Stage Presence - Do You Have Any?

[xilddx]

What's your approach to 'stagecraft'? I used to read about this a lot back in the 80s in the music mags, but I didn't really know what it meant.

Do you make an effort to move about, interact with your fellow band members, dress up a bit, and is it an effort or do you do it naturally. Do you ham it up a bit and enjoy it, or do you dread having to get on a stage and be an entertainer? AND WHY?

For me I love dressing up a bit, moving about, and it's partly natural and partly deliberate, but I really love being on a stage. Oddly, it's the place I feel most comfortable and safe, and it's probably because I'm a anxious nervous type of person and consequently I need attention and affirmation. I also grew up on glam and prog rock and that feeds the total tart within me

So is the gig a big event for you with all it entails? Or is it just another place to play music?

[chrismuzz]

I used to stand and stare at my fretboard for the entire gig, until I saw how much fun other bands were having on stage, and how much the energy bounces off onto the audience! I rather enjoy moving about all over the place, headbanging, interacting with people and all that stuff, and don't mind sacrificing perfect playing for it. Live music is about the atmosphere after all.. besides it's rare that people notice/remember a f***up here and there

[charic]

I'll be watching this eagerly, funnily enough at a recent "battle of the bands" type thing we were marked down for not having much of a stage presence but we're playing light indie/folk/acoustic stuff and there was no room to move on stage which made it all a little bit difficult

At the last cerberus cell (death metal) gig we had a great time of it, I was getting in the punters faces, shouting at them (they were shouting back) and ended up with most of the crowd on the stage with us at the end

[the_skezz]

Always moved about - might look like a pillock doing it but at least people seem to notice. Happens naturally if the gig's going well, sometimes have to force it if I'm not quite feeling it - means a couple of cock-ups here and there as I'm not focusing on the playing so much, but good enough for rock and roll

[Big_Stu]

I once read that Blackbeard the pirate used to put long twists of brown paper fuses under the crown of his hat & light them just before he went into battle - brown paper smokes rather than burn. Nor did "Jack Sparrow" invent having little red ribbons at the end of tiny plaits under his ears, when my hair was long enough.



................ and that's all I have to say about that.

[51m0n]

I look like a fat bloke in a white T-shirt who needs dancing lesson, if not gurning lessons (neanderthal would be unnecessarily complimentary re the odd shapes I squeeze my visage into whilst playing), I move like a well overweight ostrich, my head bobs back and forward like a chicken after seed, and I do this weird little kick of my right foot every now and then at random.

Dont really care though, I'm giving it my best to bring the funk, I'm not stationary by any means, and its highly entertaining if you are in need of comical light relief (I've seen video evidence, its hysterical!)....

[Dave Vader]

Yep, always done it naturally, and had no idea I was doing it.

Management were in at rehearsal last night trying to tell us how to do the "stage presence" thing (seems like a load of old tosh to me, having to tell people how to do it, but hey ho, I'm not in charge) and apparently I have it in spades without knowing it.

[BigRedX]

Do you really need to ask?

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/BigRedX.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/378184_281357718635147_688027078_n.jpg[/IMG]

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While I also like to craft recordings in the studio, for me live is really what it's all about and the chance to interact directly with our audience.

Like Nigel, I grew up on glam and then punk rock, so for me the idea of not looking my best and putting on a performance when I play live is totally alien. However I don't really "dress up" for gigs. What I wear on stage is only a slightly exaggerated version of what I wear the rest of the time that I am in public.

IMO giving value when you play live is more important than ever, especially since rock/pop music is moving towards a model where the live performance is the main product rather than the recording. Those bands who can't see the benefit of doing more than just playing the songs loud are going to get left behind.

[TheRev]

I've been thinking about this recently as apparently I look a bit miserable on stage.
Thing is, I can't exactly jump about and stalk the stage with a double bass, so what do I do?

Edited April 2, 2013 by TheRev

[BigRedX]

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1364897681' post='2032239']
I've been thinking about this recently as apparently I look a bit miserable on stage.
Thing is, I can't exactly jump about and stalk the stage with a double bass, so what do I do?
[/quote]

None of the Rockabilly/Psychobilly bands that we play with ever have a problem with the double bass player being boring on stage.

