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how do i increase my presence within a band?

20th Century Boy....good song, and it sounded pretty good too! Dig up some Marc Bolan vids, or even Sex Pistols....they had the same line-up as you guys and mostly played on small stages. Most of all, get some attitude....this is rock n roll after all!
 
I walked into CiCi.s Pizza for lunch the other day, and as soon as I stepped in, all the people behind the counter shouted, WELCOME TO CiCi's!. It was so loud that it startled me, and then I smiled. The next customers that walked in, I SHOUTED "WELCOME TO CiCi's". Everyone laughed at me, but I guarantee you, they will REMEMBER ME. There is no bashful in entertaining, act like you do when you are in front of the bathroom mirror. No one wants to watch paint dry. Act CRAZY, give them something to remember, just like this little man jumping up and down.:hyper:
 
Don't be scared to look foolish. Unless it is TOTALLY against your image, have some fun. Show the audience what they should be doing while listening to your music. All of those before me here were good. Dance, bob, move around! Jump! Over exaggerate your actual playing! Whatever it takes for them to remember you.


Well... remember... indecent exposure...
 
Looks to me like it's early on in your bands gigging experience. Relax, rock your head a little to the beat, and just get into it. And smile dammit! It should come to you w/ more playing out...

BTW, is that how you look in band practice? Are you more into it when not playing in front of people?
 
I used to worry about how I was coming across while playing...As I've matured a little bit I've stopped worrying about it. Here's my current philosophy:

Typically the lead guitar player is the most animated and hogs the most attention. It kills it for me when the bass player is going too crazy. I leave all the wild shenanigans to the singer and guitar players. I thoroughly enjoy the way that bassists like Pino Pallidino (sp?), John Entwistle, Wooten, Stu Hamm, etc. express themselves as they play. They allow the music to move them rather than trying to use their "stage persona" to move the music (or influence the crowd somehow)...For me, if I look out and see heads bobbing in time with what I'm playing and people moving with the groove I don't worry about it. I'm doing my job...
 
**** dancing lessons.
Act out your passion for the music you play.


Thats a bassist on the left from the camera view.

Thats how passionate you should be about the music you play, thats the energie you should be emitting.

Oke?


All the singer says is "Yuck, yuck" in a screaming voice and everyone else is just smashing around.

I never understood hardcore, or whatever thats considered.
 
**** dancing lessons.
Act out your passion for the music you play.


Thats a bassist on the left from the camera view.

Thats how passionate you should be about the music you play, thats the energie you should be emitting.

Oke?


So I have to play with the bass at my knees and jump around?

Over time a player can learn to emit energy and intensity through his/her playing and not their dance moves.

Once, while watching Frank Zappa solo onstage, standing still, just wailing away, the guy next to me turns to me and says "...this makes heavy metal sound mellow, man..."

Great players can stand still, play, and knock you over with their energy and emotion.
 
So I have to play with the bass at my knees and jump around?

Over time a player can learn to emit energy and intensity through his/her playing and not their dance moves.

Once, while watching Frank Zappa solo onstage, standing still, just wailing away, the guy next to me turns to me and says "...this makes heavy metal sound mellow, man..."

Great players can stand still, play, and knock you over with their energy and emotion.

I dont always jump around. im just showing how silly i look. to make that point to just loosen up and have fun. he obviiously dosent like standing there and wnats to mover around
 
So I have to play with the bass at my knees and jump around?

Over time a player can learn to emit energy and intensity through his/her playing and not their dance moves.

Once, while watching Frank Zappa solo onstage, standing still, just wailing away, the guy next to me turns to me and says "...this makes heavy metal sound mellow, man..."

Great players can stand still, play, and knock you over with their energy and emotion.

Great players can also stand still, play, and bore you out of your skull. It all depends on context. Just about any time I see an unaccompanied solo coming on, I head for the bathroom or the bar.

Zappa wasn't an angry, disillusioned punk, for the record. His stage personality wasn't remotely similar to the guys in Converge, because his real personality wasn't remotely similar to the guys in Converge. That's a rather unfair comparison to make. If you see a bunch of punks or hardcore kids standing still, THEN you can make that comparison.

All of you guys being Big Groovy in the Back are missing a very important point. OP -wants- to have more presence on stage. This tells us that he feels his personality isn't coming out when he's up there. Exaggerated movements and dramatics are not congruent with what EVERYONE wants to do, but I'll be damned if they're not what the OP is looking for.
 
I dont always jump around. im just showing how silly i look. to make that point to just loosen up and have fun. he obviiously dosent like standing there and wnats to mover around

I wasn't referring to you in particular, didn't see your vid.

My point is that it's fine if that's what you want to do, but it's not REQUIRED for people to feel the music.

If that were the case recordings would never be able to convey emotion and feeling since the visual element is missing.

Nothing wrong with acrobatics and stage antics but it's not a requirement.
 
Move around loads, feel the music. Take Foals for instance, they go crazy all the time. Jump up and down.in gaps in music, dont be afraid to just clap your hands, see if the crwod does likewise.

If you aren't in to going crazy, like uber crazy, check out the video to "Balloons" by Foals. They move around enough in this to create energy. That the minimum a band should move around at.

 
Move around loads, feel the music. Take Foals for instance, they go crazy all the time. Jump up and down.in gaps in music, dont be afraid to just clap your hands, see if the crwod does likewise.

If you aren't in to going crazy, like uber crazy, check out the video to "Balloons" by Foals. They move around enough in this to create energy. That the minimum a band should move around at.



Aaahh. Fellow graduates of the Dave Byrne/Talking Heads School of Dance!