|
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
First Gig
First Gig
Page:
1
STME58
577 posts
Nov 07, 2013
4:06 PM
|
I was playing in a shopping center this morning when I was approached by a restaurant owner and asked if I could play in his restaurant on Saturday from 3-6. He has heard my repertoire over the last several days so I assume he thinks it suitable.
He said he could pay me, but not much. I am more interested in gaining the experience, but getting paid to play, no matter how little, is a first for me.
I will be playing unaccompanied and un-amplified in a space small enough that un-amplified harp might be heard. I would love to hear some tips from more experienced players who may have been in similar situations.
|
Frank
3198 posts
Nov 07, 2013
4:51 PM
|
3 hours ain't nothing to sneeze at, your a charitable fellow :)
Tip one...don't let em see ya sweat, bring a fan to give you a lite breeze
two...SMILe,
three...entertain, befriend and enjoy your audience.
four...don't play louder if someone can't hear your, politley ask them to come closer
five...scrape your current repitore and learn the to 40 radio hits of the 70, 80's and 90's...
six...when someone asks for a request, play something - anything
seven...turn down all requests of diners who want to grab their guitar and play a song with you
Last Edited by Frank on Nov 07, 2013 6:37 PM
|
jbone
1403 posts
Nov 07, 2013
6:33 PM
|
I say congrats on getting a blue sky gig! Obviously the guy likes what he's heard.
My suggestion is to relax and do what you know. I rarely do solo stuff, mostly I'm with at least a guitar player.
Do you have 3 hours' worth of material? If not, stretch out what you do have and repeat stuff in the last set if needed. One thing I like to do in a small setting is to talk about the music, where it came from, who wrote this, how old it is, etc. A bit of background can engage your patrons a bit more.
Never play louder than the harp will bear. Blown reeds are the first result. If you play well people will slide in closer.
Do you sing as well? An added plus if so but not necessary.
Go get 'em man!
----------
http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
|
STME58
578 posts
Nov 08, 2013
10:17 AM
|
Frank and jbone,
Thanks for your input. I think I am on the right track, but my tunes are a little earlier than what Frank is recommending. I have had a chance to sit in a couple of times with a guitarist/singer who pretty much follows the rules Frank posted except for the last one (he lets anyone sit in, that's how I got the chance) his repertoire also dips back into the 50's as well as covering what Frank recommended.
I think I have nearly 3 hours of material. I am pretty good at taking a simple tune and doing variations and interludes between verses to stretch it out but keep it interesting.
I misread Franks post at first and though I was really on track because I have several tunes from the 40's (In the Mood, Tuxedo Junction, String of Pearls, American Patrol, Sentimental Journey etc.) But I reread and see he said top 40, not the 40's! I do know a few tunes from the Beetles, Bob Dillon, Joan Biaz, Woody Gunthre, Pete Seager, Elvis Presley, Peter Paul and Mary, Credence Clearwater, Chuck Barry... I can also throw in a little Bach, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and maybe some Sousa.
Thanks for your advice and support. I'll let you know how it goes.
Last Edited by STME58 on Nov 08, 2013 10:23 AM
|
TetonJohn
149 posts
Nov 08, 2013
10:48 AM
|
It sounds like you do have a repetoire that will keep it interesting and cover the time, and based on your posting of Over The Rainbow (on the recent naked thread), I think you've got the chops to pull it off. Feel good about it! If you can, stay relaxed (or pretend to be!). Maybe you will get addicted to performing. Have fun.
Last Edited by TetonJohn on Nov 08, 2013 10:48 AM
|
mattfolk327
6 posts
Nov 08, 2013
12:45 PM
|
Nice work. Heck man do it for a free meal. I played my first gig for free beer. Drank like 2 beers and a whiskey and watched beavis and butthead on tv while I delivered the goods.
It really loosens you up. Don't get plastered though. Swear man it takes the jitters right out of ya.
|
Rubes
773 posts
Nov 08, 2013
3:37 PM
|
Ummmmm.........agree on the fee beforehand and preferably..... GET IT FIRST!!!,
----------
Old Man Rubes at Reverbnation
Dads in Space at Reverbnation
Benny and Rubes at Reverbnation
|
lumpy wafflesquirt
752 posts
Nov 09, 2013
2:09 AM
|
@Frank
Why change the repertoire, he was booked because the restaurant owner liked what he was playing, he hasn't been booked to play a totally different set of music.
