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Post by Resolve on Jan 12, 2018 15:46:27 GMT -5
Iām working on a goal. Right now it sounds something like getting invited back to each assisted living facility in Merrimack County to entertain. Getting the first gig no biggy. Getting invited back is the real deal. Iāve avoided this kind of gig for a long time, now Iām very into it. The people at these places have experienced the great folk scare. I even had a request for a Woody Guthrie tune last week. These audiences are very attentive. And they actually pay a bit. This is one approach to a goal, but it is rather shallow. A better one would be learning more thumbstyle tunes and enjoying the learning process more. I love the finished product, but getting there at times turns into just a task. So Iām cogitating, but not yet deciding. Iāll get there. Do you have a plan for getting invited back?
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Post by coachdoc on Jan 12, 2018 16:16:44 GMT -5
Iām working on a goal. Right now it sounds something like getting invited back to each assisted living facility in Merrimack County to entertain. Getting the first gig no biggy. Getting invited back is the real deal. Iāve avoided this kind of gig for a long time, now Iām very into it. The people at these places have experienced the great folk scare. I even had a request for a Woody Guthrie tune last week. These audiences are very attentive. And they actually pay a bit. This is one approach to a goal, but it is rather shallow. A better one would be learning more thumbstyle tunes and enjoying the learning process more. I love the finished product, but getting there at times turns into just a task. So Iām cogitating, but not yet deciding. Iāll get there. Do you have a plan for getting invited back? Yup. Giving a good performance and being attentive to the audience during and after. So far, so good. Just the kind of stuff you do so naturally.
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Post by Resolve on Jan 12, 2018 18:32:59 GMT -5
So another question for you Doc: do you see the joy of performing as being a shallow goal? From the time I started playing I was encouraged to āget OUTā and play. I love it too! Not so much the public places but I truly love bringing music and some outside interaction into senior places where the menu for social experiences has become more limited to the people who live there. The thought of doing that again at some point keeps the music drive alive for me.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Jan 12, 2018 19:19:09 GMT -5
Bigfoot saw me but nobody believes him.
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Post by brucemacneill on Jan 12, 2018 19:46:25 GMT -5
Bigfoot saw me but nobody believes him. If you heard how he describes you, you wouldn't believe him either. It's horrifying!!!
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Post by Village Idiot on Jan 12, 2018 20:40:55 GMT -5
Lar saw you?
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Post by drlj on Jan 12, 2018 20:51:47 GMT -5
What size is Larās foot?
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Post by RickW on Jan 12, 2018 21:02:10 GMT -5
So another question for you Doc: do you see the joy of performing as being a shallow goal? From the time I started playing I was encouraged to āget OUTā and play. I love it too! Not so much the public places but I truly love bringing music and some outside interaction into senior places where the menu for social experiences has become more limited to the people who live there. The thought of doing that again at some point keeps the music drive alive for me. I still have almost no urge to play live. But I don't learn songs. I learn my pieces, and the ones I learn for my conservatory exams. Then I forget them. Last exam this June. Finished my second year of composition lessons. Time to take a break from education, and just compose, play and continue to week on my ear.
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Post by coachdoc on Jan 12, 2018 21:39:19 GMT -5
I love playing for an audience. The question becomes is it for ego or the shared experience of audience and performer. I really like looking at the audience and seeing enjoyment in their faces, tapping feet are even better. But I also have an internal critic I have to please. So... itās all a jumble. Itās fun, itās ego syntonic, and itās the pleasure of creating and doing it right.
