No iPads ever. Little banter. We play mostly original music and consider it a musical performance, not a comedy routine, but occasional jokes are appropriate when appropriate if that makes sense.
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Banter between songs and iPads
- Thread starter htown098
- Start date
1) Any conditions they want. If they are really staring at the iPad, THAT is a problem. You can't MAKE someone memorize a song.
2) If he really can't help himself, practice going from one song to another in rehearsal. PLAN when he can banter, maybe every four or five songs. If he can't shut up, start the song without him. I played with a singer who would go on and on and on every once in a while. When it went on too long I just started the next song while he was talking. If you don't stop, he can't start.
And for the record, almost all of these people CAN help themselves with medications, therapy, coping strategies, they just choose not to.
I will sometimes introduce a song like “this is a song about______” and the GP will invariably chime in and say “it’s called ______”. Ive tried to explain that you don’t always have to name the tune. I like to instill a little anticipation in the audience. They will figure it out, unless it’s an original. But I guess the GP feels that I’m holding something back. I like to create a little musical tension.
None! We are a no I pad band, and the band leader was very stern about that.
The only time we allow is the rare times we bring in a sub. But the permanent members, no way!
I've also subbed for lots of same-level bands around town, none of them use I pads either.
Sounds like you folks as a band need to have a heart to heart with everyone.
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Here's the people who really captivated be between songs:
Diana Ross
David Lee Roth
James Taylor
Richard Thompson
Nobody else came close. Diana because she commands attention. Diamond Dave because you don't know what to expect. James Taylor because he was just funny, and I would pay to see Richard Thompson do stand-up comedy with what he delivers as droll banter between tunings.
Otherwise, it can get really glib, and/or cliché.
"How's everyone doin' tonight?" "We love being in [insert city here]." "This is one from our first album..."
Play me a song.
Diana Ross
David Lee Roth
James Taylor
Richard Thompson
Nobody else came close. Diana because she commands attention. Diamond Dave because you don't know what to expect. James Taylor because he was just funny, and I would pay to see Richard Thompson do stand-up comedy with what he delivers as droll banter between tunings.
Otherwise, it can get really glib, and/or cliché.
"How's everyone doin' tonight?" "We love being in [insert city here]." "This is one from our first album..."
Play me a song.
Our keyboardist uses an iPad for the songs he sings lead on, but it's just an aid rather than a crutch. No one else in the band uses one, but there are no rules against it. The lead singer in my previous band had one attached to his stand, but he didn't use it that often, just for songs that were recently added to the set list.
Banter and transition time - Oh this one is a big deal for me. I've always been of the opinion that generic on-stage banter between songs should be worked on at home and in rehearsal. Just the basics, maybe a joke to get the audience to laugh a bit and then launch into the next song. This would be every 3 or 4 songs, not between every song. It shows when someone has worked on this, and it seems more professional. It doesn't have to be cheesy, just don't ramble.
The problem I'm seeing is that the times when we really need someone to engage the audience, it's not happening, and that tends to be when we are waiting on someone to get their gear in order for the next song, which is another problem as it's usually the keyboardist, hunting for the right sound for the next tune, or he forgot to tune his guitar when he's playing rhythm. So, dead air for close to 30 seconds, in some cases longer, and it's frustrating. I've watched a dance floor clear out and that is a huge no-no.
I have a rule that if you sign a contract, and you are getting paid at the end of the gig, you are a professional musician and you need to put on a professional show, regardless if you are just doing this for fun, or you don't need the money. Having 30 seconds of dead air and/or rambling between every song is not professional, nor is a lack of preparation, but that's another issue for another thread.
Faron Young. There's not much online to view, but he was quick like Don Rickles / Rodney Dangerfield whether interacting with the audience, band members, the show host, the MC, whatever. A master of charisma, ad-lib humor, and fast wit.
Back when I was still gigging with my cover trio, we stopped dead after every song. Singer/guitarist was a tuning obsessive, and since we didn't use a setlist, he had to decide what song to play between each tune. I always hated it, but nobody else seemed to care, so...
I quit a band, partially because most of the band members were reading sheet music for songs we had been playing for over 3 years straight!! Really good musically educated musicians who just couldn't play without that crutch!
I have an IPad mini that I control my IEM mix on. I do sing some songs and will bring up lyrics for quick reference. We bring new songs in fairly quickly and I need the safety blanket but I keep the pad low and out of direct sight. I’ve seen people reading lyrics word for word and that’s embarrassing. Engaging and winning over a crowd is important. We have 2-4 songs we’ll play in a row and then allow a quick chat by the LS. Crowds like attention. Call outs for birthdays, etc.
Played a gig or maybe two with a guy who'd spend 4 minutes explaining what a 3-minute song means to him. That's excessive, but if you're not doing dance music it can help to give the audience a reason to care about a song, and also just be nice to people and make them feel appreciated. Not sure if "one of you will think we're doing this song specifically to troll you a little" helps, haha. But I did say that last night.
I HATE 99.9% of stage banter. First, very few are good at it. Second, almost everyone who does it thinks they ARE good at it. Third, most of the time they are really just interacting with a few of their friends while the rest of the club is trying to figure out what is going on. And last 99.9% of the audience just wants you to shut up and play the next song.
When my dad was in high school he had a geography teacher who insisted everyone talks smoothly for the entire time slot they have to give an answer, even if they have no idea what the answer is and talk off-topic nonsense. I never had to do anything like that, but I do run daily meetings for a couple of IT teams, and that means I have to talk a lot but also need to get to the point and get other people to talk.
I think both of those things actually pretty decent preparation for doing stage banter, if you do need to do it.
I think both of those things actually pretty decent preparation for doing stage banter, if you do need to do it.
IME good stage banter requires the ability to get outside of your own head and engage with a broad sense of awareness and humor. It's not an easy skill to master; It takes a ton of steady gigging and even then, there are some who never get it.
Sonoma Bass
(was "Ukiah Bass")
Oh - wait .... you're talking about singers. For a minute I thought this was about all the audience having their heads buried in their phones while we play. This happens more and more, so maybe using an ipad isn't that big of a deal, especially if the audience-phone-freaks aren't looking at the band anyway?
