posted 01-14-2004 03:49 PM            

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I played my 3rd gig this afternoon. It was at an assisted living home and went very well. I took with me several Latin Am. "noise makers" and passed them out about half way through my show, said I needed 'rhythm section' help. At first I was hesitant, because, well, it was a new thing for me... and 2nd, I didn't know what to play. Wound up doing 'Cherry Pink'(instrumental) and 'Dayo' (vocal). Followed with a polka and kept them going.

While it wasn't exactly a barn-burner, it was a definite positive... everybody had fun with it and next time will be better yet. I was wondering, since audience participation seems to be a winner, what some of you might be doing to get folks involved.

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posted 01-14-2004 04:17 PM         

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Every crowd is different...there is no blueprint carbon copy way to get them going everytime. Knowing what to play takes years of experience. What worked last night doesn't nessessarily work the next. Your playing & singing ability is another huge factor also. You need a sought of "ESP" with the crowd to make things work & flow smooth in a show....especially Nursing Homes vs other audiences. Just keep doing what your doing and mix and match certain routines, theme related etc. that work more then others in these critical show developmental stages, make it your own...What works in my shows may not work for the next person because we are all different and its just an extension of who we are on stage.

Hang in there Good Luck

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 01-14-2004).]

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posted 01-14-2004 05:01 PM            

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Glenn
On my live 30 years later cd you can hear where we too passed out the shakers. I never had an audience that didn't like that. They got to make noise and participate. The hardest part for us was the timing of it, meaning when the audience was ready to play. The second thing is once you give them out it hard to stop some from playing them when you don't want them to, so again timing meaning setting up the songs closer to the end where they can play along with a few.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

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