Mic skills and entertaining the crowd

Larry

"Uncle Larry"
You know we talk about drumming so much here that I thought it might be a nice detour to discuss things that perhaps you or your band does that are proven to engage the crowd. I mean TBH, out of all the musicians I am in contact with....only maybe 5% really get that it's really about entertaining the crowd first and music 2nd..in a live setting, when people are there to see a band.

So, even though most of us probably don't have vocal mics onstage, I thought we could throw out observations about what IYO works, what doesn't work, and anything related to engaging the crowd for the entertainment aspect. Talking to the crowd. It's probably the easiest thing to do to get people to like your band, talk to them with the skills of someone who really knows what to say and how to do it.

My contribution? Haven't witnessed that much great entertaining TBH. One guy I know truly gets this concept. Crowds respond to this guy, because the words just flow. And he's a naturally funny guy. He is in my 6 piece band. He's not the leader though and is kept in check. (disagree with that)

One other interesting observation I've learned from the 6 piece band.... This band doesn't really have a dedicated frontman. Vocal duties are bandied about. This is the band that won a spot and is going to Memphis in a few months to compete in the International Blues Challenge. Right on Beale Street baby is where I'll be. Anyway, my point is that it hurts the band in that there is no dedicated front person. Our best singer sits down at the piano. That is what people look for in Blues it seems, one dominant figure. Preferably who is standing up. I'm thinking that applies generally. Audiences like to have a strong focal point. When is there is no clear leader...that works against us in Memphis, and I'm guessing, elsewhere.

So any cool things your band does to get the peoples juices flowing?
 
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At this level of play, you absolutely must engage the crowd. It is a whole different skill set that most musicians haven't developed.

In one of my bands, the singer/guitarist does a really nice job of it. He considers himself a performer more than a musician and is very comfortable with a mic. In the other band, we realize it is our weak point and we are consciously working on it.

Now, in some genres, if you are a well known act, you can get away with mumbling a few words between songs because the audience is familiar with your music and want to hear it.

Entry level club gigging needs someone to front, at least until the alcohol takes effect.
 
One thing I think I gleaned from the hundreds of gigs I've done .....is that the crowd does not want to be educated. For instance when someone says...This next song is by a guy named Ben Dover who used to play backup nose picking to Cleatus Henderson. Who cares!
 
One thing I think I gleaned from the hundreds of gigs I've done .....is that the crowd does not want to be educated. For instance when someone says...This next song is by a guy named Ben Dover who used to play backup nose picking to Cleatus Henderson. Who cares!

You're kidding!

Ben Dover has left Cleatus and the Rhino Horns?

Say it ain't so!
 
Yea, he got replaced by Lefty Ingersol. But it still doesn't matter to a crowd.
 
My rock band has a frontman who is really good at engaging the crowd. He's funny, and not in a scripted way; he actually comes up with funny stuff every show, right on the spot.

I'll give an example. A couple weeks ago, we played a kind of unusual gig at a museum. It was a wine and cheese event, but held in the middle of all these dinosaur exhibits. Behind our stage was a projection screen showing old dinosaur movies, the really cheesy sci-fi stuff as well as educational films meant for classrooms. The audience is walking through the different rooms and exhibits and so the people were just kind of passing us by.

So, our front man announces that we're going to play one of our originals. And for the piano intro, he's going to play the piano like a T-Rex. None of us expected this, it's just the kind of thing he does. He makes his arms all short and plays the piano with his hands up around his chest. He's like 6'4", which only adds to the physical comedy of the whole thing. I was laughing so hard from behind the drums that I almost missed my part where the drums enter.

We also incorporate the audience into our act sometimes. We play summer concert-in-the-park type shows during the warm months and we'll often invite kids up to sing, which the parents really dig at the family-friendly events.

Yeah. Entertaining is the name of the game. People are there to have a good time, not to feed the band's ego, ya know?
 
