He he, the story is he whacked his own.....with a sharp stone.
+1. Without a bass to hide behind you wouldn't catch me on a stage!
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On Stage Banter
- Thread starter bluewine
- Start date
He he, the story is he whacked his own.....with a sharp stone.
+1. Without a bass to hide behind you wouldn't catch me on a stage!
bongomania
Commercial User
One band I was in often had ridiculous dead air between songs, which was compounded by too-frequent technical difficulties like broken strings, dead battery in the wireless mic, etc. etc. That band was a lot of fun, but a trainwreck as far as keeping the show tight. Anyway one time we had so many things go wrong at the same time that there was just no slick or professional-seeming way to cover for the dead air that just stretched on and on, and our two frontpeople failed to even try. So I grabbed a setlist (8.5 x 11") and quickly tore it into an hourglass shape. Then I stood on the front of the stage and rotated the hourglass for a minute or so, until the laughter died down. 
THIS drives me nuts. I've seen acts that spend more time discussing/explaining their songs than playing them.
A guitar player in one of my bands was also incredibly cringe worthy. He did backup vocals so he had a mic, but tended to ramble and make inside jokes. Just terrible. We've all but shamed him out of it after a while, but it drove me nuts in the interim.
I saw Mike Doughty a few months back and he does shows with just acoustic guitar and his bassist playing a small scale upright. Lots of talking/banter with the crowd but not excessive. Just entertaining. Made it a much better show IMO. But I also saw Bob Mould years ago and I think he said less than ten words the whole time. Also a great show. So it really depends. The key is not to force it.
I think Mike Doughty has probably the best onstage banter than anyone I've ever seen. I saw him play solo once, and he kept everyone laughing between every song. Good way to keep the spirits high and the energy flowing, assuming someone is ACTUALLY funny!
Acoustic guitarist Tommy Emmanuel is another musician who has mastered banter with the audience.
Those who are really good at this make it look easy and it fools the amateurs into thinking all they need to do is keep yakking into the microphone and it automatically adds to their show. Wrong.
i hate it when some jerk decides to heckle a performer because he thinks he knows how everything should be done
Coming up soon is perhaps the best "holiday" of the year (in U.S., at least) in terms of general party atmosphere & the ability to get away with some really goofy, campy stuff on stage: Halloween!
With that in mind, what are some of you guys doing special for your Halloween gigs? Any special tunes? How about "fun & games" involving the audience?
We're dressing as dead rock stars-turned zombies (part of the gimmick is to let the audience guess who's who in the band, for prizes) & learned "The Munsters" theme, Monster Mash, & Thriller (so far; maybe some more).
JM
With that in mind, what are some of you guys doing special for your Halloween gigs? Any special tunes? How about "fun & games" involving the audience?
We're dressing as dead rock stars-turned zombies (part of the gimmick is to let the audience guess who's who in the band, for prizes) & learned "The Munsters" theme, Monster Mash, & Thriller (so far; maybe some more).
JM
In the last band I was in, the singer always had to do the 'introducing the band' thing. To me, this was extremely cheesy and lame. We're just guys in a cover band, not rock stars.
It made me want to hide behind an amplifier whenever he did it -- And I did a couple of times, to great comic effect.
It made me want to hide behind an amplifier whenever he did it -- And I did a couple of times, to great comic effect.
jive1
Commercial User
- Never do banter just to do it. Wasted words are as bad if not worse than wasted notes.
- Banter should be rehearsed to some degree.
- Make banter useful. Do it during string changes, guitar changes, etc.
- Banter shouldn't take the place of smooth transitions between songs.
- Learn to use the mic properly. Don't move away from the mic before you finish what you are saying, and don't start talking until you're up to the mic.
- Speak clearly. Don't mumble, scream, or otherwise speak unintelligibly.
- Banter should be rehearsed to some degree.
- Make banter useful. Do it during string changes, guitar changes, etc.
- Banter shouldn't take the place of smooth transitions between songs.
- Learn to use the mic properly. Don't move away from the mic before you finish what you are saying, and don't start talking until you're up to the mic.
- Speak clearly. Don't mumble, scream, or otherwise speak unintelligibly.
I cringe when I see the "tip your server" type lines. Yes, it's true, tip your server, but be the band, not another employee for the bar. I don't know, a lot of that in-house call out stuff is good and friendly banter for cover bands I suppose.
