These are guiding principles that I developed over the decades. Will every rule apply to you? Probably not, especially if you are opening for Carrot Top in the Boom-Boom Room. But for most basic gigs, these guidelines tend to make the night go smoother than bumpier.
The first ten were:
Gig Rule #1: The client is always right – in real time.
Gig Rule #2: Gently smile – not grin - at all times.
Gig Rule #3: You were hired to play music – not to be funny, tell stories, teach, or be therapeutic.
Gig Rule #4: Have a set list with more songs prepared than you will need.
Gig Rule #5: Get the venue’s wifi password and log on before you start to play so you can look up a requested song’s lyrics on the fly.
Gig Rule #6: If you have never played the venue before, bring extra extension cords as well as a few ground lifts in case of sixty-cycle hum issues.
Gig Rule #7: Pack an emergency bag with extra strings, extra bridge pins, an extra XLR cord, nine volt batteries, and _______________.
Gig Rule #8: Start on time and play an extra song at the end.
Gig Rule #9: Before you finish a song, know what the next song will be and start it as quickly as possible.
Gig Rule #10: The only person you are allowed to make a joke about when the mic is live is yourself. Anything else is an unnecessary risk.
Onward to #11!
Gig Rule #11: Don’t swear. Imagine that everyone in front of you has the morals of a born-again Christian.
Don’t think that swearing will offend anyone? Throw a few F bombs in your patter and you’ll find out just who is a member of the moral majority. Chances are, they won’t complain to you. They’ll be much more passive-aggressive and go right to the management.
Gig Rule #12: Find out what songs people what to hear and then play them.
There is a reason why the wait staff ask diners what they want to eat. They know customers have an idea of what they want to order and as servers, they want to please the customers by providing food that reflect the customers’ tastes.
It’s not all driven by altruism.
Servers want to get a good tip at the end of the meal. They cater to the choices of their customers. Extra napkins? No problem!
Too many musicians come into a gig with a mindset that they know certain songs and that is what they are going to play. Period.
The taste of the customers doesn’t enter their work equation. It’s almost as if the audience is there to serve them!
They have one set list and one batch of songs they like and that’s it. Take it or leave it.
People like to have choices. They are already used to requesting what they like to eat. You have to provide that same level of choice and control with music.
As far as tips go: you are being tipped not because you have a three octave range or because you can play sixty-fourth notes at 120bpm. Music and performing is not just about technique.
Music starts with connecting with the audience.
If someone smiling walks up to you, it is because you have created an inviting space where people feel confident and secure enough to approach you and pay you a compliment.
You are being complimented and tipped because your music emotionally touched someone to the degree that they wanted to thank you with a kind word or a monetary gift signifying their emotional connection.
People like what they like, whether it’s food or music. Find out what they like and serve it up on a silver platter.
Tip: Look at the venue’s menu to get a clue what you should be playing.
Is the menu filled with typical offerings, like appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, drinks, and desserts? Or do you see things like fried squid, sautéed scorpions, or morpane worms in swakopmund?
If it’s the former, no matter how much you love the catalogues of the Dead Kennedys and the Pixies, your musical offering should be mainstream as the menu.
If the menu and environs are edgier, that’s a sign that you might be able to expand on your traditional song offerings.
No matter what, ask then customers what they want to hear and then play it.
Gig Rule #13: Make eye contact with the audience at least every ten seconds.
It's easy to get in a hypnotic rut looking at your music or your hands while gigging.
If you are going to be in your own little world, don’t be disappointed if your audience decides to do the same.
Music is about connections and communication. Nothing establishes both of those like eye contact.
If you are playing for people who are visually impaired, you MUST add descriptive bits in between your songs that paint a picture of the room, the occasion, the reactions of others, and most importantly, how happy you are to be playing music for all of those in the room.
Gig Rule #14: Understand and perform to the lowest common denominator in the room and only deviate when fulfilling requests.
If you’ve taken the temperature of the audience before you play, you’ll have a good sense which genres and tunes will work on any given night. Do what will work – not what shows of your chop.
Gig Rule #15: Solicit requests on a face-to-face basis and then play them.
Saying something into a mic like, “What do you want to hear?” is risky.
While you might get a few decent requests, you leave yourself open for lots of insulting responses, including the classic “Freebird!”
And what if you ask for requests on mic and all you get is crickets? What does that say about you and your music’s ability to engage listeners?
Talk to people before you play as well as in between sets on a conversational basis, take their requests, compliment them on their impeccable taste in music, and then play what they told you that they want to hear.
Next stop: Rules #16 through 20.
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