----------
"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
|
Frank
3212 posts
Nov 09, 2013
3:50 AM
|
I also think asking people to come closer was bad advice too...walking over to the diners would probably be more appropriate since they're at a table enjoying a meal :)
|
STME58
582 posts
Nov 09, 2013
11:40 AM
|
I love hearing all the opinions based on much greater experience than mine. I think Frank and lumpy are both right. I have seen the repertoire Frank desicribes work well in similar settings, however that is not my current repertoire and it is not what the restaurant owner heard when he asked me to play. (The trumpet player in my brass quintet thinks I should bring along a trombone. He says that is what people really want to hear but just don't know it. I could bring the trombone just in case things go poorly and I need to get asked to leave in a hurry!)
I get both sides of the situation presented by Rubes and Mattfolk, but I am currently closer to the position of Mattfolk. I'm sure there have been discussions on this site whether hobbyists like me working for next to nothing ruin it for real musicians who need to earn a living with music.
I have a severe handicap as a musician though, I don't drink! Being in front of a small group doing something I am competent at does not bother me though. As an engineer I give presentations in front of a crowd once in a while.
Last Edited by STME58 on Nov 09, 2013 11:41 AM
|
lumpy wafflesquirt
753 posts
Nov 09, 2013
12:09 PM
|
@STME58
Amazing, I thought i was the only trombonist who doesn't drink. Mind you I stopped playing trom a couple of years ago to concentrate on harp. I have now started playing ukulele as well.
I definitely wouldn't take my bone to a harp gig.
----------
"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
|
JInx
619 posts
Nov 09, 2013
1:49 PM
|
I've been only once, for a wedding…it was over my head , but i survived. One thing you could try though, no meat eating, no sex, no eggs or beans beforehand and Orpheus surely wisll be pleased.
----------
Sun, sun, sun
Burn, burn, burn
Soon, soon, soon
Moon, moon, moon
|
STME58
584 posts
Nov 09, 2013
10:12 PM
|
The afternoon went well, if poorly attended. The restaurant business is a hard to predict one. They said they were quite busy last Saturday. I was asked to come back and the combination of the experience and the pay is enough that I will try again. The restaurateur is still looking for someone to come in and play solo clarinet or sax, but I can’t help there. I mentioned I also played trombone but, unsurprisingly, got no request for that.
The commented on pieces were,
JS Bach, “Wachet –Auf”
JS Bach, “Jesu, Joy of a man’s desiring”, which was mistaken for an Irish jig but still liked.
Joni Mitchell, ” Both sides now”
Harold Arlen, “Over the rainbow” which I led into with Arlen’s “If I only had a Brain”, and people got the connection. It is amazing that a movie made in 1939 is still so well known!
It was a polite audience, there were no negative comments. That came from my 15 year old son as I left. He said, “ I hope someone throws a beer bottle at you!”. I sarcastically replied, “Thanks for the vote of confidence” to which he responded, “ I am confident their aim will be straight and true”. I have been told that this behavior in teenagers is nature’s way of making sure you throw them out as soon as you think they can make it on their own.
Thanks for all your responses.
Last Edited by STME58 on Nov 09, 2013 10:13 PM
|
TetonJohn
151 posts
Nov 10, 2013
7:40 AM
|
You were asked to come back and receive more money -- excellent! Congrats on such a successful first gig.
|
naptown jack
22 posts
Nov 12, 2013
11:25 AM
|
Dear STME58, two questions: Are you putin' us on? and What is your axe of choice? If you're playing all that stuff, Arlen to Bach on a 10 hole diatonic harmonica I'll eat there wherever it is, even if it's vegan!
|
Shaganappi
55 posts
Nov 12, 2013
12:35 PM
|
Kudos. A big confidence boost to be asked back STME58. Be prepared to quit your day job. And very inspiring to others in the same boat. Ditto, I am amazed that the "Brain" connected.
|
STME58
586 posts
Nov 12, 2013
3:52 PM
|
@TetonJohn, I appreciate you helpful comments, Thanks.
@naptown jack, thanks for the supportive comments, but none of these pieces are very difficult on the diatonic .I select carefully. I also have to edit a bit. I can not play the entire Jesu Joy as Bach wrote it (at least not yet, once I get 6 overblow to be reliable or I get a harp switch mid phrase down I can) but I can play enough of it for all but a purist to enjoy. I just leave off the last section where it modulates up a 4th.
