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<DIV>My nickel's worth (inflation),</DIV>
<DIV>I played restaurants and clubs for about 30 years.</DIV>
<DIV>Mostly with a quartet consisting of Trpt., Sax, Piano</DIV>
<DIV>and drums. (That's Piano not Keyboard!)</DIV>
<DIV>What is more, there was a time I booked 3 or 4</DIV>
<DIV>bands for various locations,under my name, at the</DIV>
<DIV>same time using sub-leaders.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>None of the above means I know what I am doing</DIV>
<DIV>but here is what worked for me.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I never used pre-conceived ideas for sets nor set</DIV>
<DIV>lists. Instead I would eyeball the audience. That was</DIV>
<DIV>for age groups, attention (are they eating or waiting)</DIV>
<DIV>etc. I had to get a feel for what would grab their attention</DIV>
<DIV>and get a reaction. If I saw tables with older people I</DIV>
<DIV>knew a nice slow ballad would make it happen.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A short story. I worked with a big band in Houston. I was</DIV>
<DIV>called by a buddy on Long Island that the U. of H. was</DIV>
<DIV>looking for a "Mew York" style band (whatever that means)</DIV>
<DIV>for their New York Festival. I turned the phone number over</DIV>
<DIV>to the leader I was working with. (mistake number one)</DIV>
<DIV>The gig was on the Mexican border about 3 1/2 hours south</DIV>
<DIV>of Houston. (Oh well) 5 sax, 4 trpts, 4 bones, 4 rhythm +</DIV>
<DIV>three or four vocalists. I suggested he ask for $22,000.00.</DIV>
<DIV>Nope! he signed a contract for $100.00 per man + travel expenses </DIV>
<DIV>(another $100.00) and paid hotel. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O.K.it would be an experience. I drove down with the drummer and</DIV>
<DIV>one of the singers. (we split the cost) and I found a great Oriental</DIV>
<DIV>buffet, half way to the gig. It was so good that we stopped there on </DIV>
<DIV>the way home also.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The party planners booked two bands. Two stages. We set up on one</DIV>
<DIV>and the "authentic New York Latin group" set up across the way.</DIV>
<DIV>I learned that they were flown in at the school's expense, free
boarding</DIV>
<DIV>and $1,000.00 per man! They weren't even New Yorker's but I never
told.</DIV>
<DIV>They were warming up with a two chord mambo and I kinda joined them</DIV>
<DIV>from across the hall. My band leader, whom shall remain nameless,
almost</DIV>
<DIV>had a heart attack."Don't Do That!" I stopped. - The hall was empty,</DIV>
<DIV>just people setting up tables, some security and us.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We set up stands, lights, audio, microphones, music books and left
for</DIV>
<DIV>dinner. - 3 hours prior to the affair.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When the dinner party / dance began the leader called "The Lady In
Red".</DIV>
<DIV>He wanted to show the Latin group what we could do.</DIV>
<DIV>O.M.G. </DIV>
<DIV>I screamed "No!" Those guys will play modern day salsa with
electronic gear, lights,</DIV>
<DIV>special effects and more!. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I played this dreary chart in high school, 1948.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We played "The Lady In Red" with no calves, no maracas, no bongos, no
timbale!</DIV>
<DIV> Yikes!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Through out the first set I pleaded "play a ballad". There were lots of
folks who</DIV>
<DIV>looked like alumni and perhaps we could get them to dance.</DIV>
<DIV>So, it was a disaster. He had to show me that he knew more of what to
do.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Our second set. The ballroom is full of lively people. The decor is paper
machete </DIV>
<DIV>images of the Empire State Bldg., the Statue Of Liberty, a mock up of</DIV>
<DIV>Tines Square... on and on! He calls "Chicago" not the standard but from
the</DIV>
<DIV>Broadway show. Also - get ready with "All That Jazz"</DIV>
<DIV>From the piano bench: Nooooooooooooooooo!</DIV>
<DIV>Try "New York New York", you know, the sinatra tune.</DIV>
<DIV>Nothing doing. He refused. Our audience reacted with a large round of
indifference.</DIV>
<DIV>I gave up and just followed directions for the rest of the night.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I know that best, I am a trouble maker.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>End of the night: about thirty couples at tables talking.</DIV>
<DIV>The other band left an hour earlier.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Our guys were packing up.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I didn't ask - I decided to play "Polka Dots And Moonbeams"</DIV>
<DIV>nice relaxed pace. Don't you know - I had people getting up</DIV>
<DIV>to dance. The bass player joined in, the drummer stopped</DIV>
<DIV>packing up and joined in, a tenor man asked "can I?" and</DIV>
<DIV>off we went into musician heaven.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After "faking" a few more tunes, I like doing one or at most</DIV>
<DIV>two choruses and then segue, we were getting requests!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>End result: after "closing time" we played for an extra hour</DIV>
<DIV>taking requests and tips! </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That hour, for me, made the whole trip worth while.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Back to the subject (in the subject heading).</DIV>
<DIV>The quartet I headed in the 50's and 60's was primarily a "show"
band.</DIV>
<DIV>We played two dance sets and two shows a night. The shows consisted</DIV>
<DIV>of an emcee, a comic, a singer, a dance team. a stripper and a female</DIV>
<DIV>impersonator. Many names acts broke in their new material with us.</DIV>
<DIV>The guys were good readers. We rehearsed the acts at a dinner table,</DIV>
<DIV>singing our parts, picking out the "difficult" parts. That meant key
changes,</DIV>
<DIV>tempo changes, endings, intros and on like that. We had five or more</DIV>
<DIV>acts, with three to five songs each - full rehearsal usually 15 to 30
minutes.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dance sets - at last:</DIV>
<DIV> My sax player claimed he couldn't fake tunes, he lied. </DIV>
<DIV>I was used to someone who could, so I started writing </DIV>
<DIV>charts in spiral books for the 4 instruments.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So, now we could fake a tune or two and then, at the same tempo</DIV>
<DIV>turn to the "book" and sound more organized.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I had arrangements in many tempos from ballads to peabodys,</DIV>
<DIV>show tunes to ragtine, t.v. themes to be-bop.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After a while you learn the "grabbers" and I chose them at the end of the
set.</DIV>
<DIV>You know - like "The Saints Go Marching In" or What A Wonderful
World".</DIV>
<DIV>As a matter of fact i don't know if we ever played either of those, just
using</DIV>
<DIV>the titles for examples. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I will tell you this, I know that the drummer and I sat all the time </DIV>
<DIV>and the other two could stand at will. I would only "stand" if</DIV>
<DIV>I decided to do A Jerry Lee or Little Richard impression.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I am a "ham" so despite my lousy voice I would sing. When the spirit hit
me</DIV>
<DIV>I would do impressions of George Shearing, Erroll Garner, Frankie
Carle,</DIV>
<DIV>Ray Charles, Nat Cole, Matt Dennis and others.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In conclusion (at last) Check your audience. Try to put yourself in
their</DIV>
<DIV>shoes. Then, please them and most importantly please yourself.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>P.S. I still have those combo charts and they still work. </DIV>
<DIV>Unfortunately,I don't.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheers,<BR>Al</DIV>
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