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Post by billhammond on Jan 12, 2018 22:06:56 GMT -5
I love playing for an audience. The question becomes is it for ego or the shared experience of audience and performer. I really like looking at the audience and seeing enjoyment in their faces, tapping feet are even better. But I also have an internal critic I have to please. So... itās all a jumble. Itās fun, itās ego syntonic, and itās the pleasure of creating and doing it right. WOW -- Ego-Syntonic is a GREAT band name! Copyright that, if you can. Speaking of performing in public, Elderdottir, her hubby and I repaired this evening to the Rendezvous, an eatery connected to an old-school "motor lodge" that's a mere mile or so from their home. Rendezvous has the best fried chicken (and lots of other great stuff) I've ever consumed. It also has a cool vibe year-round, but is especially alive in motorcycling months, when it attracts scads of bikers en route to or from nearby Smoky Mountains National Park. It's in the little municipality of Maggie Valley, NC, home to the sprawling Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum, which, sadly, I was unable to visit this trip cuz it's closed for the season. So we got a table, sat down, and there was a gent on a wee "stage" doing a quick sound check with a small-body sunburst, a mike on a gooseneck and a tiny amp apparently handling both signals. He leans back and launches into "Mr. Bojangles" and the guitar sounds appropriately dry and wooden, and his voice hits both higher and lower notes with ease and obvious enjoyment, and he just strings together song after song, probably less time between tunes than between tracks of LPs of the eras he was covering. "Sixteen Tons," Lightfoot, lots of country standards from Willie and Don Williams and others, "Dock of the Bay," you name it. All done well and with no pretense and with the folks who were there basically to eat a meal quite entertained, especially once our table got a little applause going and everyone else started paying attention. Background music gigs in dining settings can be rough -- I've done a lot of them and you have read many an account from me when I have come home disgusted, usually about the venue, not the listeners. But this guy, Randy Flack, who gave me a pick with his name on it (great promotional idea!), seemed to have just the right approach -- not too serious, not kissing it off, not pandering to the audience. Just playing music he really liked, playing and singing it well and having some fun. I invited him to our village, and I hope he joins us. And that guitar? A Hagstrom, given to him at age 16 by his dad, and made in Sweden. Still crazed after all these years! Attaboy, Randy! Jump in the pool!
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Post by Marshall on Jan 12, 2018 23:03:50 GMT -5
The ladies get a pick with his phone number on it.
Nice report.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2018 7:51:48 GMT -5
I love playing for an audience. The question becomes is it for ego or the shared experience of audience and performer. I really like looking at the audience and seeing enjoyment in their faces, tapping feet are even better. But I also have an internal critic I have to please. So... itās all a jumble. Itās fun, itās ego syntonic, and itās the pleasure of creating and doing it right. WOW -- Ego-Syntonic is a GREAT band name! Copyright that, if you can. Speaking of performing in public, Elderdottir, her hubby and I repaired this evening to the Rendezvous, an eatery connected to an old-school "motor lodge" that's a mere mile or so from their home. Rendezvous has the best fried chicken (and lots of other great stuff) I've ever consumed. It also has a cool vibe year-round, but is especially alive in motorcycling months, when it attracts scads of bikers en route to or from nearby Smoky Mountains National Park. It's in the little municipality of Maggie Valley, NC, home to the sprawling Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum, which, sadly, I was unable to visit this trip cuz it's closed for the season. So we got a table, sat down, and there was a gent on a wee "stage" doing a quick sound check with a small-body sunburst, a mike on a gooseneck and a tiny amp apparently handling both signals. He leans back and launches into "Mr. Bojangles" and the guitar sounds appropriately dry and wooden, and his voice hits both higher and lower notes with ease and obvious enjoyment, and he just strings together song after song, probably less time between tunes than between tracks of LPs of the eras he was covering. "Sixteen Tons," Lightfoot, lots of country standards from Willie and Don Williams and others, "Dock of the Bay," you name it. All done well and with no pretense and with the folks who were there basically to eat a meal quite entertained, especially once our table got a little applause going and everyone else started paying attention. Background music gigs in dining settings can be rough -- I've done a lot of them and you have read many an account from me when I have come home disgusted, usually about the venue, not the listeners. But this guy, Randy Flack, who gave me a pick with his name on it (great promotional idea!), seemed to have just the right approach -- not too serious, not kissing it off, not pandering to the audience. Just playing music he really liked, playing and singing it well and having some fun. I invited him to our village, and I hope he joins us. And that guitar? A Hagstrom, given to him at age 16 by his dad, and made in Sweden. Still crazed after all these years! Attaboy, Randy! Jump in the pool!