Going out as a solo performer?

benmurray85

Has anyone ever done it? Would be interested in hearing some real world feedback.

Ive been in bands for years and done Ok. Always been the singer however last year I completely lost my voice. In fairness Ive never been much of a decent singer, I shout and sometimes its in tune but that has always gone with the sort of indie bands Ive been in. In fairness it worked quite well! However this leads me to my first issue - Im not sure I can "dial back" what little voice I have left in order for that to translate to a solo set. Im even considering taking singing lessons but probably wont wind up doing that!

My thought process is this. I dont really fancy the full band thing again but I'd like to do something at weekends again and could do with earning a little cash. I reckon I could get some different gig venues? Maybe more bars, cafes etc? The pub scene around our way is dead now - theres a few still doing well but they are very much classic rock orientated which I have zero intention of doing!

Anyways Im balbbering. give me a shout if youve tried it!

lloyd

I've never done it, my voice isn't good enough IMO.

For me as a watcher/listener, you've gotta be good at singing and do more than the obvious open chord strumming as that gets boring for me.

I like people who do it well, those that don't bore me to tears, I'd prefer a CD.

EricTheWeary

lloyd;1004527" said:

For me as a watcher/listener, you've gotta be good at singing and do more than the obvious open chord strumming as that gets boring for me.

I like people who do it well, those that don't bore me to tears, I'd prefer a CD.

I don't disagree but having seen people pretty much shout along to backing tracks for £300 I'm not sure the required standard is huge.

There was a chap who used to sing at my FIL's care home. Did a nice job, came across well, would dance with an old lady if they wanted. I think he got £500 for a couple of sets in an afternoon. There's a chap I've met who does a solo or a duo doing ska stuff, not sure his guitar is even plugged in and the singing is dire. However, he does all the dressing up and banter and gets two or three gigs week in and out, some of which through an agency I've had band bookings through so I know they are about £300.

I think there is money in it but sorting out the right set list, decent sounding backing tracks through a portable PA and having the banter all seem more important than musical talent. Up the corner of a coffee shop playing for tips might be less onerous but not much money in it.

lloyd

EricTheWeary said:

lloyd;1004527" said:

For me as a watcher/listener, you've gotta be good at singing and do more than the obvious open chord strumming as that gets boring for me.

I like people who do it well, those that don't bore me to tears, I'd prefer a CD.

I don't disagree but having seen people pretty much shout along to backing tracks for £300 I'm not sure the required standard is huge.

There was a chap who used to sing at my FIL's care home. Did a nice job, came across well, would dance with an old lady if they wanted. I think he got £500 for a couple of sets in an afternoon. There's a chap I've met who does a solo or a duo doing ska stuff, not sure his guitar is even plugged in and the singing is dire. However, he does all the dressing up and banter and gets two or three gigs week in and out, some of which through an agency I've had band bookings through so I know they are about £300.

I think there is money in it but sorting out the right set list, decent sounding backing tracks through a portable PA and having the banter all seem more important than musical talent. Up the corner of a coffee shop playing for tips might be less onerous but not much money in it.

I'm sure there is money to be made by less talented people, I guess it depends on the place and clientele, pissed up punters will be happy with open chords and wonderwall.

benmurray85

hmmmm a bit to think about, thanks guys. I think I might test the waters at some jam nights before I go any further with it. My only issue with that is Ive been to jam nights and seen people that are truly shocking go down well! I find it hard to trust the judgement of drunk people b ut I guess at the end of the day thats the audience so maybe Im being too picky!!!

Would also be interested to hear anyones advice on a small, portable, reasonably priced PA that one short person would be able to lift around as I guess thats one of the advantages of a band that Im going to lose! 

maltingsaudio

lloyd said:

I'm sure there is money to be made by less talented people, I guess it depends on the place and clientele, pissed up punters will be happy with open chords and wonderwall.

As per above leave your self respect at the door sing what the audience wants to hear and enjoy your self. It is quite amusing to watch what you can get away with with a drunk crowd out for a good time, it may not be subtle but it can bring in some dosh!

Ps little tip try to get bookings in venues where the clientele is about your age or older. A 50 something trying to entertain a crowd of 20 year olds with covers is a very uphill struggle

Jimbro66

benmurray85 said:

Has anyone ever done it? Would be interested in hearing some real world feedback.

