| Mike's
Pith & Wind --
Non Sequiturs
I was talking to Ed Nimmervoll
yesterday, (see the A Separate Reality
page), and at one point in the conversation he
grinned at me and said, ‘There’s
the topic for your essay.’ At the time I
was talking about those moments on stage when
you have to remind yourself what you’re
doing it for – or, more specifically, who
you’re doing it for. Ed had mentioned a
popular local group who are so preoccupied with
musical perfection they allow their anxiety to
spill over into the public domain. Of course,
I know all about that because I’ve been
there – the early days of Spectrum and Ariel
(and further on) were beset with similar preoccupations,
to the point that my attitude at the end of a
gig could be totally at odds with nearly every
other person in the room – the rest of the
band and crew being the exceptions, although not
always.
A bum note here or there, inadequate foldback,
tempos too fast or slow, the list of potential
complaints was endless. As I said, I don’t
know how many people I bemused coming off stage
with a face like thunder while the crowd was still
going bananas.
The insecurity of youth might have something to
do with it, but electing to take the musical high
road can also make life tricky, especially when
your output doesn’t infallibly tickle the
public’s G-spot.
I’ve learnt over the years that the first
rule for personal fulfilment, as in just about
anything, is to simply enjoy yourself, and then
it’s pretty safe to assume that most of
the audience will follow suit, even if there..
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