I got a phone call from a friend recently about his daughter.  She sings
old-style jazz.

The reason he called was to ask if I had any advice on what to do with
a daughter who sings old-style jazz.  (He chose to call me because MY
daughter sings the same style and my friend knew we had gone through
the same decision-making process they were going through: career vs.
college, this style vs. that style, how to approach record labels, etc.)

He made an off-hand comment that stuck with me.  His daughter sings
so beautifully that her voice is what I'd call 'stunning.'  But he mentioned that she came home from school and said 'I can't sing,' (which meant, 'I'm not good enough.')

He asked her why she was saying such a thing.  She replied that she
had sung for her friends at school and they had not expressed much
other than boredom...

As you can imagine, he and I both experienced a mix of emotions
hearing thisreport.  We were offended ('those young punks...what do
they know?...') We were indignant ('Kids today don't even know how
to recognize a great song...')  And we were unabated (Because we
know that there is still a market for old-style jazz...think of Madeleine
Peyroux--whose voice was restored by working with Brett Manning--she alone is proof.)

But upon thinking about this comment, I got the idea for this article.

HERE'S A 'HARD TRUTH'...
MOST OF THE TIME, WE DESIRE MORE THAN A SINGER!

My friend Tom Jackson (stage show expert) likes to compare what
happens between a singer and an audience with what happens at
a restaurant:  The audience is like a table full of hungry people.

They don't think much about the waiter...they think about getting some
good food.

And this analogy works very well, if you remember times when you've
been in an audience yourself...

You don't go into a restaurant and order 3 orders of french fries and
nothing else, do you?  You like variety, so you order several different
things in the same meal.  This is very much what an audience likes...
they like to have some variety during the same concert.

Tom Jackson provides artists with the knowledge of how they can
put together a show that 'keeps the audience guessing' just enough
to keep them engaged the entire time.

That brings up another point about audiences everywhere...

NOT just what YOU like.

We are a very diverse people.  We have been given many choices
of 'taste' in music and other entertainment.  Therefore, you cannot
expect everyone to like what you like. This doesn't mean that you
should try to be all things to all people...you can't.

But if you sing a particular song that continually 'doesn't go over well,'
don't get mad at your audience...instead take it off the menu...or
re-write it, if it's your own composition!

This also means that you must use common sense when you accept
an invitation to sing.  If you do Country and Western music...DON'T
ACCEPT AN ENGAGEMENT AT A JAZZ CLUB!  Or better yet, don't sing
your beautiful classic jazz song for low-riding rap fans and expect
them to be impressed.


SOMETIMES AUDIENCES 'MIX'

It's not always as simple as the example above.  Sometimes audiences
are a mixed bag.

Tom Jackson often works with singers in the Christian music field.  I'll
use them as an example because the church-going audience is often a
MOST mixed group of tastes.

They are drawn into a concert many times by the message (the
Christian gospel) rather than music style, yet they can't help but HAVE
their different tastes.  And they come from every corner of the taste
spectrum.

Tom helps Christian artists realize that they often have the same task
as good ole Willie Shakespeare had...to bring out a buffet for varying
tastes while getting the message across.  No matter what audience
YOU sing to, there will always be some variance of tastes among them.

Take a lesson from the best...

Shakespeare worked during a time when there were few choices in
entertainment.  (Today, audiences can split up and go hear entertainment that just fits their tastes.)

But way back in the 1600's, the doors of the theatre opened and you'd
have the entire socio-economic system come crowding into one audience.

It was a risky place for performers.  Up high, there were expensive box
seats, occupied by the rich, educated, cultured folk (imagine symphony
and opera-goers).  There was little or no middle class (like pop music
listeners).

Down low, there was different crowd altogether.  So as not to waste the
space between the box seats and the stage, the theatre owners sold
tickets (a penny apiece) to as many as could fit standing on the ground
in front of the stage.

These audience members were actually called the 'groundlings' (imagine
WWF fans, or AC/DC fans.)  Needless to say, they had different tastes
than the rich and cultured. In fact, it was common for them to sneak
rotten vegetables into the theatre to use in case the performers got boring.

They knew they could get their entertainment penny's worth one way
or the other.

Shakespeare succeeded so well because in every one of his plays, there
was something for everyone.  There was always a set of comic characters, or low-life villians, or a little raciness thrown in to keep the groundlings happy and entertained.  And of course there were the 'higher themes,' brought with such brilliance.

He just considered it part of the job of delivering the food to the table.


FROM MOMENT TO MOMENT

Tom Jackson taught me to string together a show by linking together
'memorable moments.'  I learned that these should occur throughout
the evening's concert.  When you're in an audience where a performer
has done this well, you are drawn in and you get a magical feeling that
you've experienced something un-speakable.

You'll remember some of the moments and try to tell them to friends.
The thing that you may not realize is that every one of those 'natural'
moments was likely planned down to the 'T' so that you could enjoy
them.

After listening to Tom, I changed EVERYTHNG about my concert show. I quit 'just singing' and started creating moments.  Did it work?  You better believe it.  I stopped having those nights when I just didn't
connect...where the audience was confused at times about how to
react...where the audience wanted the night to be over before I was done.


DON'T BE JUST A SINGER

If an audience wanted to just hear great music, they'd stay home and wear their i-Pods, rather than fight traffic, find a baby-sitter, buy expensive tickets, etc., etc., etc...

They go to concerts because they expect MORE than what they can get
from a CD--not necessarily musically,  but experientially!  They want to
EXPERIENCE an evening with a performer who can take them on a
journey.  They are hoping to make some new memories.