Jump to content

Hope everyone is gigging NYE


leftyjay

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I'm hoping everybody is getting back to gigging. Things aren't quite where they were before the "S" hit the fan, but there is improvement in acquiring gigs. People have called for bookings and the season looks good. I'm sure the bar scene wasn't hit as bad as the private party gigs. I was off 17 months. But now, the private parties are back to booking me. Since I play the senior venues, I have less to worry about on if everybody is vax'd or not.

NYE I'm playing the biggest RV resort in Florida. It is in the center of the state. They normally book me for 3-4 parties a season. Normal crowd is 400-500 (in doors). Don't know what to expect this time. Will be kind of crazy if there are that many for NYE. Luckily, there is a big, deep stage in this venue. I wont be right up against the crowd. But I will be in the room with them for 4 hours plus setup/tear down time. I doubt I'll mingle around. I play dance break music on my spare laptop so to keep the floor full. Normally I just throw it on auto-pilot, but NYE is different. You go the extra mile to satisfy so you will get the gig again. Probably just stay on stage and keep busy.

Want to wish everybody a great gig and a fantastic and healthy 2022.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My NYE gig was cancelled by the band leader because dancing isn't allowed in bars up here in Vancouver BC. Then the provincial health officer closed all the bars and private NYE events (over a certain crowd size) so it would have been a no go anyway. So I've had two gigs cancelled this December due to Covid. 

I work a fair bit in an airport lounge, and people aren't flying much in Canada, so I've had about five dates cancelled there in January 2022. Rather than fight an uphill battle, I might just semi-retire until the summer, and then try and hit all the outdoor gigs. Maybe I'll learn how to properly use a looper pedal in the meantime...

I guess for me, things will depend on if the next variant is more, or less virulent than Omicron. I'm hoping it's less, so we can morph from pandemic to endemic

Happy New Year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Sorry to hear that Shaster. Down here in Florida, the Canadians came down, but they are very cautious in the venues. I played a Christmas eve party. Normally, there are 180 people (40% Canadians). This year, there was 60 in doors and the Canadians wanted a tent outside so they can be at the party, but they sat outside the door. Made it difficult for me since I didn't see them outside. They would come in and dance to the song, then go back outside. Crazy!

Tonight, we had 381 paid people at the party. There were Canadians that ran the party. Still smaller than I'm use to for that venue, but still a great party. It was wild all night. Always a crowded dance floor. One thing to mention....Not a mask anywhere to be found. But the crowd averaged 65-70. I'm sure nearly all were vax'd. One thing for sure....I'm out of shape. I haven't played 2 nights in a row for 20 months. I played an Elks club last night and this NYE party. My voice held up just fine, but my body is wore out. Got stiff just standing in one place for 4 hours. Had a hard time bending over to unplug my cables and pack the gear. It will be better once I get back into the swing and get back to 3-4 nights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I had two shows here in Texas. Covid isn't a factor here and the first show was a private party for two hours in the afternoon in north Dallas. I found out later it was a wedding from the groom himself! I only brought my Breedlove nylon string and my little Mustang amplifier which worked perfectly with the backing tracks. Played most of my classical guitar repertoire and everything else instrumental. Everyone enjoyed my performance even though it was background music. The second gig was a corporate show at an Italian restaurant by Love Field. This was my typical "play everything I can think of" show and the audience loved it. Interestingly, there were several other musicians in the audience who were off last night and they were very complementary. I was thinking as I drove the 5 minutes from the first gig to the second how blessed I was in a year that was quite off in many respects to have two performances in one day. I saw some older people in masks at the second gig in tables elsewhere in the restaurant. The owner who I remembered from my last shows there was very nice and I hope to get back there again in 2022. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

We did a NYE gig at an RV resort that we have done many times in the past. It's outdoors/indoors, and the indoors is a rec room with windows all around and open.

The RV Resort has about 900 spaces, 600 of which are usually filled by French Canadians spending the winter here. The RVs range from mid-sized to fifth wheel trailers and huge busses.