I agree that you want to break down the space between the band and the audience...make it we are all here to have fun together. Once at Merlefest I heard bluegrass legend Sam Bush
greet the audience of maybe 15,000 with a simple "Howdy Friends" and then they began to play (for those in the know..yeah, Tony Rice, Rickie Simpkens et al). You don't want to say too much. Keep it as concise as possible. The audiences we play for like it when we begin with a simple Hello Everybody...and also they like knowing the names of the tunes...sometimes we'll play several and then mention what they were and so forth. For the small group jazz venues I play on this it what works....and at the end we thank the audience for having us play for them. We NEVER mention it's a small crowd if it is. We play to those that are there. (fortunately that is rarely an issue anyway). You gotta' break down that glass wall between you and the audience besides playing the music....show 'em you are real.
 
I watched Charles Brown hold the crowd in the palm of his hand sitting at a piano a year before he passed. Same with Jimmy Witherspoon.

I think the thing is to be genuine and loose. Friendly banter amongst the band engaging the audience works better than some egomaniac milking obvious crowd responses. Or some stiff rehearsed shtick. Blues is about telling a story and the better the audience can relate to that story, the better you'll be received. It's about sittin' on the porch telling the story about all that's gone wrong, or all that's gone right. You want to make the audience like you, not be awed. To make them want to hear what happens next. Contrast captures the ear and the attention. Just as in the music, if you shout constantly and badger the crowd, they might be impressed at first, but it will wear on them. Keep them off balance. With multiple players chiming in at "apparently" random times, they will be waiting to see who comes back at whom. Especially when it's in their favor.

I have a friend who is going to Memphis with a band as well. Big voiced church singer from Oakland. We played together in a corporate band. She kept up a great banter in that band with the male front man. It took her a little while to get a rhythm going on her own. But letting loose and saying what she felt made it come across better. No fear. If what you say is honest and from the heart, it won't sound stupid. It will let the audience know you, and hopefully (although I'd like to see my friend to kill it, another local got 3rd place a couple of years ago.) like you too.
 
A very little dressed gorgeous female as a frontwoman usually gets the males juices flowing...

I'm very little, I'm ALWAYS dressed, and I'm female. Three out of four ain't bad!
 
Our frontman is just that. He plays guitar and sings too, but that is almost a secondary function He forms the conduit between the band and the audience and is invaluable because of that. He is neither the best guitarist or singer in the band,( in my quieter moments I often think of the John Lennon quote when he was asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world and replied that he wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles). but without him we'd be playing to disinterested folks. He has the ability to engage the crowd and keep them with us. Occassionally audience members will come up and say that I should sing lead more often as I have a better voice, and I do and he would admit that (I was classically trained) but I recognise that this isn't the point and anyhow, I have a very poor memory for lyrics! As many singing drummers know, its really difficult to be a frontman from the back, and its as visually stimulating as a wet weekend in Milton Keynes, and for me I'm aware that while I can sing a bit, I am not capable (nor would I wish to be) of doing what he does.

The interplay between him and the lead guitarist really works too- they are both wireless and head off into the audience at times, play standing on tables in the bar and generally do the visual stuff and communicate directly with the audience while the bass player and I keep it tied down as we need to. We focus on our main task as a band too- selling drinks and keeping the folks in the bar and buying.

The band is the sum of it's parts in the end. We all bring our skills and abilities to the table and use what we have to the best of our abilities. Crucially, we all have a good idea of our own limitations and we don't try to stand on each other's toes too often.
 
My band plays mostly bars, and the occasional winery. We treat the audience like adults in that we rarely engage them in conversation from the stage. We smile, and have good stage presence (not turning our back to the crowd, dressing appropriately, keeping tuning down to only when necessary, not "knob dicking" our amps or sound system, having a set list). We also thank them for being there etc. I just feel like the band is there to play music for the audience, not talk to the audience from the stage. We play a lot of "threefers", and catch our breath and a drink between them. I think that there is a big difference between ignoring the audience and keeping the chit chat down to a minimum. If folks wanna talk to me, I am always glad to make the rounds between sets. I feel the same way when I go see a professional touring band in concert. I am there to hear the music, not listen to some Bono wanna be whine about the plight of the North American Speckled Woodpecker.

