What sets you apart from other Solo or duo acts?

[pogo97]

 

Pogo...Your "gig" sounds awesome! I'd love to see some vid or something.

 

 

someday I'll successfully record a gig

 

here's one of my own in 20s style : Walking by the River

[Potts]

 

someday I'll successfully record a gig here's one of my own in 20s style : Walking by the River

 

 

I love it man! You should publish these songs and try and get them in movies or something!

[SLScott86]

I'm not. But I'm usually a metal singer, so I have a big and distinctly rock voice. It's gone over great at open mics. But in a bar/restaurant setting... I'm about to find out.

[EightString]

Another unique soloist (he plays the Keyboard) I have seen can imitate like a dozen Singers' voices pretty close to the original. He starts off with Bon Jovi....then Elvis, John Lennon, Rod Steward etc etc.....and ends with PAVAROTTI which was a delight to see. Occasionally he does some cool QUEEN songs too and he even put on the fake moustache...though no one can out- sing FREDDIE...hehehe....but it was cool to watch. Before he starts with each song...he willl speak in each character's voice and introduce himself.

 

 

You either did not read my first post, or you assume that I do both Sinatra and Mot

[daddymack]

Let's keep frame of reference in mind here as well...what we see happening in L.A., with literally tens of thousands of acts, from all over the planet, all trying to outdo each other daily, is not going to be the same experiences that someone in Jakarta, Cape Town, Lagos, Ankara, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Canberra, Budapest or Moscow will get to compare to....I'm jus'sayin'...

[EightString]

Let's keep frame of reference in mind here as well...what we see happening in L.A., with literally tens of thousands of acts, from all over the planet, all trying to outdo each other daily, is not going to be the same experiences that someone in Jakarta, Cape Town, Lagos, Ankara, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Canberra, Budapest or Moscow will get to compare to....I'm jus'sayin'...

 

I agree. "Uniqueness" can be a very local phenomenon.

[stunningbabe]

Pogo97....wow!!! YOU are tru ly UNIQUE! This is what I am impressed. UNIQUE!

[stunningbabe]

your pitching is spot on too! bravo!

[Howie22]

While I did find your original post to be full of condescension, I will reply anyway.

I am what you describe as a "typical" solo act, I guess. One guy, one acoustic guitar, one mic. I strum, I pick a little, and I sing. In my local market, I think this makes me unique. After going out and seeing a lot of local solo acts over the past few weeks, here is why I think I am "unique":

-I don't use a loop pedal
-I don't use a drum machine
-I don't use backing tracks
-I don't play a five minute guitar solo in the middle of what would otherwise be a 3 minute song
-I play at an appropriate volume for the venue
-I don't pretend to be a "one man rock band"
-I don't use a harmony pedal
-I don't use pitch correction
-I pick songs that suit my voice and playing style
-I pick songs that I believe in and think I can "sell" to the audience
-I pick a lot of songs that I think would be fun for the audience
-I strive to have a bit of variety, while maintaining the song selection criteria outlined above
-I try to engage the audience and get them to sing along
-I don't book venues that I don't think would be a good fit for my act

Some people do the backing track thing well. Some people do the loop pedal thing well. That's great, and I'm glad it works for them. However, there are a LOT of entertainers who do those things very badly.

In my mind, there aren't many guys out there anymore who just play guitar and sing without all of the modern digital enhancements. Therefore, I think I am unique.

[stunningbabe]

While I did find your original post to be full of condescension, I will reply anyway. I am what you describe as a "typical" solo act, I guess. One guy, one acoustic guitar, one mic. I strum, I pick a little, and I sing. In my local market, I think this makes me unique. After going out and seeing a lot of local solo acts over the past few weeks, here is why I think I am "unique": -I don't use a loop pedal -I don't use a drum machine -I don't use backing tracks -I don't play a five minute guitar solo in the middle of what would otherwise be a 3 minute song -I play at an appropriate volume for the venue -I don't pretend to be a "one man rock band" -I don't use a harmony pedal -I don't use pitch correction -I pick songs that suit my voice and playing style -I pick songs that I believe in and think I can "sell" to the audience -I pick a lot of songs that I think would be fun for the audience -I strive to have a bit of variety, while maintaining the song selection criteria outlined above -I try to engage the audience and get them to sing along -I don't book venues that I don't think would be a good fit for my act Some people do the backing track thing well. Some people do the loop pedal thing well. That's great, and I'm glad it works for them. However, there are a LOT of entertainers who do those things very badly. In my mind, there aren't many guys out there anymore who just play guitar and sing without all of the modern digital enhancements. Therefore, I think I am unique.

 

 

Indeed...you are!

[stunningbabe]

You are as minimal and 'honest' as it gets. NO fuss....no gadgets...no fanfare.

[daddymack]

but that is not necessarily 'unique'....

[stunningbabe]

but that is not necessarily 'unique'....

hehehe....hmm....

[Howie22]

but that is not necessarily 'unique'....

