I consistently break the "rules"...

[johnny k]

There’s tons of rules, but you can be judicious about the ones you apply to your life.
Some you can skirt and flout (great duo name), others you can only break once before the authorities will severely limit your freedom.
Anyways, good on ya’, Larry.
Guys like you, and gals like your missus make the world go ‘round.
My hat, and hair is off to ya’!

Well there are rules, but the sort of i don't use a set list or i am 30, single and do not have a kid are no rules. They are preconceptions. I use that word because i think it sounds lovely, i don't know what it means.

 

[Ronhar]

...and get away with it, apparently.

This statement applies to a lot of areas in my life. A couple of more or less off topic examples spring immediately to mind.

The prevailing wisdom of today about marriage...well, many today don't see marriage as a worthwhile institution. But of those that do see some value in it, prevailing wisdom says that it should not be valued early in life. Get an education first, then get a job, then set some money aside for that future life together. Me? I got married when I was 19, my wife was 18. We conceived our firstborn six months later, and had three children before I was 25. Recipe for disaster, right? A lot of people said it wouldn't last. Well, in 48 days we'll be celebrating our 50th anniversary. I broke the "rule" of conventional wisdom and got away with it.

Then there's the fact that I'm a southpaw, but I play guitars of right hand orientation. In the mid 1960s, aside from Paul McCartney on bass (and somehow in my mind that didn't count) I'd never seen anyone flip a guitar over and/or re-string it. My Dad played, I had access to guitars of right-hand orientation, and I knew it was a right-handed world, so the word of the day was "adapt." Now, 56 years later, I still play, even gig and make money with it.

Which brings me to the real reason for this thread. I did a gig last night. I am a solo performer (not to be confused with a performer of solos), and I plug straight in, no pedals. I run vocals and acoustic/electric guitar through my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge, electric guitar (tele) through a VOX Pathfinder 15R. I line out from the rear panel of both to, not a PA, but a powered speaker on a stand.

That's my rig. No pedals: whatever effects the amp I'm playing through has is all I use. And I have no music stand, no devices (iPad, cell phone, whatever) to prompt me for lyrics or chords. Or even a set list. I break that rule, too. Oh, if I've been working on a new addition to my performance repertoire, I will know in advance that I'll play it at some point during the gig. But my "sets" have no predetermined order of songs to play. I play what comes to mind in the moment, often because I get a sense from the audience of what's working for them, and just start playing in that vein. Oh, and I don't really do "sets," per se. I play a 3-hour gig non-stop. Thus far, my bladder is still able to hold out for that long, so I just keep playing, start to finish.

And I take requests. Now it happens every gig that I get "stumped," that there will be a request I don't know. In some cases, I've never even heard of the song. In most cases, I'll recognize a song title from the radio, but I don't know all the words or chords. In some cases, if I know a good bit of the words and can hear the tune in my head, I'll "fake" the chords and sing what I can. But otherwise, I'm stumped, and can't fulfill that specific request. But I usually offer another song that I do know by the same artist or band as substitute. That usually goes over well.

Oh, and the conventional wisdom of "shut up and sing"? I break that rule, too. I always try to engage my audiences with a mix of banter, quips and request taking. As is obvious from the length of this post (or my other posts on TDPRI), my username should have been "Loquacious Larry." Sometimes that doesn't work for the audience. If I get a clear indication that they're just wanting me to be a flesh-covered radio, I'll oblige, and shut up and sing. Those gigs aren't particularly fun for me, and generally speaking not as profitable.

But more often than not, I get audiences that get me. They relate to me like I'm a friend sitting by a campfire just playing tunes that people can dance to or sing along with. Last night was such a gig. Nuthin' fancy, just me, voice and guitar. For three hours. Non-stop. I took a bunch of requests, almost all of which I could accommodate. I did a fair amount of stage banter, engaging the audience, and the talked back to me (in a good way). And a lot of people were putting tips in my boot (my tip jar is the left boot from a 15-year-old pair, his name is "Phillip D. Boot"), several patrons multiple times. No one tip was more than $20, but when all was said and done, my tips were $68.50.

And the 50¢ was a fun story. One family with two small boys gave them each a quarter to come put in my tip boot. The younger of the two came and stood directly in front of me and held up the shiny quarter. He looked at it and smiled, not saying a word, just holding onto that quarter. Finally his dad said to him, "Put it in the boot," and the boy obeyed.

