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Hi there,
I think I've got one of the best jobs in the world but I can't say the conditions and benefits are great. Basically, if I don't sing, I don't get paid. So if you're sick what do you do? Stay home sniffling and feeling sorry for yourself? I might as well be out sniffling and getting paid to feel sorry for myself! Of course it depends:
1. Will I embarrass myself? If I'm not going to sound any good then I don't want to let anyone hear me. But let's face it, singing is such an inconsistent art with hundreds of variables anyway, so as long as I can do about 75% of my best then I'll sing. Sometimes the extra work I have to put into my technique when I'm sick pays off with a better performance than a healthy but lazy one!
2. Will I piss off the band/agent if I don't sing? If advertising and promo has gone out with my name on it I'll try extra hard to drag myself from my sickbed. And if I know the gig will be difficult to cover by another singer - it's last minute, out of town or a specific part that requires rehearsal - than I'll be there.
3. Will I damage my voice in the long term? Nothing is worth that - I don't mind pushing the envelope a bit to get the job done but if it's going to hurt me down the line, I'll slip under the covers and stay there guilt free.
I was at a very big club recently to do a cabaret show with the house band. I was at the tail end of a dose of the flu but numbers 1 and 2 above were definite possibilities so there was no question of pulling out of this one. I was to sing in a huge auditorium on a massive stage where both the audience and the band were way out of spitting distance so there was no danger of infecting them. The only concern I had was the artist that followed me - they would be using the same microphone. I mentioned this to the very friendly lighting guy and he said he'd send the sound engineer backstage to have a chat to me before the show.
Those who have read my last blog may know what's coming next (see 'When Sound Engineers Suck'). Yes, who should walk into the green room but Mr Persnikety. Now if you are a persnikety sound guy then you're having run-ins with singers on a regular basis. So you're not going to remember one little singer in particular, weeks after the fact, at a venue across town, are you? Damn my rather unusual blue hair.
Mr Precious laid eyes on me and and smiled maniacally. I gulped and soldiered on.
'Oh hi there...well I have the flu and I don't want the artist following me to catch it, so I was wondering if you'd be able to give us different microphones?' I said, heart beating, with a big false smile.
His eyes widened as licks of flame started coming out of flared nostrils only inches away from my face...well Ok that didn't happen, but that's how it felt. He did however tell me there was only one microphone.(?!) He then paused for dramatic effect (the entire band and crew backstage were our audience) and said, with lashings of scorn,
'Well, ah, just putting it out there, but did ya ever perhaps think (another pause here to highlight by obvious inability to do just that) that perhaps you shouldn't be performing if you're sick?"
Cruel stare, Blink, Cruel Stare, more flames out of nostrils. Hasn't he heard of 'The Show Must go On?' And excuse me, but I own a sound system worth less than $2000 and I own three microphones. I was about to sing to hundreds of people through a sound system worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars - and there was only one microphone - really?
Don't piss off the sound guy...
xAmanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi there,
Now let me start by saying that I have a lot of admiration for a skillful sound engineer and I count plenty of them as friends. I make this disclaimer lest last week's rant also featuring a (different) sound guy (For the Love of Mike) paints me with some kind of prejudice! In my mind, the audio engineer is a vital part of the team - and let's face it, they have your sound by the short and curlies, so it pays to be respectful.
However... recently I had the displeasure of working with a very uptight sound guy and I had to do a lot of tongue biting. It all seemed to start when I stepped up to the mike during soundcheck and saw it had a wind sock covering it. Those black foam mike condoms are usually used for outside gigs to limit the interference of wind or other background noise or even reduce breath noise in radio or recording studios. In my experience (I've never counted but I've done an average of 3 live gigs a week for about the last 15 years) a mike with a wind sock is almost never used in a live show that is staged inside a venue. That inch of foam breaks my communion with my beloved mike and I hate it! I had also noticed that only two of the four vocal mikes on stage had wind socks. They had to be there by mistake right? So I took mine off. Well a voice from the control room at the back of the auditorium boomed, 'put that back on!' I did so and was duly put in my place.
