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I'm not a human jukebox


Synthaholic

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TBH, I have an opposing view. I provide a song menu to place on tables at solo gigs. Theres about 500+ or so on it and I have found that by giving folks this when they ask for a request they know it can be done. I have also found that getting audience members involved this way also improves the attention and enjoyment from their perspective.

 

For me, it makes the gig far more enjoyable. I do have a pre-prepared setlist too :D

 

This. ^^

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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I was once asked to play "Freebird" by a guy who was clearly too drunk to focus on the fact that there were two synths and no guitars in sight. Made me wish I had a Mace can filled with ether. Its 50/50 as to who I'd spritz, him or myself. :rolleyes:

 

Yup. I had a guy ask me for that song when I was playing solo accordion at a volunteer event. When I told him that it was not a song that could be played well on accordion, and I did not know it well anyway, he simply blew up. He sat down on the stage about one foot away from my feet, swearing, and the whole bit. "If you can't play Freebird, everything you do is trash." Then, "Why the **** can't you ******* play Freebird?!" For THIRTY MINUTES NON-STOP. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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Morbid - if you were laying down some smooth stylings at a swanky upscale venue and I asked you to bang out a wicked imnpression of "God Gave Rock n Roll To You" by KISS ... you would, right?

 

I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

 

and no, please don't substitute one of the several Chicken Dance songs.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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I used this approach:

 

"Do you take requests?"

"We sure do. We know every song ever written except one."

"Do you know Satan Gave Me A Taco?"

"That's the one."

 

It was good for a laugh, then I'd apologize for not knowing the tune. Seemed to work well.

9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it

 

 

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Morbid - if you were laying down some smooth stylings at a swanky upscale venue and I asked you to bang out a wicked imnpression of "God Gave Rock n Roll To You" by KISS ... you would, right?

 

I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

 

and no, please don't substitute one of the several Chicken Dance songs.

 

If it's not on the list (which is where the requests are SUPPOSED to come from), then generally I will not play it, because every song that I know well is on my list. That is why the have the list. Then I don't tend to get oddball requests much.

 

Now, if you asked me to play that song that you mentioned, in that environment, it would definitely be a NO. :D:D:facepalm:

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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I guess you are talking more about solo gigs, but for a band one way to avoid this is to not stop playing :) The audience keeps dancing and they can't get a word in :D We have been trying to cut out "dead time" by making mini-sets of tunes. One local band (used to, maybe still does) would call out 3 tunes out of their pool of songs and then they had to on-the-fly morph them together like Stars on 45 ;) The bandleader said that helped keep things interesting and challenging. We haven't done this, typically we just have one song end right into another. A recent example was Disco Inferno into Grapevine since they had a similar groove in C. (though we no longer play Grapevine, it just didn't go over well)
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Except that doesn't stop them from coming on stage and talking to you while your playing or stick a note on your board. This is my pet peeve, people will come up and start talking to you mid song!!!

Boards: Kurzweil SP-6, Roland FA-08, VR-09, DeepMind 12

Modules: Korg Radias, Roland D-05, Bk7-m & Sonic Cell

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Except that doesn't stop them from coming on stage and talking to you while your playing or stick a note on your board. This is my pet peeve, people will come up and start talking to you mid song!!!

 

This is true, and of course on top of things being loud on stage I have my IEMs in. Can't hear you, buddy. Fortunately this doesn't happen that often, and I'd say at least half of our normal stages I'm pretty much inaccessible in the back. Our lead singer has to put up with it though :)

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Except that doesn't stop them from coming on stage and talking to you while your playing or stick a note on your board. This is my pet peeve, people will come up and start talking to you mid song!!!

You would hate a piano bar gig.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

 

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