Ian its much more then that .....stepping away, or playing styles/smf/mp3 or whatever if you aint playing an solo acoustic instrument...."your not fooling anyone"!
In many ways it excells you flexability & entertainment quality as a Pro Perfromer to interact with the audience, instead of seeing someone with their head down in the music & very little stage presence.
But you knew that right? no way around it. Be very proud of being the pilot/controller/conductor of your multi-sounding Arranger keyboard music making box....I am!



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-29-2008).]

Donny, both things are wrong, IMO.

Heads down 'players', and heads up karaoke billed as 'live' music. If musical credibility is of any value whatsoever. If it's just the dollar, well, the audience likes dancing dogs, too, and spinning plates..! You aren't going to do THAT, too, are you?

DJ-ing, karaoke, 'backing track' acts... All of these can be done by entertainers with NO playing skills at all. The trouble with moving into these areas, as you ARE a 'player', too, is that you place yourself in competition with others that have little in the way of a learning path, so a LOT more competition. At the top of your game now? That's good, but you put yourself on a level playing field with others with no skills at all, and you make it a lot harder on yourself than choosing to compete in a field that HAS to have skilled players, or the audience walks out...

I don't know about your area, but down here, the majority of venues refuse to have 'backing track/DJ' acts, and want as much live music as they can get. To the point where I have to work hard to point to to the managers that, although we use artificial drums, very little else IS automated. Once they see us, they get the point, but 'entertainers' that just stand behind a keyboard and sing (or walk out in front of them) only play the Elks Lodges and VFWs, and the clubs and restaurants go out of their way to avoid this kind of act.

I guess being in the 'backwards' South has it's advantages!

Diki....

When you have a family depending on you .....you do what you have to so you can put food on the table & bring them all up normally best you can. If someone is multi talented and can do many things at once...or just DJ, Karaoke, ....or just do a solo cocktail lounge piano gig & sing all the better. No one wants to go into a restaurant with only "one thing" on the menu. After 40 years of making people dance I think I know what I'm doing .....maybe my style aint for everyone & that's good leaves me more work . If you do it better then most out there no matter what you do you will work if you want to....& play where you want to.....& also get the price you want....if not, you become run of the mill playing the venues you dont like. South/North /east/west I couldn't care less People are people. You want to use auto drums fine, midi files backup also? fine who cares ....just play good quality music ANY WAY YOU CAN & enjoy it with the audience.

Correctomundo.

If you know your craft, much of which involves knowing what your audience expects, you should have no trouble getting work.

Ian

Exactly Ian

I cant stress this enough....
"MAKE THEM WANT & SEEK YOU" not the other way around. Word of mouth is a powerful ting which can work FOR or AGAINST you

But is DJ-ing 'playing music'? Or is it 'playing a CD'?

Because the second can be done by anyone with a CD player, and the first only by a well trained few.

Look, I'm not trying to put down what you do, but simply to point out that as you use more and more entertainment tools that ANYBODY can do, eventually you put yourself in a position of FAR greater competition and struggle to keep jobs that, if they were kept 'musician only' would keep that food on the table for a lot longer.

And then, there's what do YOU want to be? A DJ, or a musician. No amount of spin or self justification can make those the same thing. You can do BOTH, but they are NOT the same thing (or I really hope you don't think that!).

The trouble I see is, that as you train up the audience to accept DJ-ing as part of a 'live musician' show, you are setting the venue up to go ALL DJ. If the audience no longer cares WHAT you do, as long as they are having a good time, you open the venue up to the LEAST expensive alternative that offers that alternative.

You have probably heard a LOT of 'entertaining' DJ's. Do you really want to go toe to toe with them? They don't need to buy thousands of dollars worth of arrangers, in addition to the lights and sound system you have in common. They don't need to have external harmonizers, practice for hours, learn new tunes.

I'm not saying this is where your show is, now. But as technology makes it possible for you to do HIS job, you start to get into getting HIS rate of pay. Again, I don't know your area's financial layout, but down here, the DJ's (other than radio and HUGE dance clubs) make LESS than musicians. Hence less food on the table for THER kids. If you are going to make a move into a market, why one that makes even LESS?

You train the audience to blur the line between 'musician' and DJ, you blur the line about what the venue will be willing to pay you...

But at least, if this ever happens, we will be able to look around and say we only had ourselves to blame... The DJ's certainly didn't learn how to play, did they?

Diki.....its way too late for what you saying in your post above.....the last 30 years we've already let that happen....no its a big MIXFEST!
But when a DJ or anyone sees you stop playing CD's or Mp3's etc & start playing a set of songs on the Arranger KB & Sing & the floor is packed with dancers.......this is where YOU SHINE & makes him shrivel up into a corner because HE CANT DO THAT!
Multiple talents are cause for excitement top that off with the professional experience to control a room & my friend that is a recipe for SUCCESS!

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-29-2008).]

But that's where it falls apart... If he is packing the floor as well, and that's what the goal is, the process with which this is achieved is immaterial.

The more you blur the line between your job and his, the more you blur the achievement when you DO pack the floor by playing music, rather than a CD...

Let me put it another way... If you could pack the dance-floor WITHOUT ever playing a CD, why would you start?

If you CAN'T without playing CD's, that's different. But that's not you, is it? I hope we are not just talking about 'break music'. We ALL do that, unless the gig has a DJ, but doing it DURING your show... Why do that if you CAN pack the floor already?

That's simply diluting your achievement, IMO...

Do what makes you comfortable. But I'm sorry, that's not for me...

There are certain songs NO Arranger player can pull off not only because the styles wont work right to the audiences ears & the vocals etc etc .......but its all about SATSFYING the requests for these line dances....& just about any of the STANDARD party songs that are always asked for. Are you going to say NO & risk the consequences of disappointing the bride, or whoever hired you & their guests with "I dont play that stuff" or just play the CD/mp3 and make them happy & dance..... & then mix it up again afterwards with your Kb live which they will also love if done right. There is nothing wrong with mixing it up with different ways of performing music, to make the customer happy & making the job flow while your in TOTAL control. I saw it all happening many years ago......& look where we are now....its a sad necessity in today's musical performance scenario in Banquets & Affairs. NH's is a totally other story & requires 99% live playing which is fine also as long as your good enough to pull it off with your chops & vocals.

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-29-2008).]

If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.