Originally Posted by Gravedigger
Right now we have 16 songs we play and improvise off. A lot of the more proggy stuff, or more heavy fusion stuff I kept off this video, because the reality
is that most music "booking" folks might be slightly or really turned off by the more "outside the box" stuff we do... Like this video that we used to enter a music video contest. I would NOT send this to a dinner club.. lol
(Vertigo)
In a live situation, I really try to read the room, and with the smaller gigs, it's very easy to do, by just looking around and feeling the reaction from the audience. Live playing is a very organic, real and direct experience for both us and the audience. If a few people are really digging some of the 5/4 grooves etc.. then I might call out a tune in 13/8 or the link I posted above (Vertigo) in 11/8 that our followers enjoy, but I might not play them at the dinner club if we only get a positive response from the countryish tune with slide guitar or the reggaeish tune we do, which are typically crowd pleasers to a more conservative audience. As Bill mentioned.. "Stealth" is a very real thing we are in collusion with!
It does feel like we are always walking a tightrope of sorts. From an artistic standpoint, I feel a responsibility to put our best foot forward and be true to ourselves as a band, and perform what we genuinely enjoy and feel passionate about. On the other hand, if we are being paid well, we are in a sense an employee of the booking agent or club owner and should deliver what they likely want (understandably). If we are doing a free gig, then we absolutely do what we want. In this dinner gig, I probably will keep Vertigo and Consequences of Infinity (A very abstract prog/fusion piece) off the menu lol.
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