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2018 8:02:45 GMT -5
I love playing for an audience. The question becomes is it for ego or the shared experience of audience and performer. I really like looking at the audience and seeing enjoyment in their faces, tapping feet are even better. But I also have an internal critic I have to please. So... itās all a jumble. Itās fun, itās ego syntonic, and itās the pleasure of creating and doing it right. WOW -- Ego-Syntonic is a GREAT band name! Copyright that, if you can. Speaking of performing in public, Elderdottir, her hubby and I repaired this evening to the Rendezvous, an eatery connected to an old-school "motor lodge" that's a mere mile or so from their home. Rendezvous has the best fried chicken (and lots of other great stuff) I've ever consumed. It also has a cool vibe year-round, but is especially alive in motorcycling months, when it attracts scads of bikers en route to or from nearby Smoky Mountains National Park. It's in the little municipality of Maggie Valley, NC, home to the sprawling Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum, which, sadly, I was unable to visit this trip cuz it's closed for the season. So we got a table, sat down, and there was a gent on a wee "stage" doing a quick sound check with a small-body sunburst, a mike on a gooseneck and a tiny amp apparently handling both signals. He leans back and launches into "Mr. Bojangles" and the guitar sounds appropriately dry and wooden, and his voice hits both higher and lower notes with ease and obvious enjoyment, and he just strings together song after song, probably less time between tunes than between tracks of LPs of the eras he was covering. "Sixteen Tons," Lightfoot, lots of country standards from Willie and Don Williams and others, "Dock of the Bay," you name it. All done well and with no pretense and with the folks who were there basically to eat a meal quite entertained, especially once our table got a little applause going and everyone else started paying attention. Background music gigs in dining settings can be rough -- I've done a lot of them and you have read many an account from me when I have come home disgusted, usually about the venue, not the listeners. But this guy, Randy Flack, who gave me a pick with his name on it (great promotional idea!), seemed to have just the right approach -- not too serious, not kissing it off, not pandering to the audience. Just playing music he really liked, playing and singing it well and having some fun. I invited him to our village, and I hope he joins us. And that guitar? A Hagstrom, given to him at age 16 by his dad, and made in Sweden. Still crazed after all these years! Attaboy, Randy! Jump in the pool! Thank you, Bill. It was a pleasure to meet you. I wish we had had time for a longer chat. I have several Martins, a couple of Taylors, Gibsons, etc, but; that old Hagstrom plays as well as any guitar that I've ever had. I've been playing it for over 50 years. In larger venues, I use a Bose L1 system with two bass modules. I find that in that at Rondevous, that little ZT Lunchbox (200 watts) works perfectly. I use my Bose Tonematch mixer and run it into the the Lunchbox. It sounds pretty good in a small room, but; best of all, I carry it all in in one trip . I appreciate your kind words and the connection to The Soundhole. I hope our paths cross again. Randy
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Post by billhammond on Jan 13, 2018 8:14:01 GMT -5
I'm sure our in-person paths will cross before long, Randy, but until then, you can get to know all of us (and we number in the hundreds, although active posters are probably in the dozens) here on the interwebs. And start saving money and the dates around the second weekend in September for our annual gathering in centrally located central Iowa -- the one, the only IDIOT JAM!
Welcome!
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Post by brucemacneill on Jan 13, 2018 8:34:05 GMT -5
Welcome, Randy.
From Bill's post about you and the range of music you played I was wondering if you were a kid or a "Sad old bastard with guitars" like most of us. Sounds like you'll fit in.
