Let me also add performing Live "FULL TIME for a living" vs just being a part time weekend warrior also makes a very BIG DIFFERENCE in your thought process in so many ways especially if your writing and performing all original songs regarding the business vs a home player who doesn't,.....this has been a great thread so far thank you all for your thoughts.

Since 1969 playing at Lounges, Restaurants, then larger events weddings, then Hotels, Conventions, etc.. I guess the largest single party I played was about 3000+...then also county fairs, with audiences 5000 plus...

I've only been performing live for about 9 or 10 years. I started just playing piano at cocktail hours mostly wallpaper music. I then bought a PSR3000, then started at senior facilities. Love playing piano only but nothing beats the satisfaction of playing for an old appreciate audience in senior centers.

My first live audience was in 1958 at a nite club in Barcelona, Spain, I was playing guitar and singing with a drummer, sax player, a bass player and another guitar player. I was scared to death, about 60 ppl in the place, and my Spanglish was very limited to say the least. The other guys thought I was great, and urged me to continue, which I did until last year.

I performed at nite clubs, bars, VFWs, animal clubs and American legions on weekends from about 1960 through 1985, then switched to the senior circuit 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Best job I ever had! I averaged 350 to 450 jobs a year, made a good living, paid off the house, bought several boats, took some great vacations with my wife, and established a small retirement account, because I knew retirement would eventually come.

The largest audience I performed for was about 1,200 drunken yacht owners in Ocean City, Maryland's Tuna Tournament. They loved the music, danced well beyond the time I was supposed to quit for the night, and invited me back for the next 8 years until the event ceased to exist under that ownership. Now, I play a couple hours a week in the office, just to maintain my sanity and dream of what once was. Bill said it all when he stated "It has been one Hell of a ride."

All the best,

Gary

Kind of like married people talk and understand differently than unmarried peopls....or.....folks who have kids see things differently than those who are childless.

I'll skim the surface here.

The first few years playing out (and I'm in my teens) I was so frightened being in front of an audience, I never looked up once (from my accordion) between songs. I'm not even sure I looked up through the windshield to drive home after a gig.

Years later, now, I can't wait to be on stage, talking, singing, playing. It's the only time I feel important enjoying my Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame." When not on stage, I'm just a nobody. But when you're performing it's the power you have in your hands, the control you have of people. The ability to make them laugh or cry or dance or sing, or just plain make them feel good.

So I guess I'm a latent control person, but luckily I use the control for good and not evil.

Well said my friend.

Never been musician as a professional, but has played out on various occasions.
Weddings, Birthday parties, Restaurants, Company parties, Saturday Night dance parties etc.
Highest number of audience at once was about 750 or so, but most often it could vary between 50 and 300.
Always live, never with midifiles or sequences. Edited stylesets to fit if we did play as duo or trio.
I was always nervous and trembling at hand during the first song or two, but after that fine.
We did it "our way" and it was a great pleasure to see the audience had much fun too.
Having participated in live playing was both great for learning and good experience. It also added a lot of happy memories.
Now I'm only playing at home, but we never know what's going to happen further down the road .....

DITTO

I was born to be on stage. I'm much more comfortable with strangers than I'd like to be, and when I'm in front of a large group, I see the entire gathering as one entity. I become more alive when I am in front of an audience, and in my heart, I believe that I truly have something that they want ... so I'm happy to share it with them. Being on stage is like an extension of my home, my office, my favorite chair, my happy place ... everything seems right with the world when I'm at the helm.

This doesn't mean that I don't get the occasional jitters. Preparation, and "fit" are key elements to my level of jitter vs. comfort. I sang the nation anthem for a Phillies/Mets game in 1984, and I went into training for weeks before. I modified my diet, cut out all foods that gave me phlegm, or made me feel bloated, started walking a few miles each day, so I was physically ready to project my voice the way I wanted to. Mentally, it was more of a challenge, because of the (almost) 2 second delay from the speakers to the pitcher's mound - that was one of the hardest things I've had to deal with as a vocalist.
With all that prep, and confidence - it was still 35,000 people - my Dad's entire branch of the company (Ford), and dozens of friends who were either at the game, or watching at home ... a little terrifying, to say the least. Still, I was ready, and that mound was exactly where I belonged, at that exact moment in time, so I sang my heart out, and was very proud to do so. It's one of my biggest thrills to this day.

The point of this story is not to brag, but rather, to say that even though that performance was for an audience of thousands, if was no more daunting, or important than some intimate coffee houses, or house parties I've played for 5-10 people. The stage is my home, and the audience is like my family. I'm happiest doing what I've been trained to do, whenever a willing crowd is listening. I believe that music should be shared, and I prefer face to face. Studio projects are fun, but they lack the audience interaction. Give me warm bodies, anyday! The expression of ones art is a personal thing, for sure, but I'll end with a quote from Victor Hugo: "...music expresses that which cannot be put into words, and that which cannot remain silent"
That sums it all up for me!