Delaware Dave Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I used to read in 'musicians needed' ads in years back having to have 'the look'. It had kind of tapered off and now I'm starting to see a small resurgence once again in musicians ad of the need to have the look. How many of you actually have 'the look' ???? Who drives this requirement from within the band, guitar players? promoters? 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 At 46 and with very little hair for more than half that number of years, "the look" isn't going to happen. I am working on dropping my weight for a number of reasons, that'll help my stage look I guess. I try to dress right for the gig and of course act professionally even if I'm a weekend warrior....I have the stage presence of a turnip and that's an area I can certainly improve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I have it. [video:youtube] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Fashion seems pretty up for grabs at this point to me http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I however do not. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0dvfvkSWtLs "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 "The Look"? As George Carlin used to say: "Eat Me!" '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe P Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Interesting topic. I tried growing my hair long but I didn't like it. I'm a runner so I'm often drenched with sweat and long hair is bothersome to me. Still, I always wear dark clothes and a jacket as long as it's not too hot. That helps because God knows what's coming out of my speakers doesn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 There comes a point, depending on the type of band, where having the right look can go a long way. My booking agent points to some of the more successful bands around town as having "the look". My old band had it - of course we wore outfits including wigs, a look some might call transgender - but regardless, it went along with the theme of what we were doing. And I think that is a lot of what it comes down to. When people go to see a band, they want to feel like the guys they are watching are somehow special...larger than life, different from them. If the guys on stage are balding fat guys in jeans and t-shirts that look like them, then it's nothing special...it's a bunch of guys just like me on stage. I took piano lessons, I could do that. But if it looks like a band, like they come from a world unknown to the viewer, and they're up there acting in a way the viewer wouldn't be comfortable acting, it raises it to a different level....this is a band...I could never do that or be like that. I know, all this is just show, but it certainly adds to elevate the performance in the eyes of the casual viewer. "The Look" I think more than anything has to be consistent with what you're doing. Wigs work for an 80s band. I wouldn't recommend them for a Jazz trio. But even in a Jazz trio, I think a little forethought and consideration into having a unified look goes a long way to set the musicians apart from the crowd. Even if you're an old fat bald guy, you can certainly "Look" like a musician performing instead of all the other old fat bald guys. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Nobody looks at the keyboard player anyway. "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 If the guys on stage are balding fat guys in jeans and t-shirts that look like them, then it's nothing special...it's a bunch of guys just like me on stage. A considerable portion of the forum just got really sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedKey Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 This is "The Look". http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4124/2blg.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 If the guys on stage are balding fat guys in jeans and t-shirts that look like them, then it's nothing special...it's a bunch of guys just like me on stage. A considerable portion of the forum just got really sad. Not me man. I wear khaki shorts thank-you very much. "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonglow Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I will jump at any opportunity to re-post this: http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resvht4v/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Chriskeys.JPG Had chicks coming at me like Frisbees. These days, not so much.... "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedKey Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Had chicks coming at me like Frisbees..... and.... Checkmate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I will jump at any opportunity to re-post this: http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resvht4v/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Chriskeys.JPG Had chicks coming at me like Frisbees. These days, not so much.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51recording Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I had a guy awhile back book me for a gig and asked me to wear the "Nashville uniform"....when I asked what the hell that was he explained "You know.....tight jeans with a nice button down shirt (not tucked in) with the sleeves rolled up. Boots would help, as well as one of them shaggy haircuts....." I thought....yeah, so would a 28" waist and quite a few less gray hairs in my beard..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51recording Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 This is "The Look". http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4124/2blg.jpg Strike hard....strike fast....no mercy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 This is "The Look". http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4124/2blg.jpg Stink eye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted August 15, 2013 Author Share Posted August 15, 2013 So back in the day, the shag hair was the look .... http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resvht4v/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Chriskeys.JPG and today no hair is the look ..http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4124/2blg.jpg Christ, I'm 0 for 2 ..... 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 That Nashville Uniform is pretty close to what I do at most gigs.....if it's a more "bikery" bar then it's a mean-looking black tshirt (says "death to bikers" on it)...j/k I prefer life with most of my faculties.... Because I combine baldness with bad skin (wtf you should only have to deal with one...can't really shave my head) I wear a fedora. Otherwise I'd cause lumen-reflection clauses to be invoked. I agree with what JustDan said. Even when I (a musician) go to see another (local) musician they become a bit more while they are playing, it's like a role that we slip into (audience and performer). For the non-musician I imagine that's multiplied. It's always bugged me when I see big-time performers come out in super-bland attire that even your uncle wouldn't wear to Steinmart...not looking for everyone to dress up like Gwar but make a bit of an effort. Or maybe they did and it's too subtle for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Now Rick has the look! [video:youtube] '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I just sit in the back and hide behind my gear. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/miller2013-5_zps53893a7c.jpg But if I have to bee seen pretty lights can help. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/Hag-0070513_zps02ddaca2.jpg "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 So back in the day, the shag hair was the look .... and today no hair is the look .. Christ, I'm 0 for 2 ..... There are ways to overcome. Me in my old band: http://www.elzeonline.com/mpforum/Dan_point.jpg Me in my current band: http://elzeonline.com/mpforum/Dan_Sax.jpg (though my head needs a clean shave in the latter) Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Never had "The Look"... so Piss off! Me in my very old band... (at 15 years old) http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/hammonddave/DJatBCCDharmaGig_zps65ae860a.jpg Me in my last band... (at 57... the hat helps... I think..). http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/hammonddave/DJattheB3Doheny_zpsebb745b3.jpg '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmammal Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Ha, pic #2 looks exactly like me in the jazz group at the country club gig I talked about a couple weeks ago. That was the tennis club where we got shut down after the first set because we wern't loud enough and they brought in a DJ doing Gangnam Style and Electro Dance stuff. I'm thinking if we looked and played more like pic #1 that wouldn't have happened. But who knows that could have been too old for those 25 somethings too. Bob Hammond SK1, Mojo 61, Kurzweil PC3, Korg Pa3x, Roland FA06, Band in a Box, Real Band, Studio One, too much stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmp Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I just sit in the back and hide behind my gear. Way to go. I do that whenever I can get away with it. Dress me in black and hide me in back. Last December after chopping off a couple of feet of hair. http://b3and88.com/img/yikes.png I chopped off much of the rest a couple of months ago. --wmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opdigits Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Dressing for success is a tenet that works well in any professional situation. If nobody is driving it within or for a band it's probably because it is happening intuitively, or perhaps it simply hasn't been an issue, which could be good or bad. For me, a three piece suit works well as I play mostly Blues these days. Simple, elegant and classic. Nobody told me there'd be days like these... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 My band hits pretty hard into the 40+ "Cougar" market which often consists of people celebrating their 40th or 50th birthday parties and usually a bunch of crazy ones in the crowd. We're not fashion models, but the majority of the band has been deemed (by 4 out of 5 independent consultants LOL) "not too hard on the eyes," plus we have a huge amount of energy on stage. I have always thought it is important to dress "rock star" and stand out from the crowd, regardless of how many people are in the audience or how casual the gig may feel. I think "The Look" helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Yeah, if anyone has seen Monster's Inc where Mike gets his face cut off on the magazine cover...that is me. I start way in the back to begin with, then if the place has a pillar, or hanging plant etc that will block my face in pics. And I'm perfectly ok with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawai James Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Matching threads is the way to go... http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8412/rc5u.jpg Employed by Kawai Japan, however the opinions I express are my own. Nord Electro 3 & occasional rare groove player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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