Will the agent call me again as a pianist?
- Vince Guaraldi via last.fm
It was a nice seafood restaurant smack in the middle of downtown. Apparently a large amount of clientele are people staying at a downtown hotel for a conference or something.
There was not much of a crowd last night. Even the bartender commented to me that he couldn’t believe how slow it was — hardly anyone was sitting at the bar all night long.
It was a good night — nice place, good piano, lots of fun. However, the logistics were not at all good for interacting with people or getting tips or anything. The piano was in the bar, with my back toward the actual restaurant area, the people sitting at the bar (had their been any) with their backs to me, and a railing in front (well, really the side) of the piano, where pitchers of water and things were set. It was also very dimly lit.
So most people probably barely saw me or noticed me, and I couldn’t even smile at them as they were leaving, because my back would be to them. And I couldn’t see anybody as they were eating.
I wouldn’t even mind this so much, except it’s hard for me to get a feel of whether or not people enjoyed the music, or liked my selections, or whatever.
Speaking of selections — I played lots of standards like
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
Misty
All of Me
Mean to Me
Unforgettable
etc
A few Vince Guaraldi (“Peanuts”) pieces (I actually played these at both the first set and again at the last set, because I didn’t have enough music to last four hours) and several 70s-ish songs like
Stairway to Heaven
Still Crazy After All These Years
Bad Bad Leroy Brown
Maybe I’m Amazed
Just the Way You Are
Since an agent (who never met me) booked me, I’m not sure how that works: Like, does he call the manager the next day and asked if he liked me (to see if he should book me again or not?) Will the agent call me back and give me any feedback? Is no news good news? Or if I don’t hear from them again, does that mean it didn’t go over so well?
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But first of all let me say I’m very happy for you, and i think you’re getting a great start, and your repertoire is “EXCELLENT”. Just perfect. Even young people know these tunes, and if they don’t they should upgrade their taste in music anyway.
But here’s what I wanted to mention;….
You couldn’t be a musician without enjoying being a communicator, and liking people, making music for them. However, for me, (when I play- six days a week, in two shifts, at a Restaurant here, “Mozart’s”. As you all know I suppose. Another plug. But anyways, the less “interacting with people” I can do, the better~!, other than a smile, thank you, a few words about the music or whatever, and I’m done. I’m gone. I go outside on a break.
There are a hundred other piano players in town that are quite the opposite. They gab and haw with the customers about the history of music, and the in’s and out’s of the music business from Mozart to Broadway, and they’re officianados about everything on earth, and they’re funny too! I’m not going to say this is bad, or you shouldn’t do it. Just wanted to let you know.
I loved Bill Evans, the late great jazz pianist. I saw him live in New York City before he died. Bill Evans, for being a mindboggling pianist, was also a gentleman. He Played PIANO for people. No line of comedy on the mike, or whatever. Was so polite, and quite, didn’t carry on. Now if I want to hear a comedy act or a lecture on musicology, that’s what you get in half the piano players in town. I’d much rather go hear another Bill Evans. Somewhere.
When I was young, in college at North Texas State, I used to play the opening set for Red Garland, one of Miles’ Davis long going pianists. He was like that too.
I used to play in restaurants when I was living in Los Angeles. Classical. Most people were not terribly musical and were eating and making a lot of noise, and sometimes even complaining that the piano was too loud… but ocasionally there would be real lovers of good music who would call me to their table to talk to me. One night there was even the head of the piano department at the USC. She was impressed enough to invite to a visit her at school. I never went, I forget why.