I talk to the audience whenever I feel I have something relevant to say, otherwise I shut it.
There's also the Phil Anselmo approach: Tell everyone how you are the greatest band in the world, and how you're going to kick everyone's ass with the next song. And then - back it up!
I talk to the audience whenever I feel I have something relevant to say, otherwise I shut it.
There's also the Phil Anselmo approach: Tell everyone how you are the greatest band in the world, and how you're going to kick everyone's ass with the next song. And then - back it up!
jive1
Commercial User
If the bar is paying you, you are an employee of that bar for the night. Many times the bartender or staff have a say in the bands that get booked there, and usually appreciate the reminder to tip them. More tips for the staff, more likely they will tell the manager you did well and should book you again.
- Jul 30, 2006
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- Endorsing artist:Regenerate Guitar Works Carvin, Micheal Kelly Guitars
Stay away from stuff like politics, God, gay marriage or abortion. Make it fun. Say things like " Hey mister, I never said your wife had a wart on her left breast. I said it FELT like a wart."
The best way to deal with on-stage banter is to reduce the need for it as much as possible. I.e.:
1) Tuning happens BEFORE the show and BETWEEN sets. Unless you are dreadfully out of tune, let it ride till break... or try to tune on the fly. NEVER put on fresh strings right before a show... you will be guaranteed to be badly out of tune by the 4th song. We have a guitarist that does this almost every show and it drives the rest of us flippin' nuts.
2) Keep your personal gear and P.A. (if you're responsible for it) in tip-top shape, bring backups of everything, and make sure everything is ready to go before note one (fresh batteries, etc.). Nothing kills the flow of a show like a big technical blow-up.
3) Have a setlist and stick to it. Know where you are seguing and where you are breaking. If the frontman decides to call an audible (song out of sequence), that's not the end of the world but the band needs to know that so you don't get the whole 4 or 5 guys standing around saying "what's next" thing.
There's more I'm sure but those are the ones that come quickest to mind.
1) Tuning happens BEFORE the show and BETWEEN sets. Unless you are dreadfully out of tune, let it ride till break... or try to tune on the fly. NEVER put on fresh strings right before a show... you will be guaranteed to be badly out of tune by the 4th song. We have a guitarist that does this almost every show and it drives the rest of us flippin' nuts.
2) Keep your personal gear and P.A. (if you're responsible for it) in tip-top shape, bring backups of everything, and make sure everything is ready to go before note one (fresh batteries, etc.). Nothing kills the flow of a show like a big technical blow-up.
3) Have a setlist and stick to it. Know where you are seguing and where you are breaking. If the frontman decides to call an audible (song out of sequence), that's not the end of the world but the band needs to know that so you don't get the whole 4 or 5 guys standing around saying "what's next" thing.
There's more I'm sure but those are the ones that come quickest to mind.
IME, rule of thumb 3 songs minimum, NO banter, then have a short commercial break to promote, C.D.'s, T-shirts, etc. talk about up coming shows,point out the location of the dance floor and invite all of the girls to come on down, and remind the crowd to thank the barkeeps for having you tonight, then rock their asses out. keep it short, keep it to the point, and schedule it to coincide with technical change ups. DO NOT start banter , even if scheduled, when the dance floor is packed, and everyone is feeling it. Save it for later.
+1,000 to this. The only time banter should happen when the floor is packed is if your band "breaks it down" and maybe your singer works the room with just a solid drum and bass groove happening underneath. Stopping the music for ANY length of time or ANY reason once you've got the floor packed and hopping is just a flat-out "no". I don't care how charismatic your front person is... once the beat stops and the chatter starts, the vibe is gone.
No matter what, don't ever EVER EVER say "Madison WI! Are you ready to rock????" Or any other version like "Are you ready to party???" "Are you ready to dance????" "Are you ready to drink with us tonight????" If anyone in your band says that, beat them with your bass and leave them for dead. If I ever hear a front guy say that, I assume that the band will suck until proven otherwise.
Plug your web site no more than once per set. Period.
Between sets, get some NAMES of people who spent their money to see you. Find out where a few of them are from. Then you have something to talk about. ALWAYS find out if there are birthday parties, bachelorett/bachelor parties and GET THE GUEST OF HONOR ON STAGE! That will be remembered for the rest of their lives. Just be GOOD to the people who come to see you.
