Lack of Excitement Live

J

jmhudak17

Member
When I'm playing at a gig, I play everything right, but everyone in my band (except probably the singer/guitarist) looks really boring. What can we do to change this? Specifics would be very helpful.
 
Get a giant mirror and put that in front of the band at practice. It's best way to get instant feedback.

You can also film every practice and gig, but not everyone will necessarily have the time to watch every video.

The main thing is the entire band has to want to improve.
 
ok dude, IMO you dont need a huge amount of exitement live. as long as you guys lock in together and everything sounds tight, your good to go. However, if you still want to improve stage performance, talk to your band about it and if they all feel the same way, just practice it. I agree with the giant mirror idea but its kinda hard to get a GIANT mirror. so just have a friend or family member record you guys in your practice space and sit with your band and pick out what you want to improve. after that, practice is the key! Good luck!
 
Maybe everyone else is too nervous to be excited? I used to play in the school band and i can honestly say that I was never excited at a show. I was always more nervous.
 
LOL.

This post is awesome.

Dude just lighten up. Dance around. Enjoy yourself. Forget about the music, just be fun. That's what I do, and it actually helps my playing. Feeling better = playing better.

Also, start randomly screaming 'Teamwork makes the dream work.' Because that gets everyone pumped.

And, if you really want to get excited, bring some cake and cookies to your gigs. Everyone loves cakes and cookies.
 
I usually find one of the best ways to inject energy into a performance is to try and relax, and just enjoy it. That sort of thing will rub off onto the rest of the band too usually. Sometimes for onstage energy ill make my actions big, i.e big movements with arms, stick twirls, crossovers etc, but you dont want that sort of thing to impair your playing, that should come first.
 
Follow your singer/guitarist then and look like as if you are enjoying yourself! Ask him about it! Does the band get along well? We always do and have a laugh wether the gig went good or bad, if we make a few mistakes or of you feel the audience isn't feeling the music you are giving out to them.

But yes, this should really be in General Discussion...


Trys
 
Here's the best advice I can think of:

Whatever you do-it had better be SINCERE.

Nothing worse than seeing and hearing a lot of phoney hooting and hollering, "yee-haws", and the like. Trying to *force* the audience to get into it is a major turn-off in my opinion.

If you aren't projecting "excitement" then you probably aren't excited enough. And, unfortunately it will most likely take more than advice to fix this.

Have you guys ever just sat down and discussed this? You should try it. It may surprise you to hear what everyone thinks...

May be an issue or two that is making you and your band mates behave the way you are. Or it may just be burnout (you said you guys play every night?). Whatever the case, you need to get this out into the open.
 
Maybe you're not that excited to play with this band. You have to be honest with yourself and start to thinking about if this is the right band for you.

Or maybe it's just a temporary thing and you need to take a short break (go on vacation, etc.)
 
Does this have anything to do with drum technique?

The answer is no.
Click to expand...

Or anything to do with being pedantic?

I thought this was a forum for drummers, not pedantics...? Chill out fella
 
You guys just have to feel the music. Just let it flow. You never had a good dance? You never rocked out? That's pretty much the key to it - just going for it. However, in contrast to what an earlier post mentioned - DON'T FORGET THE MUSIC.



BE THE MUSIC.
 
Maybe "loosen" up the music. Not sure if you guys are doing covers or originals, but I recall seeing the Raconteurs a couple of years ago, great show, and the thing that made it great was that the songs weren't strictly structured (i.e. you have to hit the solo at this time with the right note every time!!!! kind of crap). Some of the solos were shorter or longer, the tempo was a little slower for the intro and then they just cranked it up, that kind of stuff. Change up the music a little, I would imagine that playing the same thing over and over would get very boring very quickly.
 
jmhudak17 said:
When I'm playing at a gig, I play everything right, but everyone in my band (except probably the singer/guitarist) looks really boring.
Click to expand...

At least it seems your frontperson doesn't look boring. That's the main thing. You have a few choices:

1) Be unobtrusive and let the singer carry the show, and focus on being as good a musical support as you can

2) Check out your singer in the context of each song and see if there's a spot where s/he could do with some support in getting the message across

3) Look for some spots where you can do something interesting or at least move/groove a bit

4) Practice being more lively until you make Keith Moon at his wildest look like a pot plant by comparison ...
 
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