Once in a while I stray from performing at nursing homes, assisted living centers and retirement communities and perform at a couple Italian restaurants. At both locations the audience age ranges 55 to 75 years of age. However, they love to dance, which makes for a great night of entertainment.

During the vast majority of my performances I sing nearly every song. Most are in English (British), a half-dozen are in Italian, and I usually throw in a couple of songs in Spanish.

In a typical one or two hour performance I usually do one to three instrumental songs, which includes a Polka medley, and a rock & roll song with a guitar or sax lead. Most of the time time the dancefloor is packed to capacity. I use a laptop computer for lyrics, MIDI files and for MP3s prior to the performance while folks are eating dinner or just siting around an talking. I keep the MP3 level quite low so it's really nothing more than background music.

When I fire up the keyboard I usually begin with something that everyone can dance to, something along the lines of a 50s doowap song, or maybe a ballad such as Unforgetable by Nat King Cole. In both settings (venues), which are relatively small, it is quite clear that I'm playing the keyboard and singing--at least that what I always thought. However, more often than not someone will come up to me and ask "Do you have this song, or that song, in that machine?" I usually respond by saying "There is no songs in the machine--it's me playing those white and black keys, and it's me singing the words to the songs."

The last time this happened I was tired, the nite club was the second job of the day, and I just about went berserk. This was an audience that I have performed in front of for nearly three years, and the person that came up to me and asked for a song was someone that had been at the venue since I began performing there three years ago. He asked me if I had a certain song in the machine, and he did this while I was playing and singing. I stopped dead in my tracks, hit the stop button, and said "Well folks, it's time for Gary's musical education class. This will take about two minutes, but it will require your undivided attention." I then went about demonstrating several instruments in the keyboard without accompianament. The next step was to bring in the drums, bass, etc until I had the entire style file playing. Then I applied the icing to the cake. The song I was working with was La Bamba, which I sing in Spanish.

During the entire demonstration, the guy who interrupted me was standing at my side--he was flabbergasted. His jaw dropped, and at the end he walked over to the table where his spouse was sitting and said "Grace, you're not going to believe this--it's really him playing live music, and that's really his voice you heard singing." At the end of the night he came up to me and said how much more he appreciated what I do, handed my a rolled up $20 bill, shook my hand and said "We'll be back next week with our dancing shoes on."

I've spent more than a half-century learning play music, learning to be the best performer/entertainer I can be, and learning to read an audience. It really irks me at times that some of my audiences, after all these years, still does not realize that I'm not a DJ. Yet, when the MC introduces you, more often than not, they refer to you as THE DJ. Therefore, I decided to provide all my audiences, even those in the nursing homes, assisted living center and retirement communities, with an introductory song where I introduce them to what we (OMB entertainers) actually do while on stage. You would be amazed at the responses--all of which were very positive. I don't do this every time I perform at each venue--only when I see new audience members. Not only does it educate them as to what I (we) do, but it's usually a lot of fun as well.

Cheers,

Gary

quote:Therefore, I decided to provide all my audiences, even those in the nursing homes, assisted living center and retirement communities, with an introductory song where I introduce them to what we (OMB entertainers) actually do while on stage.

Gary ... what is the song you use for this?

t.

Maybe we should take it a step further and bring out Kb's to teach salespeople in music stores like GC, Best Buy, etc, etc, .. what an arranger is all about how they work also

Tony,

The song choice varies. Sometimes I use La Bamba, but there are other times when I use Sway, As Time Goes By, and last week I performed New York--New York.

Donny,

The sales guys at the local GC asked me to do a 1-hour demo using my entire rig. They sell just about everything I use, and one of the guys in the keyboard area said he loved it when I came in the store because I always knew exactly what I wanted, knew how it worked and they could count on me to help is someone had a technical problem they couldn't solve. Problem is they don't have a budget for performers anymore. I would have to do this as a freebee, which ain't gonna' happen. I told them to call when they had a budget, which they said they definitely would.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary I hear ya ....its a shame these sales person have no clue as to what they are selling.

Even 75 year old people realize one person cannot possibly "play" all those instruments.

I don't understand number one why you should be surprised and number two why it would bother you. The Keyboard IS creating 80% of the music. If you don't believe thats true take an 88 and a mike to the next gig., Betcha no one will doubt whats going on and who's making the music.

I certainly don;t think its my job as someone who sells Arrangers its my job to make them think THEY can actually PLAY the machines.LOL Quite the opposite. I show them how EASY it is to sound like a big band and let the machine to the heavy lifting......and yes I tell them there are thousands of songs on there all they need to do is pay the chords...or in the case of the the songs we include simple hit play and sing away...reading the lyrics.

Kingfrog,

Unfortunately, a significant number of audience members believe the music is coming from a CD or tape, and all you are doing is sitting there like a DJ or KJ. This, despite the fact they can see your hands moving across the keys, and watch your lips moving at the mic. I guess my father's old saying really holds true--"The average person is well below average, and common sense isn't at all very common."

Cheers,

Gary

This incident happened to me last week, I was playing my S900 for a wedding , my jazz trio was playing for the reception and the couple getting married wanted me to play gentle music throught the ceremony...I set the S900 on 'Live Strings' and played orchestral style...just me playing with two hands ...no additional automated parts...after the ceremany a guy came up to me and asked what tape I was playing...it was me playing I said ! he really did not beleive it was me me so I placed both hands down and played exaclty what I played through the wedding...guess what? he SILL would not believe it was me playing...you just cant win !!!