 

Sure it is.

 

If your definition of unique is "groundbreaking" or "radically different," then I am not unique.

 

Yeah, there are several guys around town who have a similar setlist to mine, or even a somewhat similar style. However, no one does exactly what I do. :-)

[EightString]

I should tell the 14,392 acoustic/vocal performers here in the Greater Los Angeles Area how unique they are.

 

 

Speaking of condescension, maybe you acoustic-only people might ratchet back on the the 'tude and at least PRETEND that people who augment their shows with other elements might have a touch of musical ability too.

 

I know musicians are like dogs: whatever THEY'RE doing is the most important UNIQUE thing in the world. Hey, guess what: if we're being honest, NOTHING is new anymore, only the minor details change.

 

 

I bet she's singing Margaritaville too.

 

 

I wonder if he knows "Mustang Sally"?

[Howie22]

I should tell the 14,392 acoustic/vocal performers here in the Greater Los Angeles Area how unique they are. Speaking of condescension, maybe you acoustic-only people might ratchet back on the the 'tude and at least PRETEND that people who augment their shows with other elements might have a touch of musical ability too. I know musicians are like dogs: whatever THEY'RE doing is the most important UNIQUE thing in the world. Hey, guess what: if we're being honest, NOTHING is new anymore, only the minor details change.

 

Hey man, if you go back and read my post again, you'll see that I was very careful in my post to notate that I was talking about other musicians that I've seen IN MY LOCAL MARKET. I am fully aware that I don't have anywhere close to the talent to pull off what guys like you and LeftJay and doing. That being said, I've not seen anyone in my area do what you guys are doing. I also noted in my post that some people do the augmented digital things very well - just not many that I've personally seen.

 

I do, however, constantly hear guys with cheesy backing tracks. I also constantly hear guys using loop pedals as an excuse to wank themselves off on the pentatonic scale. These are the guys I'm talking about in my post. :-)

 

For me, it's all about knowing my personal musical limitations and doing what I can within those limitations. No one would ever mistake me for a great guitarist OR a great singer, but I do pretty well with what I've got.

[TIMKEYS]

Established Solo singer songwriter , with the option of a full band show that knows all the set list and can hit never ever requests live on the fly.

[EightString]

Hey man, if you go back and read my post, I was very careful in my post to notate that I was talking about other musician that I've seen IN MY LOCAL MARKET. I am fully aware that I don't have anywhere close to the talent to pull off what guys like you and LeftJay and doing. That being said, I've not seen anyone in my area do what you guys are doing. I also noted that a lot of people do those things very well, just not many. I do constantly hear guys with cheesy backing tracks and other guys using loop pedals as an excuse to wank themselves off on the pentatonic scale.

 

My post wasn't necessarily directed at you in particular, despite the proximity of my post to yours. My pet peeve has been an ongoing thing from some of the "acoustic only" crowd here that is getting fairly grating. The "I don't need gimmicks to rock a crowd!" condescendingly assumes that those of us who augment our performances with other elements NEED those elements to entertain. Maybe for some performers, that is true? But the implied blanket criticism of anyone who isn't an acoustic/singer purist is getting on my damned nerves.

 

We're musicians and performers, who by our very nature tend toward an ego that needs to be shared. Am I guilty of it? Sometimes.

 

But some people here just don't know how to turn it off once in a while. There are a couple of people here, I don't even need to read their posts anymore because I know almost to the word what they're going to post to any given topic, and it's usually something about how "incredibly awesome" they are because they don't use "gimmicks". But the blatant chest-banging and territory marking doesn't make me want to care or listen to their music. It has the opposite effect, and smells like what it is: animal piss and insecurity.

 

So, again, my post wasn't directed at you specifically, just a couple of things you said snapped my rubber band that had been winding for some time.

 

[Howie22]

My post wasn't necessarily directed at you in particular, despite the proximity of my post to yours. My pet peeve has been an ongoing thing from some of the "acoustic only" crowd here that is getting fairly grating. The "I don't need gimmicks to rock a crowd!" condescendingly assumes that those of us who augment our performances with other elements NEED those elements to entertain. Maybe for some performers, that is true? But the implied blanket criticism of anyone who isn't an acoustic/singer purist is getting on my damned nerves. We're musicians and performers, who by our very nature tend toward an ego that needs to be shared. Am I guilty of it? Sometimes. But some people here just don't know how to turn it off once in a while. There are a couple of people here, I don't even need to read their posts anymore because I know almost to the word what they're going to post to any given topic, and it's usually something about how "incredibly awesome" they are because they don't use "gimmicks". But the blatant chest-banging and territory marking doesn't make me want to care or listen to their music. It has the opposite effect. So, again, my post wasn't directed at you specifically, just a couple of things you said snapped my rubber band that had been winding for some time.

 

I hear ya. My post was kinda intended to be condescending in response to the original post.

 

We are all musicians, and we all have our egos. That being said, I assure you that you'll never hear me describe myself as "awesome."

