Problem Solved.

Worried about nothing!! The lady that hired us called and said to do our regular songs. That's why we were hired.

She apologized for the late notice. The request consisted of "Old Country" Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Polkas etc. Been playing them for years.

Thanks for the help.

Jerryghr

It's great that it's all stuff that you do and it's even better that she told you in advance of the gig ...

POSTED BY GARY—
“IT'S ALL A MATTER OF READING THE AUDIENCE - IT'S THAT SIMPLE. BEFORE I PLAY THAT FIRST SONG, I LOOK AT THE AUDIENCE, DETERMINE THEIR AGES, AND OFTEN GO THROUGH THE CROWD AND ASK IF THEY HAVE ANY SPECIAL SONGS THEY WOULD LIKE ME TO PLAY. THEN, I RETURN TO THE KEYBOARD, AND SELECT APPROPRIATE SONGS FROM WHEN THAT AUDIENCE WAS 15 TO 45 YEARS OF AGE, WHICH IS THE ERA THAT WOULD WORK BEST FOR MOST AUDIENCES”.

THE MAN IS RIGHT ON. BECAUSE IT IS A RESTAURANT WE CAN ASSUME THAT PEOPLE CAME TO EAT AND TALK.

I PLAYED AT MAYACO COUNTRY CLUB, IT WAS AN UPSCALE CLASSY RESTAURANT. USED MY KN7000 AND PROGRAMED THE ACCOMPANIMENT TO PLAY BASS,DRUMS AND PIANO. I USED ONLY PIANO FOR MY RIGHT AND LEFT HAND. I MADE SURE THE MUSIC DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THEIR CONVERSATIONS. ON OCCASIONS I USED A FLUTE OR A SOFT TRUMPET. MY JOB WAS TO DO WHAT GARY SAID – THEY WILL LET YOU KNOW BY A SMILE OR SOME TYPE OF BODY MOVEMENT.

WHEN I APPLIED FOR THE JOB THEY SAID NO THEY WANTED A PIANO PLAYER. I ASKED FOR ONE NIGHT, THEY AGREED. I WAS THERE FOR SIX YEARS. GOOD INSTRUMENT USED PROPERLY, (VOLUME) AND DOING WHAT OUR GOOD FRIEND GARY SAID. NORMALLY THERE IS NO DIALOG BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE MUSICIAN. I DID NOT SING UNLESS IT WAS REQUESTED.

WHY DO MUSICIANS GET SO CONCERNED WITH A REQUESTED SONG? WHEN I WAS ASKED TO PLAY A SONG I DID NOT KNOW I APOLOGIZED AND HOPED I DID NOT DISAPPOINT THEM. I FEEL THAT THEY WERE SATISFIED BECAUSE I ADDRESSED THE PROBLEM WITH RECOGNITION. I AM TALKING ABOUT 100 OR MORE PEOPLE IN A CATERING HALL -- PLEASING ONE WITH A SONG I AM NOT SURE OF OR THAT IS NOT MY STYLE, OR THAT WAS NOT ME, WOULD NOT DO MUCH FOR THE OTHER 99 PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE. I BURIED THEIR REQUEST WITH ONE OF MY BEST EXCITING SONGS THAT WAS POPULAR AT THAT TIME.

JOHN C.
PS, I am assuming that there is no dance floor in the restaurant.
I DON'T KNOW HAO THIS POST CAME OUT ALL CAPS AAAAH COMPUTERS,

One of the great joys and, at the same time, one of the increasingly great hazards these days is playing to people on a one-on-one. i.e. playing for a very small crowd or "strolling" among restaurant tables.

I get "strolling" jobs here and there that I do on accordion. I'm a very sociable person so I tend to talk easily between playing. Most tables will greet you with pleasantries and eagerness to have you play for them. But in the few steps and few seconds before you visit the next table or booth, you have to do a quick assessment of the situation you're walking into. i.e. would they rather eat just now, are they having a deep conversation or is it a first date and courtship and it's not a good time to interrupt, are they just plain immune to music, does the man look like he might become "possessive" if you talk to the wife first, has anyone had too much to drink, what type of music might they be into, shall I talk on a personal level or keep it professional, and other situations that might be good plots for a horror movie.

It can be challenging but exciting at the same time. Most are eager for you to approach them, but each person (or persons) has to be analyzed in those "few seconds" before you start your interaction.

People don’t realize that good entertaining is not only a musical endeavor but a psychological one also.

Mark

Great post Mark...I never thought about having to size-up individual tables as you do.

Reminded me when a buddy of mine was moving out of town. I took him to an Italian restaurant. We ordered two beers and dinner. As we finished dinner a strolling accordion player made his way around the tables and finally got to us. He said, "What can I do for you?" My buddy, (a real country, kinda Shreveport guy) says, "Two more beers". I was shocked and felt terrible for the guy. But he got the beers and brought them to the table with the accordion still strapped on.

We didn't see or hear him again.

Eddie

I always found "honesty to be the best policy." My own Modus Operandi in responding to requests that I do not know is to simply say: "I'm sorry but I don't know that song."

Of course, I'm not that blunt. I temper the statement, and appease the requester by adding on something like "hey, that's a really great song though....I'm going to get the music to that and.......LEARN IT! This way the person is honored for his musical knowledge and it takes the edge off of the simple "I'm sorry but I don't know that song."

My other response is to say something humorous like: "you know, when I first started playing music there were only two songs in the world: Moon River and Hello, Dolly. Now 50 years down the line there are hundreds of thousands of great songs out there, but, unfortunately, you can't learn them all. And, even if you could, you'd forget them fast not being able to play them regularly." People like to hear odds and ends snippets like that when said in a humorous way.

Mark