Distance Brings Clarity

[richardmac]

I'm taking a loooong break from solo performing, to write and record. So far it's been wonderful, but once in a while I do get the itch to perform. One day the itch will become too powerful and I'll get back into it. I kept my Yamaha/EV PA system. It's not going anywhere. Actually it's my home stereo right now. Because who doesn't need 1,200 watts in their small living room?

 

But right now, having not done a gig in months, and looking back on the gigs I'd done, it's become much, MUCH more obvious what I did right, and what I did wrong. This one just came to me...

 

Do not do a gig where people will be dancing unless you have a full, entire night worth of killer danceable tunes, PLUS a ton of other tunes in case you were wrong about the first list of killer tunes.

 

If you have a gig where you need about 40 dance songs, you need about 80, because you can never tell what people will love or not love, until you've been doing this for a while. If you aren't used to playing dance music and having people dance, they'll surprise you. Stereotypical example - I was playing to an older crowd and they were dancing to a medley - I know I've talked about this in here before. The medley was Hound Dog - Rock Around The Clock - Don't Be Cruel - Hound Dog. And for the first two songs, the floor was packed and I was feeling pretty good. Once I launched into "Don't Be Cruel," the dance floor all but cleared. It was the same drum beat behind the whole medley. Why did that song clear the floor? Who the hell knows, but it did.

 

Here's the other thing - I'm a very laid back guy. I can tell an audience stories, or crack a few jokes. But it's not in my nature to be Mr. Party and get everyone up and dancing. And if you can't be Mr. Party, you're not going to be a great fit for places where they want you to be.

 

If I ever get back into doing gigs, I might partner up with a female singer who is "Miss Party." We'd made a ton of cash. You got to know your limitations.

 

Another thought, for you backing trackers out there. When a DJ is playing a tune and it's not working, they will usually fade from the dud into another tune, to get people out on the floor - usually a killer surefire hit. And it almost always works. This would be a great technique for a solo artist to pull off, but none of the current backing track programs will let you quick fade to another track on the fly, that I know of. I think that would be a good feature, but I don't know if people would like or use something like that.

[Bob Dey]

I can't remember the last venue I played solo at that had dancing. Parties are more likely to have dancing. Keeping dancers on the floor is lots of fun, but is also a lot of work for one person. I remember one night my voice not keeping up with the pace of people dancing. DJing or having more singers is much better for a dance.

 

Somehow my recent experience has been the opposite. Having to tone it down for people that are dining. So I guess we have to choose or try to provide for the types of gigs that are more common.