The Mad mad world of Live performance
editorial by Darryl Simpson
May 11, 2009
No one knows what goes on behind the scenes of a live performance or during the rehearsals leading to a show. It's like a play by Shakespeare or the inner workings of the Roman Senate. It often makes one question why go through all the crap?
Musicians have a reputation for being out there. Often with substance abuse problems, emotional problems, and a lacking in maturity. Leading a group is more than I ever expected. Dysfunctional personalities can make it difficult to stay focused on the goal. Drugs and alcohol addiction will make what should be a tight show as sloppy as a trailer park hoe. I've asked myself, "How did I get into this situation.?" I find band members too drunk to remember their lines, musicians who forget their parts and miss start times. And the excuses...... there is always an excuse. If not an excuse there is a lot of attitude.
This scenario plays out in life often. The solution is simple. Remove the obstacles. Go around the obstacles you can't remove. Like minds will join and/or help out. Soon they will become an army. Although the outing of the diseased parts will be painful, the recovery time is almost instant.
With the right combination the situatuion is less stressful. The end result is everyone enjoying and playing music. | Oh What a Difference editorial by Darryl Simpson May 27, 2009 The aftermath of restructuring a band is laced with uncertainty. We all wondered if we could survive a radical change in personnel. How are we going to re-arrange the components to get the sound we want? After asking that question over and over a new reality has surfaced. Everyone is talking about how well rehearsals are going. No more confusion, less time wasted, and a more constructive use of time. The new drummer, bass player, and the vocalists all agree. We are doing better. Everyone is putting forth an effort to make the band work. I commented we really need a keyboard player on one or more of the songs. They agreed we need to find a real keyboard player, but, considering the fact that we didn't have one before does make that much of a difference. Ohhh! They realized the person who playing the keyboard was really just FAKING. They are listening to the sounds we're making and it's clear how they all fit together. It's extremely important for a band to hear it's sound. The band notices each part working with the others making a solid, musically fresh sound. That's a pretty good reward for the short time the band has worked together. It was over six months before the original installment of members started appreciate their sound. Sadly enough, they were more interested in who was buying the liquor and milking their own ego's with who they played with and who they knew. Yeah, they all played with the big dawgs, according to them, and knew all the popular, local musicians. I'm thinking they sat in with locally famous musicians but didn't make the cut for reasons obvious to all of us. I sometimes wonder what excuses will come up next? I'm sure they would never admit to the truth. There are lots of great musicians in Baltimore. I know a guy who can play the keyboard reminiscent of Oscar Peterson. This guy is known as the "one man show". I wondered why he wasn't making a living at playing. After asking around, I realized. Everyone who knows him says the same thing, his Zelco and his ego. It's a shame. He's pretty much a talent wasted. His ego and anti-social, self destructive behavior cannot fill seats. A complex mixture of beauty and ugliness. An abrasive personality that has tipped the scale to "Hands Off". Alas, he's the one man show with no audience. A good band is not a single virtuoso musician. It's about making the best sound combined, utilizing exactly what you are given. Always strive to improve the band, therein, improving yourself. I am happy with the current members, and hope to add a drummer and bass player. Although, we are still searching for a keyboard player, I'm confident we will find one soon.
To good to be true and it was not true June 27th Show at the Reality Club Editorial by Darryl Simpson To all of the supporters of the band, I must apologize. This was a very poor presentation of how our music should sound. We owe everyone an explanation. We were told that this was a better venue than the LaQuinta Inn. In some ways maybe it was better. The food was better. The drinks were cheaper. The room was larger. A week before, the promoter and I went to the club to check out the sound system. We met the owner (Kevin). Kevin showed us the PA system. I was impressed. He had all the right bells and whistles. He boasted about a monster wattage amplifier. Lights were blinking. They had JBL and Yamaha equipment. Here's where it went wrong. The owner was an hour late for the sound check. No one else was allowed to touch the PA for the sound check. When he arrived he had an attitude and delayed the sound check for 30 minutes longer. The promoter cuts our playlist in half, making up for the time lost. The sole purpose of playing is to be HEARD as often and as long as possible. That was a really bad thing. Finally, the show started. The microphone volume for the vocalist was too low. They keep signaling to turn it up, but he could never get it right. We're talking about a least 20,000.00 in sound equipment and HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE IT! The stage monitors were not functioning, furthermore, he didn't even know how to get them to work. I was so happy that I did not have to haul my PA to the gig. I thought the sound would be so much better. The stage monitors would have made it all seem magical. This was all too good to be true and it was not true. |
Member Calvin Levette
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