calling all lead singers!

[bassist4life2004]

So, here's a chance for lead singers to share some tips with eachother. 30% of any great performance is about the stage antics and banter that we use between songs if there is a guitar change taking place, or if your string-a-lings need to tune. There's either a 10 second pause between songs, or you start talking, cracking jokes, and things like that....

So, i guess what im trying to ask is, what do you do, as a lead singer, to fill that time between songs? What kind of jokes do you break out of your bag, and do you know any resources on this type of thing to give tips to other lead singers in this forum.

Normally I just go with the flow, have fun with the crowd, tell a dumb joke about tipping the bartender, things like that, to make the crowd laugh.

What do you do?

Discuss.

[Victor Synn]

In HF1, I have about 4 different bullet points I need to hit every set. Usually, this entails me talking about our website, tipping the bar staff, whoring merchandise (when available), and plugging our sponsor. After that, I throw in some banter about the upcoming song or joking with the crowd, etc. Usually within all that, I stay in character by playing up the sleazy lead singer deal that was big in the 80's, so some sexual innuendo is thrown in as well. I think the biggest thing about addressing the crowd is to do it as effectively and timely as you can. You don't want to drag on crowd talk for 5 minutes before the next song. No more than a minute is enough. My suggestion would be to buy, download, or stream some video of your favorite bands and their live performances and really watch to see what it is they do and take what you see and try and incorporate it into your night, but with all the things you need to do within your band. My teachers were Bret Michaels, Joe Elliott, David Coverdale, and Jani Lane. Just pick who you feel is a great frontman and try as best you can to copy their crowd handling style. Usually, if you are 50% of what they are, you're still a pretty good frontman at that point.

[DirtySanchez]

I usually ask if there are any Nickelback fans in the crowd, then when they start raising their hands and yelling, I ask them to kindly commit suicide. Either that or bitch about politics and work ethic, because thats what most of my song lyrics are about.

[bassist_25]

Other than a great voice and good vocal technique, the things I look for in a front person are

1. Confidence - This is the biggest thing when it comes to stage presence (or stage presents, if you prefer). I've seen bands whose front person literally looked scared to be up on stage. Technically, the venue owns the stage, but for that night, the stage is your house. You don't walk around scared in your own house, do you? Engage the audience.

2. The ability to turn on a crowd, not turn it off - It's a fine line between my first point and being arrogant. Sorry, arrogant musicians turn me off. And guess what, the audience knows. Fakeness, pretentiousness, arrogance: The audience knows if this is going on, and they will respond negatively to it. Also, front people who show signs of distress, especially because of disappointing crowd turn out, are a major no-no with me. I saw that JP even mentioned about this in one of his recent gig reviews. Visibly boo-hooing on stage because of low crowd turn out will definitely guarantee walking papers in any projects that I am involved with. It's the sign of a lousy front person. For reference on what to do, go see Norm Nardini. Last summer, I saw Norm with a rather sparse crowd at Burgi's. He still grabbed us all by the balls (and the females by the ovaries) and commanded the room. That's a kick-ass frontman!

3. Social intuition - A good front person needs to be able to read a crowd. If he/she is the one calling the songs, then he/she must know what's going to make the crowd react.

4. Look presentable - I may catch some shit for this, but yes, visual appearance matters! I'm not saying that your front person should look like Fabio or Shania Twain. What I am saying is that they should look put together and like they take care of themselves. Actually, that goes for everyone on stage. I've seen bands whose members looked like they just got off of a shift working at the textile factory with five-day stubble and old t-shirts that look like they haven't been washed in three weeks. Maybe I'm strange, but that shit bugs me. Also, Superman tshirts are optional, but are always a nice touch.

Anyways, that's just my opinion. Other than technical singing ability, I think these are the things that seperate real pro-level front people from the kareoke stars and people who sang solos in their high school choral productions.

[RiffRandell]

i say:

more ROCK!
less TALK!

[xfaehunterx]

I usually ask if there are any Nickelback fans in the crowd, then when they start raising their hands and yelling, I ask them to kindly commit suicide.

