Bikerdoc
Senior Member
I will do open mic nights from time to time when some friends suggest going. I'm more at ease when I'm playing to familiar faces than strangers.
I have a friend (John) who, for medical reasons, turned to his music to make a living. He works hard at it every day to polish his "performance". He says that it's his "performance" and song selections that keeps food on the table and not his 35 years of guitar riffs.
His "act" is basically a solo deal with the exception of a "gimmick" in the form of a home made wash tub bass played by a guy (gotta love him) with next to no timing or sense of rythmn. It's a lot of fun to watch and our friend (Walt) doesn't mind the ribbing he gets since he is actually entertaining the crowd AND he likes the attention. :wink: In reality, Walt's bass isn't on a mic so he's not that distracting for John but John plays the "gimmick" up pretty good.
John's gig is basically a party and open jam: 4 or 5 of us who play will go to his gig and he'll do his best to get everyone of us up on stage to do a couple of solo tunes. He'll even ask if anyone else in the room would like to play. Everyone has fun. The crowd gets a truly diverse set of music (like it or not), the bar owner gets 6 musicians for the price of one, we get exposure and experience, and John only works an hour and a half of a 3 hour gig. Plus, I've listened to some great music from folks stepping out of the crowd.
So, that's what I do from time to time. I don't get paid but I don't care. Maybe one day. I've learned a great deal from John on what it means to "perform" and the type of performance it takes in any number of venues. Lots of folks can learn to play guitar but I think you have to be born with the taste for scotch to be a real performer.
Peace
I have a friend (John) who, for medical reasons, turned to his music to make a living. He works hard at it every day to polish his "performance". He says that it's his "performance" and song selections that keeps food on the table and not his 35 years of guitar riffs.
His "act" is basically a solo deal with the exception of a "gimmick" in the form of a home made wash tub bass played by a guy (gotta love him) with next to no timing or sense of rythmn. It's a lot of fun to watch and our friend (Walt) doesn't mind the ribbing he gets since he is actually entertaining the crowd AND he likes the attention. :wink: In reality, Walt's bass isn't on a mic so he's not that distracting for John but John plays the "gimmick" up pretty good.
John's gig is basically a party and open jam: 4 or 5 of us who play will go to his gig and he'll do his best to get everyone of us up on stage to do a couple of solo tunes. He'll even ask if anyone else in the room would like to play. Everyone has fun. The crowd gets a truly diverse set of music (like it or not), the bar owner gets 6 musicians for the price of one, we get exposure and experience, and John only works an hour and a half of a 3 hour gig. Plus, I've listened to some great music from folks stepping out of the crowd.
So, that's what I do from time to time. I don't get paid but I don't care. Maybe one day. I've learned a great deal from John on what it means to "perform" and the type of performance it takes in any number of venues. Lots of folks can learn to play guitar but I think you have to be born with the taste for scotch to be a real performer.
Peace
