PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic What constitutes live performance?

What is a singer, if not a musician? And what does a good singer do but sing? So, starting on that premise (which is where I start), what does a solo singer without a band do? What constitutes live performance in THIS context?

I have a good female friend here in Vienna, with international singing experience as a backing vocalist and lead performer, who only sings - sometimes fronting a band or a small 'orchestra', sometimes in a small gospel group with one simple guitar (mind you, the focus there is on vocal harmonies in any case) and sometimes she sings in clubs with a DJ (these songs are originals, not covers or standards). I love her voice and her performances but when she works solo, I can't help but wonder why it doesn't come across as karaoke (which, to all intents and purposes, it is, as there are no instruments being physically played).

On the forum here is a Dutchman called Mike Wever ('Mike Sings') and I have been lucky enough to meet up with him in Holland and go to one of his gigs with him. He had a friend with him acting as DJ and he sang covers with backing tracks. To me, that is karaoke but he gets away with it and everybody really enjoyed his performance. Mind you, it was really high energy and he really did work hard with it. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it was still karaoke, to my mind.

Recorded backing tracks haven't been around for that long in the grand scheme of things, so where would the following artists have got to if they had not managed to find bands to front: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Elvis, Cliff Richard, Davy Jones, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline, Diana Ross, etc, etc, etc? They certainly didn't play instruments, at least not in public. Would they have just ended up singing a capella like Janis Joplin did on 'Mercedes Benz'? Where would the music industry be today without these singers?

Me? I'm a singer. I play adequate guitar and have been known to play some nice leads, I can also play bass, but mainly I am a rhythm guitarist. I have 3 guitars - a strat, an acoustic and an Epiphone Sheraton. Although I do sing Folk from time to time, My preferred type of music to sing is Country and Country Rock - this needs a band. I need a band to front. I don't have one.

BUT... (and it is a very BIG but)

I am just one man. I have my own PA, a dedicated music laptop, my own mics and leads and sound cards and so on. I have over 10,000 professional karaoke backing tracks and over 30,000 music tracks by artists from ABBA to ZZ Top in Blues, Country, Rock, Jazz, etc. all on a USB hard drive. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to find the musicians I need or an already existing band to front. So what can I do?

To sing and play guitar solo is not really my scene. Though I can and have done it, I just don't like doing it and it seems too much like busking to me. Plus, I am a rhythm guitarist and I don't play fingerstyle or pick as my hands are (a) too big (b) losing power and grip due to neurological problems with trapped nerves in my spine. To sing to backing tracks seems too much like karaoke to me for solo public performance as an act so I just do not have the balls to try and pull that one off. So, does anybody have any realistic ideas as to how I can get round this situation?

For what its worth, I think karaoke is great fun, especially when done in the right environment with good singers (I don't mean the drunken wannabes who can't sing to save their lives and don't know when to shut up and stop hurting everybody's ears). I actually sing karaoke pretty regularly, with Austria's #1 Karaoke Club, and it is great for keeping 'the ear in' and keeping up public performance. In fact I am organising and will be running some karaoke sessions for free at local venues for those who are not in the normal way of things - alcoholics in rehab, prisoners, hospitals, etc. As far as work goes, I KJ (karaoke) and DJ when I can get a booking and it does pay better than performing solo, sorry to say.

My aversion generally speaking to solo singer/songwriter/guitarists is that, generally speaking, they are not particularly good at any of the 3 parts - singing, song writing or playing guitar - and I do empathise with those who are ready for the next act as soon as they are two chords in on the second three chord song. Not everybody is Bob Dylan or Joan Baez and so these people come across as buskers who have managed to come in off the street for once. They are not much better than the karaoke wannabes, with the exception that they actually do play an instrument on stage and as such can legitimately be labelled musicians, professional or not. I can honestly state this opinion as I am Chairman of the Vienna Folk Club (which I helped to set up) and we have an Open Mic night at least once a month. That said, I have actually met and heard several excellent singer/songwriter/guitarists throughout Western Europe who are the exceptions that prove the rule - many of them are now friends of mine.

So, lads and lasses, what's a poor boy to do? Primarily, I am a ballad singer and my own music is along the Country / Country Rock genre - this is not at its best when 'busking'... If you were in this situation, what would YOU do?

(PS - Sorry if this post comes across as a bit egotistical but I do think the subject is particularly relevant to my situation. Thanks for the understanding)