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#317679 - 02/25/11 07:28 PM
Re: Always be professional and do your best!
[Re: hammer]
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Member
Registered: 06/24/05
Posts: 892
Loc: Baltimore, MD USA
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I don't believe I would want to return to a place that didn't allow any interaction between entertainer and residents. Interaction is the hallmark of what my performance is all about. Gary mentioned Avondell. I too entertain there on a regular basis and you won't find a more upscale place, yet everyone is very friendly, they dance the night away and I always have to stay a half hour or so after the job just to talk with eveyone who comes up. For me, this is what it is all about.
Joe
_________________________
PSR S950, PSR S900, Roland RD 700, Yamaha C3 6'Grand, Sennheiser E 935 mic, several recording mics including a Neuman U 87, Bose L1 Compact, Roland VS 2480 24 Track Recorder Joe Ayala
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#317690 - 02/26/11 06:14 AM
Re: Always be professional and do your best!
[Re: hammer]
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Member
Registered: 07/16/09
Posts: 319
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This week I played a new venue. It is a very upscale retirement community($750.000 buy in for each resident) and while there I am not to "interact" with any of the residents on a one-on-one basis. They believe they protect their clients this way. Security is also very tight.
Anyway, my location for the gig was in a very out of the way spot and during the gig not a single person approached me nor did I hear any applause or acknowledgment that I was even there.
I figured what a waste of time.
I played my usual songs and packed up and left - again without a single person speaking to me. The next day the AD called me and
booked me on a weekly basis for the rest of the year. She said the residents wanted me back all the time.
I guess you never really know what your audience is thinking.
Hammer no offense, but if I'd hear someone playing covers with an arranger keyboard, I would not feel compelled to give applauses. This is not because I am mean ,or because I am diminishing your job in any ways.. I would simply assume that you are doing your job, no more and no less. Maybe I am wrong, but I think that the audience perceives the above in the same way. I don't think they meant to be nasty. Personally I respect an audience like that. I can't stand an audience who gives applauses like monkeys every 3 seconds for nothing. In some settings, like classical music concerts, this happens often. I can feel that people applaude out of social requirements, rather than because they really want to applaude. They also do it out of habit. I think that sucks. Especially rich people, do you think they give a damn.... they can get a lot by just giving directions; they simply thought that they are paying for a service (and in that, I can't fault them). But in the end, you are right, what do you care, just be as pro as possible. It's not worth wondering what other people think of you or why. It's their bag, who cares. Don't even hate them, as it would show in your profession.
Edited by arranger_yes_pc_no (02/26/11 06:17 AM)
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#317699 - 02/26/11 08:47 AM
Re: Always be professional and do your best!
[Re: arranger_yes_pc_no]
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Senior Member
Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
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no offense, but if I'd hear someone playing covers with an arranger keyboard, I would not feel compelled to give applauses. This is not because I am mean ,or because I am diminishing your job in any ways.. I would simply assume that you are doing your job, no more and no less.
Maybe I am wrong, but I think that the audience perceives the above in the same way. I don't think they meant to be nasty. Personally I respect an audience like that. I can't stand an audience who gives applauses like monkeys every 3 seconds for nothing. In some settings, like classical music concerts, this happens often. I can feel that people applaude out of social requirements, rather than because they really want to applaude. They also do it out of habit. I think that sucks.
Especially rich people, do you think they give a damn.... they can get a lot by just giving directions; they simply thought that they are paying for a service (and in that, I can't fault them).
But in the end, you are right, what do you care, just be as pro as possible. It's not worth wondering what other people think of you or why. It's their bag, who cares. Don't even hate them, as it would show in your profession. If I ever felt this way, I would retire immediately and never play another note in public. At the point I'm identifying applause as an enemy of any sort, I need to find a shrink. If I had a dollar for every time a client complained to me about other performers who appear to be just going through the motions, or just there to collect a paycheck, I'd be rich. I'm willing to bet anyone an ice cream sundae that if hammer keeps this gig for 6 months or more, he'll almost certainly develop some friendliness between him and some of these guests. To me, it sounds like they want a Country Club atmosphere in this retirement community. That's cool, I suppose, but even CC's warm to the musicians over time. Even rich people get old and wind up in the "bad neighborhoods" of the fancy retirement communities. They can play the detached, socially elite game while they're in Independent, but once they're in the Health Centers, they warm up real fast. The appreciation they have for quality entertainment can not be over stated, their reaction to it is genuine, sincere and heartfelt. I'm pretty sure the old timers like Gary, Donny and Cass will agree with me...
_________________________
Bill in Dayton
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