Always good to try to arrange a visit to the target venue without instrument or intent to perform. If hyou can do so on a day when others are entertaining, so much the better. Gives you a chance to not only scope out what is already working, what the audience is like, but also a good idea what the audience might expect. And you may just find a few songs that are favorites of the target audience and will have time to see if you can incorporate some or all of those into your act. Telephone call to the management, followup with personal visit, but don't get in the way of all the work these people have to do, make certain they know that you are there to help them, not the other way around. Biggest tip I can give, LOVE YOUR AUDIENCE -- something that we should do everywhere and at all times, but in this case is magnified even more by the situation.

If your performance is good, you will find that genre or song choice is not as problematic as it first appears. Of course, there's a caveat there, not very likely that you'd get called back after an all-heavy-metal performance at the retirement home. <grin>

One big tip I can offer: Situations where the folks can participate with you in some fashion work extremely well. This might include a few relatively simple but well known songs that cross generations and just about everyone at any age can get a kick out of joining in for a sing-along. Standard Hymns are something to consider adding to your repertoire, at least a few. Amazing Grace, almost everybody knows and loves to some degree. Things like that go over well. "Its a Wonderful World" is another that I've found to work in these environments almost insanely well.

When performing the sing-alongs, it is important to start at a moderate and easy Tempo, and play in a way that not only keeps that tempo throughout, but makes it easy for the amateur to sing along with you. Not the time for showing off fancy guitarwork then.

I always caution people not to attempt to change themselves or attempt to try to play genres that they have never played or are unfamiliar with simply because of the belief that the older audience, or really any audience for that matter, might be more familiar with the style and content. Any audience will be able to tell if you are not being true to your school. Better to take from that which you know well, tempered with a little bit of common sense as to the situation, and work up the show from that standpoint. They're old, they're certainly not simple or stupid. Matter of fact, the combined years of wisdom in these places always thrills me, I do recommend allocating time to just sit and talk with the people after performing. There's value in doing that. And one time this old fellow I was visiting took out a pen and wrote down a name and phone number, told me to call his son for work. His son turned out to be the second generation owner-operator of a posh restaurant and I got a GIG.


--Mac

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