I am selfish in the fact that I only have a strong interest in harmonica playing as it pertains to live performance. Specifically, I am interested in the interaction between the performers and audience (honestly, I'd pick playing in a band with other musicians above all other forms of making music).
I hate making Youtubes, I think my solo set-up is only fun to do in front of people (might as well play to a jam track at home), and I tend to be pretty lazy in the studio. I honestly go back and forth over how much to try and "impress" other harmonica players/make music for other harmonica players.
All that being said, which I felt was necessary for getting this post on topic, I have really taken a liking to Tom Jackson and Onstage Success.
He is a live music producer and works with producing live shows for people like Taylor Swift. While he does a lot of high-profile work, he as a niche in helping Christian acts and other indy acts improve their live shows.
After hearing about him, I dug for every free resources he has ever shared - blogs, podcasts, Youtubes, etc. I also tore through the free stuff on his website. http://www.onstagesuccess.com/free-pass/
I have not paid for his site or videos, although I've heard that the DVDs are fantastic.
Anyways, his focus tends to be on creating live musical moments - things that translate live, and IMHO, don't always translate to shared YouTube vids, forum posts, or other formats. You won't find many specific examples, but if you look at his free resources for band make-overs, you'll see what I mean.
His theory on how to tackle set writing, song pacing, rehearsing, and improv/scripted has been a huge eye-opener for me and really pushed my performing over the last year.
During my formative years, I was in a band where we focused on all the wrong things and I was expected, as the frontman, to not try and overshadow anyone else. It was really hard for me to shift gears to worrying about the entire show and not just playing. For those who were at the SPAH blow-off in 2010, that was about as much of a "performer" as I was comfortable with - which was entertaining, but not as engaging as I wanted to be.
Flash forward to know and Tom's (free) advice, and I am much more with it. I still get intimidated on stage by the audience, but I have done a much better job of connecting with non-harmonica players. Anyways, I am way off topic, but the idea of creating moments to really embrace your audience and make connections is something I think we can all benefit from.
I am not tyring to be critical of harmonica players who tend to perform to other harmonica players, but I know beyond the internet, it is a limited niche
To me, it is all about the audience, the audience puts the money in the pocket of the man who is paying the band. I recall one incident, where, sharing the bandstand with a friend , a FAR better , absoulutely DEVOTED harpman, a student of one of todays Greats. He played an Bluesy, creative, incredible solo on his chromatic, and unfortunately played BEFORE me ( you ALWAYS want to have the weaker player play first, no one wants to FOLLOW a better player) . Anyway, after he nailed it wonderfully and got a good round of applause from the audience, , the frontman gave me the nod... I demurred, but the band pushed me into it.. so, not being able to even come close to the virtuosity preceding me... I elected to just do a Madcat type chug thing.. and lo and behold,, the open areas of the dance floor were suddenly packed with enthusiastic "dancers"....wild, one might say.. and on ending my chugging. I got a far more enthusiastic applause and cheering than my friend had, he and I looked at each other in amazement.. of course the band and the harp players among the crowd were rightfully far more impressed with him, but the audience,--- who have expectations as to what a good harmonica player does which differ greatly from what impresses we musicians--- liked him, but LOVED me, and I had done nothing , just chording in a traditional foot stomping chug rhythm .
I've never heard of Tom Jackson, but I can relate to the concept of creating live musical moments for the audience. i suspect the ability of a band to play with emotion or convey emotion in their playing is part of it. Set pacing, set list tune choices, changing keys, maintaining different grooves and interactive playing among all the band members are, i assume, all part of it.
I've sometimes said that the problem with many harmonica players is that they tend to be too harmonica centric in their approach. Harmonica can create a musically and emotionally intense presentation. This is good. BUT, IMHO, it also means that it can easily be overdone if the performer doesn't have perspective on the overall musical presentation.
And, yeah, you sure don't get any of the interactive magic playing along to recorded backing tracks that you can get performing live with other musicians. For me, there's no fulfillment quite like playing live with other compatible musicians before an audience of real, live people. If the band plays with emotion, that's conveyed to the audience and you can feed off of their reaction. When it's working it is truly magical. And, yeah, you don't get that making show off/jack off videos, unless someone is videoing a performance at a live venue
That's the name of the game, Rev. You have to identify your why. You were both entertaining. Your friend was playing to impress the crowd. You were playing to have fun. The crowd wanted to have fun more than be impressed.
Something oft overlooked by those wanting to hold down live gigs is the importance of giving the crowd the entertainment that they want.
The example I use for myself is the local blues scene. I can either try to impress them or the audience. Well, the other musicians don't pay the bills, don't come to shows, and don't want the competition, lol.
In a word, yup. I have a show scheduled this weekend and my giant reminder to self, often a literal string around the finger I see most while playing, is SHUT UP. The really clear analogy to this is... I've said it this way before: It's not what you do, it's when you don't do it.
Last Edited by on Dec 12, 2011 11:04 AM
I thought the only way to do music was interactive with a live audience. I was so driven by it, I did well over 200 dates a year around the world for 20 years. I would play for hours on the streets before and after shows as well. I had no management, record label. There was no internet, cell phone. I busted my butt so hard it almost killed me. Doing completely spontaneous music ran everyone in the industry off. They told me I would starve but if I joined the ranks fame would follow.
I say all this because in all that time I almost never played alone in my apt or anywhere alone. I would go on the streets in hopes of finding interaction. If you told me then that today I would be spending 30-60 hours alone in a recording studio, I would say you were insane. But this is where music has guided me. If one stays open to the universe, it will guide you to the right places. Now spirits come in everytime I walk in my studio and the vibes are wonderful- as good as any live gig I ever did.
I almost lost my mind and life trying to make spontobeat a nitch in the established music world. I did succeed in playing my ass off, but as soon as I stopped, it all stopped. Eventually I surrendered out of sheer exhaustion.
The universe guided me to going to college and a career I really enjoy that pays well. Now I have everything I ever wished for- a wonderful place to make music whenever I want. That is all I ever will want out of music and whatever form it takes on I am going with it. I feel a new direction on the horizion. I have learned to trust this feeling and not rush it but I know something different is down the road a piece. Maybe I will be gigging live again? I have no idea but will let it unfold in its own time. I do know I was way too dependent on the crowd for me to feel good. This retreat into myself has been a great thing. I am learning about letting the music come through me verse me trying to make it come through me. With this, I feel like I am ready to get back on the live scene after basically a 20 year absence. Keep an open heart! Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
