Marketplace Lessons

Good gig everyone. Playing out live is tough, and you all pulled through. However, I am your teacher, and I feel as if I need to point out a few things that could be improved: #1. Get to the gig an hour early. I still do this and I'm 40 years old. The reasons for this abound. Mostly, they are centered around the unpredictable chaos that erupts in live situations. An extra hour before showtime gives you time to resolve these little issues. One time, I arrived at a gig that was at an outside arena- a park. We were supposed to play in a gazebo and they assured me they had power. Of course they did, but the power source was 50 feet away from the gazebo. Since I was an hour early, I had time to find a hardware store, buy an extension cord and have a successful gig. Even if you arrive early and everything is perfect, you now have the opportunity to relax- and what's wrong with that? Won't you play better if you're relaxed? You owe it to yourself, your audience and whoever is paying you to be relaxed when you begin. There is another reason to arrive early. If you noticed what I was doing when I got there, I was hanging out in front of the cafe chatting. This creates a scene. Scenes are good. People are driving by looking at a growing group of people in front of the venue and take interest. (Also note, as nice as it is to park in front of the gig to unload, you probably should move your car after you unload to make room for paying customers. Don't worry, they'll leave before you and you can have your parking space back to reload. It's just a professional courtesy to the owner of the venue.) Anyway, on the topic of the owner, when you arrive early make sure you talk to the owner when you arrive. It's good to make face to face contact so that the owner puts a face with your name after the inevitable email and phone call exchange that took place before your face to face meeting. Ask yourself- did you meet Kim? Did you learn the names of the folks working there? Would you recognize them if you ran into them elsewhere in the Berkshires? Introduce yourself. Be professional. #2. Bring back up gear. This is a tricky one because I realize you are high school students and (a.) don't own a lot of gear and (b.) May not even drive. However, since we have reached this level of achievement where you are out playing live music, it's time you learned the ropes of gear. Never assume that there will be equipment for you to use. Even if the club owner says so. 100% of the time the amp that he or she will provide will disappoint you. That said, if you know the venue and are happy with their P.A. system then fine. First time playing there? bring your own just in case. In the trunk of my car I have a power strip a ground lift plug and a spare instrument cable. I wish I had a spare XLR to 1/4 jack plug, and the next time I'm at the music store, I'm buying one. Also, if you will be using school equipment in the future, do not assume that I will bring it for you. If you need some piece of gear then it is your responsibility to physically put it into a vehicle that will be going to the gig. I realize I didn't tell you this before. Consider it a new rule. #3 Print the set list. This sounds obvious, but the leader of the group is responsible for printing the set list. I'll take responsibility for this one, but I did provide the list on Google docs and edits to my original were made. A final draft should have been printed. A few things were spot on: #1. You looked awesome. I lost count of the number of people (many of whom I didn't know) commented on your appearance and the way you presented yourselves onstage. #2.Being out of the sheet music was huge. Bravo! There was minimal usage, and it didn't detract at all from your performance. There's nothing worse to look at than a bunch of people on stage reading music at a jazz/blues/rock gig. Granted, some arrangements are very complex and require sheet music (big bands, etc) but we don't play arrangements that are that complicated. If you have to read it, then you don't know the tune, and I'm not paying good money to hear you play a song you don't know. Nice job on committing the tunes to memory. #3 Communication within the band members during the performance. Once again- spot on. Case in point- A Night In Tunisia. When Joe left the stage because he felt sick, you guys launched into a trading 4's thing that was great. Be like that all the time. Last comment: The best tunes of the night were Nutville and Summertime. Part of the reason for this was you had performed them live before when you were already comfortable with them. This allows you to relax with the tunes and be more expressive. You decided to cut I'll Remember April probably because you aren't comfortable with it. I'll back this up by adding that you replaced it with Calliente Blues- a tune that you had successfully executed in a live situation at the Milltown. My advice is to get ALL of your music to the comfort level of Nutville. Understand the way the tune works. Get inside the chord changes. Memorize the melody. Don't use "I don't like the tune" as an excuse. Most of the time (remember) I give you a new piece you hate it (Tunisia) or can't play it (I'm gonna find another you). In the end, once you study the piece, you end up liking it. You don't know what you like- you like what you know. I'm proud of all of you and looking forward to next year, and the wedding gig this summer. See you in class this week! Mr. Rabuse