Members Sgt. Rock Posted November 13, 2011 Members Share Posted November 13, 2011 Had a nightmare gig the other night; owner told me twice to turn down, finally I shut everything off and he loved it. Come to find out, the customer that complained had a hearing aid that was not turned up. I played my ass off for 3 hours and rejected his pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted November 13, 2011 Members Share Posted November 13, 2011 You turned down money? You should have taken it, then sent it to me. That would REALLY show that stupid owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldMattB Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 I have a regular gratis gig at the Senior Center here. Several months ago, I was asked to turn down, so I got pissy and turned the PA off. "This'll show 'em." Turns out, the unamplified volume was more appropriate for the venue, and I have since gotten a lot more compliments and thank-yous. One lady hand-stitched a beautiful "Gabriel and Horn" angel and gave it to me. Now, I use a combo amp just as a voice monitor pointed at me. Your volume is a handshake, not a handgun. Use it appropriately with good feeling, respect and sincerity. oldMattB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Joseph Hanna Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 I played my ass off for 3 hours and rejected his pay. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 I played my ass off for 3 hours and rejected his pay. So, you cut your nose off to spite your face? BTW, you ALWAYS take the money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sgt. Rock Posted November 15, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 A Gabriel and Horn angel is more meaningful than money!!! Tonight I'll give it another try at the place, could be my last there. Saturday night I made $47 in tips and they loved me at a different joint. I really don't need the aggravation at this stage of my life. I love to play but I could find something better to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 A Gabriel and Horn angel is more meaningful than money!!! Tonight I'll give it another try at the place, could be my last there. Saturday night I made $47 in tips and they loved me at a different joint. I really don't need the aggravation at this stage of my life. I love to play but I could find something better to do. Walk in with the mindset "I'm going to have a GREAT night!"...it really can make a "ho-hum" gig into a great gig, the audience will generally respond better (and if the audience is happier, 99% of the time management is more pleasent)...it's the power of "positive thinking". The audience wants you to succeed. Give it a try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ProToneThinline Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 I really don't need the aggravation at this stage of my life. I love to play but I could find something better to do. Amen to that!!!! At this point in my life, I'd rather play somewhere I enjoy for a few bucks in tips rather than take a pain in the a$$ gig for bigger money..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 Sgt.--If you feel that way and have a "real" job I would be super selective taking a gig. If it were me I and I didnt play to put food on the table I would probably only do one really fun show a week and concentrate way more on originals and other music for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 If the owner wants the volume lower, we smile at him/her, say "of course" and turn it down. If the owner is mistaken, it's his/her problem. If the owner gets what he/she wants from us, he/she is likely to hire us again. But those other entertainers who do not cooperate leave more gigs open for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 If the owner wants the volume lower, we smile at him/her, say "of course" and turn it down. If the owner is mistaken, it's his/her problem. If the owner gets what he/she wants from us, he/she is likely to hire us again. But those other entertainers who do not cooperate leave more gigs open for us. Succinctly put! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted November 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 16, 2011 I always prefer to be asked to turn up rather than to turn down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldMattB Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 Walk in with the mindset " I'm going to have a GREAT night!"...it really can make a "ho-hum" gig into a great gig, the audience will generally respond better (and if the audience is happier, 99% of the time management is more pleasent)...it's the power of "positive thinking". The audience wants you to succeed. Give it a try! The more I perform, the more I realize it is more acting than singing. We have to play a part - a social leader for the night, and an actor in a story for each song. One can be a great singer and bore a crowd to death. One can be a musical disaster, yet be a sincere and engaging performer. One of my favorite performers is Bill Miller, a good but by no means great singer. But damn, that man yanks his heart out of his chest and hands it to you! Someone that can to that for a crowd of several thousand is a gifted performer. A more popular example might be Janis at Monterey. Seeing Mama Cass sitting with her mouth hanging open at the end of "Ball and Chain" says a lot. Janis did a whole lot more than recite some old song. oldMattB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted November 16, 2011 Members Share Posted November 16, 2011 The more I perform, the more I realize it is more acting than singing. We have to play a part - a social leader for the night, and an actor in a story for each song. One can be a great singer and bore a crowd to death. One can be a musical disaster, yet be a sincere and engaging performer. One of my favorite performers is Bill Miller, a good but by no means great singer. But damn, that man yanks his heart out of his chest and hands it to you! Someone that can to that for a crowd of several thousand is a gifted performer. A more popular example might be Janis at Monterey. Seeing Mama Cass sitting with her mouth hanging open at the end of "Ball and Chain" says a lot. Janis did a whole lot more than recite some old song. oldMattB Absolutely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annstar Posted November 17, 2011 Members Share Posted November 17, 2011 Amen to that! Haha! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted November 17, 2011 Members Share Posted November 17, 2011 I respectfully disagree. There are, of course, competent yet boring singers who completely miss the point, but it is not necessary that we all climb onto the "the more I howl and tug at my chest hairs the better entertainer I am" bandwagon. Janis took her heart-on-sleeve approach to performing from black, gospel-influenced music. Fine, that's her adopted tradition and she took it just far enough over the top for it to be interesting.* But there are other traditions that convey emotion just as deeply without the histrionics. You gonna tell me you aren't devastated by George Jones singing "A Good Year for the Roses"? You aren't drawn in by Levon Helms singing "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down"? You can't hear the intelligence and mordant wit in Randy Newman performing "Sail Away"? Puhleeze! Yes, singing is acting and you have to go inside the song to perform it well. But no, you don't always have to be smacking your forehead and tugging your forelock. * but do listen to Big Mama Thornton's many recordings of the song on iTunes to hear how it was done inside that tradition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted November 17, 2011 Members Share Posted November 17, 2011 There is more than one way to entertain an audience. Mick Jagger and Leon Redbone do it in opposite ways. Both entertain. We each have our own talents and personality, and I try to be honest with myself and project a stage personality that is me. I enjoy myself on stage, I put my entire soul into my music, and sometimes I'm even amusing. I absolutely love my audience and really enjoy entertaining them and feeling the energy come back to me. Nothing is planned, I'm just myself up there. It must be working because I've been doing it all my life and I'm still working. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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