mingsta Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I'm in a decent 4 piece covers band and we're getting a regular stream of local gigs now. The problem is, that while our singer is good front man (really good singer, engages well with the crowd), the rest of us are like cardboard cutouts on stage. My wifey went to our last gig and she noted the extreme bass-face that I had on throughout the 3 hours of music...likening it to my "sex-face" that she's fortunate enough to experience first hand every 6 months or so...she said I looked like a weirdo and that it must have been deeply unsettling to the crowd (who were fortunately too drunk to notice). The rest of the band didn't fare much better under her critique...the guitarist is a classic introvert but at least looked moderately "cool" as he nodded to the music under his hoodie. The drummer has is own version of bass face, but at least put on a good fixed rictus grin for the last 2 hrs after wifey suggested to him that he smile a bit. But while wifey probably deserves the "yoko ono" label that she's earnt from the band members for meddling in our affairs (she also happens to be asian), I think she's raised a valid point. We kind of need to get more motion, band chemistry and happy vibes when we're performing and get to something a little more like this: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvuNsRccVw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvuNsRccVw[/url] The problem is, when I play, I'm practically paralysed with concentration and I find it really difficult to even say short sentences while playing, let alone manage enough coordination to simultaneously dance, smile, whoop and make eye contact with other band members and audience. Its been like this ever since I was a teenager. Anyone got any tips for improving band chemistry/stagecraft and overcoming bassface? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairychris Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) How do you guys practice? Do you loosen up, or run through sets "as if live"? If you don't you won't be able to do it in front of people. You need get used to visibly having fun/providing a show just as you have to get used to playing the songs. EDIT: try setting up rehearsal area as if a stage, dimming lights, etc. EDIT 2: I've always thought of a stage persona as being an act, as if you're playing the part in a play. What does my character do? That sort of thing. 0.02c Edited January 23, 2015 by hairychris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Drugs before you go on !! LOL Maybe you need to try and relax a bit more on stage and the moves and smiles will come out, good luck John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) [quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1422037487' post='2668125'] ...wifey went to our last gig and she noted the extreme bass-face that I had on throughout the 3 hours of music...likening it to my "sex-face" that she's fortunate enough to experience first hand every 6 months or so...she said I looked like a weirdo and that it must have been deeply unsettling to the crowd... [/quote] Haha! Post of the day. We rehearse in a room that has one complete wall as a mirror, so once you get over the horror of seeing what you actually look like in a band situation, you can start to do something about it. Which is my case was to stop drinking ...and wear a lot of black clothes. Then concentrate on not gurning and not playing with your mouth constantly open. You can practise a few rudimentary moves too, better in a rehearsal room than in public, believe me. Edited January 23, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingsta Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Aaah, its starting to dawn on me that i'd definitely be a good idea to start working on the band chemistry thing during rehearsal However, there's some practical issues around this...we rehearse round my house in the evenings to save on hiring a studio. As I have a 1 year old daughter, we're all hooking in to a jam hub in the lounge for silent practice...but maybe we can do our own silent disco type thing. Now I just need to convince the wife for us to have a full wall sized mirror in the lounge. Maybe we can use the one from the bedroom.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Maybe your laptop webcam might do the job, especially if you can hook it up to your big tv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Get together with guitar and drums . Agree on something dead simple to mess about with e.g. a Bo Diddley rhythm on one chord . All 3 of you try to play it as badly as you can for 5 mins . Stop , try again without trying and goof about with it , maybe trade fours in a humourous way , whatever . Playing music is play . Just play ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Motionless rigidity is the new dance craze. You're just a bit ahead of the crowd, that's all. [size=4] [/size] I went' to see a Ravi Shankar concert at the Royal Albert, years ago. He didn't do much dancing. [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Sounds like you'd be perfect for a Joy Division covers band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 We had this discussion when we first got the band together and it centred around the fact that the singer didn't communicate with the audience and we decided that since he could sing well, it was too much to expect him to front it as well...so we resigned ourselves to just being us. We connected well, for all that, but I thought we looked really boring ...but nobody actually told us that.. and it wasn't until a g/f said that we were very watchable, that I stopped worrying about it. If you go down well and people come and watch and get into the band, then you'll aren't doing too much wrong. Conversely, if gigs and attendences are a struggle, then if you haven't got it naturally..and can't quite force it, or conjure it up, best to realise it just isn't working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ticktock Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I did something in rehearsal once that made our drummer stop and laugh so hard he couldn't breathe. I have no idea what I did and the beggar can't explain to me exactly what I did. Bound to happen again, isn't it? Just play, keep the gob closed and make eye contact with cute audience members once in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1422046649' post='2668270'] If you go down well and people come and watch and get into the band, then you'll aren't doing too much wrong. [/quote] Yes, it's dull if everyone is staring at their fretboards all night, but on the other hand you don't want to go too far in the opposite direction. There's nothing worse than that terrible false bonhomie and rehearsed patter designed to 'work the room' and encourage 'audience participation'. Bah! Edited January 23, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 This will require individual practice, and possibly group rehearsal, just like any other part of your performance. OTOH I recall an interview with one of the modern-day Stooges (might have been Mike Watt) where the interviewee said that Iggy was so manic on stage, it just wasn't safe for other band members to be leaping about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 First off, I'd say 'performance' follows practice and regular gigging. Once you get comfortable with the material, your band mates and playing in front of an audience, you'll find you have more mental time to think about your moves and facial expressions. Secondly, most places we play have such small playing areas that as a five piece, movement is strictly as required and