“If I have to play so and so song I’m going to die.” The burnout factor can be a very tough thing to go through when you are a working musician. Especially a musician that performs cover gigs.
You’ve played Jesse’s Girl 50,000 times. You’ve played Bon Jovi 10,000 times.
How does one get through the burnout factor and still enjoy playing the music?
I turn to the folks watching me play. Over the past 10 years, playing cover gigs to help pay the bills, I’ve had different periods of burnout. The one thing that always puts me back in that great place of loving what I do is a smile from an audience member be them young,old, male, female, it doesn’t matter.
The past few years, I’ve made it a point of all of my performances to try to make eye contact with every person in the room. Staff, patrons, fellow band members, I try to connect at some point of the show with all of them. It’s amazing what can happen if you do. I’ve had smiles, the horns, a fist, the head bob, the “Whazup” head lean-back, it always puts me in a great place and usually those folks will come talk to you after the show. It also tends to shrink the room and make every show more intimate for the audience.
Never forget that those people in the audience may be hearing you play that song for the 1st time. So the next time you’re on stage and you hit that negative place- make someone smile. Remember they’ve never seen you play before. Make them smile, then play the hell out of it.
Kent, love your articles! such common sense that is so easy to be overlooked.
Thank You, Will definetly be checking back to get more. Mike