View Full Version : Mandolin = Sex Appeal?
Matt DeBlass
Aug-25-2009, 10:00pm
I just played at an open mic not too far from my house and figured, since it's an open mic, I'd bring only the mandolin, rather than the assortment of instruments I use for paid gigs. One, I thought it would be fun, and two, I figured there'd be a lot of guitar players who were better than me, but I had a shot at being the best mando player in the house ;)
It was pretty full, so everybody was limited to three songs. I did a couple of tunes (Ashokan Farewell and Woody's Rag, which I counted as 1 song since...er they're both in D?) and then a couple of more rock-oriented songs, Galway Girl by Steve Earle and Downtown Train by Tom Waits.
I got people clapping along on Woody's and by the time I got to the Tom Waits song I had a quiet house who were honestly listening (if you've played open mic nights, you know how rare that can be).
After I finished I got a lot of compliments including a couple of young, attractive women who went out of their way to tell me how much they loved my playing and how they really, really hope I can come back and play more next week. The lovely blonde bartender also gave me some really nice feedback, and said she'd pass my name on to the manager in case they can use me for live music. All in all, a lot of pretty women said nice things and gave my ego a huge boost (and then I had to rush out because there was a problem with a busted water pipe at home, grr).
So what's the deal? I figured the mandolin, in a non-bluegrass context, was a pretty geeky instrument. Is it so nerdy it's cool? Is there something about the sound? Is the image of a big, scruffy guy like me playing a little, jangly instrument creating a compelling contrast? I'm not complaining, but I wasn't expecting as warm a reaction as I got.
mando on the side
Aug-25-2009, 10:29pm
To me, I think it takes quite a bit of nimbleness and sensitivity to play the instrument. I think the women see that, on a subconscious level.
Daniel Nestlerode
Aug-25-2009, 11:24pm
To me, I think it takes quite a bit of nimbleness and sensitivity to play the instrument. I think the women see that, on a subconscious level.
Maybe. Except my wife. ;)
Daniel
Tim2723
Aug-25-2009, 11:30pm
The mandolin can have serious sex appeal, especially when Rule #2 applies to the lovely young ladies.
Jill McAuley
Aug-25-2009, 11:44pm
Um, might the "pretty women" have simply been offering sincere compliments on your playing, with no other agenda in mind?
Just a thought...
Cheers,
Jill
Mike Snyder
Aug-25-2009, 11:45pm
That was certainly the case in, say '78. Not so much, these days. The tie-dyed hippie chicks I loved so dearly are getting harder and harder to find.
Tim2723
Aug-25-2009, 11:54pm
No woman has ever offered me so much as an oatmeal cookie without an alternate agenda. :grin:
That was certainly the case in, say '78. Not so much, these days. The tie-dyed hippie chicks I loved so dearly are getting harder and harder to find.
Walk slower so they can catch up with their walkers! :))
In these parts I still see the tie-dyed '78 models at many venues, particularly the Old Settler's Festival.
Overall though, since women tend to have more high range oriented hearing than men it may well be they can hear the mandolin better than the guitars.
diptanshu
Aug-26-2009, 12:35am
:)) i had played a open mic sometime back and a few girls did comeup to me to appreciate my playing! so it kind of makes up for not getting paid i guess! haha...:mandosmiley:
jim_n_virginia
Aug-26-2009, 1:19am
After I finished I got a lot of compliments including a couple of young, attractive women who went out of their way to tell me how much they loved my playing and how they really, really hope I can come back and play more next week.
All in all, a lot of pretty women said nice things and gave my ego a huge boost
So what's the deal?
Dude you just figuring out that the mandolin is a chick magnet?
WHERE have you been??? :grin:
Fretbear
Aug-26-2009, 2:00am
It's the tens of dollars you can make playing it that they are after....
Rick Cadger
Aug-26-2009, 2:36am
That happened to me once... Then I woke up, drat it.
Dan Hoover
Aug-26-2009, 5:56am
love Woody's Rag..first tune i learned out of the first book i bought..1979?? jack tottle book..:)
not to bust your ego,but?just how pretty were these lady's?didn't have deep voice's did they??:grin:...i'm kidding..it was probably the tom waits song that woo them over...cheers to you
Matt DeBlass
Aug-26-2009, 6:13am
Dude you just figuring out that the mandolin is a chick magnet?
WHERE have you been??? :grin:
Hey, I'm new to this!
I used to get more attention while playing music back in my long-haired, vagabond days (ie, in my 20s before the marriage, kid and divorce) but that seemed to have faded out. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the mandolin now makes me studly again :cool:
Jill, you're probably right, but let me daydream just a bit longer! :))
Um, might the "pretty women" have simply been offering sincere compliments on your playing, with no other agenda in mind?
