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What do requests REALLY mean?


pogo97

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1) I want to hear that song played like the original.
2) I want to hear that song the way you do it.
3) I want to hear something by that artist.
4) I want to hear something in that general vein.
5) I want you to know that I'm paying attention.
6) I want to control the agenda, if only a little bit.
7) I want others to notice me.
8) I want to start a conversation and get to know you.
9) I want to bear your children and this seems like a good first step.

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Quote Originally Posted by fingerpicker View Post
...
almost never 2 if its a run of the mill "Brown eyed girl" type cover.
My currently-forming trio does BEG really really slow and wistful. I like it a lot that way. We'll see how it flies when someone requests it. Doing it "just like Van"
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10) I don't like your song selections, mine are way better, because I am far more imaginative than you...(the egocentrist)
11) you suck, here's a song I know you don't know...now be embarrassed (the buzzkill)
12) here's a song you wouldn't dare play here (the I-triple-dog-dare-you @$$#013)

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Quote Originally Posted by daddymack View Post
10) I don't like your song selections, mine are way better, because I am far more imaginative than you...(the egocentrist)
11) you suck, here's a song I know you don't know...now be embarrassed (the buzzkill)
12) here's a song you wouldn't dare play here (the I-triple-dog-dare-you @$$#013)
I've had 11 and 12 a few times. Recently, someone tried to "stump" me with Autumn Leaves, which is weird considering that it's one of the first songs called out when jazz players get together and jam. idn_smilie.gif

I've also had dares to do stuff like ABBA or Olivia Newton-John, so I go ahead and do it with a smile like I get those requests all the time. biggrin.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by EightString View Post
I've had 11 and 12 a few times. Recently, someone tried to "stump" me with Autumn Leaves, which is weird considering that it's one of the first songs called out when jazz players get together and jam. idn_smilie.gif

I've also had dares to do stuff like ABBA or Olivia Newton-John, so I go ahead and do it with a smile like I get those requests all the time. biggrin.gif
perhaps this is a L.A. phenomena? wink.gif
We have had people request us to do, say, a Gershwin tune (easy! Summertime...), etc. as if we are there for them to try to feel superior to...sorry, we are here to entertain you....
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I was doing a duo gig with a concert violin guy and someone asked for some obscure classical thang. The guy knew it and ripped it out-it was a monsterous thing. Amazing that the guy had it under his fingers considering how hard it was to play. I usually don't do requests because the style I do nobody knows what to request and I don't know the tune most likely anyway. In this case I don't know what the motivation for the request was, but
I'm pretty sure the guy was trying to show off his knowledge of classical music. It was pretty sweet that the violin dude just pulled it out of his hat. We owned that gig even before that, but after that, fergetaboutit.

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That's part of our (job). to let people talk to us like they know us and interact. It makes them feel good and that makes us feel good I hope. We all deal with the drunks but I think mostly our position is to let folks forget about there day to day shyte.

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If you stand on stage long enough, the people will tell you what they want to hear.

 

If you want to remain on stage long enough, you should learn the most frequently requested songs.

 

Sure there are rare exceptions, but in our gigs most of the time a request means "I like the way you sound and I would really like to hear you play one of my favorites songs."

 

If we don't know the song, we always compliment the requester on his/her choice and try to get something close. ("I'm sorry, that's a great song but we don't know how to play it yet. How about ______ by the same artist?" - or in the same style).

 

This is not a classroom or a monolog. The band and the audience should be a team, it's a dialog.

 

We collect requests, learn the ones that are requested the most and Leilani and I have been working as a duo steadily since 1985 playing music as our primary source of income.

 

Notes

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I don't mind requests if they make sense, but if someone walks up to you in a blues club, hands you a $5 bill and asks for 'Moves Like Jagger'...you gotta look at them as though they are totally clueless. facepalm.gif

We came up with a solution years ago. When someone requests a song, and we don't want to do it, we announce that the club owner docks us $100 if we play that song...wink.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by Notes_Norton View Post
If you stand on stage long enough, the people will tell you what they want to hear. If you want to remain on stage long enough, you should learn the most frequently requested songs.

Sure there are rare exceptions, but in our gigs most of the time a request means "I like the way you sound and I would really like to hear you play one of my favorites songs." If we don't know the song, we always compliment the requester on his/her choice and try to get something close. ("I'm sorry, that's a great song but we don't know how to play it yet. How about ______ by the same artist?" - or in the same style).

This is not a classroom or a monolog. The band and the audience should be a team, it's a dialog.

We collect requests, learn the ones that are requested the most and Leilani and I have been working as a duo steadily since 1985 playing music as our primary source of income.

Notes
+1
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That's one kind of gig, but not the only one. There's also the kind where you play what you want, and hopefully, the people enjoy that as well. The "team" to me is the other players on stage, working together to create a feeling that the audience can relate to and appreciate. We try to reach them through the expression in our playing, and the groove we create, as opposed to playing a specific song they might want to hear. In that situation, it's not a dialog, it's a concert.



Quote Originally Posted by Notes_Norton View Post
If you stand on stage long enough, the people will tell you what they want to hear.

If you want to remain on stage long enough, you should learn the most frequently requested songs.


Sure there are rare exceptions, but in our gigs most of the time a request means "I like the way you sound and I would really like to hear you play one of my favorites songs."

If we don't know the song, we always compliment the requester on his/her choice and try to get something close. ("I'm sorry, that's a great song but we don't know how to play it yet. How about ______ by the same artist?" - or in the same style).

This is not a classroom or a monolog. The band and the audience should be a team, it's a dialog.

We collect requests, learn the ones that are requested the most and Leilani and I have been working as a duo steadily since 1985 playing music as our primary source of income.

Notes
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I don't think we've covered this one:

13} I was busy talking and didn't hear you play Johnny B. Goode (or fill in the blank). However, on a subliminal level it reminded me how much I like that tune so now that you've just finished the song, I'm here to request it. Furthermore, I will get mad, defensive and refuse to believe you when you say you've JUST played that song.

I've had that occur dozens of times over the years.

I've had

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this presents the performer with that rare and elusive "teachable moment" for the members of the audience...

whenever anyone requests a particular number, it allows me to explain ( over the microphone) to them the difference between a "bonafide and legitimate request" and the lesser "suggestion"...

a "suggestion" is when someone walks up and asks for a particular tune...please understand that this tune may or may not get played because this is merely by definition "simply a suggestion"... whereas an actual "request" is generally accompanied by a twenty dollar bill or better with the larger denominations receiving attention commensurate with the amount deposited into the tip jar...

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Quote Originally Posted by Notes_Norton View Post
If you stand on stage long enough, the people will tell you what they want to hear.

If you want to remain on stage long enough, you should learn the most frequently requested songs.


Sure there are rare exceptions, but in our gigs most of the time a request means "I like the way you sound and I would really like to hear you play one of my favorites songs."

If we don't know the song, we always compliment the requester on his/her choice and try to get something close. ("I'm sorry, that's a great song but we don't know how to play it yet. How about ______ by the same artist?" - or in the same style).

This is not a classroom or a monolog. The band and the audience should be a team, it's a dialog.

We collect requests, learn the ones that are requested the most and Leilani and I have been working as a duo steadily since 1985 playing music as our primary source of income.

Notes
Well said. cool.gif
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