Re: [Harp-L] capturing and holding audiences/FRONTMAN/SIDEMAN
I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is playing at an
audience, instead of for them.
People will respond to you much better if you show you are enjoying
yourself at a gig and by making lots of eye contact with people it
draws them in and makes them feel that you are playing for them.
Great example of this as are Rick Estrin and James Harman.
Rick uses humour and story telling to draw in an audience.
Whilst James Harman draws an audience in by making them realise that
he has been through the same problems as them and this in turn makes
them feel that he is indeed one of them.
Of course both of them are also stellar harp players, song writers
and have fabulous bands.
Rod Piazza is another consummate showman who drives his band hard and
they work all night for an audience.
I remember playing a version of Pawnshop Blues by Brownie McGhee and
as I introduced the song and talked about being broke and stuff I
could hear people saying "Now there's a man who knows how crap life
can be"
The bottom line is people want to be entertained and related to, not
to just sit listening to a bunch of shoe starers.
Smile, Dress well, be nice to people, be professional and play to the
best of your ability.
This may not take you round the world but you will see a marked
improvement in the way your audiences react.
Paul
www.kingleyharp.co.uk
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