Bill, I think it is dangerous territory to offer up opinions to those in charge of hiring and firing other "entertainers"..

What goes around..comes around...

I don't know why that fella lip synced..but he may have had a justified reason...

I have seen first hand (my own band)..where at the end of the night ..my lead male vocalists lost his voice..and the audience expected to hear his signature tunes...At my suggestion..he lip synced to a previous recording [his voice over}...Not a person in the room knew..I even polled people I knew..after the show...

The key word is "entertainer"...and the show must go on!!!

The most important part of entertaining at nursing homes..is not how great you perform...or pleasing the AD..or pleasing other "fellow" performers...Your job is to "entertain" the residents..take them away from the daily grind..to a happy place ..if only for an hour..
This can include quality music, but without sincere interaction with your audience..it is empty..

The residents want to feel good..They want the interaction with a friendly face (even a pretty face.. )..They want you to recall them by name..and know you to be a friend..they want you to be a genuine person first....more than a great player...

BTW: be sure to be up front with the AD..that you aren't really playing all those great parts coming out of the arranger...or that great SMF..that made you sound like a "super star"...

I think you get my meaning..

Stay out of the politics....don't get caught up with knocking down other "entertainers"...there will always be someone else..better than us....I hope they keep quiet..

Amen to Fran! Couldn't agree more.

Mike- I have no issues at all with a variety of different entertainers. What I do have an issue with is when someone is hired to something, then fakes it apparently with out any knowledge or approval from the actual client. It's a pretty ballsy thing to pull, IMO...My loyalty in that situation is to my client who has asked me my advice, not a musician who I really don't know anything about. YES, there may be circumstances that have made it a reasonable thing to do, which I again suggested she talk to them before deciding anything.

Gary-Yes, many places around Dayton/CBus/Cincy have Resident Councils. Your description of them is dead on. Likewise, there are several meetings a year of AD's who share entertainment contacts.

Fran-I had no knowledge of these issues with those entertainers, none at all...Until she asked to talk with me about it. I guess I disagree with your characterization that "I offered it up." In this case, the specific AD had mentioned letting them go if it turned out they were faking it and denied it. I supported her in that feeling. I also suggested to her that before she did anything that she sit down and talk with them about it. I agree 1000% about your description of what the residents are looking for.

I've suggested several "acts" to various facilities and usually they're very satisfied and continue to use them on a regular basis.

Lastly, I was worried when I got my 1st arranger that everyone would think I was riding sequenced songs and not really playing any more. So, I "showed" my new keyboard to most of my clients...Gave them a quickie demo on how it worked and that it requires that I actually play. Everyone seems to appreciate that and there's plenty of references toward me being one of the "real musicians" that come in. Certainly not the best, but I do play every song.

My point here guys wasn't to go after anyone gratuitously, but the client herself felt cheated, to use her words. As an entertainer, she wanted my take on whether she had a right to feel that way or did most entertainers do this.

Maybe its the market I'm in, but their have been some absolute ass-clowns working around here the last several years. One guy has been dropped by several NH's because he gets too friendly with the residents and some staff...Another hurled racist comments at a minority staff member during an Elvis show...another cussed at a noisy resident...

These guys need to be put out of business. This really doesn't effect me in terms of gigs so much, but AD's have tough jobs without entertainers coming in and being inappropriate to the residents.

They should get our best efforts, right?

There are several guys who do an absolute terrific job and they're getting more and more work. I'm really happy for that...

------------------
Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 08-16-2008).]

I agree with all your points but when you say client do you mean the residents. Correct me if I'm wrong but it wasn't the residents complaining was it?

The day I lip sync (or 'play-sync') over a recording will be the day I cease to call myself a musician..

Period.

For shame, gentlemen, for shame...

Mike-

No, when I say "client" I'm referring to the actual employees of the company that hires me. I consider the residents, my audience. The residents were likely unaware of the lipsyncing issue at all.

I'd say you need to cater to both, and can usually do so without any conflict of interest.

Playing devils advocate, it'll be a tough call for the one AD because this act is pretty well liked by the residents. However, they aren't used that much because there are other acts who are more favored by the residents...per a resident council as Gary mention...so they get some leftovers...

I really think a conversation will fix everything, unless the entertainer flat out lies about it. Just because the residents may really love what a performer does, doesn't give them license to take shortcuts or deceive the audience.

Given the mental state of so many of these residents, the AD is also charged with being their advocate, I think.

I wish I could somehow get about five or six of us nursing home guys and put together a national tour, lol... Go around the country and just blow the doors off of some of these places.

It won't happen, but wouldn't it be kinda fun?



------------------
Bill in Dayton

just go to disneyworld and watch a show li[sync is done all the time & the crowds love it.

But are those people 'musicians', or are they 'actors'?

Or, are they, as I suspect, merely cheap hired labor, because they can't afford talented people who can actually play the parts....

What do you want to be? The real thing, or the pathetic scab who merely apes and imitates the real thing?

Do you want to play the guitar, or do you want to play 'Guitar Hero'? Do you want wealth, or do you want 'bling'? Is the shallow surface enough, or do you actually want any substance to your entertainment? Do you want to be replaced by a dummy in a chicken hat, or do you want to BE the dummy in the chicken hat?

For shame, gentlemen, for shame...

"What do you want to be? The real thing, or the pathetic scab who merely apes and imitates the real thing?"

Diki....I think for a lot of us, it's not about what we want to be anymore. That was a luxury we could indulge in a few years back. Now it's more about how do we keep working and staying ahead of the massive amount of competition these days? Not to mention paying the bills and maybe having a beer once in a while!

Lucky

It is true we have to adapt to today's ideas of making music, to a certain degree, like using midi tracks to sing and play over (hopefully,sparingly). On the otherhand, if it becomes necessary to lipsync, I would find a new field. To sell your soul is going too far.