The band (?) in the park concert....my impressions

This is a sidebar from the discussion on “lip-synching” at a Senior Care place.

Now I may not appear to be, but I’m a pure purist when it comes to music….playing it, practicing it, performing, equipment, business, etc

So I went to watch this 5 piece band doing a town-sponsored concert in the park. I had seen them years ago. Nice sound, nice appearance, smoothly integrated band members, average to good female vocalist, palatable music presentation (good cross-section of standards), and more. I had a really enjoyable time listening to them

This time…..what happened????

Appearance: dressed like they were cleaning out their garage just before they came and didn’t bother to change. Whatever happened to dressing in unison and wearing matching outfits like they did up to around the 60’s-70‘s?

Female vocalist: bland singing…looked up at the sky most of the time (between songs) and never faced or spoke to the audience….drinking from a water bottle after each song (water or vodka?) and once spilling it all over herself….dressed neat but wearing every day street clothes

Saxophone player: performed 100% throughout every song (behind the singing, between her phrases, on the “ride”….never took a breath between notes, one constant line (good melody is in the space BETWEEN the notes)….played an alto sax (not a good idea behind a female singer…you begin to beg for the pianist to come in at that point playing in the lower registers)…played nothing but “notes,“ with no direction where he was going with those notes

Pianist: great pianist playing a Casio (nice sound too)….so what’s wrong here? He’s playing low-key jazz (but good jazz!) and not following the personality of the song the rest of the band is doing. They’re “swinging” (if you want to call it that) and when it’s his turn, he’s playing well but he’s playing for himself and NOT complimenting the music the band is actually playing. The momentum of the song was interrupted when he took his solo.

Everyone was reading off of sheet music…even with a no-brainer like “Kansas City!” Between songs the vocalist and the sax player exchanged quips and laughed while he had his hand over the mike and the audience was focused on them wondering what they were saying.

It gets worse….the audience was applauding and 3 couples were even dancing. Sure, music is subjective but I’ve been around enough good bands to know when I’m being “moved” by music. The people I was with felt the same way, and we all got up to leave at the same time.

Now THIS is what irritates me………..not so much “lip-synching” in a Senior place! What on earth happened to professionalism and playing ability in the whole darn music field? Why did I spend thousands of hours learning my craft when these “weekend warriors” come in and further lower the musical intellect of an audience to even lower standards and expectations? It’s actually nerve-wracking to see folks enjoying a musical performance that only a few years ago would have seen a band like that spending their time collecting unemployment benefits. Ruined my darn evening!

Diki….this right up your alley, but I’d really like to hear other comments too. Either that or it’s “stop going to park concerts” for me!

Lucky

MY comment.
Thanks for your post it is spot on.
I gigged from the mid fortys to 1958. Piano Player and trumpet Player depending on band.
In those days we were professional musicans and proud of it.
Today just SUX.
I don't even go to hear other bands anymore.
It is too depressing for me.
Best regards,
A dude well past his prime but with good memories of the way it used to be when the band leaders really cared and enforced the band discipline.
Bebop

Bebop.....just find YOUR slice of the Musical pie in this world & enjoy listening to it & put blinders on to the rest of what you dont enjoy....

"life is to short to dilly dally"....

Lucky-

I've seen that act, lol...

IMO, the bar has been lowered in terms of the general public and music. Less people engage in private study or lessons, more people have access to powerful musical technology as well.

As a country, the importance of learning about music is declining.



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Bill in Dayton

To a large degree, it's all about money. If salaries for musicians were higher, there would be more competition for gigs, and the quality of the product would improve significantly. The average top flite jazz professional has had more training than the average neurosurgeon but gets paid like a fast food worker. Hard to blame them for not wearing an Armani suit to the gig.

Except for the 1/10th of 1% at the top, musicians are the most underpaid skilled workers on the planet.

chas

Well, I think some of it is just nostalgia for the old days. After all, what high devotion to musical art produced Ella's smash hit a tisket a tasket? And, she followed it up with a rendition of Muffin Man, hoping to repeat the success. Luckily, that one never caught on.
I've heard just as many untalented old codgers as I've heard untalented young people. Well, maybe not quite as many, because not everybody had access to instruments to the degree we do now. But still, I've heard enough scratchy fiddles and 3 chord wonder guitarists from my grandpa's era to know that not everybody back then was a Stuff Smith or Charlie Christian.

The thing is, you stayed long enough at that concert to make that impression... Me, I'd have walked out after the first few bars (unless there were some pretty ladies talking to me!). So I guess it can't have been THAT bad!

I think chas is right. Compared to the seventies, my pay hasn't kept pace with inflation, and I think many are in the same position. You get what you pay for. If I make enough just to get by, where's the money for costumes, fancy lighting, and a high rehearsal factor coming from?

Also, you can see how attitudes in the young have changed... Personally, I blame it on 'self esteem' psycho-babble that favors self-esteem without the associated achievement that would actually JUSTIFY that same self-esteem! You can see it in how afraid of anything that actually IS exemplary... Modern musicians must dress like their slacker audience, look like the slacker audience, talk like their slacker audience, and heaven help them if they actually PLAY better than their slacker audience!

