This Much I Know Part Two

When I first started out in the biz that we call "show", I was cursed with a somewhat naive arrogance that I knew what the audience needed to hear better than they did.  Starting out as a swing singer, my set was full of tunes that I loved but weren't necessarily the most well-known songs from that genre.  I eschewed popular classics such as That's Amore, My Way and New York New York in favour of such obscure nuggets as Birth Of The Blues, Luck Be A Lady and My Kind Of Town.  Looking back, it's surprising that I got any work at all.

I learned fast that audiences want to hear the songs that they know.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.  The artist isn't "selling out" simply by giving the people what they want.  It's called business.  And if you don't sing the songs the crowd want to hear, they'll quickly find someone who does.

Sometimes, the singer will find themselves in an odd situation where the audience loves them but the client does not.  An example immediately comes to mind of a bar where I had a short-lived residency some years ago (I'll keep the name and location to myself - it's not good practise to bad-mouth clients, especially online where your words will haunt you for all time).  At the end of the first engagement, an audience member came up to me, positively swooning.  "What are you doing here?" she asked.  Cribbing a line from Michael Caine, I said: "Well, I've got to be somewhere."

"Yes, but you shouldn't be here.  You should be in the West End or on Broadway."

Flattery will get you everywhere!

To explain, no matter where I sing, be it in a theatre, a pub or a bistro, I always wear a tuxedo.  It is, if you like, the "uniform" of the swing singer.  And a swing singer is what I am, essentially.  Even though my show now accommodates a whole bunch of other genres, I still manage to make every song swing.  

Every singer should have a stage costume, as I explained in my previous post, and it's advice that's well worth repeating.

Hopefully, the venue will have a decent room in which you can change into your gear but it's not always the case.  More often than not you will be directed to the toilet cubicles or some dusty broom cupboard.  It's a great levelling experience and the perfect way to keep your ego in check.

Back to this unnamed venue anyway.  So, week after week, the audience is showering me with post-gig affection and women are giving me telephone numbers that I will never ring (don't do groupies if you're in a relationship.  It's vulgar behaviour and it demeans you as a person.  I've been married for over twenty years and my wife has supported my endeavours to the nth degree.  I'm not going to repay that by going off with the first bit of skirt that flashes her eyelashes at me.).  I'm a hit!  But not with the manageress.  She doesn't "dig my Clyde" and at the end of my run, she doesn't offer me any more work.

You can't please everyone and you're a fool if you try.  So, be true to yourself and never settle for second best.

Regarding that last piece of advice, when I became a professional singer, I noticed that after a gig I would sink into a kind of despondency.  And it seemed to only occur after a gig had gone really well.  That is to say, the audience had responded well to the show but I would think "Yeah, but you didn't hear the bum notes and the missed cues."  Always strive to do better.  Whilst the aim of the performer is to please the people, never accept their plaudits as proof that you're as good as you want to be.  Be gracious when they tell you how fabulous you are.  Accept the compliments with humility.  But never stop believing that you can do better and never stop reaching for the unreachable.  A contented artist is a lazy artist.  Who would you rather be?  David Bowie or Robbie Williams?

In the words of that great philosopher Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that."

Of course I could say a whole lot more but I think what I've written is the most important stuff.  Everything else is just opinion and you'll form enough of those as you go forward without needing any of mine.

So, best of luck.  Be successful.  Don't give up and don't despair.

Lots of Love,

The Singer    

   

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