We just played two 4 hour gigs at the same venue this weekend. We do 4 hours straight - no break (we're compensated for that) and probably repeated fewer than 10 'club favorite' songs from night to night that were requested or we know they will definitely want.

When we play our weekly marina gig, we'll probably play a dozen of the most currently popular ones and the others will be all different, because the needs of that audience is different.

Later in the week it's an RV park, and it depends on who is in the park, but it's usually much harder rock and country than our retirement community gigs.

I don't do set lists, but call songs as my intuition and experience tells me is the best for the moment. I can switch to the next song with a couple of key taps and start the new song without a seconds hesitation if need be http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html to keep dancers on the floor.

In order to make a living playing music around here, we found job security in being chameleons. There are a few gigs we won't take because it's worse to be mis-booked than not booked; (1) we can't do an all Country gig, while we know a lot, we don't know all the latest country hits and (2) we can't do a young person gig, we don't have the desire to learn EDM and Rap - not that there is anything wrong with it, I just think we are not able to do a good job of it.

I'm not a rock musician, I'm not a country musician, I'm not a blues musician, I'm not a jazz musician, I'm not a classical musician, I'm not a salsa musician, I'm a musician. I can learn just about anything.

And it's fun putting on different musical 'hats'. It takes a different expression and an interesting head shift to go from a Country song to a Standard to Hard Rock to Reggae to Easy Listening to whatever. It's like having a varied food diet, but instead of food for my waistline, it's food for my soul. And variety is the spice of life.

So its 550 songs and counting. Had a request for some Dylan and Patty Page's Fever (although I like the Elvis Presley version better - and it's close enough). More musical adventures.

And back on topic. The first laptop will have the backing track which I will make myself (I tried buying them, but I find if I make them myself, I understand the music better, which substitution chords are used, and it's in our key and our arrangement), and the second laptop will have either the words/chords oar a sheet music chart that I made in Encore.

Plus all the data will be on both computers so if one fails, I can play the track and read the music/words on one computer if need be.

Am I embarrassed to have the music/words in front of me? I was at first, after years of being in memorizing bands, but I got over it.

It's no worse of a tool than putting a capo on a guitar. The only tool I refuse to use is auto-tune, but that's another thread.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

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