co-ordinated. Thirdly, if you all enjoy what you are doing, then just smiles and silly faces between band members allows more audience 'contact' than playing with your bass behind your head whilst doing the splits ever will. If you don't enjoy what your doing, no amount of sharp moves will disguise the fact that your just doing your job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 [quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1422048191' post='2668287'] First off, I'd say 'performance' follows practice and regular gigging. Once you get comfortable with the material, your band mates and playing in front of an audience, you'll find you have more mental time to think about your moves and facial expressions. Secondly, most places we play have such small playing areas that as a five piece, movement is strictly as required and co-ordinated. Thirdly, if you all enjoy what you are doing, then just smiles and silly faces between band members allows more audience 'contact' than playing with your bass behind your head whilst doing the splits ever will. If you don't enjoy what your doing, no amount of sharp moves will disguise the fact that your just doing your job. [/quote] What he said....totally what he said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I wouldn`t worry too much about performance/poses etc too much - as JPJ said, get the music right and second nature, the performance will come from being comfortable when playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 As long as your not a stand back by the drummer with a P Bass type guy and you want to be out front this will all come in time. It's like anything else, experience, experience and experience. Get a good understanding on your own personality and how you want to come across and the type of Bant your comfortable with. Learn how to look out into the crowd and make good eye contact. I still struggle with stagecraft. Tip; If your not a professional comedian, don't try to be funny or tell jokes. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 A lot depends on your style of music and how successful/popular you already are. I've watched gigs where the frontman did everything wrong in my view and the loyal audience loved every second of it. I think the best advice I've heard is that you have to be yourself but moreso for the stage, an exaggerated version of yourself. And you kind of have to fit with your audience. If they're miserable shoe gazers the worst thing you can do is pretend you're a huge rock band in the 80s closing out your 18 month tour with 5 nights at Wembley Stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 You could try not fighting it and turn it to your advantage. Let the vocalist take centre stage and get the 'backing band' to all wear matching jackets (or shirts) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I've found that in my earlier gigging days I was a consummate showman, monitor climbing, crowd engaged, and extended sections of songs etc. Now I gig without any 'help' I don't seem to be able to put on a show of any kind - I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of concentration on getting it 'right' and I don't make mistakes like I used to. I just have a wobbly head like David Gray, or a shuffle foot dance like Nick Fyffe did in Jamiroquai...hardly a one man stage show. I try to have banter with the band, particularly drummer - it depends on the people around you, new guitarist is about to start gigging with us and he was quite the showman last time we played together. Did a version of crosstown traffic at a 40th, the 40th was for a keys playing mate. At an appropriate few verse/choruses in, he takes off his Les Paul, shouts "BASS SOLO" and walks off to get a pint, returns with two pints, puts on Les Paul and joins back in. Long bass solo when it was a P Bass with Flats (the keys player mate helped!) The partygoers loved it, I think as long as your band has one showman, you're winning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Being comfortable is the hard thing... We had a very showy drummer...sometimes too showy... and the singer needed space to move about. Still couldn't say a word to the audience as that just wasn't him...but I'd be the most static but it all worked out as the music, first and foremost, came across. We didn't play as tho it didn't mean anything tho.. so that was 'our' connect' first and foremost. You need to find that something..and some people are funny, some are cheesy, some are engaging and some are dull but play really well but you need something. Recently saw the new local super-band and they got every one of these things totally wrong and I wasn't the only one to recognise it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) I really appreciate our front lady and her ability to engage the crowd at the bar band level. It's a delicate balance between reading the crowd, the scene and engaging them without being pretentious. Remember those of us in bar bands, were not famous, people don't want to know much if anything about us. That's why telling the story about how you met your wife and wrote this song, or even using [i]"walk on"[/i] music can come off as pretentious, IMHO. Our front will not to the [i]"chic out front"[/i] thing wearing short skirts, high heels and a cubic sh_t load of make-up. She does her thing the way she wants to and I think her approach distinguishes us from other 4 piece acts. Blue Edited January 24, 2015 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Stagecraft is such a loose term. To me it covers how you get on and off stage, what you do between songs, the pace of your set, how you interact with the other band members etc. if I recall rightly there was something on the bbc website a while back saying 90% of a persons opinion of an act will be based on visual clues though so how you perform is crucial. And balance really important, but that varies depending on what music you're playing and to what crowd. Our function band is great as everyone moves, looks at each other and the audience and smiles, we genuinely enjoy it. But I also play with a singer songwriter and I have to tone it all right down (I have the opposite problem to you, my default setting onstage is to spasm like a scarecrow being electrocuted) and again that varies with which guitarist is with us. One would give Malcolm Young a run for his money, and I have in past done my usual thing and frankly it looked ridiculous. The other guy is statuesque at best and I have to take a bit more responsibility for visual entertainment. Anyway, the audience needs to see the right balance. If you're singer is good at performing, all you might need to do is tap your foot and the odd glance up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykilz Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I have nothing to really contribute, but I enjoyed reading your opening post so much, it's brightened up my day no end! If the band fails you should write a comedy book about life in a band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Hilarious thread! Must say, one of my pet hates is when band try too hard. Some people have a bit of style on stage, and others dont. I certainly dont. One thing I've worked on is to make sure I make eye contact with the crowd. Less fretboard gazing or staring at the pedal board. And as long as I make sure I look confident and enjoying myself then it's all good! Slightly off topic, but a massive hate of mine is when a guitarist (with his wireless system) decides to dive out in amongst the crowd whilst playing. IMO thats totally cringeworthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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