I've always appreciated having friends who are women--especially for their ability to help me understand what other women may be thinking (which, on my own, I tend to wildly misinterpret).
Bertram Henze
Aug-26-2009, 6:28am
At a session, I was asked by an attractive young lady "what's that wonderful instrument you have?".
Minutes later it occurred to me I should have asked back "you got X-ray vision?" ...but it was too late, as usual.
Bertram
Yep, super models and blank checks. That's mandolin for you. LOL
Bertram Henze
Aug-26-2009, 6:52am
...or, as Mark Knopfler put it: Money for nothing...
Matt DeBlass
Aug-26-2009, 7:00am
Now I'll have to call up Nintendo with my idea for a new "Mandolin Hero" game. With my luck they'll say "what is that, some kind of sandwich?"
journeybear
Aug-26-2009, 7:09am
And your problem is - what exactly? Don't try to analyze magic - just enjoy the effect it has. :)
Speaking of Mandolin Hero (http://www.everythingemporium.com/index.php/all-products/electronic-gadgets/videogames/mandolin-hero-iv.html) ... just don't send them any money.
David Thompson
Aug-26-2009, 8:34am
I never gave much thought to the mandolin being sexy , I always just thought it was me ? Now I have to rethink that.
David
Um, might the "pretty women" have simply been offering sincere compliments on your playing, with no other agenda in mind?
Just a thought...
Cheers,
Jill
I was "minding the youngsters" once at a festival that provided an area for kids to play under adult supervision to give their beleaguered parents a break. (In Scotland and elsewhere I have heard it called a creche).
Anyway this cute as a button little five year old girl handed me one of her oatmeal cookies. I must have hesitated before I accepted it because she said "don't worry, we don't have to be friends or anything". :confused:
As to whether or not playing the madolin conveys any sex appeal, in and of itself I don't know. But I have always thought (even before I knew what I was doing), that having something about yourself that is interesting makes it easier for those who might want to meet you to have a way to get started. Make it easy for others to meet you. So perhaps the mandolin just made it easier for those women to express an interest.
I know that playing the guitar used to be "it". Two generations back a guy had to play Neil Young, my geneation it was James Taylor. I have since lost touch as to whose songs a guy needs to learn these days.
It was almost disgusting how well it "worked".
It works the other way as well. I know in my life there has been many a woman whose musical talents blinded me to what ever personality attributes I might better have been paying attention to. Been there got the T shirt. :grin:
Randi Gormley
Aug-26-2009, 9:10am
Depending on your size compared with the mandolin, they may have felt that you looked confident of yourself and sensitive. I once attended a week-long workshop where these five guys who looked like they'd just gotten off their Harleys after a long month's ride in the rain deliberately walked on stage, sat down, and then all picked up lutes. The contrast was a killer, and their music making was astounding -- I felt like I had to say something to them just because they tickled my imagination.
Jim Rowland
Aug-26-2009, 9:19am
I gather some attention at music shows with my geehawwhimmydiddle. I am careful to rub on the off-beat. Recently,one of the hotter chicks asked me to autograph her Hoverround.
Jim
Mark Walker
Aug-26-2009, 9:33am
When I play, cows go dry; horses elevate to an altitude of about four feet and dart about in all directions; dogs howl and cats yowl.
I've discovered this is not conducive to attracting members of the opposite sex. :disbelief:
Matt - congratulations on your ability to positively affect your female listeners! :mandosmiley:
Matt DeBlass
Aug-26-2009, 9:37am
Depending on your size compared with the mandolin, they may have felt that you looked confident of yourself and sensitive. I once attended a week-long workshop where these five guys who looked like they'd just gotten off their Harleys after a long month's ride in the rain deliberately walked on stage, sat down, and then all picked up lutes. The contrast was a killer, and their music making was astounding -- I felt like I had to say something to them just because they tickled my imagination.
Well, I'm about 6'3" and take after my grandpa, who was more or less rectangular in shape. Only one tattoo, on my calf, but I probably look a bit scruffy and biker-ish (the only bike I own at the moment is the kind you have to pedal, however).
Who knows? I'm being slightly tongue-in-cheek here, but I'm certainly not complaining!
Jill McAuley
Aug-26-2009, 9:38am
I just find that mandolins are a "conversation magnet" - even just carrying a mandolin case I've had all kinds of random folks start chatting to me.
Cheers,
Jill
Bertram Henze
Aug-26-2009, 9:38am
The most direct experience in that direction I ever had was with a tenor banjo, sitting in a session. Then this woman suddenly stands beside me, gazes deep into my eyes and lightly brushes her fingers over the banjo strings near the nut.
