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Re: Liking/Disliking your own music
All I can contribute to this conversation is the following, lyrics
from Steely Dan:
"You gotta go back, Jack,
Do it again …"
Best,
Dennis
http://soundcloud.com/usrsbin
http://audiozoloft.com
http://usrslashsbin.angrek.com/
On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:37 AM, David Gans <david@trufun.com> wrote:
>
>
> I have developed a practice of "no bad gigs": taking each performance on
> its own terms and giving what is required. My attitude is that any time
> I am being paid to play, or I have been invited to play, it is a good
> thing and there is something to be gained form the experience: money,
> applause, practice, what not to do next time, etc. I play lots of
> different kinds of gigs. Some scenes are more song-oriented, e.g. a
> house concert where my own compositions are the central focus; at the
> Farmers' Market gigs (which I love), I play lots of familiar songs - old
> favorites from my youth, etc. and I'm free to do a 20-minute loop piece
> because no one is there specifically to hear me and I am just incidental
> to the market experience. And so on.
>
> Next Saturday I have a gig at the Iron Springs Pub in Fairfax,
> California. I played there the other night with Rubber Souldiers, a
> "Beatles jam band" I do for fun (and money) with a couple of other guys.
> We had a fine time, with a good crowd, and between the modest pay and a
> full tip jar my share was $117. Saturday's gig will be different: the
> 49ers' playoff game will be happening at the same time, in another part
> of this one big room. The owner of the brewpub wants me to do it anyway,
> and sort of apologized in advance for the weirdness I am likely to
> experience. I have talked about my "no bad gigs" philosophy with him
> before, and I said I'll be fine. My wife and I will have a nice meal,
> I'll take home a few bucks, and I'll probably spend a good part of the
> 2-hour gig doing loop improv, which I will record and (if all goes well)
> develop into a new piece. The football fans will not pay attention to
> me, and I will return the favor. There will be a few other people in the
> room who are listening to me and not watching the Niners, and that will
> be sufficient.
>
> I come from the Grateful Dead music culture, which has a long tradition
> of recording everything, so I have a long-term practice of listening to
> my performances to find out what worked and what didn't. These days the
> technology makes it super easy to listen to last night's show on my way
> to today's. I am pretty good at listening in a detached way, and I know
> I hear a lot more flaws than the audience is likely to notice. As long
> as my own standard is higher than the one I have to meet as a performer,
> I will continue to improve. I am pretty much at the top of my game these
> days, so I hardly ever hear anything cringe-worthy in these playbacks.
> For me, the question has more to do with, Did I gig the gig what it
> needed from me?
>
>
>
>