Rockstars

My band, B & The Beat, had our first gig on Saturday.

Being in a band is a terrific learning experience.

For me, little Miss Classical Voice, going back to my folk-rock-pop roots has been very eye opening. I've always clammed up when it comes to singing popular music. Its so unstudied, so spontaneous, and so raw and emotional. It goes against my decade of formal vocal study, which is founded in rules and technique. I have the habit of getting in my head and focusing on smaller details, while loosing sight of the larger picture.

What I forgot is that all you have to do is sing. Singing is the easiest thing in the world if you just let go...and do it. I was raised on Sheryl Crow and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Singing pop music is the very first style I learned to sing, way before Music Theory and "Acting Through a Song."

The night started a little rocky; we were having some sound problems and communication issues with the bar manager. The dinner crowd wanted a more soft-rock feel, and we were offering belting-pop-rock. While I was up there, the time was ticking by so slowly, as my confidence was draining. I could tell the audience was being polite but not particularly enjoying themselves.

After our break, we had a little pep-talk. We decided to play how we practiced, and give it our all. As soon as we came back for Set 2, we amped up our personal energy, and the crowd started to interact. We let go - and the performance improved. We started to mesh more as a group, and people even started to dance! I had a few rockstar moments; I found myself seriously jumping around and doing some crazy diva vocal runs. I've never done anything that spontaneous before.

The time flew by, and before I knew it, it was 1:40am. The lights came up, and suddenly I was a rockstar-no-longer and it was time to haul my heavy equipment home.

We have another gig coming up next Sunday; and this bar is known to be a dance club. Time to take a hard look at that set list and get people dancing.