Then he made a request, but he was so young it was barely more than baby talk, and I had to reply, "I don't know what you're saying." His father again came to the rescue, saying, "He wants you to do 'the stars at night'..." I exclaimed, "Derp in the Heart of Texas? I can do that! Y'all help me sing it. There's a clapping part you can help me with."

So yeah, long story short (too late for that, right? Loquacious Larry strikes again), I broke a lot of rules of conventional gigging wisdom last night, and got away with it. And had a lot of fun doing it. And made $150 for the gig + $68.50 in tips. And I'm already booked by that venue to play again the first Friday of April. Sometimes it pays (literally) to break the rules.

You seem to have the personality that can mesmerize a crowd or even one lucky lady. I agree with the rules breaking. I’ve never been normal but smart and moral enough to bend the rules forward. Made for an interesting life. 69 and hitched to the prettiest girl around for 49 years. 7 kids and retired with my own studio for funzzies. Musical love 110%. Musical skill 30%. Life is ok.

 

[1955]

When you carve down your own path, the brutally personalized challenges demand neurotic adaptations that eventually forge a particular type of problem solving.

That cloak of creativity, an exhilaratingly crisp air of silent years trembling, once tasted, is spoiled forever and incapable in it’s battered necessity of pining for permission.

Not to mention terminally obtuse to the intimidation and fear it instills in impatient A-to-B’ers, gluttons of the scoff purse, resigned to wallow in the cancer of comforts.

 

[P Thought]

Many studies I’ve seen have married males living about 10 years longer than single males.

But it sounds like you already know that.

If we been married twice do we get 20 years?

 

[redhouse_ca]

...and get away with it, apparently.

This statement applies to a lot of areas in my life. A couple of more or less off topic examples spring immediately to mind.

The prevailing wisdom of today about marriage...well, many today don't see marriage as a worthwhile institution. But of those that do see some value in it, prevailing wisdom says that it should not be valued early in life. Get an education first, then get a job, then set some money aside for that future life together. Me? I got married when I was 19, my wife was 18. We conceived our firstborn six months later, and had three children before I was 25. Recipe for disaster, right? A lot of people said it wouldn't last. Well, in 48 days we'll be celebrating our 50th anniversary. I broke the "rule" of conventional wisdom and got away with it.

Then there's the fact that I'm a southpaw, but I play guitars of right hand orientation. In the mid 1960s, aside from Paul McCartney on bass (and somehow in my mind that didn't count) I'd never seen anyone flip a guitar over and/or re-string it. My Dad played, I had access to guitars of right-hand orientation, and I knew it was a right-handed world, so the word of the day was "adapt." Now, 56 years later, I still play, even gig and make money with it.

Which brings me to the real reason for this thread. I did a gig last night. I am a solo performer (not to be confused with a performer of solos), and I plug straight in, no pedals. I run vocals and acoustic/electric guitar through my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge, electric guitar (tele) through a VOX Pathfinder 15R. I line out from the rear panel of both to, not a PA, but a powered speaker on a stand.

That's my rig. No pedals: whatever effects the amp I'm playing through has is all I use. And I have no music stand, no devices (iPad, cell phone, whatever) to prompt me for lyrics or chords. Or even a set list. I break that rule, too. Oh, if I've been working on a new addition to my performance repertoire, I will know in advance that I'll play it at some point during the gig. But my "sets" have no predetermined order of songs to play. I play what comes to mind in the moment, often because I get a sense from the audience of what's working for them, and just start playing in that vein. Oh, and I don't really do "sets," per se. I play a 3-hour gig non-stop. Thus far, my bladder is still able to hold out for that long, so I just keep playing, start to finish.

And I take requests. Now it happens every gig that I get "stumped," that there will be a request I don't know. In some cases, I've never even heard of the song. In most cases, I'll recognize a song title from the radio, but I don't know all the words or chords. In some cases, if I know a good bit of the words and can hear the tune in my head, I'll "fake" the chords and sing what I can. But otherwise, I'm stumped, and can't fulfill that specific request. But I usually offer another song that I do know by the same artist or band as substitute. That usually goes over well.

Oh, and the conventional wisdom of "shut up and sing"? I break that rule, too. I always try to engage my audiences with a mix of banter, quips and request taking. As is obvious from the length of this post (or my other posts on TDPRI), my username should have been "Loquacious Larry." Sometimes that doesn't work for the audience. If I get a clear indication that they're just wanting me to be a flesh-covered radio, I'll oblige, and shut up and sing. Those gigs aren't particularly fun for me, and generally speaking not as profitable.

