Talking to an audience

drummerman2520

Junior Member
Hello everybody. My name is Joey, I'm new to the forum.
I'm playing in a two piece band, and when my guitarist's guitar goes out of tune there's a minute or two of silence that kind of kills any momentum that our set has created.
I'd like to say something to the audience to try and hold their attention, but I really don't know what to say.
I quess my question is, as a drummer, how do you address an audience?
 
Welcome! And if your guitarist is going out of tune and needs a little time... play a simple beat! Not too many fills, but simple hi-hat beats just to fill in the blanks. That's what I do. :)
 
Any of the things you can imagine an emcee would do- talk about the previous/next tune, introduce the band, tell a joke, direct people to the merch table, tell them about upcoming shows, thank the venue/other bands if any.
 
Any of the things you can imagine an emcee would do- talk about the previous/next tune, introduce the band, tell a joke, direct people to the merch table, tell them about upcoming shows, thank the venue/other bands if any.

If you can do all that while you're still playing, that's even better. Better yet, talk out of time while you're keeping time! I would keep in mind not only what you say, but how you say it too. I've seen guys say things that just kills the show too, just remain positive about what you guys are doing but everything else is cool too - you don't want to insult anyone by inadvertently saying that you guys are cool but others are not. It's a fine line and an art form making the room smaller by talking to the audience, because it's easy to alienate people too.
 
That is usually a good indication that it is time for a drum solo :D
 
Bad jokes are always a hit, but double thumbs up on "time for drumsolo" x-)
 
Stop the set sometime to tune your drums and see what he does to fill the gap, then copy him. :)
 
Great question. It's good that you recognize this as a momentum killer. You can seriously make your band very likeable if you take that time to thank everyone in sight, you cannot lose with that tactic. People love to hear their names over the mic. It's a courteous thing to do, people will see that you are not in your own world and have enough down to earth-ness to recognize the people around you. Thank the bartender, the staff, the audience, your fellow musicians, tell people to tip the staff because they're working hard, and just be real glad you're there. If you can't think of anything to say after thanking everybody, you could include an audience member....pick someone out and ask them a question. Let them carry the show until your guitarist is done. Make it about everyone but you. If you have a "script" it becomes much easier.
 
This is what we call "Dead Air" & yes it will kill a crowd the best thing too do is keep the music going but if not as other have posted say bad jokes, but also thank the people for coming out too see you, a lot of kissing ass always works well.........lol.

My bass player always says just before we do the first song during one of our sets.........."we'll be right back after we take a break" lol just a little joke but break the ice none the less. just remember "No Dead Air"

Bonzolead
 
two weekends ago our guitar player all of sudden started having connectivity problems with his effects pedals. he got on the floor and started fiddling with them between songs creating a massive dead space. our bass player got bored and started playing a funky riff and then our singer started skat singing something over it she called "the technical difficulties song" that she made up on the spot. i joined in with a fast drum and bass beat similar to what you hear jo jo mayer play (but not as good) and it ended up being this really cool little jam that filled up about a minute. when our guitarist finally fixed the problem we stopped playing and the audience burst into a huge cheer! it ended up being kind of a highlight of the show!
 
Back
Top