Dude,
This is something that is very close to my heart. Playing live.
First of all, my sincere thanks and appreciation to you for inviting me to join those competitions and that very special wedding gig. It took me out of my own (imperfect) world and into the real one.
I actually enjoy playing live (if it is not a competition). Everything is so carefree on stage and I can spontaneously play whatever that comes to mind – improvisation, I call it. That is the epitome of “Freedom of Expression”
Playing live means you truly communicate with other musicians in a musical way. I don’t know how to express this in words but I am sure you understand that. It’s like the Mind Games session. No practice. Just let the music determine the flow. No competition. The music takes the lead.
Playing live challenges us to control our mind, body and soul – all in order to ensure perfect execution of techniques and maintaining the role as a responsible band member. This will definitely enhance the musicianship and take it to another level. For me, I am always hoping for the Dev’s Boogie or Mind Games level which once again, the mind and soul takes over.
Story time……
I did my first “live” performance when I was 15 during a campfire. That’s right. A campfire. A friend was the organizer (The Red Crescent Society – they organize the campfire and invite kids from other school to join – mostly to know girls and all that, as we were an all boys school). I wasn’t a member of the society but the “payment” was a roti canai breakfast….so why not?
To help this good friend, I rope in WL and another guy (the same guy in my guitar class) to do Two Steps Behind. The venue was in the middle of the school field, dark (with the fire as the only light source), I did the vocals and all single line melodies, including the solo on my Yamaha Classical. My 2 friends were covering the rhythm on steel strings. All that in front of 200 people. That’s right, 200 people. There were some dumb idiots clapping along. Wish I could go over and smash their head with my CG-100A. It’s a rock song for God’s sake, not Chinese pop. Damn…….
The best comment I heard after that was “Don’t know who is that guy but he did a good job with that Bon Jovi song….”
Sorry Jon. Sorry Joe. That night, this kid got the credit.
Of course, it wasn’t until more than 10 years later I got to do it again, this time, in a real rock band.
Despite all I have just mentioned, I still think I am not geared for live performance. Deep down, I am still very much a bedroom player. The stage fright and to some extent, some little boy bashful-ness is still there.
With every chance I have on stage today, I try to take myself less seriously; so I can learn to let go. I think the first time I ever smiled on stage was probably during your bro’s wedding gig… That should be the vibe of a life show. I guess that’s a good start.
Every moment on stage should be savoured and enjoyed to the fullest. Even something as disastrous as Asian Beat had very valuable take-home lessons.
Being able to perform on stage is a blessing. It doesn't matter if there is a hot shot musician in the audience – because it is not his stage.
Just play.
I am still very determined to use that shaker on stage….one day dude, one day…
Dude,
ReplyDeletePerforming live is one of the best things ever. It's your opportunity to showcase to the world and yourself what your fingers and heart can actually produce. Covers bands are great, but what they have in talent, they lack in heart I feel. It's hard to emote someone elses song - it's difficult to feel what they felt during that time, and to have the right type of expression, tone and emotion. We had this discussion about playing David Gilmour solos - while his solos are not at all complex and infact easy to learn, but it's so easy to make a mistake on a bend simply because the emotion is absolutely wrong. So you can be the best technical freak in the world, but without emotion, you are not playing music.
So while sometimes I envy all these folks who can play absolutely superb Megadeth solos note for note, however, I feel a true test of a musician is to compose and come up with your own music and interpretation. Musical covers can get good when interpreted correctly in their own style, but very seldom does it yield good results.
Short version, I think we should perform more often. Let's keep our pub dream alive!