But more often than not, I get audiences that get me. They relate to me like I'm a friend sitting by a campfire just playing tunes that people can dance to or sing along with. Last night was such a gig. Nuthin' fancy, just me, voice and guitar. For three hours. Non-stop. I took a bunch of requests, almost all of which I could accommodate. I did a fair amount of stage banter, engaging the audience, and the talked back to me (in a good way). And a lot of people were putting tips in my boot (my tip jar is the left boot from a 15-year-old pair, his name is "Phillip D. Boot"), several patrons multiple times. No one tip was more than $20, but when all was said and done, my tips were $68.50.

And the 50¢ was a fun story. One family with two small boys gave them each a quarter to come put in my tip boot. The younger of the two came and stood directly in front of me and held up the shiny quarter. He looked at it and smiled, not saying a word, just holding onto that quarter. Finally his dad said to him, "Put it in the boot," and the boy obeyed.

Then he made a request, but he was so young it was barely more than baby talk, and I had to reply, "I don't know what you're saying." His father again came to the rescue, saying, "He wants you to do 'the stars at night'..." I exclaimed, "Derp in the Heart of Texas? I can do that! Y'all help me sing it. There's a clapping part you can help me with."

So yeah, long story short (too late for that, right? Loquacious Larry strikes again), I broke a lot of rules of conventional gigging wisdom last night, and got away with it. And had a lot of fun doing it. And made $150 for the gig + $68.50 in tips. And I'm already booked by that venue to play again the first Friday of April. Sometimes it pays (literally) to break the rules.

I wish I could do half the rule-breaking stuff you describe. The problem is not one of breaking rules, it's one of arbitrary rule making, IMHO.

 

[LGOberean]

If we been married twice do we get 20 years?

That sounds less like a positive statement about longevity of lifespan and more like a judgement handed down at sentencing phase.

 

[middy]

When I wrote my OP, I didn't expressly say but knew that breaking the "rules" of conventional gigging wisdom wasn't something for everybody. But I also didn't think that I was all alone in this.

And no, my guitar-playing skills are not dazzling, nor for the most part even noteworthy. Anytime someone compliments my guitar playing (it actually does happen on occasion), I either graciously thank them or else blush and say nothing. But always in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Fooled 'em again!"

My singing voice is much better, comparatively speaking. And though it isn't what it once was, it still serves me well. And the song's the thing for most people. Engage them, give them a sense that the show's tailor-made for them, and you'll be in for a good night.

BTW, I haven't always done this. For one thing, I didn't start gigging until the year 2000, and early on I tried the more conventional approach. Also, there were times when I played in a duo. Those times I wasn't just doing the music I wanted. I was learning new stuff all the time, and I worked from a set list, and had a music stand. I have done the sans stand/spontaneous thing for about the last decade or so.

You're doing the hard work. Find some hot tele burnin kid, good bassist and drummer, and if you can draw a crowd you can work as much as you want to.

 

[Flip G]

 

[bowman]

Engaging the audience is almost always a good idea. Of course there are exceptions, like if you don’t speak the language… A few years back, my duo partner and I went to see a gig some friends of his were doing at a restaurant/bar as a show of support. When they took a break, they asked us to sit in and do a couple of tunes, which was not part of the original plan. They announced us and right away we clued the patrons in to our surprise in a humble yet amusing manner. We ended up playing six songs (with the other band’s ok) because they wouldn’t let us leave the stage. It worked out well for all: the crowd was all warmed up for the other guys when they got back up there, and we gained a few fans ourselves.

 

[Robert H.]

I consistently break the "rules"​

As long as you stop at red lights...

 

[RobRiggs]

I always love hearing about your gigs Larry. Sounds like such a blast.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Ever since I was a kid in school;
I messed around with all the rules.
Apologized then realized;
I'm not that different after all.

 

[Andy B]

Congratulations!

 

[johnny k]

 

[Peegoo]

If I had stayed married I'd be dead by now.


Either that--or in jail for murder.

 

[Skydog1010]

I should change my user handle to "Desperado"

 

[Skydog1010]

The 26 years I had with my wife were without a doubt the best years of my entire life. She was an extraordinary person. I miss her immensely.

So now I'm out riding fences.

 

[Skydog1010]

If I had stayed married I'd be dead by now.


Either that--or in jail for murder.

I married once ( my first wife) and recall feeling the same way.

Second time, not so much, just grew apart and I was on the road with my work.

Thankfully the third time, I won the proverbial lottery.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

 

[thunderbyrd]

...and get away with it, apparently.

