Music! Is Familiarity King?
Let me entertain you!
Recently whilst listening to a local band and after hearing them play four of their own original songs, I noticed that the crowed wasn't all that into it. "Was this down to them being bad?" I hear you ask, and the answer is "NO!"
The problem was they were relatively new so no-one, including myself, had heard their material before. That brings me onto a delicate subject of whether to play cover versions or not to play cover versions, that is the question. To compound matters the band became anxious, the crowd picked up on it and became restless and so then, fortunately, for the common good of all, they read the mood well, performed a cover of a well known song and everyone laughed and got into it. From then on there was a noticeable improvement in the crowd for the rest of their set list.
There's no doubt it's tough just to stick with your own original material, especially when it's had little exposure. That's the major advantage of being part of the big corporate music machine, exposure. Yes there's social media but that will only take you so far. With mainstream radio plays, for instance, your songs are played on repetition through out each day. That song you weren't sure you liked soon takes on a life of its own when it's played over and over. How many times have you heard yourself whistling or humming a tune and then becoming mad at yourself because it's one you say you can't stand the sound of?
Familiarity that's what the masses thrive on. They can't sing along to your tune, with lighters and mobiles held aloft, when they don't know the words or the melody to your songs. So many factors go into what makes for a good entertaining show but I think the obvious one is, the one that is usually missed..... observing the crowd. Maybe you just might have to compromise your ethics on cover versions until your own become more recognizable. If you have lost the audience, you've lost everything. It's no good getting caught up in your band, your tunes, your instrument playing and not notice no-one is listening any more.
People want to be entertained, they may have paid good money for the privileged, we who are categorised as relatively unknown artists, and to the same extent, established artists need to remember, it's all about the fans. After all where would any artist be without them?
