Re: Gus confession



On Tuesday, September 23, 2003, at 05:35 AM, 
harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> 1) How to determine the key of a song being played (before it's over  
> ;^).
> 2) How to "blend in" musically with another musician in a live setting.
> 3) How to comp to different rhythms.
> 4) How to be an accompanist; in other words, how and when to avoid 
> stepping
> on the main performer.
> 5) How to anticipate chord changes and be ready for and able to execute
> turn-arounds tastefully.
> 6) Overcoming the fear of playing in public.
> 7) The rudiments of business and etiquette for a gigging performer.
>
> In short, I became a blues harp player!
>
> The point, I suppose, is that Gussing ~can~ be a positive experience 
> (and
> not only for the Gusser) if done in a measured, respectful way.

Sorry Michelle, but none of this is true. From a performer's 
perspective it is NEVER respectful. You're point 2 is just plain wrong 
- - no Gus I ever encountered "fit" in to the music. I play in a jump 
blues band - the parts I play fit intricately with the guitarist's 
parts. There is no room for someone to be noodling acoustic hillbilly 
licks or hippy Dylan wheezing over the mix. And, trust me, you can hear 
an acoustic harp squealing even over a loud amplified band - those 
things really cut through.

Point 7 doesn't work for all the reasons I just gave - did you ask to 
play? No? Then how can you learn etiquette.

You can learn to play with a band and follow the changes/stay in key 
the way all the pros first did it - follow along with your lp's at 
home...

Trust me, this behaviour is the bane of many performers. Just last 
Sunday I played a pick up gig with a very well known Australian blues 
singer, Dutch Tilders. After the gig we started chatting and eventually 
got onto the topic of people playing harp from the crowd. He said it 
was something that he dreads because, when you hear an off pitch note 
coming from the crowd, it disturbs your singing so much that you WON'T 
be able to get it out of your head. The result is that his singing is 
affected for the worst. I can tell you that a LOT of people came along 
to hear Dutch play and they would have been disappointed if his usual 
singing voice wasn't in evidence. So gussing him would have ruined the 
show for everyone else - not good, right?

I was happy to tell him that there is a term for this behaviour...

Anyway, I don't mean to have a go at you - there is a saying: you need 
a place to be bad before you can be good. That place is a jam night. Go 
along, introduce yourself and play three or four songs with people. 
When you're not on stage - DON'T play. The musos will respect you for 
it and you will improve.

Remember, people don't wheel in Marshall cabs and noodle crap guitar 
from the audience, so why should we think it's okay to undermine a show 
that a band has rehearsed and worked hard to get? If you reduce the 
performance of the band by gussing you may be affecting the vibe of the 
room and, who knows? the venue owner my think they aren't cutting it 
and not rebook them.

Finally, here's a gus story.

My guitarist went to see Canned Heat play. At that time, their 
guitarist was the West Coast phenom, Junior Watson. At one point Jnr is 
playing a solo and a guy in the front is gussing him. (This guy had 
gussed me at local gigs too...) Without missing a beat, Jnr goes down 
on one knee, playing this tremendous solo, leans forward, opens his 
eyes and yells in the guy's face, "Shut the f*** up!" The guy almost 
ate the harp...

Cheers
Andrew
PS. Loved the Czech Gus story, Marc.





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