This statement applies to a lot of areas in my life. A couple of more or less off topic examples spring immediately to mind.

The prevailing wisdom of today about marriage...well, many today don't see marriage as a worthwhile institution. But of those that do see some value in it, prevailing wisdom says that it should not be valued early in life. Get an education first, then get a job, then set some money aside for that future life together. Me? I got married when I was 19, my wife was 18. We conceived our firstborn six months later, and had three children before I was 25. Recipe for disaster, right? A lot of people said it wouldn't last. Well, in 48 days we'll be celebrating our 50th anniversary. I broke the "rule" of conventional wisdom and got away with it.

Then there's the fact that I'm a southpaw, but I play guitars of right hand orientation. In the mid 1960s, aside from Paul McCartney on bass (and somehow in my mind that didn't count) I'd never seen anyone flip a guitar over and/or re-string it. My Dad played, I had access to guitars of right-hand orientation, and I knew it was a right-handed world, so the word of the day was "adapt." Now, 56 years later, I still play, even gig and make money with it.

Which brings me to the real reason for this thread. I did a gig last night. I am a solo performer (not to be confused with a performer of solos), and I plug straight in, no pedals. I run vocals and acoustic/electric guitar through my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge, electric guitar (tele) through a VOX Pathfinder 15R. I line out from the rear panel of both to, not a PA, but a powered speaker on a stand.

That's my rig. No pedals: whatever effects the amp I'm playing through has is all I use. And I have no music stand, no devices (iPad, cell phone, whatever) to prompt me for lyrics or chords. Or even a set list. I break that rule, too. Oh, if I've been working on a new addition to my performance repertoire, I will know in advance that I'll play it at some point during the gig. But my "sets" have no predetermined order of songs to play. I play what comes to mind in the moment, often because I get a sense from the audience of what's working for them, and just start playing in that vein. Oh, and I don't really do "sets," per se. I play a 3-hour gig non-stop. Thus far, my bladder is still able to hold out for that long, so I just keep playing, start to finish.

And I take requests. Now it happens every gig that I get "stumped," that there will be a request I don't know. In some cases, I've never even heard of the song. In most cases, I'll recognize a song title from the radio, but I don't know all the words or chords. In some cases, if I know a good bit of the words and can hear the tune in my head, I'll "fake" the chords and sing what I can. But otherwise, I'm stumped, and can't fulfill that specific request. But I usually offer another song that I do know by the same artist or band as substitute. That usually goes over well.

Oh, and the conventional wisdom of "shut up and sing"? I break that rule, too. I always try to engage my audiences with a mix of banter, quips and request taking. As is obvious from the length of this post (or my other posts on TDPRI), my username should have been "Loquacious Larry." Sometimes that doesn't work for the audience. If I get a clear indication that they're just wanting me to be a flesh-covered radio, I'll oblige, and shut up and sing. Those gigs aren't particularly fun for me, and generally speaking not as profitable.

But more often than not, I get audiences that get me. They relate to me like I'm a friend sitting by a campfire just playing tunes that people can dance to or sing along with. Last night was such a gig. Nuthin' fancy, just me, voice and guitar. For three hours. Non-stop. I took a bunch of requests, almost all of which I could accommodate. I did a fair amount of stage banter, engaging the audience, and the talked back to me (in a good way). And a lot of people were putting tips in my boot (my tip jar is the left boot from a 15-year-old pair, his name is "Phillip D. Boot"), several patrons multiple times. No one tip was more than $20, but when all was said and done, my tips were $68.50.

And the 50¢ was a fun story. One family with two small boys gave them each a quarter to come put in my tip boot. The younger of the two came and stood directly in front of me and held up the shiny quarter. He looked at it and smiled, not saying a word, just holding onto that quarter. Finally his dad said to him, "Put it in the boot," and the boy obeyed.

Then he made a request, but he was so young it was barely more than baby talk, and I had to reply, "I don't know what you're saying." His father again came to the rescue, saying, "He wants you to do 'the stars at night'..." I exclaimed, "Derp in the Heart of Texas? I can do that! Y'all help me sing it. There's a clapping part you can help me with."

So yeah, long story short (too late for that, right? Loquacious Larry strikes again), I broke a lot of rules of conventional gigging wisdom last night, and got away with it. And had a lot of fun doing it. And made $150 for the gig + $68.50 in tips. And I'm already booked by that venue to play again the first Friday of April. Sometimes it pays (literally) to break the rules.

Electric Funeral!