Most of the real bands on the charts (not the highly manufactured pop hits, but the real bands) sound like garage bands that would NEVER have got even a hint of a deal in the seventies (or eighties, or nineties )! It's as if the entire youth of our nation are afraid to listen to anything real that might make them aware of just how untalented they are! Where would their precious self-esteem go, were they to acknowledge that, "look! there's someone that is WAY better than me! I guess I must be lousy, after all "

Once upon a time, we celebrated the talented, and made them rich... Now, we avoid them like the plague, and prefer to listen to someone that we think 'hey! I could do that!'. I guess it makes us feel more comfortable in our declining mediocrity...

I don't know if it's just about the money ...
'Back in the day' when I was in high school just starting out, the guys I was with bought our 'band jackets' at a real cheapo place. wore a simple white shirt and thin black tie and black slacks - nothing expensive but we looked good -

I think it's more in line with what Diki said about the "slacker" mentality ... We went to see Spyro Gyra at a nice jazz club in Boston a year or two ago ... three of the members were wearing faded jeans and faded polo shirts - including the leader Jay Beckenstein ...

I think it also reflects our society's lack of RESPECT for anything or anyone ...

I've been to a number of outdoor concerts this summer, and the dress on a lot of the musicians is what I would call "sloppy" ...
I don't say they have to be 'formal'. especially playing an outdoor concert. but at least look 'pressed' ...

When I played that wedding in North Carolina. I wore a tux ... the sax player that was hired to work with me wore a 'sport jacket', slacks, shirt and tie ... On a break we were discussing musicians dress, and even the grandfather of the bride, who is also a working musician. said that wearing a tux looks "dated" ...
I guess for gigs like weddings and such in nice catering halls or country clubs, I am going to look 'dated' ...
t.

No it was not about money for me. For me it was all about loving to perform and loving my music, money was just the extra. There were times my group played after the 3AM closing till sunrise just for the love of music. Talk about being on a high. I worked only on the weekends because I did not want music to become a ritual, 3 to 5 jobs per week were my limit.

There is a small group of young musicians that have mastered their instrument and they have gone beyond the old timers in almost every way.
The rest of the music performance arena has replaced musical talent with high-grade technology. I believe that you do not become one with your instrument by playing fifties music, as alive, happy and entertaining as it is.

Today there is a place for everything as long as it gratifies the audience. Nothing is bad, it just is.

John C.

And you wonder why live music is dying. One two, cha cha cha.

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Most of us here are all about expediency... Let's face it, doing the OMB thing is ALL about expediency. It takes sacrifice and hard work to make a band successful. SO much easier to just go out and carry our 25 lb. toy arranger and our little home theater speaker system in, play our little tunes for a few hours, and go home with all the money!

So, why should we criticize others for dressing all slacker-like? Isn't doing it all with technology instead of providing a REAL band simply the musical equivalent of dressing poorly for the gig? I know I'd MUCH rather see four badly dressed great musicians than one exquisitely dressed OMB..!

We may indeed have ALL dressed better in the sixties and seventies for our gigs. But we also provided REAL entertainment, real playing, real music. It seems trivial to bemoan dress standards, when actual musical standards have completely disappeared, too

Expediency.com The arranger player's 'home' page

Diki said: The thing is, you stayed long enough at that concert to make that impression... Me, I'd have walked out after the first few bars (unless there were some pretty ladies talking to me!). So I guess it can't have been THAT bad!

Lucky says: The band constructed barbed wire fencing around the perimeter of the area. After that was an electronic force field, and then a moat filled with crocodiles who hadn't tasted food in two years. If you got through all that, there were guard towers every 100 feet! Then....if you made it that far, if you said "please" they would finally let you out!


Diki said: I think chas is right. Compared to the seventies, my pay hasn't kept pace with inflation, and I think many are in the same position. You get what you pay for. If I make enough just to get by, where's the money for costumes, fancy lighting, and a high rehearsal factor coming from?

Lucky says: it's called "investment." You invest in clothes, equipment, practicing...and then see how fast you get booked and get your money back tenfold (minus inflation!).

Diki said: Modern musicians must dress like their slacker audience, look like the slacker audience, talk like their slacker audience, and heaven help them if they actually PLAY better than their slacker audience!

It's as if the entire youth of our nation are afraid to listen to anything real that might make them aware of just how untalented they are! Where would their precious self-esteem go, were they to acknowledge that, "look! there's someone that is WAY better than me! I guess I must be lousy, after all "

Once upon a time, we celebrated the talented, and made them rich... Now, we avoid them like the plague, and prefer to listen to someone that we think 'hey! I could do that!'. I guess it makes us feel more comfortable in our declining mediocrity...

Lucky says: Diki, that was real good! I never thought much about what you said in those last three paragraphs, but......I'm going to think about it now, and probably tomorrow too, and maybe for the rest of my playing days. Now I see why "reality shows" are currently in vogue and populating TV programming faster than homes are going into foreclosures.

Lucky also says: Diki, I'm glad you're on the side of the law!

Lucky

[This message has been edited by Lucky2Bhere (edited 08-17-2008).]

[This message has been edited by Lucky2Bhere (edited 08-17-2008).]