On Sun, 30 Apr 2000, Rob Zero wrote:
> I realize that this has been discussed before, but there are MANY reasons
> NOT to risk your @ss and play live.
>
> Yes, us *musicians* and other musically-learned ppl might not appreciate a
> "press play and go" approach, but honestly, the average boob (and promoter)
> cares not a bit about how GOOD you are, but will care lots about how BAD you
> are.. IE ppl soon forget a good performance, but will almost never forget a
> bad one.
>
I'm sorry, but your reasons not to play live are lame. From your
assertion, you could also argue that live musician's should bring DAT's as
well as their instruments in case they fuck up on stage. The essence of
playing live is to capture the live moment and work it in a way that no DJ
can. If you want to play it safe, whatever; you may as well stick in a DAT
and hit play.
In fact, don't even bother showing up. God forbid that you may hit a
wrong note, or mess up a sequence.
...you know what? Live PA'ing is rough around the edges and somewhat
gritty - it's obvious that a live PA isn't spinning well-produced record
after well-produced record. That's not the point.
I've been playing live for over 2 years now and of course things go wrong.
Guess what? Nobody cares that much unless there's a good 5 minutes of
silence. And even then, excellent DJ's fuck up all the time - or worse,
sounds systems go down, fuses blow, needles break. Whatever. Nobody is
asking for perfection really.
I think your conception of party crowds is overblown, especially
considering that an average of 80% of party goers are under the influence
of at least one substance *snicker*. I've been at too many parties where
people have cheered when a dj was trainwrecking simply because they
*couldn't* tell the difference.
Furthermore, most promoters are running around like chickens with their
heads cutoff during their events. They certainly don't have the time to
scrutinize everyone's set. I've thrown many a party and have sadly missed
many of the people I've brought in,
All that being said, I strive for perfection and am always hyper-critical
of my sets afterwards. Nevertheless, my friends and fellow producers
usually look at me funny when I go through the list of things that I think
have gone wrong.
Playing it safe during a live PA is for people who don't have the skills
or are paralyzed by their insecurities of making mistakes.
If you fuck up, do it again intentionally. Incorporate it into your set.
Embrace chaos.
michel
