PLAYING TO YOUR AUDIENCE

This is such a simple idea, but one that a lot of bands overlook. In the music business (and you need to realize that there’s a business component involved with your music), not all fans are created equal. 

That is, you might win over one crowd, and get totally ignored during your show the next week. How does that happen? The crowd and your performance, probably. Here’s the simple idea: play to your audience. Figure out what kind of bands are also playing with you, and what their fans will be like. Then, cater to that crowd. While you can’t pretend to be a metal band one day and jazz fusion the next, you can favor your set with your “heavier” stuff if that’s what the crowd’ll be into, or throw in a few extra slow jams if that’s the scene.

Lyrical content is another thing to consider. F-bombs will fly easier in a sweaty club than they will at the city fundraiser. Perhaps you’ll want to go easy on the Obama-loving political statements if you’re opening a show in Orange County.

In short, you can’t be everything to everybody. Some crowds, as I have discovered, are impossible to win over. But, by being aware of your audience and your music, you can tailor your existing set to the crowd, and increase the chances of winning ‘em over.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 1:10 am. It is filed under Wes Leslie and tagged with audience, Jhameel, Plan, set list, Survival Tips, Wes Leslie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.