Your Front Person

bluewine · #1 01-11-2013, 12:40 PM

How do you feel about your front persons skills how they interact and relate to the audience?

Below are a few scenarios your band might fall under

1. Were teenagers and basically have a "hot dog " out front but we want to improve in this area.

2. We have a female/ male front that's entirely to shy.

3. Out front person drinks to much and makes us look unprofessional.

4. We have a veteran who comes off like a pro.

5. We don't have a front person.

6. Our front person doesn't have the command over the crowd as much ad we'd like.

7. Our guy attempts to come off like a "rock star" but it makes us look pretentious. We need to talk with him/ her.

The purpose of the thread is to comment and make suggestions and help those in bands with a weak or questionable front person.

BlueAttachment 310446

dminer · #2 01-11-2013, 02:15 PM

Our last female front person was entirely too shy and although a great singer, she would never engage the audience. Funny too, because she was a schoolteacher and had to engage her students all day long. We tried to get her to be more personable with the crowds but she just wouldn't. Finially, the lead guitar/ 2nd vocal had to start stepping up and thanking the club and staff ect. and work the crowd. That worked a little better but it was still kinda lame. She finally quit the band and we reformed with a new singer babe who has lots of friends and is not afraid of the audience.

bluewine · #3 01-11-2013, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dminer

Our last female front person was entirely too shy and although a great singer, she would never engage the audience. Funny too, because she was a schoolteacher and had to engage her students all day long. We tried to get her to be more personable with the crowds but she just wouldn't. Finially, the lead guitar/ 2nd vocal had to start stepping up and thanking the club and staff ect. and work the crowd. That worked a little better but it was still kinda lame. She finally quit the band and we reformed with a new singer babe who has lots of friends and is not afraid of the audience.

It's not easy and not something everybody can do. I can't.

Command is crucial.

Blue

kcole4001 · #4 01-11-2013, 02:20 PM

Number 2.
She's a fantastic singer but has no crowd rapport at all, and doesn't like to follow a set list (way too much dead air between songs).

troy mcclure · #5 01-11-2013, 02:20 PM

Blue, we have an amazing singer who isn't a great front person. I have spoken to him about it but he has been in bands 14 years and isn't really willing to change. I am trying to get around it by having others talk on mic in between songs. My last band had a great front man but he couldn't carry our singer's mic stand.

bluewine · #6 01-11-2013, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troy mcclure

Blue, we have an amazing singer who isn't a great front person. I have spoken to him about it but he has been in bands 14 years and isn't really willing to change. I am trying to get around it by having others talk on mic in between songs. My last band had a great front man but he couldn't carry our singer's mic stand.

That's too bad.

Having an articulate commanding endearing front person is so crucial to coming off professional.

Blue

smogg · #7 01-11-2013, 02:28 PM

Our fronts (both guitars sing) do a good job over all. Some nights are better than others though.

bluewine · #8 01-11-2013, 02:39 PM

It's tough, like I said, I can't do it.

What would I say;

" what's happening babies? "

Blue

Marial · #9 01-11-2013, 02:44 PM

Ours does a fine job of engaging the crowd in a mostly non-cheesy way.

bluewine · #10 01-11-2013, 02:48 PM

I see bands with good pro type fronts as well as bands where he/ she just doesn't grasp the value and importance of the role.

Blue

intheory · #11 01-11-2013, 03:31 PM

We have a strong pro at the helm. Strong voice, great charisma, great salesman.
Works for us!

Bassist4Eris · #12 01-11-2013, 03:33 PM

I play in a couple of original instrumental bands. I do the front man role for both. In my specific circumstances, I find the challenge to be twofold (at least). First, without lyrics or familiarity on our side, I have to work extra hard to make sure the audience is engaged and stays that way. Second, with an instrumental format, there is the risk of coming off pretentious. I take a page from the Zappa playbook in that regard, and try to use humor to leaven things. Sometimes I even have short, goofy stories to introduce certain songs, telling the audience that this is what the song is "about". Some of you are cringing, but I've actually been told by audience members that I should do more of this.

