datamusicata

I am going to focus on house concerts for the next couple of posts, but the following info applies to any presenter and any venue.   Recently, I played two concerts and it came to my attention that presenters, be they club owners, concert promoters or house concert promoters all have a similar responsibility to the performer just as the performer has a responsibility to the presenter and the audience, so as to guarantee the best possible performance out of the artist.

Many presenters know all that is needed and some presenters know much of what is needed, but what I want to do is present here just what I, as a performer, need in order to give the best possible performance I can give.

A warm up room. Now a warm up room is different from a dressing room which can just be a curtain to the side of the stage set up so that the audience can’t see what is happening back there (i.e. you in your skivvies with your sock garters on). A warm up room is a room away from the audience and not readily accessible to them. It needs to be of sufficient size to accommodate me, my instruments, my equipment, my change of clothes and my personal bag. It needs to be far enough from the audience that they cannot hear me warming up; that is singing and playing at varying levels. It is my habit to get to the gig around 5:30 or 6 pm and warm up til the sound check and then to go back to that room and continue to warm up til I go on. If I can do that, I sing and play at my highest level.

Sound check. I need a knowledgeable person to operate a sound system with which he or she is familiar. My needs as a solo performer are not complicated, but they must be met in order for me to give the audience all I’ve prepared to give them.

First we do a monitor level. Once we have my monitor level set, it is imperative that the sound engineer not change that level. As a professional, I know what level I need to do what I do. If during the performance, the artist requests some monitor level change, then and only then is a change made to the monitors. If the levels change constantly, then the artist has no frame of reference sonically.

I perform with looping boxes and with other effects that require me to hear them clearly in order to perform with them. If I can’t hear them; if my vocal is louder than the guitar; if my guitar on stage is louder than the monitor, then I am going to have sync problems.

To play with someone or something, you need to be able to hear that someone or something. And when a performer is requesting more level, they aren’t requesting attitude or opinion from anyone else, just more level. That’s all one need give them.

Once the monitors are set, then the engineer should move on to the house system. And unless the artist has a person out there, the artist must trust that the sound man knows the room. Having the looping box does allow me to play something into the effect and then leave the stage and hear how the guitar sounds in the room.

There are several wonderful rooms in which I play wherein they do not have monitors. Both of these rooms maintain that the room is tuned perfectly for the audience and if monitors were added it would screw up the sound. This may be wonderful for the audience, but I guarantee you that a performer can do a much better show if they can actually hear what they are doing. Trust me on this. Your performers need monitors. (Now in a house concert situation where there is no sound system, none of these sound requirements apply, obviously)

Reverb is another touchy subject. It certainly can make a vocal or instrument sound smoother, but if it is overused it makes everything sound like cheese. You want the reverb to not be noticeable except in its absence. And if the performer is given to dialogue (as I am) you do not want to have the reverb on while the performer is talking; only when they are singing. This requires someone to be at the board for the entire show, and if I am paying a soundperson then that is where I expect them to be. They are part of the performance and need to be there as much as I do.

A professional is going to give a good show no matter what, but if you can accommodate these aforementioned needs, you are going to get an even better show.

And I know that there are many performers of stature who abuse this consideration, but if the presenter makes the artist feel special, then the artist is going to do a better show. You have to feel that you are somewhat special to be willing to climb into the spotlight to begin with, so making someone feel good about themselves can only help. As a matter of fact, I just do that as a matter of course. I want everyone to feel as good about themselves as they can around me. I like it when people feel like that. Don’t you?