Haha.. nicceee XD

[songsmith]

Well, yeah, rocking is indeed preferable to talking, but it's a necessary evil. Even if you said nothing, people would just call you aloof or disconnected.
I do the bluegrass thing, and it's a completely different crowd outside a bar than in. In clubs, I can be a little more adult-oriented, but not too much. At festivals, the audience is usually a lot more savvy about the music, and they know what to expect. I try to be a bit sharper-witted and on my game, though it usually just ends up me being casual. At both shows, I try to educate the audience as to the history of the song we're about to do, or about bluegrass in general. Generally, if I mention a certain artist onstage, someone in the audience educates me. Grassers are as rabid as metalheads when it comes to knowing who sang what or who played with who.
Usually, I just kinda be me for a few seconds while somebody's tuning or changing strings. I used to do the metal frontman thing, but that's all about larger-than-life... bluegrass is more about doing a service to the song... we play it the same, audience or not.---->JMS

[Possessed]

When I did lead vocals for Rennis I would always try to find different places to stand other than the stage.
Of course standing in the back didn't really help much.
What I'm trying to say is I would scope out the venue for elevated areas like small walls or a ledge against the wall. I would then walk around the crowd while singing and jump up and sing from there for a while.
A few places even let me walk around on the bar.( Always ask the venue if you can do that first.)
I have also been carried around on a friends shoulders through the crowd.
Chicks like that kind of stuff. (They must have cause I always got my ass grabbed while being carried through them.)
Another great thing to do is right before a sexy song see if you can get some drunk chicks to dance on the bar and have a little prize for the sexiest dancer. Try to get them to show the thong or more and it makes for a very interesting evening. Just ask JP. I remember he was at a show at the old Shooter's in J-town when a band did that. He liked it as well.
Just my 1/2 cent 1/2 baked advice.

[metalchurch]

Songsmith, you sang metal?
Awesome, I didn't know that.

Geoff Tate, Don Dokken, Sebastian Bach, Tim Owens, Halford, Dickinson, Ralf Sheepers, and Ozzy are the singers I like. That's the Vocal style I would want in a band.
I know Ozzy's voice isn't the greatest, but there's just something about the way he sings that I like.
For me the front person has to be larger than life like you said, and just own the stage and audience.
Appearance is a plus, but it's really the sound that matters.

Like Victorsynn stated, just look at the bands from the 80's and 90's for inspiration, that's a time when it was definately happening.

David Lee Roth was over the top also. Sometimes too much.

[witchhunt]

Even if you said nothing, people would just call you aloof or disconnected.

Anybody ever calls me a loof, they better be ready for a fight.

[bassist4life2004]

In HF1, I have about 4 different bullet points I need to hit every set. Usually, this entails me talking about our website, tipping the bar staff, whoring merchandise (when available), and plugging our sponsor. After that, I throw in some banter about the upcoming song or joking with the crowd, etc. Usually within all that, I stay in character by playing up the sleazy lead singer deal that was big in the 80's, so some sexual innuendo is thrown in as well. I think the biggest thing about addressing the crowd is to do it as effectively and timely as you can. You don't want to drag on crowd talk for 5 minutes before the next song. No more than a minute is enough. My suggestion would be to buy, download, or stream some video of your favorite bands and their live performances and really watch to see what it is they do and take what you see and try and incorporate it into your night, but with all the things you need to do within your band. My teachers were Bret Michaels, Joe Elliott, David Coverdale, and Jani Lane. Just pick who you feel is a great frontman and try as best you can to copy their crowd handling style. Usually, if you are 50% of what they are, you're still a pretty good frontman at that point.

Good advice bro, i was actually hoping to get some feedback from you. I like the idea of taking hints from your favorite frontmen. I normally try to take a page out of some of my favorite singer's books, and create my own style from it, except for scott stapp, i dont lay down drunk on stage and forget lyrics.....that was only once, at a party where i was having alcohol forced on me . ANYWAY. I like to take anything from stage talk and movement styles from different artists and incorporate my own twist on them. Being more of a modern rock guy than anything, i look at bands like Nickelback, Creed, Disturbed, Drowning Pool, Pearl Jam, and STP for guidance (even though Scott Weiland dances like a bullfighter).

I think as far as stage presence and movement is concerned, Pearl Jam (back in the day) had one of the best live performances as far as grunge bands are concerned. I also take a look at 80's bands too, not only because we tend to do a lot of 80's songs, but because you will never find a live show like an 80's band can put on.