Find out who the highest ranking mamber of the staff ON SITE and say their name in the mic at least once. If it's the owner, thank him/her BY NAME for having you out. A little shout out to the bar staff doesn't hurt either.
Make point is, make your stage banter RELEVANT to SOMEBODY in the room.
Hope this helps.
Plug your web site no more than once per set. Period.
Between sets, get some NAMES of people who spent their money to see you. Find out where a few of them are from. Then you have something to talk about. ALWAYS find out if there are birthday parties, bachelorett/bachelor parties and GET THE GUEST OF HONOR ON STAGE! That will be remembered for the rest of their lives. Just be GOOD to the people who come to see you.
Find out who the highest ranking mamber of the staff ON SITE and say their name in the mic at least once. If it's the owner, thank him/her BY NAME for having you out. A little shout out to the bar staff doesn't hurt either.
Make point is, make your stage banter RELEVANT to SOMEBODY in the room.
Hope this helps.
If you're trying to be cool, you ain't. I've met many excellent musicians who are a little reserved socially. No profit in forcing them to be gregarious ... it won't be authentic, and the audience will sense it.
one guy i met said he gives the waitroids free tee's if they'll wear them during the gig.....having them on your team is good...
Here are my rules for banter:
1. Never ever tell inside jokes to the crowd.
2. Never try to be funny if you're not funny. Be brutally honest with yourself.
3. Only one person in the band should talk at a time. OCCASIONALLY it's OK to break this rule if you think of something really funny to say, but you better make darn sure that it's funny. If you aren't funny, see #2.
4. Avoid dead air but don't be so dead set on avoiding dead air that you allow yourself to ramble and say stupid stuff. Everyone else in the band should be ready to launch into the next song immediately so the banter can be kept short.
5. Do your plugs, but don't overdo them. Do them quickly, clearly, and don't make a big production out of it.
6. Engage the crowd at every opportunity. People love to clap and sing along and have fun at a gig. If you've got a frontman who can get them doing that, you will work.
7. If you're Aimee Mann in a theater setting where it's kind of intimate and everyone's just sitting enraptured by you, then it's OK to tell a couple slightly long stories as long as they're good. In any other situation, spare the crowd the boring stories and the pontificating.
8. If nobody in your band is good at talking to the crowd, don't, or at least keep it as short as you possibly can. That means you have to keep the music coming pretty much nonstop, but that's OK.
9. Don't be afraid to berate the crowd in a friendly way. Like one bit we do is where we try to get the crowd to sing along, and if they don't sing we just quit playing and walk off the stage while our frontman gives them a couple friendly shots for not singing. They get a laugh out of it, then they sing along when we do it again.
10. Your banter will go over way better if you lay off the phony showbizisms and just talk to the people more conversationally. And for God's sake, remember rule #2!
1. Never ever tell inside jokes to the crowd.
2. Never try to be funny if you're not funny. Be brutally honest with yourself.
3. Only one person in the band should talk at a time. OCCASIONALLY it's OK to break this rule if you think of something really funny to say, but you better make darn sure that it's funny. If you aren't funny, see #2.
4. Avoid dead air but don't be so dead set on avoiding dead air that you allow yourself to ramble and say stupid stuff. Everyone else in the band should be ready to launch into the next song immediately so the banter can be kept short.
5. Do your plugs, but don't overdo them. Do them quickly, clearly, and don't make a big production out of it.
6. Engage the crowd at every opportunity. People love to clap and sing along and have fun at a gig. If you've got a frontman who can get them doing that, you will work.
7. If you're Aimee Mann in a theater setting where it's kind of intimate and everyone's just sitting enraptured by you, then it's OK to tell a couple slightly long stories as long as they're good. In any other situation, spare the crowd the boring stories and the pontificating.
8. If nobody in your band is good at talking to the crowd, don't, or at least keep it as short as you possibly can. That means you have to keep the music coming pretty much nonstop, but that's OK.
9. Don't be afraid to berate the crowd in a friendly way. Like one bit we do is where we try to get the crowd to sing along, and if they don't sing we just quit playing and walk off the stage while our frontman gives them a couple friendly shots for not singing. They get a laugh out of it, then they sing along when we do it again.
10. Your banter will go over way better if you lay off the phony showbizisms and just talk to the people more conversationally. And for God's sake, remember rule #2!