Instead of the usual hundreds of pre-COVID guests, there were only about 50.

The Canadians have socialized medicine and there is no handshake with the US system. The Canadian government told their citizens, if they get COVID out of the country, they will not be able to return until cured. Since the US for-profit system is expensive, most have gone back to Canada. The ones that stayed were wealthy enough to buy expensive US short-term health insurance.

We all had a great time anyway. The dance area was full from the first song through "Auld Lang Syne" and at the end of the evening, people came up to tell us how much they enjoyed the music.

We got paid in full, and we have a couple of other dates with them. They assure us not matter how many show up, we will still have the gig and still get paid. The park is looking to keep their yearly long-term vacationers and figure it's an investment.

Life goes on, and we have no choice but to do our best in a bad situation.

We're happy.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

somebody at the party sent me a video they did with their iphone of the party. Of course, they got all the quirky songs I played and didn't use my better material, but they show the crowd having a good time. He suppose to dropbox me all the raw footage so I can check out everything. Maybe he took footage of songs I played that I'd like to hear. ;)

https://youtu.be/d88mE3MkT0M

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am very surprised that I haven't had more cancellations with the current omicron variant spreading. I lost 2 big parties for late January and early February, but booked 2 new venues for March and April. 

I cant go another big season without playing, so I did everything I could to protect myself (vaccine, booster, flu shot) and if I get sick, at least I wont be worried about it's severity. I even picked up some of the good Binax Now home covid tests so I can test myself if I feel lousy. Then I'll call the venue and cancel. If they can do it to me, I can do it to them. Worst scenario, I'll be off for 7-10 days, just like when i get my yearly sinus infections. I would normally struggle through a few weeks of gigs feeling terrible and lower the keys on songs 2-3 notes till I have time to rest for 3-4 days. In 34 years as a solo, I've only cancelled a gig 2 times. People booked me 2 years ahead and I felt obligated to play their date no matter what. But with the pandemic and all the cancellations, I'll just cancel and not worry about the party. Life goes on....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
On 1/6/2022 at 2:37 PM, leftyjay said:

somebody at the party sent me a video they did with their iphone of the party. Of course, they got all the quirky songs I played and didn't use my better material, but they show the crowd having a good time. He suppose to dropbox me all the raw footage so I can check out everything. Maybe he took footage of songs I played that I'd like to hear. ;)

https://youtu.be/d88mE3MkT0M

Yeah, they all looked like they were having a great time. And man! You do some fine picking...great SRV tone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks Charlie, Been doing my solo act for 35 years (since 1987). Was a keyboard player in my bands, but could play guitar too. There was always plenty of guitarist, so I never had the need to play guitar. BUT, when i decided to start my solo, I worked on getting my guitar licks back. So, between learning how to sequence my tracks and then play 85-90% on the guitar, I got my pickin' back. For that NYE party, I brought 4 guitars, one lap steel, and my keyboard to give people a variety of sounds and music. They paid me big bucks. I'm not gonna skimp on them. I'll give them everything I have and more.

As for getting the crowd into my music, I'm able to improvise my tracks and pick any song at any time, so no song list is needed. No time wasted between songs, and watching the crowd reaction to keep up on what they want. And to know when its time to change things up. I've made nearly 1000 tracks the last 35 years. Question is....which 45-50 songs do i need to play for this crowd? Every song I sequence can be adjusted on the fly (lengthen, shorten, speed up, slow down, change key, vamp the solos so i can play extended leads. I've got all this in my keyboard so i can make changes as i play.

Most solos using tracks (waves. mp3s) cant adjust anything. They are tied to the song without the ability to edit it while the song is playing. This really gets the crowd going when you can extend a song and let them party to it. Its like being in a band and jamming on a tune that everybody is dancing to.

Funny...that video had "Celebration", "Brick House", "Mony Mony".....Haven't need these songs for years, but that was what worked that night. SRV songs always goes over if you get the right tone on the guitar. I play 11 of his tunes. Always a hit when I play any of his tunes. I try to sneak in 3-4 a night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...