Over the past few months I have been trying to get back into playing live. I guess its strange that it isn't such a part of my routine of my project as I feel it should be. The classic way of getting out there and spreading the word. "Look it's me and I'm doing music!".
As a person standing on stage with a guitar and singing songs it's easy to be mistaken as a musician. A singer-songwriter musician. Something I'm not too keen on getting mixed up in. But then again I do write songs and then go and sing them. How is one supposed to expect anything more from this simple format. I had an acoustic guitar and then I added a delay pedal to the chain to jazz things up a bit (not literally). Still not enough. So I went electric, feeling smug with my guitar and amp, and also a few more pedals. Maybe I still wasnt getting the message across, so I bought another amp. Two amps in stereo! Now this will surely do the job and make everything ok. However I still required more, so a loop pedal was brought in to assist me in playing some drum loops I'd made. Damn, now this is a rig! All this shitting equipment. It certainly sounds great, but it's a huge pain in the elbows to transport to a gig - going by public transport very nearly killed me the other day. But I still end up being a person standing there and singing some songs he wrote. Maybe I should just go back to simpler times with an acoustic guitar and a pedal or two. Maybe I need a drummer or a full 16-piece band. Maybe all this equipment I have is there to make up for something I lack as a performer. Or maybe it legitimatelly works to try and set me apart and get my own sound going. Maybe I've just simply not played enough yet to find the magic juice. I'm proud of the album I made 'Go Dream'. I worked my ass of trying to mix the bastard and find the right arrangements. I also shot myself in the foot trying to realise any of it live… it's simply not possible as one man. With a few gimmicks, delay pedals, and drum loops something of the mood can be summoned and can occasionally entertain a few people. I think I have to explore the area of compromise. Take enjoyment from the stripped back nature of my limits. Perhaps it will lead to more natural directions. I'm working on it...
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