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Wearing shoes on stage.
- Thread starter MatticusMania
- Start date
Rock band or jam band...... NOBODY CARES if you go barefoot. Seriously. Nobody cares. The audience doesn't think about it one way or the other. NOBODY is going to leave the show saying "Geez, that band was GREAT but I wish the bass player had put his SHOES back on." Not gonna happen. I wear sandals at beach clubs a lot, and sometimes at outdoor festivals. It is not unprofessional at all. We're a BAND after all, not accountants.
Lighten up fellas.
Lighten up fellas.
slobake
resident ... something
I prefer a sturdy boot with a good heel. It makes it easier for my to tap my foot that way. It also better to kick the drummer when he is not paying attention to dynamics. 
Tat2dHeart
Only two strings away from an attitude problem.
When I was in Florida, I preferred to go barefoot when I played. Now that I'm in Georgia and it's colder, I learn toward socks (usually garish and mismatched) or outlandish sneakers (black lace, hot pink, neon colors, weird patterns, bedazzled, etc.). It gives people something else to look at when I mess up besides the curly red troll hair with which I was blessed.
There are 125 posts in this barefoot thread and not one from PA (she must not have seen it)...so disappointed.
Whenever I play festivals I like to rip my shoes and socks off. Nothing like playing barefoot on a big stage!
- Oct 18, 2012
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- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
It was cool when Ronnie Van Zant did it. I played barefoot for a few weeks when I was young and didn't know any better. Now, I think it looks dumb.
I was once told by an electrician that not wearing shoes could cause you be electrocuted if things are not properly grounded. That's reason enough for me to always wear shoes. I like to be comfortable so I always wear a good pair of sneakers.
I was once told by an electrician that not wearing shoes could cause you be electrocuted if things are not properly grounded. That's reason enough for me to always wear shoes. I like to be comfortable so I always wear a good pair of sneakers.
It's soooooooo corny! Wouldn't be caught dead doing it! It even looks corny when Joss Stone does it and when Eric Benet' did it years ago.
...If you'd like to die of electrocution. Festival stages increase the likelihood of electrical hazards due to temporary venue-provided tie-ins, the many changeovers and the likelihood of the production provider bringing stuff they really don't use too often. I've seen the biggest of the majors have a mis-wired Edison on a stage AC distro box or two.
Barefoot and electric entertainment production is a bad mix. Always.
I go barefoot as often as possible. It's a way of life for me. I never wear shoes on stage unless the owner is adamant about it. (There are actually no laws anywhere in the country requiring you to wear shoes in any establishment, and no insurance companies have policies either, but I don't like to argue about it - I just put them on.)
Lots of people who come to our shows think it's cool. It's improved my quality of life greatly. I guess it's not for everyone.
Lots of people who come to our shows think it's cool. It's improved my quality of life greatly. I guess it's not for everyone.
Like shorts, whatever. Whatever floats your boat. I couldn't care less personally. I wear shoes because they're comfortable for me, but I will wear sandals in the summer, no prob. Cargo shorts, button down shirt, t-shirt, whatever. I am trying to look better, but I want to stay flexible in that goal.
I'm sorry, with rare exception, I have not worn shoes or socks on stage in 15 years. No reason specifically, no real thing at all. I just don't wear them. Take them off when I get onto stage, put them on when we are done.
For me, I grew up spending summers on a camp ground (never wore shoes) swam and taught swimming and life guarded for 8 years (never wore shoes even at work) so it is just something that doesn't bother me. I have played weddings with no shoes on. It is just how I dress for stage. Nothing more. No deep meaning either.
For me, I grew up spending summers on a camp ground (never wore shoes) swam and taught swimming and life guarded for 8 years (never wore shoes even at work) so it is just something that doesn't bother me. I have played weddings with no shoes on. It is just how I dress for stage. Nothing more. No deep meaning either.
Oh and as a side note, I sit here at my desk at a University in Wisconsin and currently I do not have shoes on. Take them off all day long. If I have to walk anywhere outside of my floor, I put my shoes on otherwise they are nearly always off and under my desk. Summers (if I am not riding my harley) I wear sandles to work and then I am barefoot in my office. 10 years and counting in my current position.
I think I only played one barefoot gig in my life, because that one was in an old public bathhouse and the band wanted "beach attire". I have no problems walking barefoot in snow, though.
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If it's a classical or jazz gig I'm more likely to go the shoed route by default but otherwise unless the people I'm playing with/for state an opinion, I do whatever I feel would be most comfortable, mostly barefoot if the weather is nice, with sandals to slip on if I need them, and shoes if it's cold outside and not stupid hot onstage.
In the studio I'm known as the only one who's allowed barefoot, since I do it enough for my feet to be tougher than anything that may have found it's way onto the floor.
The only place where barefootness was specifically disallowed was when I was in the show band on cruise ships, but they had a dress code for everything, albeit with exceptions specifically in the handbook for the entertainment department.
In the studio I'm known as the only one who's allowed barefoot, since I do it enough for my feet to be tougher than anything that may have found it's way onto the floor.
The only place where barefootness was specifically disallowed was when I was in the show band on cruise ships, but they had a dress code for everything, albeit with exceptions specifically in the handbook for the entertainment department.
I often do 4 hour gigs, so standing there with a bass
around my neck, going shoeless is not good for my
feet OR back. I need some type of support and
cushioning. I wear insoles so I have a bit of foam
to stand on. If it were cool to sit, I would always sit
on a bar stool, but it takes away from the visual
performance.
around my neck, going shoeless is not good for my
feet OR back. I need some type of support and
cushioning. I wear insoles so I have a bit of foam
to stand on. If it were cool to sit, I would always sit
on a bar stool, but it takes away from the visual
performance.