That's a reference to a thread from a couple of weeks ago:
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Post by coachdoc on Jan 13, 2018 9:36:37 GMT -5
WOW -- Ego-Syntonic is a GREAT band name! Copyright that, if you can. Speaking of performing in public, Elderdottir, her hubby and I repaired this evening to the Rendezvous, an eatery connected to an old-school "motor lodge" that's a mere mile or so from their home. Rendezvous has the best fried chicken (and lots of other great stuff) I've ever consumed. It also has a cool vibe year-round, but is especially alive in motorcycling months, when it attracts scads of bikers en route to or from nearby Smoky Mountains National Park. It's in the little municipality of Maggie Valley, NC, home to the sprawling Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum, which, sadly, I was unable to visit this trip cuz it's closed for the season. So we got a table, sat down, and there was a gent on a wee "stage" doing a quick sound check with a small-body sunburst, a mike on a gooseneck and a tiny amp apparently handling both signals. He leans back and launches into "Mr. Bojangles" and the guitar sounds appropriately dry and wooden, and his voice hits both higher and lower notes with ease and obvious enjoyment, and he just strings together song after song, probably less time between tunes than between tracks of LPs of the eras he was covering. "Sixteen Tons," Lightfoot, lots of country standards from Willie and Don Williams and others, "Dock of the Bay," you name it. All done well and with no pretense and with the folks who were there basically to eat a meal quite entertained, especially once our table got a little applause going and everyone else started paying attention. Background music gigs in dining settings can be rough -- I've done a lot of them and you have read many an account from me when I have come home disgusted, usually about the venue, not the listeners. But this guy, Randy Flack, who gave me a pick with his name on it (great promotional idea!), seemed to have just the right approach -- not too serious, not kissing it off, not pandering to the audience. Just playing music he really liked, playing and singing it well and having some fun. I invited him to our village, and I hope he joins us. And that guitar? A Hagstrom, given to him at age 16 by his dad, and made in Sweden. Still crazed after all these years! Attaboy, Randy! Jump in the pool! Thank you, Bill. It was a pleasure to meet you. I wish we had had time for a longer chat. I have several Martins, a couple of Taylors, Gibsons, etc, but; that old Hagstrom plays as well as any guitar that I've ever had. I've been playing it for over 50 years. In larger venues, I use a Bose L1 system with two bass modules. I find that in that at Rondevous, that little ZT Lunchbox (200 watts) works perfectly. I use my Bose Tonematch mixer and run it into the the Lunchbox. It sounds pretty good in a small room, but; best of all, I carry it all in in one trip . I appreciate your kind words and the connection to The Soundhole. I hope our paths cross again. Randy Welcome Mr. Flak. We look forward to your participation. If Bill found you entertaining, that is high praise indeed.
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Post by Resolve on Jan 13, 2018 10:36:12 GMT -5
Welcome, Randy!
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Post by dradtke on Jan 13, 2018 10:38:00 GMT -5
Welcome, Mr. Flack.
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Post by lar on Jan 13, 2018 11:17:09 GMT -5
What size is Larās foot? 13. Both of them. And I did see Rob. He's only horrifying if he's carrying around that unicorn head. That's a sight that would make Bigfoot run for cover.
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Post by lar on Jan 13, 2018 11:24:00 GMT -5
I love playing for an audience. The question becomes is it for ego or the shared experience of audience and performer. I really like looking at the audience and seeing enjoyment in their faces, tapping feet are even better. But I also have an internal critic I have to please. So... itās all a jumble. Itās fun, itās ego syntonic, and itās the pleasure of creating and doing it right. My country band has been playing for seniors for a number of years. Now our polka band is beginning to get a few senior gigs. They pay a few bucks but for me that's not the big attraction. I find playing for seniors to be a very rewarding experience. We often play for people who are seriously impaired. For me it's a wonderful feeling to know that my music has touched someone in some way. I've done many shows where people seemed to be in an almost catatonic state only to find them smiling and singing along at some point in the show. It doesn't get much better than that.
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