August 22, 2005 at 1:18 PM

.::performing live...in concert::.

so the lights are down and all you can see are the reflective/floresent tape(s) leading you to your "spot" on the stage. you hear the addictive roar and hum of the impatient crowd. you take your time, so as to not be intoxicated by the fury of emotion. you get your instrument set, and in hand. and then it begins...

the lights come up, the crowd gets more and more intense, and you maintain your composure and surprise the patrons by what they'll call, "the best performance you've ever had."

but how did you, we, us, get from the squeemish little kids we once were, to the confident performers and professionals we now are?

i offer to you my opinion and i hope you'll feel free to post yours as well. it started slowly. i played more frequently and without a sense of urgency. my confidence grew, my performances became better, i left with a sense of accomplishment, not a sense of worry saying, "was that ok?...did i do alright?...i didn't suck too bad, did i?" you get the idea.

i began enjoying myself on stage. i began to feel more comfortable in front of people and in the limelight than i did away from the performance. call me crazy, but i much prefer to perform than i do rehearse.

so now, issue #2...tempo. i became confident onstage, but until i listened to some live recordings, i didn't realize that i was playing intoxicated. and by that, i mean that the fury of the crowd would get me going; they'd get me excited; they moved me to play a good 15 bpm faster than i should have. it was the adrenaline. that's fine, but i had to remedy my excitement. i took several steps to slow down (lengthier sound checks and load-in, relaxed time before i walked on stage, actually focusing on playing slower!, etc.) and slowly (no pun intended) i began to get my bmp back in place.

now my concerts are better than they ever have been. i leave more confident and happier with each performance i finish. the audiences seem to be more into my music than ever before. it's all better.

and i musn't forget my band! it becomes increasingly easier to give great performances when the calibur of the band you're playing with is excellent. mine is nothing short of 100%. josh on guitar and justin on drums provide a solid foundation on which to play and inspire audiences.

i hope this blog finds you well. please take some time and consider how you perform and what steps you take to make your performance excellent. lets all support each other and give hints, advice, etc. to ensure a better greatness at our craft(s).

~ross christopher
www.rosschristopher.com

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August 22, 2005 at 1:18 PM

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