Setting up to fail and winning like a Boss

[steve mac]

Over the last few years of research on this forum I realise there is some generally accepted views on things to do and don't do to be successful as a solo act.

Now a while ago I asked if anyone here was using Facebooks Live Video to film their performances and to be honest there was a less than enthusiastic uptake of it here. So loving seeing how others perform so I can avoid some of pitfalls and "steal with pride" good ideas I did me some searching.

That's how I came across a solo act (guitar/singer, looper user) John Monnecka who works in New Jersey USA, who records every performance he does via his iPhone. And boy does he do things wrong.

1 dress similar to the audience but smarter - John dresses like he has just finished doing the lawn

2 engage the audience - John just starts playing and although very friendly if someone comes over pretty much ignores the audience in the room. His audience on Facebook however he constantly engages with, leaning in and chatting and taking requests even during a song

3 play songs the audience know - John occasionally will play a standard solo act song like Hotel Cali or BEG however the majority of his set are more obscure songs or originals. Pink Floyd, The Fratellis for example.

4 unless your a drummer stand - Naturally John sits

 

I am sure that I could go on but you get the idea. But despite all that or maybe because of it John Monnecka is flipping awesome.

Firstly his tone is to my ears incredible, he uses a Tom Anderson Crowdster guitar, an Atomic Amplify and a Bose L1 Compact. He also uses a TC Helicon device for vocals and looping.

His guitarmanship is exceptional and he will cheerfully solo for minutes on end.

His arrangements again are top drawer, he even set up a Facebook live feed when he was working out an arrangement at his home.

Vocally his voice is my cup of tea i.e. Big and manly, in other words everything mine isn't.

He is very generous with his time and will gladly answer questions about his equipment and techniques.

But as always the proof of the pudding is his success. He constantly works and is watched around the world by over 70,000 viewers, let me just repeat that every night over 70,000 watch him do his thing in a New Jersey restaurant.

In fact some people in Australia have launched a Crowd Funding to pay for him to visit.

So here are a couple of links the first is Facebook where you can see his live shows and the second is a YouTube video to give you an idea.

 

https://www.facebook.com/JohnMonneckaMusic/

 

[Shaster]

Holy chill attitude Batman! Man is he relaxed. Reminds me of this soundman I knew. He just rolled with the punches and never got excited or agitated. Interesting approach he has in-between songs. I've started to suspect that I'm banging the tunes out too fast. Not enough time for people to talk or meander up to the stage to request songs, or even meander up to give me a tip. I've noticed that a lot of guys that take their time launching into the next song, seem to get the best response, and keep the crowd longer. It's also interesting to see how relaxed he is about song form. In Sounds of Silence he tailors the arrangement to his reading the lyrics.

 

I also don't mind his vocal harmonies because they sit quite low in the mix.

 

Good player and a great voice. He's also like the anti-entertainer which I really like, since I've seen far too much of "show biz". In fact I've been guilty of doing too much show biz stuff myself, but lately I do sort of a self deprecation style of entertaining. Seems (and is) more honest.

 

Thajnks for the link Steve - food for thought. Maybe I'll try wearing a grey T-shirt to the gig tonight, and showing off my gut!

[Telecruiser]

I like his voice but he just sings, meaning I don't hear the snap and life that a good vocalist has.

 

Now, this is going to draw some fire but I have my flame suit on. Learn the lyrics and ditch the books and music stand! To me, it looks incredibly lame. There is minimal eye contact with the audience. It is just not the way to do it but it seems more commonplace with the lazy performers. And yes, I do not use a songbook and I memorize all the lyrics. Does it take effort? You bet, but it's worth it to me.

 

BTW, his guitar playing is fine as well as the looping.

[Bob Dey]

I used to have all of my lyrics memorized but I kept adding songs. Between doing a lot less gigs and having a couple hundred songs that I hardly do anymore, I need lyrics! But I agree, it's best to memorize them.

 

The dude does have a strong voice that's for sure.

[Telecruiser]

I used to have all of my lyrics memorized but I kept adding songs. Between doing a lot less gigs and having a couple hundred songs that I hardly do anymore, I need lyrics! But I agree, it's best to memorize them.

 

The dude does have a strong voice that's for sure.

 

I hear what you are saying but here's is what I see.

 

The usual performer has two things to do, one to play their instrument and the other is to sing and even another is to control any stomp boxes (loopers, harmonizers etc.). That's three things. Now, throw in the fourth which is reading the lyrics. This adds another level of distraction from what you are trying to do which is entertain an audience. While reading you are not focused on the people, you have your head down staring at a song book or iPad. To me, this makes for a very un-entertaining experience from a listeners standpoint.

 

Me? I like to maintain eye contact with the crowd and show them I am interested in them.

 

Does memorizing lyrics take work? Yes it does and I am constantly memorizing new songs and then going through the process of getting them together with my guitar playing. Once that is done I can put the life into the song. This is just me. But I like seeing people do what they do best when it comes to playing music.

[Shaster]

I like to memorize the lyrics and very rarely look at a tablet. - maybe once a month. However, that sometimes means forgetting lyrics, or doing a song that's a little inappropriate, just so I won't forget the darn thing. Right now my song list is around 300 vocal tunes, 25 Christmas songs, and about 75 instrumentals.. There are some songs I play once or twice a year, NY NY, Oh Danny Boy, I Just Called To Say, King Of the Road.... Now when I do play these tunes they are for specific reasons (Valentine's, St. Patrick's and so on) so they go over well, but I sure couldn't or wouldn't play those tunes everyday, or even every month. That's when a tablet makes sense IMHO.

 

Now contrary to my position, I know a fellow that can play almost every song anyone can request. He has tons of bookings based on his ability to take requests, and he is usually reading the chords and lyrics when he does so. No one (including management) seems to care. I would say that he has the most gigs and makes the best tips out of any solo artist I know. So there's the flip side.

[Bob Dey]

You've inspired me to spend some time memorizing lyrics to more songs. That said, I've been getting lots of requests for songs I don't even do lately, and some of them are songs that I'll only do in certain places. Sometimes the priority is the ability to do the song rather than having the lyrics memorized.

[Bob Dey]

There's a keyboard player I work with occasionally that has does hundreds of songs and has all of the lyrics memorized. Also, he doesn't even have a songlist anywhere except in his head. He also goes from one song to another with no thinking of what song to play next. And, he keeps pulling songs out that I've never heard him do before! I have another friend that can't memorize lyrics at all.