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Donny......I'm not sure why you posted a series of Grade B and C OMB's, but thank goodness this post went South.

But, the one thing I did get from (wasting 30 minutes of my life) watching each one is noticing.......they're all generic......all interchangeable....all doing nothing extraordinary......all doing the same interpretations of what they think a OMB does.

There is no creativity present in any of them. They play music and sing.....one song at a time. They read charts (very unprofessional). They don't talk much "with" their audience.....rather they talk AT an audience. They're not aware a good OMB performance is not playing a single song, stabbing at the chords, singing here and there, an occasional remark. It's a total integration of all of that, and it's done out of your head......impromptu as you go along, with no dead space anywhere.

Is it any wonder people think twice when it comes to hiring a OMB.

Bill wrote the following a while back:

"if a keyboard arranger player started using full styles they would be unlikely to get another gig, as the owners would just turn round and say what’s the point as I can just stick a tape on and get the same at a much lower price.

Another thing with the UK & Europe is that they are heavily into medleys so playing on the fly is a must, (Songbooks and full styles just get in the way) with most medleys needing to be created to what the crowd wants at the time. (They also like to see the player doing something not just pressing buttons unless he is been hired as a DJ)

Finally home arranger players that use styles to sound good at home don’t want to hear pro players using full styles but prefer to hear what the musician can do with the board. (They will usually walk out or ignore the player if he uses the stuff they can play themselves at home by pressing a button)."