I don't know if that exchange coloured the rest of the events at sound check but it seemed I, along with most of the (very experienced) performers on stage that night, couldn't put a foot right with Mr Persnikety on the faders back there. In this particular show - like many that I do - I perform as backing vocalist throughout the show but leave that side-of-stage position to perform lead at different times throughout the set. So of course it is important I check my sound from my backing vocalist position as well as from other spots across the front of the stage. I'd like to add here that the sound was average to poor through my own foldback wedge and no amount of knob twiddling or suggestions/requests from me (!) improved it. When I dared to move towards the middle of the stage, my foldback ranged from atrocious to non-existent. When I raised the issues (I was trying to be polite, really I was!) he gave me a very condescending explanation of how sound systems work and nothing improved.
The moral of the story? Well if my blog today is anything more than just a rant, the lesson could be 'the show must go on' or perhaps, 'don't piss off the sound guy'.
By the way, it doesn't end there. I did a gig in a venue at the end of town weeks later and who should walk backstage? I smiled sweetly at Mr Imperious thinking he wouldn't particularly remember me. I was wrong, ladies and gentlemen, very much mistaken. Stay tuned for our next encounter...
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Happy New Year,
There is a lot of gear pornography in musical blogs. Guitarists in particular have a world of electronics they love to show off and discuss - guitars, amps, pedals and the rest. We singers have one vital piece of gear that isn't talked about too much - the microphone.
I have moments when I walk on stage, the audience in darkness, and just one thing greets me in the circle of light. It draws me closer and promises to listen and share every sound I make.
Of course we all know that the quality of the sound system and the sound engineer have a huge bearing on the audio, but it's that mike sitting atop the stand that is the only tangible thing there for me.
I love that I can whisper to him and he'll listen to every nuance. We have our own secret communion - and at the end of our lovely dance I treasure the metallic taste left on my lips as a memento of our moments together.
I personally love a Shure 58 - it's the most common live performance mike around my parts - it's inexpensive, robust and I for one like the sound I get from it. I usually have a Shure 58 in my handbag although I often find, in the venues I play, the sound engineer will have their own mikes tuned to their own system and would prefer to use those.
However... recently at a gig, this conversation transpired:
Sound Engineer: Do you have your own mike?
Me: I do, but actually didn't bring it this time sorry - last time I played here I was told it wasn't needed.
Sound Engineer: You should own your own mike.
Me: Oh I do, I have 3 of my own mikes and usually bring one. Sorry, but I usually find sound engineers prefer to use their own.
Sound Engineer: You can use my mike but you should go out and buy a Shure 58, they're not expensive.
Me: I actually have three Shure 58s, love them.
Sound Engineer: Think of how much money all these musicians have to spend on their musical gear. The least you can do is go and buy your own mike.
Me:...
My point here? Never undervalue the mike - and beware the deaf sound engineer!
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi there,
I've seen it time and time again from other acts in the last year but now it's happened to me - a show is pulled by a venue because there are not enough pre-bookings - ouch! Is that fair? I understand the venue doesn't want to lose money, but surely there should be a certain amount of faith and trust in the act they've booked too? With the gig I was part of, stacks of people said: 'But I was just about to book tickets!' or 'I was going to buy tickets at the door!'. How many of us are organised enough to book tickets to an event more than eight days before - because in our case the venue pulled the plug a whole week and a day before?
Three years ago I would commonly get booked for Christmas events and weddings at least a year before the big day. Nowadays it is no surprise to get a request for a booking two to three weeks before a function. What is going on? Is the ability to get a message out to people in seconds putting an end to pre planning? We cherry pick our tunes and don't like to commit to buying an entire album from our music artists. Even our retailers are popping up instead of instead planting roots. Are we always looking over our shoulders for the coolest way to fill every inch of our lives and refusing to pledge our time until we're sure we have the best possible date secured in our hectic event-filled lives?
Well I'm way more full of questions today than answers, but I'd love to hear what you think. Are we turning into a bunch of commitment phobes?