It felt like warm maple syrup poured down my back. :redface:
She never said a word - creepy. But since it was not a mandolin, I think that it's not the instrument that matters, it's the player... :grin::grin:
Bertram
Jack Roberts
Aug-26-2009, 10:08am
You mean it's the mandolin? I thought it was the bow tie that makes all the ladies crowd the stage when I play.
mandroid
Aug-26-2009, 10:58am
Guess there is no tidy symbol like '=' to signify ''In spite of"
John Rosett
Aug-26-2009, 11:09am
This reminds me of something that happened to me a couple of years ago:
I was walking my dog (chocolate lab) downtown when a car full of college girls stopped at the intersection. They were all smiling and staring at me, and I thought, "You've still got it, John."
I got closer to the car, and one of them said "We LOVE your dog!"
Matt DeBlass
Aug-26-2009, 11:12am
You mean it's the mandolin? I thought it was the bow tie that makes all the ladies crowd the stage when I play.
That's it! I need the mandolin AND a bow tie, and no more sitting home on Friday night for me! :))
John Flynn
Aug-26-2009, 11:59am
Look at all the "chick magnets" who have paved the road for us by being dashing, good-looking, mandolin-playing sex symbols:
> David Grisman
> Frank Wakfield
> Norman Blake
> Peter Ostroushko
> Mike Marshall
> Roland White
> Jody Stecher
> Jethro Burns
> Andy Statman
It's no wonder the ladies are throwing themselves at us!
(My apologies to all the great players on that list. Just having some fun!) :mandosmiley:
Mike Bromley
Aug-26-2009, 12:52pm
Yup, especially with creatively-arranged grommets
300win
Aug-26-2009, 1:17pm
Some women like mandolin players, some like the fiddle player, some gravitate to the guitar man who most of the time is the lead singer { and they thinks thats cool}, some like the banjer picker cause its the loudest ?, some like the bass fiddle man { because it's the biggest ?}, and some bless their hearts like 'em all. Now thats just in a Bluegrass band set-up. Now the question is, which ones do men like if it's an all women band ? Long years ago when I was a young single guy playing in a band I was in secret love with the mandolin player in a all girl band, why ?, because number 1 she could play pretty dang good and sing like a bird, number 2 she was very, very, easy on the eyes. I made a semi move her way once and I think I had a shot at begining a nice mandolin twin picking situation, but alas she liked a guitar guy in another band. Heck I could a got with her I know, but I bowed out like the southern gentlemen I was/am. In another band I was in whe got a girl bass guitar player, that right off the get-go fell madly in love with me. That was a interesting 1 1/2 years of musical bliss.
mrmando
Aug-26-2009, 1:19pm
Well, two young ladies did invite me back to their place once after an Irish fiddle gig (I played some mandolin and bodhran as well). I am, however, a happily married gentleman, and I declined.
Jim MacDaniel
Aug-26-2009, 1:22pm
Um, might the "pretty women" have simply been offering sincere compliments on your playing, with no other agenda in mind?
Just a thought...
Cheers,
Jill
Makes sense, but that's not how we are wired Jill: Occam's Razor does not apply when interacting with a pretty girl. e.g., If one says hello to us, the most obvious answer as to why she did so is because she is a nice, friendly, outgoing person -- but instead we will make the leap to "Dude, she's really into me!" ;)
journeybear
Aug-26-2009, 1:51pm
Look at all the "chick magnets" who have paved the road for us by being dashing, good-looking, mandolin-playing sex symbols ...
Roland White, working the party ...
Capt. E
Aug-26-2009, 2:17pm
Look at all the "chick magnets" who have paved the road for us by being dashing, good-looking, mandolin-playing sex symbols:
> David Grisman
> Frank Wakfield
> Norman Blake
> Peter Ostroushko
> Mike Marshall
> Roland White
> Jody Stecher
> Jethro Burns
> Andy Statman
Don't forget Chris Thile. You should see the women crowding the stage looking only at him.
bhGreen
Aug-26-2009, 2:33pm
Well.. as a female.. my instrument gets more attention than I do! Ive been to several gigs, and have not been hit on once! What gives? Not even by the drunkards! Maybe its because Im sober and quiet.. and I dont dress "cool" like the cool kids.
you know what it is.. its gotta be the blood all over my face.. yep. Gotta be.
p.s IMO i think Big Mon was a very handsome man, and should be among the "sex symbols"
Loved his suits and how he wore his hat. He just looks classy! and hey! It's Big Mon! Even when he looked older.. just something really cool about him.
