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Do you play for yourself or for the audience? (POLL)

Do you play for yourself or for the audience

  • Myself

  • Audience

  • Carrots!?

Results are only viewable after voting.
#61
FA108208usat2 said:
Do you play songs that makes the audience happy, or you play songs that you personally enjoy?
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Both of these and a third element. I also choose songs that make my band happy. Without them I'm just a dude with a bass. I've spent a long time assembling a crew of guys that I would trust my life with (musically speaking). If the band is not happy its members will eventually leave. I would have to say that it's an even three-way split between the happiness of audience, me, and band members. It's definitely not all about me...me...me.

M. M. :)
 
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#63
blowinblue said:
Both of these and a third element. I also choose songs that make my band happy. Without them I'm just a dude with a bass. I've spent a long time assembling a crew of guys that I would trust my life with (musically speaking). If the band is not happy its members will eventually leave. I would have to say that it's an even three-way split between the happiness of audience, me, and band members. It's definitely not all about me...me...me.

M. M. :)
Click to expand...

Yes. If the band is having fun, then the audience will have fun.
 
#64
We do songs we like. You shouldn't play something you hate. That being said, we make sure we include songs we like that a lot of other people are going to like, too. We don't always do exact covers because, well, we ain't those guys on the record. But the songs are easily identified.
 
#66
No matter what, I always play for myself first. I feel like if I am not happy with what I am doing, there is no way I can transmit that to the audience, and then I am just "lying" to them about the experience. I do keep the listeners experience in mind though, as that is my job, regardless of whether I am playing originals or covers. I just feel like I am in the boat, and the audience is along with me for the ride. Thos tha tdon't like it can just exit the boat if they want...it doesn't bother me.

I guess that I love playing music either way, and while I opt to play in original bands exclusively, I have played in cover situations b/c someone asked, and I thought it would be fun. I would never play a style, song, or gig "just cause it pays"...I would rather go a few days without eating (and have) than do this. I can get money in other ways. Music is a religious experience for me in all aspects, and I experience "higher level" things by playing. I have always felt that if I geared this experience towards the expectation of the "fickle unwashed masses" then I am compromising my own experience.

Is this selfish? Possibly, but I have rarely had an audience say something bad about the groups I play in at the end of a gig...or at least say it before I did in self-criticism.
 
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#67
FA108208usat2 said:
Do you play songs that makes the audience happy, or you play songs that you personally enjoy?
This question kinda bugs me.
because some of the shows(school's prom or some sort)that my band played in are not really well-known, only small amount of people know it, but personally I really enjoy playing it. I don't want to play Ed Sheeran's Sam Smiths's, Taylor Swift's songs that everyone In my school will probably like, maybe they will enjoy it, but do I enjoy playing those songs, probably not. A friend of mine said If you play for yourself why don't just play in the bedroom, he has a good point, but I would choose not to play songs that I don't like, because why please others, when you are not enjoying it yourself.

P.S : I play covers and carrots option can also be both.
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The way the poll is worded is a little misleading, and there are a few things that need to be understood before answering.
I only play originals so I'm not building a set list to fulfill the needs of a particular crowd, but when I'm writing music I want people to like it enough to want to come to the shows and/or buy the CD. However, I have to like what I write or I'm not going to like it enough to bother writing a whole song. Also, no musician wants to perform at and audience, they want to share a moment with the audience where they feed off eachother's energy, so I'm playing/writing for an audience to give me the energetic feedback I want.
In the poll I put "for me" because I have to like what I'm playing or there is no point in doing it. However, of course I want the audience to like it. It is kinda both.
 
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#68
corinpills said:
"Oh, I hate 90 percent of pop music so it's all business for me." Man, that sounds awful. Isn't there something else you could for a job? I mean, you may only get this one life and you hate playing the music you get paid to play? Don't you feel kind of gross cashing the checks?
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Well I did not really get paid, It's kinda my hobby only school gigs.
Or maybe You're referring to others?
 
#70
For myself, at least in the way the poll is written. The reason I play is to create new music and share it with other people, so the thought of playing songs I dislike just to entertain the crowd or make money doesn't make much sense to me. I don't say that to criticize professional sidemen, cover band musicians, etc.... it just isn't for me.

That said, some originals are better crowd-pleasers than others, so I'll certainly take that into account when putting together a setlist (within reason).
 
#72
If I don't like it - or at least agree with another band member that it's worth playing - then I don't play it.

Given that, I play stuff the audience likes. There's no point playing if nobody enjoys what you play. PERFORMING has a purpose - and that's to entertain an audience. If you're only entertaining yourself, stay home and don't bother others while you do it.
 
#73
When I play with my originals band it's basically 50/50. When I was younger Id say it was more about myself but eventually you can't help but realize that the audience is where you get paid. Not that I play originals to make money but If we don't make money Id have to pay out of pocket for recording time. right now our plan is to release a new EP every few months. Instead of every few years like we used to. We just released an EP in this month. Have almost all the songs written for the EP we plan to put out in September, and we want to do an acoustic album after that. Recording costs money. I'm ok with paying a little out of pocket to play the gear I want, but when it comes to recording i typically take an hour or two per album I don't want to pay a ton of money out of pocket when 80% of time in the studio is spent on guitars and vocals. I definitely try to make my parts fun for me to play but at the same time I try not to "play over the audienced heads"
 
#74
I haven't gigged as a bassist (yet). But I've done plenty of folk gigs as a duo or with a band. I play the banjo and sing. My answer is definitely both. I love playing music, so even if I don't love the song I make it challenging by doing my absolute best arranging and playing it.
I don't really understand all the people saying they hate the songs they play.
Your job as a musician is to entertain right?? If you're sitting in your living room play whatever you want, but if you are getting paid to do a gig you have a responsibility to entertain the audience.
so I suggest you go find something else to do if you hate It.

So I'll have fun playing Freebird, Taylor Swift, or Rocky Top a million times if the crowd wants it.
 
#75
My band attempts to straddle the fine line of pleasing the audience, musicians in the crowd, and ourselves. We typically get a lot of compliments that go something like: "I usually hate cover bands, but you guys do things very differently and kill it!"

We certainly play a few songs that we don't like, or that are typical of a cover band, but we try to pick out different songs than the norm that still go over very well.
 
#76
I think as entertainers we have a responsibility to play for the audience. because many times they pay money to get in and it costs them for drinks and such. However, most of us initially started out because we wanted to see what we could do on the bass, so we practiced and made decisions on tone, style etc. to achieve a certain quality of play so we play for ourselves as well. to me - it's a balancing act - we play in order to develop what we learn and we have to keep in mind what would interest the audience as well.
 
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#77
thunderstation said:
I think as entertainers we have a responsibility to play for the audience. because many times they pay money to get in and it costs them for drinks and such. However, most of us initially started out because we wanted to see what we could do on the bass, so we practiced and made decisions on tone, style etc. to achieve a certain quality of play so we play for ourselves as well. to me - it's a balancing act - we play in order to develop what we learn and we have to keep in mind what would interest the audience as well.
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i like the idea you stated of it being a balancing act. I think the best players are the ones who find that fine line, and then exploit it. Right away, I think of Les Claypool. He is DEFINITELY about entertaining the audience, as well as himself in every aspect. I have always left Primus shows going..."Damn that was fun and damn he is good".
 

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