Re: [Harp-L] Dressing like a musician

["Dennis M. Cooper" <dcooper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Various Events, Various styles of dress....

1. My "Bread & Butter" performances:
These shows cater to a group of folks between the ages of 60 and 85, 
mostly non-musicians, with very few harmonica players in sight. 
Attendees pay a modest fee for tickets at local community centers, 
theaters, and RV parks to see a performance lasting between 45 and 90 
minutes (usually determined in advance by the venue) that takes them on 
a musical journey. Some events stress a country theme, some smooth jazz 
and standards, and, most commonly, a mix of genres that caters to a 
fairly wide range of musical tastes. Unless it's a strictly country gig, 
I dress in dark slacks and dark dress shirt (with or without necktie), 
and a quality pair of wingtip shoes. Sometimes a black Henley shirt 
replaces the dress shirt. These folks pay for a show and dress is an 
important component along with song selection, narration, and quality 
musical presentation.

2. Music Festivals:
In addition to my musical ventures Sandra and I create and sell awesome 
tie-dye apparel (Sizes 0-3 months to 6X) at festivals and fairs 
throughout the west.  I perform at most of these events as either a solo 
act or a guest/backup musician with other groups. I try act as a walking 
billboard of our best examples of EnRituals® "Wearable Art" whenever I 
perform at these events. The music income at such events is almost 
always secondary to the money earned selling our merchandise.

Like it or not our apparel at shows becomes a lasting part of our 
"image". When someone says "Madcat" I see tie-dye and "Iceman" 
immediately brings to mind  a black shirt and white tie.

I flew to Nashville a couple of years ago to play TurboHarps at the NAMM 
show. The owner of the company, whom I'd never met in person, had a hard 
time believing that I was the guy he hired until I put on the hat  that 
I wore for the photos in my publicity packages.

I also learned the hard way that really outrageous costumes don't help a 
thing. (For a few years in the 80's I tried to dress like a white 
version of Con-Funk-Shun)

PS. Please play the four songs at: 
http://www.ubl.com/artists/denniscooperharmonica . It helps my chart 
position. (Currently #14 in the top-100, #4 Country, and #1 jazz)

--
Best Regards,
Dennis M. Cooper
http://www.dennis-cooper.com
http://HarmonicaBootCamp.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/all/crossharp
http://www.ubl.com/denniscooperharmonica

"Practice hard, play well, and entertain the audience"