So, 'till next time, whenever that may be (maybe I'll text you),
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi folks,
This blog comes from a professional dancer in the US, via Aussie
muso Lloyd Gyi - just replace 'dancer' with 'singer' and it is spot
on! I couldn't have said it better myself, so I didn't try:
"15 Truths About Being a Professional Dancer"
written by Melanie Doskocil, original post found at her
blog, Ballet Pages
1. Dance is hard. – No dancer ever became successful riding
on their natural born talents only. Dancers are artists and athletes.
The world of dance today is akin to an extreme sport. Natural ability
and talent will only get us so far. Dancers must work hard and
persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears
and sometimes blood to have the honor and pleasure of performing on
stage.
2. You won’t always get what you want. – We don’t
always get the role we wanted, go on pointe when we want, get the job
we want, hear the compliments we want, make the money we want, see
companies run the way we want, etc, etc. This teaches us
humility and respect for the process, the art form and the masters we
have chosen to teach us. The faster we accept this, the faster we can
get on with being brilliant. We’ll never be 100% sure it will
work, but we can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.
3. There’s a lot you don’t know. – There is always
more a dancer can learn. Even our least favorite teachers,
choreographers and directors can teach us something. The minute we
think we know it all, we stop being a valuable asset.
4. There may not be a tomorrow. – A dancer never knows
when their dance career will suddenly vanish: a company folds, career
ending injury, car accident, death…Dance every day as if it is the
final performance. Don’t save the joy of dance for the stage.
Infuse even your routine classroom exercises with passion!
5. There’s a lot you can’t control. – You can’t
control who hires you, who fires you, who likes your work, who
doesn’t, the politics of being in a company. Don’t waste your
talent and energy worrying about things you can’t control. Focus on
honing your craft, being the best dancer you can be. Keep an open
mind and a positive attitude.
6. Information is not true knowledge. – Knowledge
comes from experience. You can discuss a task a hundred times,
go to 1000 classes, but unless we get out there and perform we will
only have a philosophical understanding of dance. Find opportunities
to get on stage. You must experience performance firsthand to
call yourself a professional dancer.
7. If you want to be successful, prove you are valuable. –
The fastest way out of a job is to prove to your employer they don’t
need you. Instead, be indispensable. Show up early, know your
material, be prepared, keep your opinions to yourself unless they are
solicited and above all be willing to work hard.
8. Someone else will always have more than you/be better than
you. – Whether it’s jobs or money or roles or trophies, it
does not matter. Rather than get caught up in the drama about what
others are doing around you, focus on the things you are good at, the
things you need to work on and the things that make you happiest as a
dancer.
9. You can’t change the past. – Everyone has a past.
Everyone has made mistakes, and everyone has glorious moments they
want to savor. “Would you keep a chive in your tooth just because
you enjoyed last night’s potato?” Boston Common TV
Series. Dance is an art form that forces us to concentrate
on the present. To be a master at dance we have be in the moment; the
minute the mind wanders, injuries happen. If they do, see #12.
10. The only person who can make you happy is you. –
Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy. The root of our
happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves, not from how
much money we make, what part we were given, what company we dance
for, or how many competitions we won. Sure these things
can have effects on our mood, but in the long run it’s who we are
on the inside that makes us happy.
11. There will always be people who don’t like you. –
Dancers are on public display when they perform and especially in
this internet world, critics abound. You can’t be everything to
everyone. No matter what you do, there will always be someone
who thinks differently. So concentrate on doing what you know
in your heart is right. What others think and say about you
isn’t all that important. What is important is how you feel
about yourself.
12.Sometimes you will fail. – Sometimes, despite our best
efforts, following the best advice, being in the right place at the
right time, we still fail. Failure is a part of life. Failure can be
the catalyst to some of our greatest growth and learning experiences.
If we never failed, we would never value our successes. Be willing to
fail. When it happens to you (because it will happen to you), embrace
the lesson that comes with the failure.