To select a piece to play I look at lead sheets. If I see no accidentals, I know I can play it. If there are a few accidentals, I check to see if they all fall into the bends I can hit, if so, I can play that too. If it is highly chromatic, I pick another piece to learn.
I have about 30 harps including several minor keys. The Minors are Lee Oscar, Special 20 and Marine band. I have Suzuki Harpmaster, Promaster, Firebreath, Pure Harp and Manji; Hohner Special 20, Marine band and Crossover, Seydel Session steel and 1847. Each harp seems suited to different songs, both due to key and type of harp.
@Shaganappi I don't think I will earn enough in music to replace my engineering salary any time soon. That's OK, engineering is fun too.
As to people still getting 70 year old movie references, I thought of the following phrases, still in use, from that movie,
Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
We're off to see the wizard.
Follow the yellow brick road.
Ding dong the witch is dead.
Heck, many of these were used just the other day in a congressional hearing!
|
lumpy wafflesquirt
755 posts
Nov 14, 2013
1:08 PM
|
@STME58
Notice how the thread went quiet when you mentioned accidentals? you scare harp players off with talk like that. :^)
You seem to work on the same principle as me with regard to looking at the lead sheet, but don't forget if for example the piece is in C and there is a Bb but there are no other accidentals and no other Bs you could play the piece on an F harp
----------
"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
|
STME58
588 posts
Nov 14, 2013
2:05 PM
|
@Lumpy,
I had a Banjo player tell me almost the same thing the other day when I brought a chart to the Slo Jam that included a few notes on a staff!
I was just looking at a lead sheet for FW Meachams's "American Patrol" the other day. It was just as you described, nothing in the key signature but every B was flatted. It plays nicely on an F, except for the one G# which is in a quick run and isn't noticable if I replace it with a G. I am working on getting the G# with an overblow but I can't get it quick enough yet. By the time I get the overblow to sound its past the time allotted for that note.
|
lumpy wafflesquirt
756 posts
Nov 14, 2013
2:16 PM
|
you could always take to a Chrom for that sort of stuff.
I use Chrom for tuxedo junction amongst others. :^)
https://soundcloud.com/robin-shaw-1
----------
"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
|
wolfkristiansen
228 posts
Nov 14, 2013
8:47 PM
|
Hi STME58-- First gig, last gig-- anyone who can entertain an audience with acoustic harmonica alone deserves accolades. Congratulations. I've tried it a few times, never for three hours. Usually, sweat appears on my brow by the second song. Solo harp before an audience is daunting. Sonny Terry did it when he was young, but hey, he couldn't see his audience. Plus, he was gifted.
I need my crutch-- beer; strike that, I mean a guitarist playing beautiful supportive chords, chords that make our chosen instrument sound so much better. 7th and 9th chords for me, coming from a blues player. Your taste, and playing, cover a broader spectrum. Nevertheless, you might want to find a like-minded guitarist and split the profit (?!) with him or her. I predict you will find it musically, and entertainlingly, rewarding.
Here`s an example of acoustic harmonica/guitar in a non-blues context:
Here's an example of acoustic harmonica/guitar in a blues context, from heart2harp, who hasn't been seen in this forum since January of this year. I've loved this video since I first saw and heard it:
Hope that inspires you to find an empathic guitarist.
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
|
Gnarly
778 posts
Nov 14, 2013
9:13 PM
|
Hey Steve, I play guitar--and mandolin . . .
|
STME58
589 posts
Nov 16, 2013
8:05 AM
|
@Gnarly,
You usually play with better players than me, but I
would see what we could put together, if you are interested. I missed you a couple of weeks ago at Balboa park, I won't be there this Sunday.
I Have a Suzuki Firebreath that needs a reed. I'll will bring it in next week and perhaps I can talk to you then.
I did a little playing outside the hotel here in Vegas yesterday and had a couple of young British women sit down next to me and make requests, about half of which I could play. I was able to do a credible "God save the Queen" which went over quite well.
Last Edited by STME58 on Nov 16, 2013 8:07 AM
|
Gnarly
779 posts
Nov 16, 2013
11:52 AM
|
Yo Steve--
At SPAH, I got to play with Brendan Power--and also briefly backed up Joe Filisko--fast company!
However, I would like to get together to see what we can do.
|
garry
470 posts
Nov 16, 2013
6:14 PM
|
----------
|
Post a Message
|