[bremen]

I get a lot more attention playing upright than I ever did prancing about with a bass guitar!

[Bilbo]

I have no stage presence whatsoever and stand at the back with a face like a slapped arse. Not because I am pissed off but because I actually DO have a face like a slapped arse.

[RockfordStone]

i move around and interact with the crowd, other members etc as much as i can, i used to hide away at the back a bit, but then i grew into it.

a lot of it comes from confidence, both in what you are playing and yourself.

i've been known to disappear into the crowd at times, in fact there is a picture somewhere of me in the crowd and the rest of the band on the stage... cos im odd like that

[EBS_freak]

I have better stage presence than bar presence. I can never get served...

I find that I am better with a wireless system now, I tend to go for walkies and ham it up with different band people across the stage.

Edited April 2, 2013 by EBS_freak

[Low End Bee]

I do what I can. I always try to get a bit of eye contact with the audience and interact with our singer/guitarist. I took advantage of the 30 foot curly lead to leave the stage have a wander around the audience at our last gig. That was fun. I need to perfect that.

Nothing sends me to the bar quicker than 3-5 stationary band members looking at their shoes.

[chris_b]

Stage craft?

Oh dear!

I wish it wasn't so, but I make John Entwistle look animated.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I used to do various rock poses, talk to crowd members while playing.
Waving to people and moving around constantly.
Mainly through nerves.also ,I've always believed that you have to look like you are enjoying yourself( even when you are not!) always played witha smile .
The good feedback I got from every gig must have meant I was doing something right

[Lozz196]

Given space, I`ll run about, all over the stage, but unfortunately don`t usually play places where that`s possible.

In The Daves we all wear the same - black skinny jeans, black shirts, DMs. Gives an identity with everyone wearing the same.

In The Tuesday Club most of the band wear army officers jackets, and The Minx wears a Russian Army outfit. I have a "spiv" look. We`ve modelled ourselves on Dads Army.

To both bands, performance also means looking like "the band".

But whichever band I`m with, I try not to look at the fretboard if possible, smile, make eye-contact, and even when not doing vocs, sing along sometimes with the songs. If a band look like they`re having fun, it usually transfers to the audience. Likewise if they look miserable so-and-so`s.

[TheRev]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1364897801' post='2032241']


None of the Rockabilly/Psychobilly bands that we play with ever have a problem with the double bass player being boring on stage.
[/quote]

I am NOT standing on my bass..... I'd flatten the bugger.

[bartelby]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1364897801' post='2032241']
None of the Rockabilly/Psychobilly bands that we play with ever have a problem with the double bass player being boring on stage.
[/quote]

They're usually the most entertaining one!

[bremen]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1364899712' post='2032261']
Stage craft?

Oh dear!

I wish it wasn't so, but I make John Entwistle look animated.
[/quote]

You, Entwistle and Family Man Barrett. Must be doing something right ;-)

[Dr.Dave]

I doubt anyone's ever forgotten seeing me on stage - that's by design and I'm still getting better at it.

Stage 'presence'.... I really do feel at home on stage , I'm totally comfortable there and look forward to being there. I don't belong in a crowd - I don't know how to do that. I just feel weird and unsettled and want to get on the stage to safety. I suppose with feelings like that I must have a degree of presence either naturally (unlikely imho) or learned.

[Dad3353]

Stagecraft..? Is this for art or for entertainment..?
I have tried, in the past, jumping around and looning, but it affected my playing too much, so now I stay behind the drums. Sometimes, in the exciting bits, I wave my arms about. What more do you need..?
Stage antics bring back distant memories of the Pink Fairies. The drummer (a certain 'Twink'...) would climb up to the top of the PA rig and pretend he was tripping enough to 'fly' off. He never did (or, at least, I never saw him hurt himself badly...). He would also use his drum throne as a phallic object and fornicate with his kit. I don't have the physique for that sort of thing. Staid, that's my 'presence'; staid.

[peteb]

Clown Whores... the lot of you...!

[LiamPodmore]

I'm always interacting with someone when i'm on stage. Whether that's another bend member, or usually the crowd as there's no room 'on stage' so i end up somewhere else. I like simplicity when i'm gigging, so i can put all my focus on putting on a good show and not playing everything absolutely perfectly or which effect do i need next.

Liam