One thing that gets a crowd going, that i noticed, is if one guy is headbanging like crazy, you get down there and headbang just as hard, if not harder than he is, makes for good interaction and showmanship. Getting up on chairs and making eye contact with members of the audience is always a good thing to do too.

[Banned]

more ROCK!
less TALK!

Or both. It doesn't have to just be the singer's job to kill time between songs - the band can help out too. Extended intros rock. You can start the drumbeat to the next song while the singer talks to the crowd. If the drummer needs to work on something, you can get the crowd clapping and add bass or guitar. You're still ultimately killing time, but you haven't stopped playing.

It takes a lot of band chemistry to improvise arrangements like that. You pretty much have to try it on a regular basis so nobody freaks out when it happens. You can work on it some at practice. When people take a bathroom or smoke break, start a song without them and let them work in as they come back.

[PanzerFaust]

Even if you said nothing, people would just call you aloof or disconnected.

Anybody ever calls me a loof, they better be ready for a fight.

No, that's not A Loof, that's a Goof..

haha...

Couldn't resist...

[bassist_25]

Or both. It doesn't have to just be the singer's job to kill time between songs - the band can help out too. Extended intros rock. You can start the drumbeat to the next song while the singer talks to the crowd. If the drummer needs to work on something, you can get the crowd clapping and add bass or guitar. You're still ultimately killing time, but you haven't stopped playing.

Excellent points! old sKool uses four different tunings (I play 5 strings, exclusively), so that's always a hurdle in the middle of a set. A lot of times, we'll have a song that begins with drums for the first song in a new tuning. That way people don't straggle from the floor and Ken can switch guitars.

[Baceman Spiff]

more ROCK!
less TALK!

Or both. It doesn't have to just be the singer's job to kill time between songs - the band can help out too. Extended intros rock. You can start the drumbeat to the next song while the singer talks to the crowd. If the drummer needs to work on something, you can get the crowd clapping and add bass or guitar. You're still ultimately killing time, but you haven't stopped playing.

It takes a lot of band chemistry to improvise arrangements like that. You pretty much have to try it on a regular basis so nobody freaks out when it happens. You can work on it some at practice. When people take a bathroom or smoke break, start a song without them and let them work in as they come back.

We do that frequently. Usually while Dirt is on his rants, we have some kind quiet jam behind him. Kinda like the Doors on Meth.

[songsmith]

Even if you said nothing, people would just call you aloof or disconnected.

Anybody ever calls me a loof, they better be ready for a fight.

You can't be a loof. I checked the register at the Pennsylvania Loyal Order of Loof (or is it "Looves") and you're not on there. Maybe your card expired. Maybe you are an ex-loof.


Okay, sorry for the hijack. It was a long way to go for such a small joke. ----->JMS

[bassist4life2004]

Even if you said nothing, people would just call you aloof or disconnected.

Anybody ever calls me a loof, they better be ready for a fight.

You can't be a loof. I checked the register at the Pennsylvania Loyal Order of Loof (or is it "Looves") and you're not on there. Maybe your card expired. Maybe you are an ex-loof.


Okay, sorry for the hijack. It was a long way to go for such a small joke. ----->JMS

I'll forgive it this time. hahaha

[Lifer]

I like dirty bands. Dirtiness and trashiness is what metal is all about to me. How many great metal bands have you saw (besides the huge huge acts) look clean and put on a good show? Thats why I love Phil Anselmo so much. He was the king of the "dirty" south.

[Team Transylvania]

I prefer my metal bands not to be heroin addicts.

[DirtySanchez]

I prefer my metal bands not to be heroin addicts.

That leaves out Sabbath, and Pantera.

I prefer my friends not be heroin addicts, my fave bands they're just here to entertain me.

[Team Transylvania]

the last time i saw pantera, phil-e-boy was so fucked up, they did 15 mins of a set and had to stop. he was forgetting lyrics and rambling on during songs. it was a major disappointment. i lost all respect for him.

[Lifer]

Honestly as sad as that sounds. I would've loved to have seen that. Just for the fact that you could see a man at his very worst, and you could compare that to how he used to be before. I still love everything Phil Anselmo has done and I have all my respect for him even though he made hard mistakes, and that just makes it more real for me. I just saw DOWN in philly back in April, and he was as sober as joke. He didn't even drink a beer on stage. Not even smoke a cigarette either.