13. Sometimes you will have to work for free. – Every
professional dancer has at one time or another had to work without
pay. If you are asked to work for free, be sure that you are really
ok with it. There are many good reasons to work for free, and there
are just as many reasons not to work for free. Ask yourself if the
cause is worthy, if the experience is worth it, if it will bring you
joy. Go into the situation fully aware of the financial agreement and
don’t expect a hand out later.
14. Repetition is good. Doing the same thing over and over
expecting a different result is insane. – If you keep doing
what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
If you keep doing the bare minimum of required classes, don’t
complain to your teacher when you don’t move up to the next level.
If you only give the bare minimum in your company, be happy staying
in the corps. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must
push yourself beyond your self-imposed limitations.
15. You will never feel 100% ready. – Nobody ever feels
100% ready when an opportunity arises. Dancers have to be
willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to
balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from
trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must
have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest
opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones,
which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it."
See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi there,
When I was
starting out in this business, I sang in a Top 40
Dance Band with another female singer. She also did regular gigs in cocktail bars and even sang at weddings
and parties. She had gone to a Performing Arts High School - like the kids in 'Fame'. To
me, she had it made and I looked up to her. She had what I wanted - she lived off her music and even
owned her own microphone. I felt I was on my way to living the dream she had already achieved.
But she always seemed restless and
after a few weeks she sat me down and told me she was leaving the band. Why would anyone want to do that? We had a gig that was highly
sought after by every other covers band in town - a well paid residency to
big crowds in a classy venue. But she looked at me knowingly and said, 'look while
you're 21 this is all great but I'm about to turn 25 (!) and it's
time I got on with life.' She wanted a real job with a real income and some
stability. 'You'll be the same when you're 25, you wait.'
Well I'm not going to tell you how distant a
memory my 25th birthday is, but let's say that things are still looking green
and lush from my side of the fence. I experienced a solid wage and security thanks to the corporate jobs I took after uni, so the lure of that life was never that strong for me.
I recently overheard a
muso saying something particularly wise to another after listening to him bitch bitterly about our industry (we've all been there). The wise one said and I paraphrase, 'As
professional musos we sign up for the rollercoaster. Our lows can be really low
but our highs are right up there. If we wanted safe we would have got on the
Ladybird ride but that just wouldn't be much fun'.
I'll take one ticket to
white knuckled exhilaration and stomach lurching intensity with the earth teetering
beneath my feet, thank you. By the way, I now own three microphones.
See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Hi there,
I have a theory that is yet to be disproved in all my years of fronting party bands...Now, your raison d'etre is getting your audience to dance... if you can work out roughly when the majority of your audience was 20 years old ie their halcyon days, you're off to a flying start. Pluck out a big dancey hit from aroundabout that year and you're almost guaranteed to have a packed dance floor. The flow of alcohol also helps and females are generally easier to shift but the good thing is that the men generally follow the women onto the floor so get to the girls first.
If you have a group that's hard to pick or they are of really mixed ages like at a wedding, then go for Retro hits. Even Gen Zs know the big songs from the '70s and '80s thanks to their constant re-emergence in movies and sitcoms. It doesn't seem to matter how many current hits I learn for these occasions, 'I Will Survive' and 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' are still top of the dance floor hit parade.
Of course you might have a bunch of hipsters that won't go for Top 40 from any era - then you have to be a bit smarter (and have a wide repertoire). Pick a hip song that regular bodies probably don't know, that still has a good beat, and pump that out while gazing at your shoes. The hep cat gets to be the dude dancing and mouthing along to a song no one else is familiar with while everyone else will join in so as not to appear uncool.
Of course it's simply understanding what your audience wants. Are they there to dance, to just listen, to impress? Are they straight-laced corporate types or wild and woolly hippies? Don't be like an agent I heard of recently (see 'Agents, who needs em?) who was sending disco dancing drag queens to entertain at events for the very elderly and very conservative!
And if in doubt, just sing 'Brown Eyed Girl' - that'll cover more than half of your population,
Cheers,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com
Mr Precious laid eyes on me and and smiled maniacally. I gulped and soldiered on. 
