In sven's case, I doubt the material or presentation is the real problem, but maybe the venue is...I've dealt with that a few times.

Doing a solo act has inherent limitations, as I discovered, and it is rare that one has an opportunity to throw caution to the wind and try something 135 degrees off the normal course.

Last year I went way out on a limb to 'reinvent myself' [again], fronting a 'jazz' band [that also plays swing, r&B, soul and blues], and it has been an interesting, if frustrating, challenge [as I have never considered myself a frontman or a jazz player].

The year before that, I went on another limb to side and sing backing vocals in an 'originals' Americana-ish band. We are in the process of working on my original material now...another challenge.

The reception to both these projects has been odd. Both are great sounding bands [in their own way], both get positive reaction from the audience, but neither one is getting bookings.

[sventvkg]

Nope that's not it it's not me. I'm able to do 80% of the requests asked of me and nobody and I mean nobody ever request any of the cueerebt pop hits that are out now. I do get request for some newer country which is basically pop with a twang. At least it has electric guitars:) I get where you're coming from and I went through all the same stage as you did but that's not the gist of what's happening out there. I'm not crusty and I'm not old. I'm 46 and I look 32 at best.

 

I come here bitch and I bitch nowhere else because everyone here knows the deal and most of us get it as we've been through it or are currently going through whatever I'm bitching about. I mean I've got $4500 on the books this month and about 5000 next month so I'm not sitting here trying to complain percent OK it's just different out there now. And the majority of my work right now is solo acoustic still so it's all on you. I do a lot of corporate and private events gigs in the crowds are mostly in different as well but you get paid so well you just smile play the gig and go home. That's what I do because that's what you have to do but you do have to vent sometimes.

[Voltan]

yeah... not everyone gets it... its ok...