Performance and self respect!

grappagreen

Nowadays it's about playing 'with' the band i.e. being greater than the sum of the parts and having a musical conversation with people who understand my language.

I also love being in the zone and just being totally focussed on the music.

Seeing people enjoy what we do and have a good time is the ultimate prize.

Si

merlin

There is a deep philosophical and Spiritual journey making music. Questions that can't be asked in any other way, answers that only make sense through creativity. 

The free beer, the joy of making a group of people dance, the glorious racket, the sheer buzz and the wonderful sex with beautiful strangers is a bonus. 

 

 

Roland

This is complex. I play for the excitement which comes from live music. Part of that you can get from listening to music. Part of it you can get from a band rehearsal when it all comes together. Sometimes it’s that moment in the final chorus when the bass goes to double time. Sometimes it’s when the lead guitar breaks in with a slightly discordant solo. Sometimes it’s when cross rhythms lock together. The audience is part of this. You can see and hear them respond when they recognise a favourite song, when a moment in the music strikes them. 

It all comes down to flow, that mind state when you’re immersed in the music, moving with it. Your playing is automatic. All your brain is doing  is guiding the emphasis. You, and those around you, are “lost in music”.

mudslide73

Roland said:

It all comes down to flow, that mind state when you’re immersed in the music, moving with it. Your playing is automatic. All your brain is doing  is guiding the emphasis. You, and those around you, are “lost in music”.

That's it @Roland - flow. The magic of a group experience that you're guiding. There's almost a telepathy between everyone.

hollywoodrox

Danny1969 said:

I've been doing it so long I'm not really sure anymore. But I do know I see people as musicians and non musicians as  civilians and I wonder how civilians cope with the day to day drudgery of normal life. I need that getting into the van, going somewhere new and putting on a show fix. Makes me wonder how long I have left doing it and how much I will miss it. 

There's also an absolute pleasure to be had from getting onstage with some really good fellow musicians. You could take the audience away and there's still a buzz form playing and reacting together onstage. 

I can imagine you will be like Keef Danny , just continuing on infinitely with a big grin on your face 

thecolourbox

I think for me, I have three scenarios where I'm performing, each with their own motivation.

1) when I'm performing to do somebody a favour, eg family organised events, charity events. In these scenarios, I do it because I don't like the confrontation of saying no, they are usually an older more straight laced crowd so I have to pick "crowd pleasers" that I find inoffensive to match, and with instrumentation to suit. I hope only to show enough to imply I'm normally more of a creative musician than my song choices suggest but can do this stuff if necessary, and if nobody hates it then it's fine.

2) when I'm performing my own stuff, I do it in order to pretend I've found a way to express my discontent, melancholy and philosophy on the futility of life through the medium of tasteful noise. I hope it does represent me, and I don't care that much if people like the music itself as long as they think my musicianship is not awful. This is usually the stuff I post on here that I've recorded also

3) when I'm paid to perform. I just do what I'm asked to do, in whatever style I'm required to, purely a professional exercise and I will be confident I can do it well enough otherwise I wouldn't have taken it on. So it's similar to filling in forms or reports at work. I'm good at faking expression and stuff in the kind of things I ever get paid to do, and I know numbers 1) and 2) above would not bring paid opportunities, so can be kept totally separate

Stratavarious

The money, showing off and watching the women dancing.

firepaulmusic

Danny1969 said:

I've been doing it so long I'm not really sure anymore. But I do know I see people as musicians and non musicians as  civilians and I wonder how civilians cope with the day to day drudgery of normal life. I need that getting into the van, going somewhere new and putting on a show fix. Makes me wonder how long I have left doing it and how much I will miss it. 

There's also an absolute pleasure to be had from getting onstage with some really good fellow musicians. You could take the audience away and there's still a buzz form playing and reacting together onstage. 

And me......

CoffeeAndTV

Very much like a lot of people on here, although I will say it’s always been a spectrum of feelings.  

On one end of the scale very transactional (I did some cruises and theatre work) and the other truly meaningful communication with the people playing and hopefully entertained the listeners.  I’ve shown off in the past if it felt right, but I also like taking the piss too, because having a laugh at work is quite important.  

Used to play Bring Me Sunshine with a band and love quoting other daft tunes.  We’d add an extra beat on the end of each chorus of a given song when people were dancing for a giggle and watch the reaction. 

BenSirAmos

I do it to deliver the line - musically or vocally - and I think that I can deliver lines better than anyone else or with more originality than anyone else whether it is in a cover or an original tune. But delivering the line means being conscious of the whole performance from the way I dress to the way I sound, to the way I interact with the audience, to interactions with other musicians, the way my instruments and amps look, the lighting, everything. 

