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It’s like I always say -
Originally Posted by Christian Miller
everyone brings joy to me, some when they arrive and others when they leave.
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01-31-2023 08:35 AM
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This might be the truest thing I've ever read. Originally Posted by whiskey02
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You saying Jonathan wouldn't get his audience dancing and partying if he were playing with a prerecorded version of the rest of his Campus5? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Ain't no solo jazz guitarist gonna make people party
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Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Imagine the image the rest of the worlds gets from this typical movie/TV kind of concert/gig: 1 short version of a song gets the people partying and then the evening is over. Still better of course then the typical movie/TV restaurant meal where you leave just after food's been served.
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Then it's not really a solo gig anymore, is it? Originally Posted by RJVB
You saying Jonathan wouldn't get his audience dancing and partying if he were playing with a prerecorded version of the rest of his Campus5?
But from what I gather from the expectations of some in this thread, the next time I get a solo jazz restaurant gig I'll be sure to bring a PA, monitor, mixer, a few microphones and a big screen TV for lyrics "just in case."
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You better get a bigger car. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Car? I take the train usually. They're cool with big TV's on rolling carts, right? Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
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Reminds me of when I used to be in a pop/rock covers band, one night a pair of drunken roughs demanded that we should let them up on stage to sing ‘My Way’ while we accompanied them. We told them politely that we didn’t know it. So they waited until the end of the gig (when everyone else had left) and threatened to go home, get a shotgun and ‘blow us away’. Since there was a ‘travellers’ camp nearby with an unsavoury reputation, this was not necessarily an idle threat(!) Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Although we didn’t really take them too seriously (and the club owner banned them on the spot), we did pack up and leave in record time!
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I'll bet you know the tune now though. Originally Posted by grahambop
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Actually now I think about it, they were so insistent that we gave in, the keyboard player and I tried to play it by ear, while they ‘sang’ it. With my budding jazz knowledge I was just about able to fake something passable, but the keyboard guy had no idea, he messed up completely. That was why they got so annoyed, they accused us afterwards of ‘trying to make them look bad’! Originally Posted by A. Kingstone
I stopped playing with the band not long after that, partly because I wanted to spend more time learning to play jazz.
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Not any less than using a looper as someone else suggested, IMHO. You're still on your own on that stage, just with a little support to back you up. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Then again, with the tradition where I come from, the person bowing or hammering out that violin or piano concerto is called the soloist
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Lot of cynicism and elitism in this thread.
I'm not a lover of Karaoke, but don't have a prob with those that love it.
Just sounds like somebody double booked / made a mistake.
An audience that enjoys music, but not slow ballad solo jazz, left because it wasn't what they came for.
So what's the issue?
Not sure people are morons just because they like something I don't, and then left to seek it out.
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You're obviously not a fan of gallows humor. I don't think it's quite as bad as you do. Your profile is blank, so I don't know if you're a gigging musician - and how you see this kind of happening depends at least as much on whether you've ever experienced it as any other single factor. The OP's experience is just one of many we have at or on the way to / from the bandstand (as this subforum is entitled) that are funny, annoying, ironic, depressing, etc in varying amounts. We need some humor to keep our sanity, just like trauma surgeons who joke among themselves about the people whose lives they just spent an entire night saving after their patients caused their own injuries through carelessness, drunkenness, or sheer stupidity. Originally Posted by street
An inebriated crowd looking forward to a Karaoke night is not exactly a welcoming committee for a jazz guitarist. Initial reactions vary from dread to irritation to worry about keeping the gig, and the occasional drunk becomes a true physical hazard when provoked by the fact that he or she won't get what he or she wants. Truth be told, I'm impressed with the OP's professionalism and sense of self. It takes guts to go ahead and do what you do in the face of that kind of resistance.
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Karaoke? I hate it when bars have karaoke out in the open and you are subjected to someone else doing it. Karaoke rooms, on the other hand, are cool.
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Here ya go (once more) Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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I would say the real issue was the person doing the booking or the venue management. Why did the people think there was to be karaoke on the night you normally play? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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This thread has been a fun read - you can really see it on people when you aren't the entertainment they have been expecting. Fortunately, I have not run into this issue while doing solo gigs.
I always keep in mind a point that was expressed earlier in the thread: I was hired to provide nice music for the venue, not give a concert. I play 'concert' type gigs, too ...I have grown to enjoy both kinds of gigs for what they are.
The real trick, in my opinion, is to play musically engaging material that also fits the bill for providing a nice atmosphere.
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And for those who don’t realize how big and common a problem it is, let me assure you that double booking, wrong dates etc are far from rare. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
I had a steady Sunday brunch duo gig at a French bistro in center city Philly for years. They had Friday and Saturday night jazz as well, and I rotated those with a few other duos - but Sunday was mine. One week, we showed up to find another pair walking in with their instruments. They claimed they were told to play, and when we looked in the manager’s book, he’d written them in right next to us. I insisted that the owner pay us all, which he did. But that manager did the same thing twice more, along with other equally squirrelly things and finally got fired about a year later.
I was hired to back a local singer at a nice little room across the bridge in New Jersey. We arrived to find a trio setting up to play. It was the same issue - the manager got his dates confused. After we all told him we’d never play there again and would spread the word to others, he agreed to paid us all. So we played the night together and had a great time. They didn’t have a guitarist, and their vocalist worked great with the one who’d hired me. So it worked out well.
But you have to be vigilant and check to make sure every date is good a few days beforehand. I’ve only been stiffed once, and that was years ago. But at least once or twice a year, a booking gets screwed up. Email and text messaging have made communication a lot easier. But you have to use them to get the benefits - don’t just rely on what you were told when the date was booked.
What’s so odd about this is that the venue suffers if they don’t have the right entertainment on the right day. You’d think they’d take more care more than many do.
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It's not surprising if you think about it. The average venue is run by a drunk, and drunks are sloppy. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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The best applause I ever got playing solo guitar was not at a gig and I was not playing jazz per se. I went into the Chapel on retreat early one morning and one of the guitars the Nuns had giving the retreat was out on a stand. A cheap awful flattop with not the best action or sound. I picked it up and began playing tradition hymns chord melody style. I played Amazing Grace, Blessed Be The Lord, and Ave Maria. I went on and folks were arriving be for the start of Mass and seemed ok I just kept playing till almost time for Mass. I got up and put the guitar away and I got a number of hand claps and most knew me as a Deacon only. They said it sounded great thank you, thank you. Most did not even know I played the guitar or only a few.
I was not a gig, and I did not get paid but I will never forget it because...... I played the most basic straight-forward chord melody with only a touch of extended chords.
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I do a play quite a few tunes by the Beatles, S. Wonder, Sting, N. Jones, Hendrix, Santana , it's a gig at a vey nice restaurant/hotel.... Originally Posted by basscadet
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