The John Mayer Model

[tim_7string]

I was peeking in on another thread talking about the state of the music business and ideas on how to keep up with how it's changing, which inspired this thread.

 

One thing that some artists do are different shows. Some will play solo acoustic or in a duo, then other gigs will have the full band, if the money is right.

 

I watched John Mayer's Where The Light Is DVD and I was fascinated by how he basically opened for himself twice. He started out completely solo acoustic, then joined by some other acoustic musicians. That was Act I. Then, he got dressed up and went out and played some rippin' blues with a trio. It sounded great! That was Act II. Finally, he comes out in his familiar t-shirt/jeans/aw shucks, ma'am look with his full band (which I think was around 10 people! ). Act III. It was very cool to see all three versions of him in his music.

 

This is something I'm actually looking at doing for 2011, although not in one show. Now that I'm starting to get a buzz in town as the frontman for my band, I'm thinking it might be a bit easier to add a solo acoustic show to my list of gigging opportunities, as well as a larger (maybe 5-6 piece) band that can perform my original songs, along with other artists that require a lot of instrumentation (The Cure, Tom Petty, ELO, etc.).

 

I know a lot of bands in my area just play with their one band, but will sub for other groups on occasion if their main band isn't playing that night. Other than that, I don't see a lot of people playing as a solo acoustic in one place, in a trio in another place, and with a big band in a third place.

 

I was wondering if there were people here that have several different projects going and how successful (or possibly unsuccessful) this has been for them, be it creatively, financially or otherwise.

[cooterbrown]

I have always worked this way, since I get restless if I have to be married to a style or genre.

I pays (literally) to make yourself as versatile as possible.

[TIMKEYS]

Its the only logical way for a solo performer to work. Have the option of going solo up to a full band.

[joshmac]

We play solo, duo (2 acoustics or drums/electric), trio (3 acoustic, 2 acoustic 1 bass, or elec/bass/drums), and as a four piece. Allows us to play in a lot of places who dont want to hire a full band. I prefer four piece because its a lot more fun

[WTF1967]

I was peeking in on another thread talking about the state of the music business and ideas on how to keep up with how it's changing, which inspired this thread. One thing that some artists do are different shows. Some will play solo acoustic or in a duo, then other gigs will have the full band, if the money is right. I watched John Mayer's Where The Light Is DVD and I was fascinated by how he basically opened for himself twice. He started out completely solo acoustic, then joined by some other acoustic musicians. That was Act I. Then, he got dressed up and went out and played some rippin' blues with a trio. It sounded great! That was Act II. Finally, he comes out in his familiar t-shirt/jeans/aw shucks, ma'am look with his full band (which I think was around 10 people! ). Act III. It was very cool to see all three versions of him in his music. This is something I'm actually looking at doing for 2011, although not in one show. Now that I'm starting to get a buzz in town as the frontman for my band, I'm thinking it might be a bit easier to add a solo acoustic show to my list of gigging opportunities, as well as a larger (maybe 5-6 piece) band that can perform my original songs, along with other artists that require a lot of instrumentation (The Cure, Tom Petty, ELO, etc.). I know a lot of bands in my area just play with their one band, but will sub for other groups on occasion if their main band isn't playing that night. Other than that, I don't see a lot of people playing as a solo acoustic in one place, in a trio in another place, and with a big band in a third place. I was wondering if there were people here that have several different projects going and how successful (or possibly unsuccessful) this has been for them, be it creatively, financially or otherwise.

 

I've been doing the full band thing/solo acoustic thing for a while. I noticed a couple of things: If you play a lot, It's easier if you perform many of the same songs in both projects(for memory's sake). It can also be a bit of a pain as you generally can have radically different arrangements for the solo versions(I play harmonica on some songs by myself for example and use a looper. Gotta keep those arrrangements straight). I also make a lot more money when playing solo, but this just serves to make the other band possible financially. I say go for it. Life's too short.