This was supposed to be my title..ran out of room.

THE VISUAL PART OF THE PERFORMANCE...ANYONE REMEMBER LAWRENCE WELK?

I was reminded, at a gig, how important seeing the instrument played was for the audience.

Earlier this month, a woman came up to us, after a gig, to compliment us on how great the sound was..we were using our Tyros 4(I was playing) she is a keyboard player/songwriter and has heard us before.

"You did a great job on the keyboard" she said(little does she know..thank you Tyros). But, she said, I miss you on the guitar.

Now, here's the thing...

I used guitar voices prominently throughout the gig. Played some stuff, that to my ears, sounded as good on the Tyros as it did on some of my guitars.

When I told her that I did play guitars...just did it on my keyboard, she said "Yes, I know, sounded good, but I like watching you play guitar".

So, where does Lawrence Welk fit in?

When his band played, whatever instrument played at the time, the musicians stood up...guitar, sax, clarinet, keyboard, trumpet, etc.

Not only did you hear; trombones, trumpets, guitars, keyboards etc...you saw them too.

So now, we're contemplating me going to back to the guitar and my wife playing the styles on the keyboard.



It's all about the show, right?

I've always considered the visual aspects of any performance equally as important as the sound itself. In the visual aspect, I look at the overall appearance of the rig itself, no wires running across the floor other than the power cord, line(s) to the PA, and some pedals - that's it - bare minimum. All other wires are concealed by my console and completely out of sight of the audience.

Lighting is of paramount importance and should always be appropriate. For me, flashing, glaring lights are out of the question. My lighting of myself, the sign and keyboard are all soft.

Dress code: I book a lot of jobs and every person that has ever booked me has commented on how my appearance always has been very professional. I'm always amazed at performers that show up in dirty work boots, jeans they wore on a construction job earlier in the week, some weird tee shirt, and maybe a grungy looking cowboy hat. In my case, it's a neat hair cut, highly polished, black shoes, black slacks, satin shirt (cooler months), guyabera shirt (warmer months), matching tie, silk vest, cuff links, gold tie clasp, clean shaven, etc...

As for standing up while playing the keyboard, NAH! Lawrence Welk sat down, Little Richard sat down, Jerry Lee sat down, jumped around, and did some crazy crap. Lots of guitar players sit on stools, and lots of other performers sit while performing. I stood for years while playing and no one ever said I looked more professional because I was standing, and no one ever said I looked less professional when I began sitting down while performing - it doesn't a make a bit of difference.

Cheers,

Gary

No one ever said I didn't look good on stage

I think it is a great idea to play guitar while your wife plays the Tyros..

Like it or not, when the audience sees a guy playing guitar, they know it's not a track of some kind (even though it may BE). I have to admit that on a couple of occasions where a venue insisted on at least a duo, I had a friend, who could barely strum a guitar, go along and strum in time with the music. He was not plugged in to the p.a. Lots of remarks about how great the BAND sounded.
Go figure.

Related to this topic ... is how one places their rig (keyboard setup) relative to the audience. I tend to do what I have seen organists (jazz and classical) do, and pianists do ... that is, I place my rig so people can see what I'm doing rather than seeing my face. I always get good comments afterward, by people who enjoyed seeing that I was really playing and not using a recording etc., people commenting at "what I can do" (getting the sounds, etc.) and them enjoying seeing all the "action" of my playing the keyboards.

This goes against one entertainer's rule, which is to "face your audience". I have tried it both ways, many times, over the years. I clearly get the best response when people can see what I'm doing vs. just seeing my face and not seeing much of what I'm doing. I notice that at an organ concert, if the venue can do it (if the organ is movable), they usually position it so that the organist is facing AWAY from the audience, but the audience can see his hands, feet, the organ keyboards, etc. Same for pianists - usually the piano is placed to try to give at least some of the audience a view of the pianist "in action" at the keyboard.

Probably "key" in this, is that I don't sing - if I sang, of course I'd want the audience to see my face as I sing. But since I'm playing only, I usually angle the setup so they can see me play. Of course, between songs I often turn toward them, face them, as I talk about a next song or get them involved in the 'show' via some comments, introducing a sing-along, etc.

I'm curious about how others handle this aspect of performing ...
-Jim

I'm not an entertainer, but several things have worked for me over the years....at least they have helped keep me working.

First,. for years, I had a wall of instruments on my house gigs. the group was a B-3 player, drummer and me. I did all singing ans instrumental solos.

Instruments included Nylon string, mandolin, banjo (tenor), telecaster, double neck Mosrite, Guild Jazz, vibes, steel string
and Wurlitzer piano.

Depending on the crowd, I'd change instruments frequently; mostly for show. When Glen Campbell had Southern Nights, I'd use an electric 12 string for that. I did Pieces of April (Three dog Night) with a 335 through a 127RV Leslie. I did a lot of Joe Maphis solos on double-neck. I did all Feliciano tunes and Sergio Mendez tunes on nylon string.

Vibes were for recognizable Hampton and Berton tunes. Wrlitzer was used for pop tunes by Ray Charles and others (What'd I Say...pure Wirlitzer on the intro).

Even now, many people know me as the guy who played all the instruments.

While that's not possible with one nighters, I still have jazz, nylon and hibred (piezo and magnetic pick-ups)guitars on stage; usually three keyboards, and adjust the mix so lots of musicians come to see me to check out the equipment, which, because of age (mine) are now collectibles.

One od the few benefits of getting old!


R.

Jim, when I had a three tier rig, I did the same thing. And, I believe that those using a B3 or a piano, especially an upright, had the same wall between them and the audience. With my current rig, that's not a problem. And anyone standing, or dancing within 15 feet of me can see it's really me playing those keys, but sometimes I doubt that they even notice. Either position, maintaining eye contact with the audience is of paramount importance, at least I believe this is the case. It's that eye contact that connects you to them.

Cheers,

Gary

that glass scares the crap out of me....
if it spills that is it ...yikes!!!

on another note its amazing how we all play and perform so differently on stage.....

1- I couldn't sit that high.

2- I could never use a headset mic.

3- You know how I feel about using a Bose of any kind.

4- At least we have three things in common...
S-950.......Laptop.....and good looks!

The glass was only there for a few seconds while the photo was being taken. I had just picked it up for a sip, when the lady came up to take the photo. Normally, the only thing on that shelf is the tip box. That was at the Raven Inn Restaurant where I've been filling in for a friend who is having some health problems.

As for the stool, I modified it with a thick, larger, more comfortable seat and backrest, and the height isn't really that high, but it's well above the keyboard so the ladies can oogle me.

I love that headset mic, and would never go back to a handheld. You keep saying that it blocks my face, but in reality the head of the headset mic is a fraction of the size of your handheld mic, so more of your face is being blocked than mine.

As for the Bose, no one that owns and uses one cares how you feel about them - WE LOVE OUR BOSE SYSTEMS!

Cheers

Gary

Gary carry on........you da man!
please don't retire from music anytime soon....we need ya deep in the trenches every day baby!!!
As for me I wanna play at my own funeral dammmmiittt!!!