 

However, I was serious that I am in the minority these days in that I don't use any of that stuff. I think it's more common to see the loop pedal/harmony pedal guy solo act guy than it is to see a guy with a guitar and a mic. I actually had an audience member tell me recently that it was "refreshing" to see a solo act that didn't use "one of those looper things". Honestly, there aren't any/many guys locally using backing tracks. You just don't see it in my immediate market - though there is a ton of it in nearby coastal market.

 

There is a long, storied history of acoustic troubadours who just used a guitar. Now, we are a dying breed. The fact that I do it that way doesn't make me any better, but it does make me different.

[EightString]

I hear ya. My post was kinda intended to be condescending in response to the original post. We are all musicians, and we all have our egos. That being said, I assure you that you'll never hear me describe myself as "awesome."

 

 

HAHA!

 

Me either. At least not in public.

[EightString]

I hear ya. My post was kinda intended to be condescending in response to the original post. We are all musicians, and we all have our egos. That being said, I assure you that you'll never hear me describe myself as "awesome." However, I was serious that I am in the minority these days in that I don't use any of that stuff. I think it's more common to see the loop pedal/harmony pedal guy solo act guy than it is to see a guy with a guitar and a mic. I actually had an audience member tell me recently that it was "refreshing" to see a solo act that didn't use "one of those looper things". Honestly, there aren't any/many guys locally using backing tracks. You just don't see it in my immediate market - though there is a ton of it in nearby coastal market. There is a long, storied history of acoustic troubadours who just used a guitar. Now, we are a dying breed. The fact that I do it that way doesn't make me any better, but it does make me different.

 

 

 

I don't know where you are located, but where I am, in the LA/Hollywood area, I could throw a rock in about any direction, and it would hit 4 or 5 acoustic troubadours before it hit the ground. Maybe if they were a little more scarce here, I wouldn't be so burnt out on the breed. It's my proximity to what seems like THOUSANDS of highly competitive acoustic playing singers that drives my skepticism when anyone talks about their unique acoustic act.

 

If a singing acoustic player is a rarity in your area, my advice is DO NOT relocate to LA/Hollywood.

[Potts]

The "I don't need gimmicks to rock a crowd!" condescendingly assumes that those of us who augment our performances with other elements NEED those elements to entertain. Maybe for some performers, that is true? But the implied blanket criticism of anyone who isn't an acoustic/singer purist is getting on my damned nerves. But some people here just don't know how to turn it off once in a while. There are a couple of people here, I don't even need to read their posts anymore because I know almost to the word what they're going to post to any given topic, and it's usually something about how "incredibly awesome" they are because they don't use "gimmicks". But the blatant chest-banging and territory marking doesn't make me want to care or listen to their music. It has the opposite effect, and smells like what it is: animal piss and insecurity.

 

LOL... I'm with you brother! We had this talk last night and I couldn't agree more.

 

 

Getting back to Howie...I was thinking about this "topic" last night. I don't know if you saw the Fleetwood Mac song I put up but I'll explain. This song could have easily been done without a looper, guitar solo or harmonies. For me I just prefer to use the technology to produce what I deem as the best possible product for the my listener. Trust me when I say that I have to remind myself quite a bit to not get all stupid with the harmonizer or the looper. It's nothing new, i've said it a zillion times- I may do 2 out of 3 hours solo acoustic and goof with all my other stuff throughout the remainder of the night. I'm not married to any of it.

 

[video=youtube;6lA1NJsOH5g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lA1NJsOH5g

[pogo97]

I bet she's singing Barbara Allen too. I wonder if he knows "Camptown Races"?

 

FIFY

[Howie22]

I've seen your videos before. You seem to use the technology pretty minimally and tactfully. I don't really have any problem with that (though I don't know that I'll ever get to the point where I appreciate the sound of those harmony vocal processors).

Rather, like I said, it's the guys who use the looper as a reason to turn themselves into a rock band with extremely long leads in the middle of a song. A lot of these guys don't even play acoustics anymore. They use some kind of hybrid electric guitar so they can really wail on the solos!!

But seriously, who the hell am I to judge anyone? If their audience digs them, more power to them.

[Bob Dey]

Why worry about being unique anyway? Shouldn't everybody just have fun playing the music they enjoy? That in itself would make everyone unique, but instead we keep looking at what the successful acts are doing. Somewhere between 50-75% of my 400+ songs aren't what I would have chosen to do on my own. I never even play any of my originals live because people would rather hear what they know. I've got songs that I love that no one else does, but playing them won't get me repeat business.

If I still had the vocal range I used to have, I would put together background tracks to Stairway to Heaven, do the lead and everything just like the original recording. But then, it could only be done in certain venues and solo acts get most of their work playing quietly in restaurants. That's where the guy that sings just like Neil Diamond or Gordon Lightfoot has the advantage. Don't worry about being unique. Just do what you do best and do it well.