Musicians on stage wearing black clothes...

[newwavefrank]

I am not a fan of black in general on stage because it usually makes you blend in with the typical bar background. Colors make you stand out , but so does contrast. In the earlier picture showing the beatles in all black, the stage and background were light colored, so they still stood out.

 

[SunnBass]

Back in the day when I was gigging, we wore whatever.

However, the trend of wearing black seems to be a thing.

Understanding the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon

 

[BlueTalon]

Older overweight dudes in black tees, black dad pants, and black Sketchers, not so much.

Speaking as an older overweight dude, older overweight dudes don't look particularly good in anything. But since I don't want too look more overweight, black is my default. (If it's a hot or casual gig, then a dark colored collared shirt.) And I don't feel the least bit color-deprived.

 

[dave64o]

Interesting bass, a three-pickup Jazz?

 

[BradE]

I got tired of wearing and/or seeing all black years ago. It is barely a step above wearing the same jeans and t-shirts you'd wear to Taco Bell.
My favorite period of rock is early-mid 70s and I love bassists like Gary Thain, Pete Way and Dennis Dunaway, definitely not wallflowers.
I go for the loudest clothing I can find and even call my stage wear and Thunderbirds my Pete Ways. I'm there to put on a show, not just make bass noises appear out of the background. At least the black pants are pleather!

 

[TBird1958]

I've certainly worn my fare share of black clothes onstage, the trick is to accessorize with color.
And don't stand in the shadows!

 

[electracoyote]

Speaking as an older overweight dude, older overweight dudes don't look particularly good in anything. But since I don't want too look more overweight, black is my default. (If it's a hot or casual gig, then a dark colored collared shirt.) And I don't feel the least bit color-deprived.
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I admire that you make the effort to go a step beyond with a colored shirt, neck tie, suit jacket, etc. You obviously take a look in the mirror and a little pride in your appearance. I (and your audience members) surely appreciate it and could never accuse you of being lazy.

Black dominant can be a default born of lack of creativity and effort, or it can be fashionable. You are obviously much more the latter.

As for the "slimming effect" of black, well, if it makes you feel better, good. As has been said several times on this thread, it's more myth than fact. Big guy still gonna look big in black, but can arguably be more fun, entertaining, and big in other colors.

 

[BlueTalon]

Interesting bass, a three-pickup Jazz?

Yep. It's a Warmoth body, I had them route it for three pickups. I based the pickup locations entirely on looks, and just trusted the placement would sound great (it does). Three Fender Super 55 pickups, the best Fender ever made IMO. Stacked individual V/T controls for each pickup, a 6-position Turnstyle switch, and master V/T. The Turnstyle gives me one position of full manual control, and five voice presets that bypass the individual pickup controls. Bubinga neck with wenge fretboard. Fantastic bass, and it looks cool. The only downside is it's heavy.

 

[BlueTalon]

I've certainly worn my fare share of black clothes onstage, the trick is to accessorize with color.
And don't stand in the shadows!


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You'd look good in anything.

 

[BlueTalon]

I admire that you make the effort to go a step beyond with a colored shirt, neck tie, suit jacket, etc. You obviously take a look in the mirror and a little pride in your appearance. I (and your audience members) surely appreciate it and could never accuse you of being lazy.

Black dominant can be a default born of lack of creativity and effort, or it can be fashionable. You are obviously much more the latter.

As for the "slimming effect" of black, well, if it makes you feel better, good. As has been said several times on this thread, it's more myth than fact. Big guy still gonna look big in black, but can arguably be more fun, entertaining, and big in other colors.

Thank you. The trick isn't to try to look skinny, because that will never happen. The trick is to not draw visual attention to my gut. The dark clothing serves that purpose. Even in the photos, I don't look as fat as I'd look, say, in a light colored T shirt.

My current BL puts a premium on looking sharp and putting on a good show. To that end, I wear clothes that will hopefully honor the audience as a performer, and I accessorize with things such as sunglasses, hat, and neon strings. Here's a photo from my previous band that didn't care as much about looking sharp, but you can still see what I mean about a show. (Still in dark clothes.) Usually, when people talk to me during breaks or after the show, they want to talk about my playing or my equipment, and usually about my strings. That's how to draw attention away from one's gut.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

I wear my black Birkenstocks; they're my dress pair and very comfy.

 

[Aceman]

This is a potentially trigger issue for me. I HATE seeing a band show up in flip flops, cargo shorts and whatever shirt they picked up off the floor. If I want to HEAR a band - I'll go listen to iTunes. when I'm out I want to ALSO see them.

ALWAYS DRESS FOR A SHOW AND DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE GIG!!!!

 

[Sid Fang]

If you're primarily a composer or studio artist, I suppose you might see things differently, but as someone who's done visual arts, music, and theatre over the years, I definitely see live music as performance art. There are many ways of doing it, and no way of doing it that works for every group of musicians in every performance context. A uniform can work. A loose set of rules can work. A set of well-defined but different "characters" can work. In some bands, everyone just being their everyday selves has enough authenticity for it to work - though nowhere near as many bands as imagine this to be the case. I just think it's important to be conscious of the visual element, both as individuals and as a group, and do your best to deliver on it for the audience.

 

[nutdog]

I like it.

But I also like white.

 

[kevin wells]

Black is beautiful

 

[kevin wells]

I like a little color sometimes.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

 

[Feral Feline]

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As of right now I wear black on stage, but working on building muscle so that I can go shirtless. My drummer has played at least one show in a pink polo before, lol.

Great kilt, is it a Utilikilt?


Cheers,
FF

 

[2saddleslab]

This is a potentially trigger issue for me. I HATE seeing a band show up in flip flops, cargo shorts and whatever shirt they picked up off the floor. If I want to HEAR a band - I'll go listen to iTunes. when I'm out I want to ALSO see them.

ALWAYS DRESS FOR A SHOW AND DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE GIG!!!!

Many years ago I joined a band startup w/ a couple guys who had a very long successful run w/ their previous band. At the 1st meeting [jam] one of them declared you should be able to walk into a bar and instantly know who the musicians are by their appearance [which I completely agree]. He harped on this and some other criteria they thought made for a successful band.

So I showed up at the gig in 2 tone vintage shoes, jeans, & vintage bowling shirt. The guy giving the lecture looked like he just rolled off the couch and came to the gig wearing a wrinkled old T shirt and jeans. He also quickly ignored every other of his own rules of success. Lead by example, he did not.

 

[Aceman]

you should be able to walk into a bar and instantly know who the musicians are by their appearance [which I completely agree].

This...x1000