Progress

[Br1ck]

I had an interesting open mic experience last night. About every third open mic night, I take my mandolin out and play songs that I've really tried to work on during the week. Last night I put together a three song set of original very dark songs to play.

Now usually by the time I go on, the crowd is usually sparse, but it was one of those rare nights a bunch of non musician folks showed up and migrated in from the main bar, and they were in a lighthearted mood, and I was thinking, holy ****, I can't bum this crowd out.

I went into my songbook, grabbed three songs that didn't have too many chords and were uptempo, and played them for the first time ever on mandolin while singing, and without thinking, found myself doing an instrumental break, and actually didn't screw up!

I guess that is a good sign I'm getting more comfortable on the mandolin. And once again from a few positive comments, drinking non musicians really don't know any better. LOL

[Psyche]

Lol, "nonmusicians" they should have a nickname like muggles from Harry Potter.

But you're right, they just cant tell, lol.

Just curious how long you been playin?

[Mandobart]

Good job in not being the buzz kill! So many of the musicians I know just don't understand that with very few exceptions, people want to actually have fun when they go out! Most don't want to hear sad, plaintive, plodding, dirges (and I'm not saying this describes your songs - I've never heard them). I focus on upbeat, funny, sometimes wry tunes. I carefully put together setlists featuring a variety of keys, tempos, genres, instruments, etc. Sure I sneak in a few on social issues, with darker themes, but always leave them feeling good. Its my job.

[Br1ck]

Many times I play to seven or eight other songwriters, so anything goes and we all appreciate each other's style, though I listen through a lot of six minute songs and don't have a clue what they are trying to say. But every so often the stars align and it becomes more like a bar gig. I should always have an uptempo cover set ready to go, but the off he cuff approach worked ok.

LOL, agree we need some derisive word to describe the drunken masses.

I've been playing mandolin for about eight months now, but flat picked guitar for a bunch of decades.

[Willie Poole]

I have seen some great pickers fail because they were trying way too hard to sound like someone they aren`t, copying some super star, I sort of overcame the fear of failing in front of an audience by telling them if you expect to hear something like Bill Monroe or Flatt and Scruggs then you are 600 miles too far north...I find that just being yourself will get you more gigs than trying to sound like some super star...I had a try out with a band a few years ago that wanted to play every song EXACTLY like it was on the recording, when i took my first break I was told by the band leader "That isn`t the way John Duffey played it on the recording"..That was when I packed up and left the audition, telling them that "No one could play that song like Duffey does"...That band was filled with some real good pickers but audiences didn`t want to hear the songs played like a CD, if they did they could just stay home and play the CD...

I have been told many times that listening to a band live is so much better than listening to a recording because people understand that musicians are human and do make mistakes and joking about and covering up mistakes makes the crowd enjoy the show a lot more than listening to one that is played to perfection...in other words it is boring...Now too many mistakes will get you the axe so don`t include them into your act on purpose...If you listen, the audience will let you know what they like to hear by the way they respond....

Good luck with all of your gigs...

Willie