[BDR]

As was already mentioned by Vic, study the art first. To me, the best way to do this is by being there, in person, watching someone who knows what they're doing. Too many "singers" get up on stage and look like a deer in headlights because they simply have no comprehension of what all is involved. There's so much more to it than just singing, which you can only learn by going out and watching. I studied dozens and dozens of frontmen and women for several years before I even considered embarking on a project. Some of my earliest lessons came as witness to the metal machine that was Thin Ice and its front, Mr. Johnny Stevens, one of the best in the biz.

Of course, even watching a bad frontperson is helpful because you get to see what not to do, but you have to be able to discern between what's good and what's not so good. Uncertain whether someone is bad? Watch the crowd and its reaction to what's happening on stage. If the room is emptying or the action on stage is being completely ignored, that should serve as a red flag.

The cool thing is, several frontpeople during my "study" time surrendered their mic and stage to me so I could get busy making an ass out of myself, but it was all good because it gave me a "real" situation to deal with; kind of a "swim or drown" scenario. Performing in the basement is one thing — doing it in front of people is an entirely different animal. And the more I watched and paid attention, followed by opportunities to "get stage time," the more comfortable I got with the whole idea.

Confidence in your abilities is definitely key. You have to tell yourself, "these people are here to see me," and believe it, at least while on stage. Confidence, as well as a lack thereof, spews from a stage. While you do need to tell yourself the people are there to see you, don't project that to the crowd. Confidence is one thing. Arrogance is another.

It pays to be a ham coming in to the situation. To be a good frontman or woman, you do have to crave attention to some degree.

Another important piece of the puzzle in my opinion is being awake at all times. There's always a story line in every room — whether it's a birthday, bachelorette party, wedding or someone in the crowd just won a big race at the local stock car dirt track — you just have to discover it. This requires interaction with the crowd between sets. Don't be reclusive. People will interpret that as arrogance.

Involve every member of your crowd in the party. Do everything you can to make each person there feel like they are the reason you're performing. I did mobile DJ stuff for about 10 years in a past life which involved a lot of wedding receptions and I did that the same way I do this. I threw a party instead of just playing music, which is what 99 percent of DJs do — they just push "play." It's a difference that's appreciated by the people who hired you, whehter we're speaking about live band or DJ — trust me.

As far as yapping between songs, we do everything to keep the music rolling at all times, whether we're hitting right into the next song the second the last song ended or, as Future Bobby pointed out, Randy's laying down a groovy beat while old sKool is swapping guitars, which he tuned before the show started. I'll usually ad lib something over that beat to keep the crowd energized and into it while Kenny gets his next ax up and running. It's diversion, pure and simple, and it's up to the front to make sure no one's aware that the guitarist is changing guitars (NOTE TO GUITARISTS: Tune those effers before the show starts and NEVER tune through FOH).

A live rock show to me is not so dissimilar to working a shift at a radio station, which I did for years. Dead air will kill ya. Anything pertinent that you need to say — doing the work for the bartenders, plugging merch and Web site, etc. — should be done over something, whether it's just a drum beat or a bass line or the intro of a song. Any more than 5 seconds of dead air and I'm getting antsy.

As Future Bobby also pointed out, a good front has to be on top of things and ready to make changes. When I'm handing out setlists to bandmates, light guys and sound techs, I always say, "Here's the setlist, subject to change." I'm calling songs half the night at most shows because what you think will work earlier in the afternoon usually needs tweeked on the spot. Along these lines, load up your repertoire for obvious requests and be ready to adapt. Each crowd is different. What one room might want, another will detest.

Here's another one — never stop learning. Just about the time a lead singer starts acting like he's got it all figured out and can do no wrong, that's when people get tired of it and stop coming out. Fresh is so important and there's always something you can learn from someone else, no matter how long you've been in the game.

There's more — much more — but I guess the most important thing is staying awake. As the front, you're the master of ceremonies. Entertain them like it's your last show everytime. They'll bring their friends the next time around.

r:>)

[skipisode]

"LSD" is what you need most. Musicians all know what this is!

[Charltor]

"LSD" is what you need most. Musicians all know what this is!

Long Strong Dicks ????