Ive been in bands for years and done Ok. Always been the singer however last year I completely lost my voice. In fairness Ive never been much of a decent singer, I shout and sometimes its in tune but that has always gone with the sort of indie bands Ive been in. In fairness it worked quite well! However this leads me to my first issue - Im not sure I can "dial back" what little voice I have left in order for that to translate to a solo set. Im even considering taking singing lessons but probably wont wind up doing that!

My thought process is this. I dont really fancy the full band thing again but I'd like to do something at weekends again and could do with earning a little cash. I reckon I could get some different gig venues? Maybe more bars, cafes etc? The pub scene around our way is dead now - theres a few still doing well but they are very much classic rock orientated which I have zero intention of doing!

Anyways Im balbbering. give me a shout if youve tried it!

You don't say whether you are thinking of going 'naked' - man, guitar and mic, or the full works with pre-recorded backing tracks. The latter will probably get you more paid work but it might feel like you've still got a bands-worth of gear to lug around. Quite a bit of work to get decent backing tracks together too. Depends on the style of music and venues you have in mind.

I chose the 'naked' route because I'm not a fan of backing tracks (each to their own) but after years of lugging tons of gear around, which I still do for occasional band gigs, the thought of turning up at venues carrying no more than a quality acoustic guitar, with the PA often supplied by the venue, really appealed. There's not so much money in it but loads of enjoyment. Depends what you want really.

Just as a p.s. - The thing I found hardest at first was being the guy in the spotlight. After years of playing guitar in bands and adding just backing vocals I suddenly found that I was now the 'frontman' with nowhere to hide. It takes some getting used to.

thomasross20

Oh man I couldn't imagine singing the same old crap even for decent money. 

I shake up and adapt a lot of rock songs for acoustic... would love to do that but my voice isn't there.

thecolourbox

I'd love to do this as well, I'd love to think there was a market for my vaguely Jeff Buckley influenced one man guitar and voice type offering but I'm not sure in this part of the world (birmingham) where I'd even look to find somewhere that would book those kind of acts. The venues around here that have gigs on tend to have either the usual pub rock bands or the uptempo shouty indie bands that try and be trendy.

The so-called coffee shop type gigs (again like what Jeff Buckley used to do, check the album Live at Sine), I'm yet to experience anywhere?

benmurray85

thecolourbox said:

I'd love to do this as well, I'd love to think there was a market for my vaguely Jeff Buckley influenced one man guitar and voice type offering but I'm not sure in this part of the world (birmingham) where I'd even look to find somewhere that would book those kind of acts. The venues around here that have gigs on tend to have either the usual pub rock bands or the uptempo shouty indie bands that try and be trendy.

The so-called coffee shop type gigs (again like what Jeff Buckley used to do, check the album Live at Sine), I'm yet to experience anywhere?

This is exactly the sort of angle that Id love to come at it from but I feel the same as you. There's little market for that round here. There is quite a few open mic nights locally that can be a bit "avante guarde" where I reckon it would actually go down well but obviously thats zero cash! Something that I'm definitely going to try though!

firepaulmusic

I've done both the full band thing and solo for years now. My best advice for solo gigs is to do it with conviction, loud enough to get some feeling into it and rehearse well. If you lose your way in a track there's pretty much no recovery! I make my own tracks so they all sound like the same production. I've never had any luck using 'pro' tracks as they sound lifeless to me. Also I use a full PA system which is hard work to set up and transport but I think worth it. Top of the tree in the south west for solo performers was a guy called Al Hodge who was Leo Sayers guitarist all through the 70's and 80's.

IvisonGuitars

I've done it professionally for around 2 years now, since I stopped touring full time. By 'it' I mean gigging Solo with Acoustic/Vocals.

I have a regular circuit of pubs plus the occasional wedding/birthday etc around 2-3 times a week. I play all the usual 'family favourites', I mainly try and stick to 60's/70's stuff although I do throw in a few modern-ish covers if the audience requires it.

