You hear artists say, “Man, I live for that hour on stage!” Or “The audience fires me up; I play off of their energy.” Or “I come alive when I step onto that stage!”
What comes first though, audience energy or artist energy? If you are a new artist who doesn’t have a following yet, you may be lucky enough to tap into the crowd energy of the act you are opening for. But until you get those big opening act gigs, it will be up to you to sell yourself to an audience who doesn’t know you.
Your songs are certainly a huge part of what will draw an audience to you and build your fan base. But how will you get them to listen to your songs? Kim Copeland Productions has suggestions:
http://kimcopelandproductions.com/Articles/Performance/Performance_Energy.html
From Digital Rodeo | http://www.DigitalRodeo.com
[I can tell you – Artist Energy comes first! If you choose to sit down on the stage or just stroll on casually, your audience will react in the same way.]
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BRUNO MARS PERFORMS AN AMAZING NIRVANA, MICHAEL JACKSON, AND WHITE STRIPES MASH-UP
Bruno Mars is more than a pretty face. Watch as he and his crew perform an incredible mashup of Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and the White Stripes’s “Seven Nation Army.” [Live video]
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J.K. SIMMONS CHANNEL ‘WHIPLASH,’ – YELLS AT ‘SNL’ CASE IN DRUM-OFF
Oscar nominee J.K. Simmons has played a variety of characters, from the Farmers Insurance guy to the voice of the yellow M&M (Shocked? Us too). But it was Simmons’ tyrannical music conductor from “Whiplash” who came out when he hosted this week’s “Saturday Night Live.”
In Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash,” Simmons plays Terrence Fletcher, the kind of guy you don’t want to piss off or he just might throw a chair at your head. That’s pretty much what the “SNL” cast was subjected to on Saturday when Simmons, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Fletcher, brought them out to help play a song.
Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson, who were behind the drums, were the first victims to get yelled at for not playing at Simmons’ tempo (of course). Then, Leslie Jones served Simmons a taste of his own medicine. But the real hero was Fred Armisen, whose drumming brought out the sweet side of Simmons — it does exist!
The Huffington Post | By Erin Whitney
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/01/jk-simmons-snl-whiplash_n_6589190.html
[This is a really funny watch!]* * * * *
KENNY G CLAIMS HE HELPED INSPIRE THE STARBUCKS FRAPPUCCINO
The saxophonist and Starbucks investor says he played a role in convincing CEO Howard Schultz to bring the blended drink to Starbucks’s menu.
Kenny G is more than a jazzy saxophonist. He’s also apparently a coffee revolutionary.
This week, the musician said in an interview with Bloomberg that as an early investor in Starbucks, he helped convince Howard Schultz to begin serving up Frappuccinos.
“At the beginning, Starbucks didn’t have anything but coffee. And there was another company, Coffee Bean, that had something called ‘blended’ that was a sweet drink, and people were lined up around the block,” Kenny G says in the interview. “I would always call Howard and say, ‘Howard, there’s this thing that they do there that’s like a milkshake or whatever.’”
G invested in Starbucks when the company was still picking up steam, on the advice of his uncle, one of the company’s first investors. He reports that, while he didn’t know much about coffee, he was immediately impressed by Schultz, prompting him to invest in the man behind the company.
Today, the saxophonist says that the Frappuccino is his favorite Starbucks drink. With the blended drink going from G’s brainchild to a Starbucks go-to, we’ll have to wait and see if the self-described “sweet guy” will warm up new blends as Starbucks builds up its gourmet coffee offerings.
By Kate Taylor, Entrepreneur.com
http://fortune.com/2015/01/29/kenny-g-claims-he-helped-inspire-the-starbucks-frappuccino/