Found an interesting article on "Why Americans hate instrumental music":
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/features/why_americans_hate_instrumental_music.html

(And I think a lot of it applies to many Europeans and people from anywhere, too, sadly.)

Take the money and run.

I remember playing in a band at a bar in Chicago back in the 70's, where the bartender told us to turn it down so that the folks at the bar could hear the ballgame on the television.


Duane

Guys I got one of the best gigs around 3 nights a week and doing a good Job packing the place there are 5 big screens with all the sporting events going people carring on conversations yelling at there friends and people on there cell phones and texting while I am playing it crazy at times but people love what I do and they pay me good to play so that whaT YOU GOT TO DO thease days to keep working and I working a lot .

Yep, you just have to shut it out, do what you do, and get on with it.

When I put my first band together only one out of ten was a vocal. As time passed we changed with the demand. Today only one instrumental in 20 songs is played. If it were not for polkas, waltzes, and Latin music the percentage would be even lower.

Reference to the beginning of this thread.

As I changed over the years to meet the listener’s and dancer’s demand I am ready to change to the demands in the adult places I play in now. I cannot meet the demands for the younger crowds so I never book them. I learned this the hard way.

Years back I played a three hour for 120 people in a catering hall. After the first hour I asked myself; what am I leaving out, what do they want. No one danced. I began to lose it toward the end of the job; almost three hours and no one had danced. I played the best that we had and got the same results. At the very end of the job we announced that we were playing the last dance. A young couple walked up to the dance floor and began to dance. Something was strange; they were doing a box step. I looked towards to bar and tables and they were all drinking water and soda. They were a religious group laced with DO NOTS. Moral of this story, let us not always blame ourselves.

In the nursing homes I play in when they become restless and begin to lose interest I begin to play music they cannot turn away from. Fast two-steps, and later I found out they loved disco music. Even though they did not understand disco music they could feel it.

IMHO, John C.

Sign of the times. Us seniors were brought up in a much kinder
atmosphere. That does not exist today, people are rude and brash.
I don't mean to say all younger people are that way but parents are busy with being successful and making lots of money. They don't spend the time teaching children basics. They leave that
to teachers. We were so fortunate to be brought up in those
days where politeness was an important part of life. Lloyd

Yeah, you see, how did that happened? Is not like today's parents are not yesterday's kids... Somehow, what we are today must have came from what we were yesterday!

Piano player in lobby playing background music "is what it is".

Employees at a nursing home should show a little respect for the entertainer and the residences who may want to listen. I'm surprised one of those residents didn't give a loud "SHHHH" (As long as that "SHHHH" is directed to the talkers, and not the entertainer)

On another note, I'm always amazed by those who pay to venture out to a concert, and then never really listen to the music, and do nothing but yak yak yak. I don't get that. I once saw an argument break out close to me where I heard one say "If you're not going to listen, please be quiet, or leave" Her response "I paid, I can talk" His response " I paid and I can't hear" ... SECURITY!!!

The children of today are a result of the world we handed them.

John C.

I guess I must have done something right. My children, 45 and 49 years old, would never had considered talking, texting, etc during a musical performance. And, they still don't!

Gary