Last Week’s Show: Of Jobs and Hobbies
“You are such a great singer!” said the slightly drunken woman to me after the band left the stage. “Thank you very much,” I replied, politely. “Please sing one more song. For me.” she pleaded. “I’m sorry, but the show is over, and we’re not allowed to go back on stage.” “Please?!? I’ll give you fifty bucks if you go back on stage right now and sing a song for me.” The stage was dark, the crew was already packing up the equipment. “Uhh, no.” I replied, rather annoyed. “Besides, how did you get backstage in the first place?!?” The above situation actually happens quite often; I’m often offered money to perform longer than is stated in my contract. The question for me: is such a request a compliment to my skill as an entertainer,...
Road Trip Recap: Here Comes The Sun
It’s been a few days since my last road trip, and it’s often difficult to find themes that make each and every gig experience unique, because frankly, most of my shows follow similar patterns. What I like to report on are certain subtleties I notice at each show or block of shows. One of the more interesting subtleties is the observation of how people tend to party during certain times of the year. With summer just around the corner, people are definitely getting into party mode. How did this change in attitude affect my job on this latest road trip? Let’s take a look. Gig 1: May 20 – Session Werk, Walldorf I’ve performed in many, many venues in Germany over the last 15 years or so; from bars, clubs and restaurants, to city and village festivals, to...
Road Trip Recap: Nice Bathrooms, Long Gigs, and the Gala Event Food Chain
There are certain undisputed truths about being a pro musician in Europe, particularly in Germany, where I work most of the time: you’re always asked to do more than you want to; you’re always treated well, but never as well as you think you should be; and the cleanliness of the bathroom in your hotel room has more of an effect on your performance at the gig than you would like to believe. On this past five day road trip I travelled to the towns of Bregenz, Austria (directly on Lake Constance, the body of water shared by Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Mannheim, Cologne and Hamburg, a total distance of 1909 kilometers (1186 miles), all of it by train. I performed three shows with two different bands: the Bregenz gig was for a conference of IT...
Smartphones: 21st century Tamagotschis?
If I ever needed proof that the smartphone is quickly becoming the 21st century’s version of the Tamagotchi (those widely popular and extremely annoying “digital pets” from the 90′s), I found it on Saturday while waiting to catch my train back home. On a beautiful, warm, bright Saturday morning, I was shocked and intrigued by just how many people I witnessed (myself included) hunched over, faces buried in the tiny screens occupying the palms of their hands. Based on my very unscientific observations, it’s quite easy to tell which type of current smartphone people are using: - If they’re hunched over while flicking with their left or right index finger in different directions, or sporadically rocking from side to side or forwards and...
