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What is the STRANGEST "compliment" you've ever gotten?
- Thread starter JoZac21
- Start date
Dude . . .
The audience is who we play for - if your "production" allows someone to get more in touch with themselves emotionally, spiritually and, yes, physically, then your appearance on this planet has merit.
In that split second of "in the moment" reality . . .
You are in the business of receiving whatever any other human offers you - you are amplifying your "comments" to said audience. Be grateful that folks take time to listen to you & yours.
A pedophile? Really?
Umm... does that count as a compliment?
The drunk woman that said it certainly thought it did.
A dude at church comes up to me (an older, round, bald-headed biker dude with a goatee and huge arms - obviously a very legit guy) with a HUGE smile after service and says rather loudly, "Mr. GEE-tar man!" and the whole while he's doing an air-guitar thing like's he's playing a rhythm part on guitar.
I quickly dispensed with the 23 rebuttals and quips that flashed through my mind, and simply said, "Thanks!"
The other is a guy who has since passed on who always said after service (loudly) "The Blues Brothers!" I guess he meant it in a general sense, and it was always clearly a compliment.
I quickly dispensed with the 23 rebuttals and quips that flashed through my mind, and simply said, "Thanks!"
The other is a guy who has since passed on who always said after service (loudly) "The Blues Brothers!" I guess he meant it in a general sense, and it was always clearly a compliment.
"Great job dancing with the bass" from a guitarist who's toured with some fairly big Polish pop stars. And she must have really thought I wasn't just a goofball - a few months later she wanted to join my cover band, though that didn't work out for other reasons.
At my last gig a couple of weeks ago a young lady told me how much she enjoyed our band and my playing and then she tells me she wants to show me something special. Curiosity hits me so I ask what it is and she tells me she wants to show me that she has no gag reflex. Score one for rock and roll! I did not accept her tempting offer due to other obligations with the lady that was with me at the show, but it was nice to get the offer 
Why do I play in a band again?
Why do I play in a band again?
That my "entire life" is a performance 
(meant that my stage presence is reflected in my daily life, but said awkwardly.
(meant that my stage presence is reflected in my daily life, but said awkwardly.I deliberately try NOT to sound like an imitator...but I'm a hyper white guy and I have a fretless jazz bass, so even though I cop more licks from Bootsy Collins than Jaco, people always call me Jaco. But they always mean it as a compliment so I always say thank you!!
I use to get "wow! Your bass sounds like a cello!" very often.
And a friend of mine, once after a gig, was approached by this lady who says that she loved his cello sound and all and want him to play in the wedding cerimony of her daughter. The very moment my friend said it was not a cello, but a double bass, he lost the gig...
And a friend of mine, once after a gig, was approached by this lady who says that she loved his cello sound and all and want him to play in the wedding cerimony of her daughter. The very moment my friend said it was not a cello, but a double bass, he lost the gig...
Woman comes up to me after a gig one night and says, "My husband says you're a really good guitar player!" I just smiled and said, "Thanks. That's very kind of him to say that."
One gig I was sick as a dog. I mean really sick. So, as I played through one set I just stood there expressionless and motionless, just going through the motions. I barely made it through that set. Then, at break time a guy comes up to me to tell me he thought I was SOOO cool up there, "...the way you just stood there and played, that was so cool." Heh, heh. I told him why, though. Hey, it just goes to show that you don't have to put on a smiley face and juke around onstage to be cool.
A few years back a middle-aged cat watched my semi-acoustic cover band (heavy into 70's and 80's stuff) from the side of the stage. During a break, he came up, looked at me, and said: "You guys ARE Seals and Croft!" and then walked away. I am almost positive from the way he said it, the look in his eyes, and the expression on his face as I watched him walk away that he seriously meant it as a compliment.
Had a very pretty Latino girl come up to me once at an improv gig, gave me a big hug and thanked me for playing those slinky, sexy grooves.
Several years ago, I played in a band with the former drummer for The Village People. He is black and at our first rehearsal he looked at me and said "The way you play, if you weren't a white boy I'd swear we were brothers".
Another compliment that I received was from a guitarist who said "I have no idea how you play the way you do but I like it".
Another compliment that I received was from a guitarist who said "I have no idea how you play the way you do but I like it".
I was once told "You play the bass almost like a black man dances." Never was quite sure how to take it.
LOL, funny how the whole black-white thing can play out, when one is white, and deemed "black" by a person of color, by virtue of their playing. Music truly builds bridges.
I got the "you sound like a black man" compliment. The best one was from this local homeless dude who plays a rippin' guitar, but can't get his act together. He said that I was the only white bass player he ever heard play like that since Donald "Duck" Dunn, and that my playing surprised the hell out of him. Thanks, crazy homeless guy!
Also, a girl once said our band sounded like "a friendly Inspector Gadget LSD trip." I'm not sure what she meant, but I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much!
The best band compliment was a girl who literally gave me her shirt, and in the process, let the whole band gaze upon her magnificent... personality.. and then her two friends jumped in and showed us their personalities, too. Great night!
Also, a girl once said our band sounded like "a friendly Inspector Gadget LSD trip." I'm not sure what she meant, but I'll take that as a compliment, thank you very much!
The best band compliment was a girl who literally gave me her shirt, and in the process, let the whole band gaze upon her magnificent... personality.. and then her two friends jumped in and showed us their personalities, too. Great night!
