Terry, now that you've mention it, I've attended many smaller club venues (similar to the 'room size' I play) which have featured Chick Corea, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall (and who play the same type of material I do), and they ALL perform 'sitting down', whether singing & playing the acoustic piano or on a synth with backing tracks.



I don't know about others, but I 'DO' consider myself a concert player, whether it be a 45 minute show for a senior retirement center, or a show at a small local theatre where tickets are sold. No stage crew or band members, but lighting & small stage may or may not be available, with the audience seated. For venues like this, sitting provides a more intimate interaction with the audience. On the other hand, for large venues (large banquet parties, weddings, dances, etc), unless you are on a stage or riser along with stage lighting, standing is mandatory if you want to make any kind of visual impression.

Uncle Dave: I just checked those two pictures of you performing in a bar (one taken by Tom Cavanaugh and the other taken by Donny Pesce) and noticed that they both show you 'seated' while playing the keyboard. Is this the norm for these smaller club gigs or do you usually play standing up for these too? Btw: I'm still waiting to hear about any tricks (techniques) used to avoid back pain when performing standing up (without a stool) especially when a good portion of your weight needs to be on the opposite foot than the foot that's used to operate the sustain pedal. I'm wondering if I need to reposition the sustain pedal to be more directly underneath my right foot when in full standing position, as opposed to the pedal situated more underneath the keyboard, which creates feeling more unbalanced. Exactly WHERE do you recommend placing the sustain pedal when standing?

As an added note (and to further the topic conversation): I take along a piece of thin plywood with indiviual (3) pedals mounted to it using industrial strength velco to keep them from moving around. The plywood is kept from moving by the kb stand itself. What do others here do to prevent your foot pedals from slipping & sliding around on the floor?

Scott