I think it's crucial to hook them in from the get go. I've been known to get on stage, and then announce to the audience that we're not playing a single note until everyone moves closer to us. It may sound stupid, but it works. If you can bring them up to the edge of the stage, you can engage them.

Also, audiences like to clap and cheer, so give them reasons. If a guitar solo gets a good response from the audience, then when the song is over, ask the audience "how about it one more time for Mr. So-and-so on lead guitar?!" Have them give a round of applause to the bartender. The other bands on the bill. The sound guy. Whatever you can think of.

Drink in moderation, but do it on stage, and extol the virtues of whatever you're drinking. Sometimes you can help the bar sell more drinks that way. If they have a menu, talk about your favorite item on the menu, and describe it like it's a culinary masterwork.

I guess this is a bit of a derail from the OP, so to answer Blue's question, I think our front person does a fine job, but I'm a bit biased.

pushbuttonfour · #13 01-11-2013, 03:41 PM

My suggestion to boring people who don't get the crowd going is "have fun with it! These people are cheering for you!" Or something to that effect. Just get them pumped, and they will pull up the audience. This isn't rly a problem for me tho, as my brother and I are both co-frontmen. I had to give this talk to my guitarist though, as he just stood there looking down the whole time and made the rest if us look out of place

bluewine · #14 01-11-2013, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pushbuttonfour

My suggestion to boring people who don't get the crowd going is "have fun with it! These people are cheering for you!" Or something to that effect. Just get them pumped, and they will pull up the audience. This isn't rly a problem for me tho, as my brother and I are both co-frontmen. I had to give this talk to my guitarist though, as he just stood there looking down the whole time and made the rest if us look out of place

Well, like I said, being a good frontman is a special skill. It's not like it comes natural to everyone and I am not sure it can be taught.

Blue

LiquidMidnight · #15 01-11-2013, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewine

3. Out front person drinks to much and makes us look unprofessional.

Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. I played in a band with a frontman who was a recovering alcoholic. He and his wife got a divorce and he started drinking again. I remember one acoustic gig where he was grabbing woman's asses in his drunken wannabe rockstar state. Talk about embarassment.

LiquidMidnight · #16 01-11-2013, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dminer

Finially, the lead guitar/ 2nd vocal had to start stepping up and thanking the club and staff ect. and work the crowd. That worked a little better but it was still kinda lame.

Yeah, I always find it kind of weird and awkward when someone who isn't the front person handles MC duties.

jazzbill · #17 01-11-2013, 08:57 PM

Our front person is a local radio on air personality (DJ) who knows how to engage an audience.

Kmonk · #18 01-11-2013, 09:04 PM

Our front would be number 4 in the Op's list. Best voice, best attitude I have ever played with (he also plays bass) and knows how to work a crowd. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in the band.

agreatheight · #19 01-11-2013, 09:14 PM

Recently joined a cover band with a female singer and a male singer guitarist. Neither is particularly strong in terms of banter, but downtime between songs is kept super tight - the dance floor stays full so I have no real complaints on it.

tjh · #20 01-11-2013, 11:03 PM

Our front man is on the weak side when it comes to crowd interaction ... He tried to introduce a tune on occassion, but the lack of interaction was killing us ... we do almost all 50' & 60's stuff, and often times our audience is in their 40's, 50's, 60's as well, so I have taken over the banter duties and it has now evolved into a trip back into the era of the music they remember ... often times I even share major events happening at the time the song came out, or even unique stories behind the tune ... at breaks a lot of folks come up and say "I remember that!!" or "I never knew that!!" ... so it seems to be going over and appreciated ... its a lot different from when we were playing song after song, and it seems to involve the folks a lot more as well ... good audience interaction is crucial, especially when we do large benefits and fundraisers ... it helps to make the event a success and bring in more $$ for the cause ... JMHO