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Cool things to say between songs

#41
"If I could just say a few words... I'd be a better public speaker."

- H.J. Simpson

If ever we have a prolonged break between songs (which we inevitably do, due to guitarist tuning/restringing etc.) our singer breaks into the hits from Oliver.
Last gig we got a full verse and chorus of 'Oom pahpah', crowd singing along and everything. Probably not a good idea with a hostile crowd though...
 
#42
Here's the thing. I read all you guys saying that "talking sucks". "I hate when a band talks between songs." Have you ever stopped to think that YOU ARE A MUSICIAN! THUS YOU DON'T THINK LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!!! This is really going to hurt some of you, but you will find that you will be much more succesfull when you realize that a show ISN'T ABOUT YOU!!!!! It's about whether or not you can entertain THEM!!!! Do you think Blink 182 gives a rats a$$ what a bunch of musicians think about their banter with the crowd? Hmmmmmm....maybe......NO! Non musicians don't care about the tone of your bass. I guarentee that they care more about how you do your hair than what rig you are playing through. And I promise you that 10 seconds into a bass solo (from most of us) the crowd is bored to death. I became a much better entertainer years ago when I stopped giving a crap about what other musicians thought of me and started paying more attention to what the crowd thought. Most musicians will go to a bar gig in a black T-shirt, stand in the back of the room with their arms crossed, and bug the hell out of their friends (or YOUR sound guy) pointing out all the things that "suck" about your band. Meanwhile, the rest of the NORMAL people are having a blast!

Edit to add: Sorry for the rant. Just got carried away.
 
#47
Just know the situation & you'll be fine.

You still have to market your band & sell yourself at every opportunity. You never know - another bar/club owner may be in the audience, or someone who wants to hire you for a home party - we've gotten at least 3 gigs this way ($100 per man). You still need to announce your merchandise, your email list, your website, the names of the band members, and some form of greeting.

Be yourselves - if you are really good at public speaking, you'll be fine. if you aren't, do what you're best at - playing tunes. Just remember that there is a fine line between perfect cover band and jukebox or DJ. You want to make your audience (& the bar owners who pay the money) realize you have a value & want to see you again.

One local band I know invented a game that they play with the audience in "Audience Participation Time" when I saw them. They had a wheel with various categories on it, which stood for "name that tune", TV theme songs, "famous dances", and trivia (whatever they could think up on the spot). The prizes were: 5 lb bags of sugar, a diecast Mercedes Benz ("Who wants to win a BRAND NEW MERCEDES?"), and a couple of candy necklaces. Some fat WT broads were bugged that they were joking with the audience, but eventually began laughing too. If you can't pull something like this off - DON'T. This band did it really well, and everyone had a great time.

Another good example is Frank Zappa. Most bar crowds are not suited for Frank Zappa-type material, so much of it will be wasted on them. Plus, when you're Frank Zappa, you don't need to worry what people think of your bizarre poodle references.

ian
 
#48
two fingers said:
Here's the thing. I read all you guys saying that "talking sucks". "I hate when a band talks between songs." Have you ever stopped to think that YOU ARE A MUSICIAN! THUS YOU DON'T THINK LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!!! This is really going to hurt some of you, but you will find that you will be much more succesfull when you realize that a show ISN'T ABOUT YOU!!!!! It's about whether or not you can entertain THEM!!!! Do you think Blink 182 gives a rats a$$ what a bunch of musicians think about their banter with the crowd? Hmmmmmm....maybe......NO! Non musicians don't care about the tone of your bass. I guarentee that they care more about how you do your hair than what rig you are playing through. And I promise you that 10 seconds into a bass solo (from most of us) the crowd is bored to death. I became a much better entertainer years ago when I stopped giving a crap about what other musicians thought of me and started paying more attention to what the crowd thought. Most musicians will go to a bar gig in a black T-shirt, stand in the back of the room with their arms crossed, and bug the hell out of their friends (or YOUR sound guy) pointing out all the things that "suck" about your band. Meanwhile, the rest of the NORMAL people are having a blast!

Edit to add: Sorry for the rant. Just got carried away.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing and was going to write that until I saw your post.

There is US (musicians) and THEM (non-musicians) To agree with the above, what WE think is cool is quite different than what THEY think is cool. I can't stand jokey cover bands.

On the other hand if you step back, you can see some of the stuff they do works for THEM, THEY enjoy it and that is the key right there. Of your audience, there may be 2% in there that are musicians, play to the other 98%. They are the ones that won't notice a dropped note and tend to think you're a rock star.

After playing for 25 years, I am fronting a band for the first time (I hesitate to actually call myself a lead singer - lol) and struggling with getting the crowd involved. I do notice when I say something that I think is goofy, THEY seem to like it and get involved more.

