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July 09, 2009
What People Really Want From a Musician – Connection
Your audience, whether its 300 or 3, wants to believe that you truly care about them.
To illustrate this point, I will embarrass two very special ladies with whom I am privileged to work.
Of course, with Sheryl Paige it goes far beyond work. She has been my wife and partner in music for 28 years. We have played countless gigs together, produced a whole slew of songs together in the studio, and have even written a few things together. She has a great many admirable qualities and abilities, but one I especially appreciate is her extraordinary capacity for connecting with other people. She truly cares about everyone with whom she comes in contact, and is able to communicate that to them.
She does this not only in normal everyday activities, but from the stage as well. When she performs her songs, I can sense in her a sincere desire to communicate, and a real sense of caring for the audience. She wants them to know that she's doing her best for them. She considers it an honor and a privilege to sing to them. The audience can sense this desire and as a result her performance has more impact.
She also projects a winsome humility mixed with a pleasing sense of joy and confidence.
I've been performing with Sybil Gage for almost three years. She is an immensely talented singer, songwriter, and entertainer.
When I first started working with her, there was something she always did at every show that truly impressed me. During her break, instead of leaving the stage and going off to hide somewhere, she would go out and mingle with her fans. She would also stay afterward and visit with the people who came to hear her. She didn't leave until the last audience member did. She signed every CD that someone bought, posed for any picture someone wanted to take, and was always willing to fulfill a special song request. Of course, she still does all these things, and truly connects with her audience.
When she sings, it seems to everyone in the house that she is singing just for them. It is a marvelous thing to watch, and I always have the best seat in the house.
This is the kind of connection people want to have with musicians.
Posted by leonolguin at July 9, 2009 09:21 AM
Comments
Great insights, Cuz. The biggest reason I've moved from hard-bop straight-ahead jazz to "jazz the people can hum," (jazz standards) is to connect with the audience, versus sit on stage with three other "cats," playing a bunch of complicated stuff and leave it up to the audience to get it.
Best,
Paddyo
Posted by: Patrick Olguin at July 9, 2009 11:00 AM