I was very nervous about doing it solo have spent years in bands and duos but after the first couple of gigs it was fine. I personally really enjoy it, keeps me gigging, my voice 'fit' (it's a muscle after all) and being solo is good money. It's helped me pay my mortgage and funded some nice guitars along the way. Many venues in my area - Worcestershire - don't have the budget for bands anymore and are much more receptive to booking solo acts.

One piece of advice I would give is don't go into it expecting it to fulfill any major artistic cravings, many of the pubs I do don't care if it's me or all 4 Beatles on the stage/under the dartboard. You are there to entertain and keep the punters in the pub drinking, that's essentially the deal. 

Unless you are playing a venue/night that wants it, forget original material, people generally aren't interested. I have my own original band for that. They want recognisable songs that they can sing along to. Sometimes you will be talked over and ignored and you'll do the set and just think of the money or what you're going to order from the takeaway on the way home, other times you will have the whole room jumping and it'll be a cracking night, these gigs play themselves.

In January of this year I also started working for an Oak Framing company and, given that it's a rather physical job, I have to really dig deep to get the enthusiasm to get in, get changed and then head out for a gig on a Thursday or Friday night but I like the challenge! 

It's certainly not for everyone but I personally love it. I'm a musician, I'm playing 2/3 nights a week and I'm getting a good wedge for it. What more does one want?

Yes, of course I'd like to be touring 6 months of the year through the U.S. doing my own stuff but that's not happening at the minute so this suits me just fine. 

Danny1969

@miserneil ;

Did you find it hard at first ? I mean I did a due for a couple of years and I found that kinda more exposed and daughting at first compared to turning up at a venue with the small army of a band and some crew. 

I do acoustic gigs now but it's in a duo or trio, never had the voice for solo unless there's a market for Mark Knopler type mumbling of the the classics 

IvisonGuitars

@Danny1969 It was definitely daunting for the first few gigs. I've been gigging since I was 12 (35 now) and it had always been with at least a 3 piece band or an acoustic duo. In actual fact, I think at the moment I prefer it. It frees me up to take requests from the audience or if a song is shouted out, I can fumble my way through it without having to shout out chords to a band or have another guy trying to follow along.

The thing I miss most with the solo gigs is the camaraderie with other band members or to be able to tip them the nod and say "cor, look at her!" Etc ;-)

Jimbro66

Great advice from @miserneil.

Danny1969 said:

.........I never had the voice for solo unless there's a market for Mark Knopler type mumbling of the the classics 

@firepaulmusic said 'My best advice for solo gigs is to do it with conviction, loud enough to get some feeling into it.' That's how you will need to approach it. Knopfler mumbling won't get you far I suspect Before taking the step of performing solo I recorded myself singing and playing while I built up a set and didn't particularly like what I heard. Regardless, and with more than a bit of pushing from my very encouraging missus, I went to a few open-mics and found that I sang out a lot more than I did at home. Recordings of those performances showed that I could sing more strongly without any waivering and with far more feeling than at home. Although still lacking some confidence in those early days, over the three years since then my voice has developed and I perform confidently. Why not practice a few songs solo then get a few friends round to perform to them. Give it your best shot and ask them for honest constructive comments. Then build on that.

Danny1969

Jimbro66 said:

Great advice from @miserneil.

Danny1969 said:

.........I never had the voice for solo unless there's a market for Mark Knopler type mumbling of the the classics 

@firepaulmusic said 'My best advice for solo gigs is to do it with conviction, loud enough to get some feeling into it.' That's how you will need to approach it. Knopfler mumbling won't get you far I suspect Before taking the step of performing solo I recorded myself singing and playing while I built up a set and didn't particularly like what I heard. Regardless, and with more than a bit of pushing from my very encouraging missus, I went to a few open-mics and found that I sang out a lot more than I did at home. Recordings of those performances showed that I could sing more strongly without any waivering and with far more feeling than at home. Although still lacking some confidence in those early days, over the three years since then my voice has developed and I perform confidently. Why not practice a few songs solo then get a few friends round to perform to them. Give it your best shot and ask them for honest constructive comments. Then build on that.

I sing about 4 or 5 songs in the sets I do with one of my bands but it tends to be things like Town called Malice, Dekota, Parklife etc ... stuff that's not particular taxing or pitch critical. Your certainly right about the better performance in a loud live situation than at home, I can't sing quietly at all, I have to do it quite loud to get the pitch