I need to find a happy medium, we will never be the jokey band but hopefully with some experience I can find a shtick that involves the crowd and doesn't give me the creeps.
 
#51
My band keeps the talking to a minimum, but we interact with the crowd. Our singer goes out in the audience with her wireless mic and dances with the crowd, or sometimes on the bar. The guitarist goes wireless and runs around the bar. One time he went outside where people were smoking and played his solo out there. We had no idea where the hell he was.

As far as between song talking. Definitely keep it short. People just want you to shut up and play. If we finish a song and only one or two people clap (it happens occasionally) my singer will say, "Thanks for the clap." Always gets a laugh.
 
#53
Nobody like monotony so break it up. String 2 - 3 songs together and seque fast enough so that they don't have time to leave the dancefloor.

If you are there to practice and don't intend on working a lot go ahead and do what some here have suggested and say cool and obscure things in the breaks between songs. If you want to work as a cover band, SELL DRINKS, ENCOURAGE THE WAITSTAFF/BARTENDERS. As far as the club owner goes he is going to decide who he likes by what the sales results are at the end of the night.

The response earlier about building a rapport with the audience and getting them involved is great advice.
 
#54
My band seems to have the problem of one extreme or the other. Either the front guys are talking between every song (while people leave the dance floor) -- stand-up comedy with a musical number every now and then -- or we wind up having done 6 songs and realizing no one's talked to the audience the whole time (which also is a good way to run out of songs before our set is done).

There's a reason it's called "working" the crowd. It is damn hard work (even for "natural" frontmen) but it's very important. The music is the easy part.
 
#56
two fingers said:
Here's the thing. I read all you guys saying that "talking sucks". "I hate when a band talks between songs." Have you ever stopped to think that YOU ARE A MUSICIAN! THUS YOU DON'T THINK LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!!! This is really going to hurt some of you, but you will find that you will be much more succesfull when you realize that a show ISN'T ABOUT YOU!!!!! It's about whether or not you can entertain THEM!!!! Do you think Blink 182 gives a rats a$$ what a bunch of musicians think about their banter with the crowd? Hmmmmmm....maybe......NO! Non musicians don't care about the tone of your bass. I guarentee that they care more about how you do your hair than what rig you are playing through. And I promise you that 10 seconds into a bass solo (from most of us) the crowd is bored to death. I became a much better entertainer years ago when I stopped giving a crap about what other musicians thought of me and started paying more attention to what the crowd thought. Most musicians will go to a bar gig in a black T-shirt, stand in the back of the room with their arms crossed, and bug the hell out of their friends (or YOUR sound guy) pointing out all the things that "suck" about your band. Meanwhile, the rest of the NORMAL people are having a blast!

Edit to add: Sorry for the rant. Just got carried away.
Click to expand...

Yes. But did you become a better person?
 
#57
two fingers said:
Here's the thing. I read all you guys saying that "talking sucks". "I hate when a band talks between songs." Have you ever stopped to think that YOU ARE A MUSICIAN! THUS YOU DON'T THINK LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!!!! This is really going to hurt some of you, but you will find that you will be much more succesfull when you realize that a show ISN'T ABOUT YOU!!!!! It's about whether or not you can entertain THEM!!!!
Click to expand...

Right. We're musicians - which typically means that what we do best is create and perform music - not stand-up comedy, pantomime, or interpretive dance.

Just because an audience doesn't know the make or model of bass guitar you play, or can't distinguish an arpeggio from a paradiddle, doesn't mean they can't appreciate good music, played with passion, skill and intensity. Trust me: if the band is truly exceptional, people will generally drop what they're doing, and will tune in.

When it comes to onstage banter, less is more. So let the music do the talking instead. If you're really good at what you do, you'll hardly have to say a word - even if you're a cover band. But that goes triple for a band playing original material... :hmm:

MM
 
#58
MysticMichael said:
Right. We're musicians - which typically means that what we do best is create and perform music - not stand-up comedy, pantomime, or interpretive dance.


When it comes to onstage banter, less is more. So let the music do the talking instead. If you're really good at what you do, you'll hardly have to say a word - even if you're a cover band. But that goes triple for a band playing original material... :hmm:

MM
Click to expand...

To many "musicians" take themselves waaaay to seriously ...


There is a rock a billy band here, maybe just maybe the best in the country, no would question the musicianship of Link Removed but they are a whole show from rapid fire music to rapid fire wit.

If they just said ... uh thanks every now and again it would just not be the whole package!

JoeFick1.jpg


Now if you want to be all artsy, hey it's your thing cool, but I would hesitate to tell others not to work a show as they see and know best.


:) ...
 

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