Yes, I am really like that and some people probably hate me for it. 

ICBM

This will sound pretentious, but for me it’s some sort of emotional communication with an audience, at least when I play guitar - when I play bass it’s more of a physical communication . I currently only play bass in a band, and exclusively covers, but I play them as if they were originals… for me that’s the best compromise between getting a great audience reaction because they know the songs, and feeling that I’m putting something of myself into it - I’ll never play a song exactly like the record, or even try. Probably not even exactly the same way twice, it’s more an ‘in the moment’ thing - if I feel like doing something a bit different I will, but I do take it seriously and always strive to play well - in time, in tune, right sound, right for the music. I also want to enjoy it - and any money I make is a bonus, not the aim. If it stopped being fun then it wouldn’t be worth doing.

rsvmark

I am playing tonight. Having done various covers bands for 20 odd years, I am back with an originals band. I lose myself…literally. Fucking hell its a bugger to remember all the songs and keys….at my age….

Dominic

For me it's like when you fix something or rebuild an engine .............
That moment when you realise that the song /sound is spot on and all the musicians are in a state of perfect synchronicity with everybody fulfilling a part of the working machine ..........you think to yourself 'Wow ,that sounds really good ' the way it all comes together whether it's somebody beating hell out of some skins stretched over metal frames, blowing into a brass tube or pressing the keys of a keyboard  or strumming the strings of a guitar.
 Conversely if one component fails .....the whole engine falls to bits .........it's that risk element that makes it fun too.

Lewy

I'm a fairly insular person and music - whether it's performing or creating or just discussing - turns out to be the only way I actively enjoy connecting with other humans (apart from my wife and kids).

fretmeister

I like performing because I can be someone else.

It's an escape. A character to play for a couple of hours. Doesn't matter if it's music or magic or even at work as an advocate.

I'm a terrible lyric writer when I try to write as me. But if I write when I'm in character it seems to come out better. Or maybe when I'm in character I'm just less self-conscious.

Being someone else on stage is weird though. The sort of invulnerability that comes from playing a character goes both ways. Slagging off doesn't bother me because it's not me. But praise doesn't have any positive effect either.

Writing this down has made me realise I really need to get out there again. My finger injury has ruined a lot of the fine control I had for magic and the way my Big Band is going I'm not sure I will stick with it. New band leader, different repertoire that is boring me to tears.

I need that escape.

THR1LLHAU5

I play in a hardcore band because screaming into people's faces is generally frowned upon in most other contexts...

If I stop being glib for a second it's like many of you have already said - I believe in the songs and the sentiment behind them. I'm a relatively chirpy and positive guy in my day-to-day but at heart I am cynical, and deeply pained by the myriad shite that's going on in the world (nothing new, most of it's been going on well before I was born). and it doesn't hurt that people come out to hear it off the odd friday and seem to like it. 

We make fuck all money though, and honestly I couldn't care less. 

LuttiS

I get very bored of playing at home by myself, can't usually go for more than 5-10 mins. Playing with other people brings back the joy of the instrument and it's just the sheer fun.

I'm in an originals band and there is not much of a message to communicate other than we enjoy playing, which i hope comes across in the performance.

chor808

First gig just before 50, I stand there looking at the fretboard trying to not make mistakes however what a feeling to look up and see people singing and dancing. I remember watching bands and thinking how can they just make music from strumming, drumming and singing it just looks impossible. 

It's a wonderful feeling making music happen and seeing people enjoy it, performance 2/10 enjoyment 10/10.

RocknRollDave

As a wedding band, our job is to entertain.
Nobody outside of the band* cares if we play the songs ‘right’, or even notices whether we do or not. I’ve had brilliant gigs where everything fell under my fingers just right and I actually didn’t sing badly, and gigs that felt like a slow train wreck from where I was standing. Out front, nobody would have noticed any different, and, bizarrely, often it’s the train wrecks that get the most compliments. Go figure.

My priorities, in my opinion, and in order:

Leave the client happy they chose us.
Entertain their guests, and leave THEM happy.
Play the songs well.
Enjoy myself.


Clearly, any creative/ artistic satisfaction is minimal, but it definitely scratches an itch, so to speak. Call it an itch to ‘let off steam’ or ‘show off’ or whatever, but it definitely soothes a part of me in a way that makes me happier, more confident and less unpleasant to be around. 

That said, I do die a little inside when we play certain songs, which have been requested against my better judgment…



*or even IN the band, sometimes it seems 

shufflebeat

It's the best game in the world, and the only one I'm any good at.