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Re: Liking/Disliking your own music



Take up golf. You'll like looping by comparison.

On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 7:37 PM, Dennis Moser <sinsofmachaut@gmail.com> 
wrote:
> All I can contribute to this conversation is the following, lyrics
> from Steely Dan:
>
> "You gotta go back, Jack,
> Do it again …"
>
> Best,
>
> Dennis
>
> http://soundcloud.com/usrsbin
> http://audiozoloft.com
> http://usrslashsbin.angrek.com/
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:37 AM, David Gans <david@trufun.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I have developed a practice of "no bad gigs": taking each performance 
>> on its own terms and giving what is required. My attitude is that any 
>> time I am being paid to play, or I have been invited to play, it is a 
>> good thing and there is something to be gained form the experience: 
>> money, applause, practice, what not to do next time, etc. I play lots 
>> of different kinds of gigs. Some scenes are more song-oriented, e.g. a 
>> house concert where my own compositions are the central focus; at the 
>> Farmers' Market gigs (which I love), I play lots of familiar songs - 
>> old favorites from my youth, etc. and I'm free to do a 20-minute loop 
>> piece because no one is there specifically to hear me and I am just 
>> incidental to the market experience. And so on.
>>
>> Next Saturday I have a gig at the Iron Springs Pub in Fairfax, 
>> California. I played there the other night with Rubber Souldiers, a 
>> "Beatles jam band" I do for fun (and money) with a couple of other 
>> guys. We had a fine time, with a good crowd, and between the modest pay 
>> and a full tip jar my share was $117. Saturday's gig will be different: 
>> the 49ers' playoff game will be happening at the same time, in another 
>> part of this one big room. The owner of the brewpub wants me to do it 
>> anyway, and sort of apologized in advance for the weirdness I am likely 
>> to experience. I have talked about my "no bad gigs" philosophy with him 
>> before, and I said I'll be fine. My wife and I will have a nice meal, 
>> I'll take home a few bucks, and I'll probably spend a good part of the 
>> 2-hour gig doing loop improv, which I will record and (if all goes 
>> well) develop into a new piece. The football fans will not pay 
>> attention to me, and I will return the favor. There will be a few other 
>> people in the room who are listening to me and not watching the Niners, 
>> and that will be sufficient.
>>
>> I come from the Grateful Dead music culture, which has a long tradition 
>> of recording everything, so I have a long-term practice of listening to 
>> my performances to find out what worked and what didn't. These days the 
>> technology makes it super easy to listen to last night's show on my way 
>> to today's. I am pretty good at listening in a detached way, and I know 
>> I hear a lot more flaws than the audience is likely to notice. As long 
>> as my own standard is higher than the one I have to meet as a 
>> performer, I will continue to improve. I am pretty much at the top of 
>> my game these days, so I hardly ever hear anything cringe-worthy in 
>> these playbacks. For me, the question has more to do with, Did I gig 
>> the gig what it needed from me?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>