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Looper's Delight
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felt like weighing in here as well-- back when I played in a rock band, I thought I should jump around, even though sometimes I wasn't really feeling the music like that, cuz it seemed like that was the vibe that got people watching psyched about your band. now, I play solo, and I go to every performance with no specific plan about what I'm going to do (it's kind of scary, but it's what feels right to me ). in searching for and expressing in music the core of whatever moment I'm in, I need to tune into everything that's there-- people who are watching, the sound of a bus out in the street, my equipment sometimes-- I get fed from lots of different places. people go see music for lots of different reasons. What I personally appreciate most when I'm watching is when a performer really digs into whatever thing it is that they do and expresses it completely. That's why I like watching Michael Jackson dance, to pick a left-field example. His intensity turns me on, cuz I see something elemental in it, even though most of his music and his whole pop phenom thing doesn't do much for me. That's why my first big love was Jimmy Hendrix. You've gotta love what you do and share that. You've gotta have something you want to communicate, even if it's quite abstract what that thing is. And you've gotta be good enough at your medium for the message to get across to those listening/ watching. I firmly believe that's pretty much it. Just like in the rest of life, some people will dig your particular for m of expression, and some won't. That'll be the case no matter what you do, so you might as well do what's real for you. love the world ghost 7 on 3/21/03 7:19 AM, Rick Walker/Loop.pooL at GLOBAL@cruzio.com wrote: > > This post about making eye contact with > audiences made me want to share a simple > trick I learned about performing from > an elementary school teacher. > > I vascillate in my performances between being > really quite shy and being really 'out there' > as a performer. > > If you pick an audience member in the last row > (this is, of course in a more intimate setting) > and stare INTENTLY straight at their third eye (forehead for > all you non-hippies out there........lol) > you give the illusion that you are really connecting > deeply with someone in the audience. You can even switch which > person you stare at. > > Only the person you are staring at knows that you aren't staring at them, > but I've asked those people about it afterwards and found that they have > just assumed that I was concentrating. > > *********************************** > > I also think it is extremely important to force oneself to > look at your equipment as little as possible. > > Even with guitar players (not looping), it is more effective > if they steal glances at their fretboards instead of just staring at >them in > performance. > > and while we're at it, singers: point that mic up towards your mouth > instead of having it point straight at you. this is > not even the most optimal placement of a microphone but it allows the > audience to see your mouth move as you sing (as opposed to being >completely > blocked out by the mic when it is > parallel to the ground). > > ****************************** > > and as long as I'm on a rant, tapping your foot with your hell > instead of with your toe looks a lot more grounded and > 'funky'.....................(please pardon my funk/soul dance band > influences). > > ***************************** > oh yeah, and mark hamburg, when the lights are so strong that you can't >see > the audience: pretend you can and stare intently out into the lights, >with > your gaze just below where the intensity is greatest (so as not to blind > yourself)..........stare, in essence, at where you think that last >person in > the audience is.............people cannot tell that you are not >connecting > directly with them when you do this and it is a very effective little > performance trick. > > yours, Rick > >