I hate it when the band deems it necessary to announce who the next song is by. That and, "don't forget to tip your bartender"....

My opinion is that the band is there to help create ambience. My days of schmucking it up, or doing crazy stuff on stage are long gone. I like the advice of Frank Zappa: shut up and play your guitar.
 
I say these ineffables should be practiced...along with radio/video interviews and agenda oriented banter("Happy Birthday to"....or..."While the power company works on getting the lights back on, here is a vocal interlude - feel free to join in"...

Be ready for the unexpected...practice.
 
Our vocalist did drag shows for years so he's very comfortable with a crowd - he's great at engaging audiences and very quick witted and funny. I am the usual butt of his jokes when he needs one so I fulfil an essential function the group!

Then there's the novelty factor, being a woman drummer and the only woman in the band. Otherwise I just drum.

Meanwhile, the others in the band tend to be very quiet on stage - imagine playing on stage with Julian Clary (sans makeup) and three Robert Fripps (sans genius) and you're getting close to what it feels like for me :)
 
A very little dressed gorgeous female as a frontwoman usually gets the males juices flowing...

:)

Unfortunately, it often pisses off the women who come in and want the attention directed their way, not at the stage. And as many folks know, if you don't get single women in the club, the guys won't follow and you'll be playing to ashtrays. While male frontmen can be total clowns for the women, a woman singer has to try to relate to the other women and try not to be too threatening. The more physically attractive she is, the more she has to downplay that and come off like a girlfriend on ladies night. Not the center of male attention. Might not be politically correct, but political correctness never filled a club.
 
nothing makes me want to walk out of a show more than someone yapping on the mic

shut up and play .....say thank you.....and be gone

no good band needs Henny Youngman on the bandstand

nothing more irritating to me

if there is more than 20 seconds of down time between songs the band needs work

unless your band has some schtick and you are maybe Al Yankovic there should never ever be designated time for some fool to blab over a microphone

no one wants to hear what you wrote this song about....or what you were eating when you wrote it....or some stupid joke about the drummer.....or some unwitty story about something that happened on the way to the gig.....

shut up and play

just one mans opinion
 
That's the thing, what you say makes all the difference. I like it when the guy on mic knows what...and what not...to say. That person can make it fun for the crowd. Nothing worse than a bunch of musicians who take themselves SO seriously and are too cool to relate to anyone. Lighten up. Don't inform or educate the crowd either...That's a little condescending. The crowd is looking to the band to generate some fun. It's not the other way around. I feel the band is the MC in a way, guiding the proceedings in a fun way for the audience.

I think it's lacking when all the band does is play songs and ignores the crowd. It doesn't have to be a lot of gabbing, but it needs to be fun and spontaneous. People react to that.
 
That's the thing, what you say makes all the difference. I like it when the guy on mic knows what...and what not...to say. That person can make it fun for the crowd. Nothing worse than a bunch of musicians who take themselves SO seriously and are too cool to relate to anyone. Lighten up. Don't inform or educate the crowd either...That's a little condescending. The crowd is looking to the band to generate some fun. It's not the other way around. I feel the band is the MC in a way, guiding the proceedings in a fun way for the audience.

I think it's lacking when all the band does is play songs and ignores the crowd. It doesn't have to be a lot of gabbing, but it needs to be fun and spontaneous. People react to that.


all I know is when I pay to see a band play ....I pay to see them play .... not entertain me with their witty anecdotes

reminds me of weak bar bands going through the motions of stuff they heard on old KISS records saying "it's great the be here tonight!! ...do you feel alright??!!!!" and telling people to tip the bartender

so incredibly tacky to me

like I said....just one mans opinion
 
no one wants to hear ... some stupid joke about the drummer...

Not true, young Tony. They laugh plenty - and even more when I manage think of a good response. The audience tends to side with me - that nice lady drummer - over the nasty singer who keeps teasing the poor woman :)

It should be said that he doesn't ask audiences how if they feel alright or to tip anyone but maybe that's the domain of rock bands.
 
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