Mike Bunting
Aug-26-2009, 2:37pm
Well.. as a female.. my instrument gets more attention than I do! Ive been to several gigs, and have not been hit on once! What gives? Not even by the drunkards! Maybe its because Im sober and quiet.. and I dont dress "cool" like the cool kids.
you know what it is.. its gotta be the blood all over my face.. yep. Gotta be.
p.s IMO i think Big Mon was a very handsome man, and should be among the "sex symbols"
Loved his suits and how he wore his hat. He just looks classy! and hey! It's Big Mon! Even when he looked older.. just something really cool about him.
Interesting, I think that Mon looked his best after 60., very patrician I thought.
By the way, in some towns I played in, I'd have girls pounding on the door of the hotel room at all hours of the night. Finally had to get up and let them out! :))
bhGreen
Aug-26-2009, 2:41pm
Interesting, I think that Mon looked his best after 60., very patrician I thought.
By the way, in some towns I played in, I'd have girls pounding on the door of the hotel room at all hours of the night. Finally had to get up and let them out! :))
ROFL!
those pesky groupies!
Matt DeBlass
Aug-26-2009, 2:47pm
Well.. as a female.. my instrument gets more attention than I do! Ive been to several gigs, and have not been hit on once! What gives? Not even by the drunkards! Maybe its because Im sober and quiet.. and I dont dress "cool" like the cool kids.
you know what it is.. its gotta be the blood all over my face.. yep. Gotta be.
I think the beard might have something to do with it...
300win
Aug-26-2009, 4:38pm
Well.. as a female.. my instrument gets more attention than I do! Ive been to several gigs, and have not been hit on once! What gives? Not even by the drunkards! Maybe its because Im sober and quiet.. and I dont dress "cool" like the cool kids.
you know what it is.. its gotta be the blood all over my face.. yep. Gotta be.
p.s IMO i think Big Mon was a very handsome man, and should be among the "sex symbols"
Loved his suits and how he wore his hat. He just looks classy! and hey! It's Big Mon! Even when he looked older.. just something really cool about him.
Blood ?, I thought you'd been in a watermelon eating contest and had won !
Mandoviol
Aug-26-2009, 5:00pm
Now I'll have to call up Nintendo with my idea for a new "Mandolin Hero" game. With my luck they'll say "what is that, some kind of sandwich?"
It'll be a game in which you have to julienne a carrot as fast as you can in order to win:))
I think that the mandolin looks kind of exotic to a lot of people (especially F style models), so when women see you playing one, they have to know what it is (unless they already know). Girls who come up to me while I'm playing mine are definitely fascinated by it (even though I usually have to tell them it's not a banjo!). And the smallish size of the mandolin makes it look kind of cute to some of them (not to mention the plethora of strings).
Bertram Henze
Aug-27-2009, 12:29am
Interesting, I think that Mon looked his best after 60., very patrician I thought.
It works sometimes, but not always. E.g. when Sean Connery started to look like me, he had already stopped playing James Bond for good...
dpemberton13
Aug-27-2009, 5:08am
Yeah when I whip my mandolin out to play...I have to beat the women off me. I definetly think that women are like oh yessss mandolin players are hawt! But i mean thats just my opinion... ;)
Ronnie L
Aug-27-2009, 5:22am
I always wondered why my wife hates me playing the Mandolin...she's jealous of all the women it attracts! Yeah Right.......lol
By the way, in some towns I played in, I'd have girls pounding on the door of the hotel room at all hours of the night. Finally had to get up and let them out! :))
RIP, John Duffey.
Mike Crocker
Aug-27-2009, 8:23am
This reminds me of something that happened to me a couple of years ago:
I was walking my dog (chocolate lab) downtown when a car full of college girls stopped at the intersection. They were all smiling and staring at me, and I thought, "You've still got it, John."
I got closer to the car, and one of them said "We LOVE your dog!"
Happens to me all the time...sigh...chicks and dogs. At least they don't seem threatened by a fat gray bearded middle-aged guy with bifocals. A smile and a kind word is all I get these days anyway, anywhere.
Mike
Mandobart
Aug-27-2009, 10:11am
Must only work with single women. My wife hates my playing (well it's actually the Bluegrass she hates). She's okay with Hawaian slack key, though.
Michael Gowell
Aug-27-2009, 11:01am
Chicks and dogs...when I worked on a college campus and frequently brought a puppy or young dog with me to work to get them socialized I was often stopped by young women who wanted to hug and pet them. I figured it was because that was a safe way for them to download some physical affection without fear of being misunderstood.
Never got that reaction myself when I was just carrying an instrument case.