Take the money & run.....nobody cares in this DJ saturated world. Not playing a acoustic instrument then your a faking DJ in the worlds eyes. It's the sad reality.
What isn't fake is the Money ! Don't be so sensitive out there nothing is going to change ....we ALL created this environment the last 40 years .....whats the big surprise now?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 02-12-2009).]

Interesting... I can't understand why anyone with a IQ over 50, could see you singing, and you playing the keys and think it is a CD.

Why in H would anyone think we would go that level of trouble if all you did is DJ (not to take away from DJ's as there is some real good ones).

Lee

I think I had posted a story similar to Gary's a few weeks back, when a member (whom I know pretty well) of a CC I work at came over and asked about the kb ... actually, he asked if there were CDs or tapes in the 'machine' ...
I took the time to 'educate' him as well .. he was quite impressed with both the board and what I could do with it ...
t.

Gary, often, club owners aren't much better. I was playing bass in a band backing an Eddie Arnold kind of singer in the late 60's. The club had just been bought by a great big old coal mine owner.

We were rehearsing one day, and he came up to me and he said, "Kid, I been paying you $175.00 a week to play that guitar, and I ain't heard you play one damn song yet". I stopped playing and he said, "Huh. That kid adds the boom boom".

One of the long-time jobs I had was at a company which had two locations; one run by the mom and the newer one run by the son. The mom loved me; the kid hated me. He preferred three chord acoustic players. This is a high-end restaurant, cost-wise. The biggest sellers are fried chicken and meat loaf. The brilliant thing is, these guys have talked rednecks with money to think they're really happening when they pay $24.95 for a couple of pieces of fried chicken (good cheicken, but DAMN!).

Their competitors hired me because I didn't play Jimmy Buffet music, which, they say, was totally inappropriate for their establishment.

Club owners. Some are no smarter than the general public.

R.

Can't argue with that Russ--I'm come across similar club owners and they still have me shaking my head.

Gary

Gary, great post!! Tony, we'll have the most educated audience in Rhody if we do that Not a bad idea at all.

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 02-12-2009).]

Most ain't no smarter'n a rock...

Why you wanna insult the general public that bad?

Great post Gary.
I had the same here.
So, since last December I decided to increase my music classes and to work in my own compositions, preparing a new CD and reduce drastically the gigs.
No gigs, no travels,no audience, no troubles.
Just a delicious sociability with my young students.
May be a light style of life for a tired musician.
Chico

Chico,

Great to see you posting again. I too will be curtailing my performance activities during the next two years. I plan to cut back to 100 jobs a year in 2010, take the month of January off and spend a lot more time sailing--maybe on a bigger boat.

Cheers,

Gary

Whats the difference, except that you cannot repeat a chorus from a CD or Tape when the playback is 6 instruments and you are playing ONE? I think they are pretty smart to understand you are not playing all the parts and that no one could possibly play all those instruments, and that there is a button that can be pushed to get a particular song. I don;t know. I think those who understand that do not need to be educated. they are not easily fooled.

+1....It doesn't matter. They hear drums and see no drummer.....who's fooling whom?

I think the irony of this is when I was fresh out of the U.S. Navy (1960), sitting on a stool in a smoke-filled bar room, playing a 6-string Gibson and singing through a 100-watt guitar amp, people were just as dumb. They would come up to me while I was singing and playing and begin talking to me just as if I wasn't doing a thing other than sitting there. Even back then they would still ask stupid questions such as "Do you have something from Elvis?" as if there was some magical music and singing coming from the amp. Nothing has REALLY changed in all those years--nothing! And, I have a good friend that plays a grand piano while his wife sings. Guess what? His audience members do the same damned thing to him as well. This, again, reinforces my father's old sayings.

Case Closed,

Gary

While setting up for a Luau job tonight, I put on a midi file, grabbed a cordless, walked the room and sang with the midi to check levels.

Two ladies walked into the room and I overheard one say to the other..."Oh, we are having Karaoke tonight".

Whatever.
It wasn't worth a response.

Eddie

Eddie dont get upset be glad your gigging.......as long as we operate automated machines in anyway shape or form versus an solo acoustic accompaniment instruments eg: Guitar, Piano, Accordion, with vocals only we will always be perceived as DJ's..KJ's, etc, in today's world.........your not fooling anyone.....but your getting paid & having fun.

Yeah Donnie. I hear ya....and I am not upset. I can't blame them for thinking that after seeing me walking around singing to a track.

Magic isn't magic either. It's an illusion...right? And magicians are damned proud of it.

Eddie

Hey guys - and girls - ... how many audience members do you really think are out there analyzing what the hell we are playing or not playing ?!?!? .... Rather, I think (HOPE)they are just enjoying the music, whether they be dancing, humming along, tapping a toe, whatever ...
And as for US, are we TRYING to FOOL anybody into thinking we are playing all those parts??? I HOPE NOT - and if we are trying to fool them, then I hope the audience is smart enough to know better !!! ...


As for some people relating what we do as karaoke, well, to some degree, I guess it is ... And unfortunately, most of the time when a staff member sees me taking equipment into the hall, I will be asked if I need a table to put my gear on ... that's just the nature of the beast ... I just say, "no, I'm not a DJ, I'm a musician" ...
t.

Have him BRING the table then use it to put your drink on .....