"Having too much fun"

[SillyPuddyonIce]

At another forum someone's band was breaking up because venues werent letting them play anymore because they 'had too much fun' at gigs. I said my opinion below and a ton of people disagreed and then a ton agreed.

This brought up a discussion between my friend and I.

I think that music should be fun. But its also a business. If you are goofing off on stage so much that you're playing your songs half assed I think you should be playing in a garage and not a professional venue. I mean its a business. People have to be paid. People have to be brought in to buy drinks. It's not a game. Its a business. Thats not to say don't have fun. Cause thats what music is about. But you have to draw the line.

My friend had a different approach. He says music is all about fun. When he plays he wants to have fun.

I told him a drug and alchohol induced breakdown where the band sings alcapella versions of Bruce Springsteen is not professional. When a guitarist is dancing around so much he keeps screwing up thats unprofessional. And I'll use an actual example. Lead singer of Reel Big FIsh Aarron Barret purposely went and broke all the equipment and his guitar then sung the song Good Thing (by themselves) over and over until they drug him off stage.

My friends defense... "Thats rock and roll baby!"

What do you guys think of the subject?

[moaner]

I think that ytour friend is going to get nowhere with his attitude. He may want to have loads of fun, but its not going to get him or his band anywhere.

If you hold a proffessional attitude but can still make sure an audience enjoy the gig experience and not just a music, you're likely to go far.

[airborne50caliber]

It's not rock and roll. Music is for fun, but you have to have fun while making music, making the music you're supposed to make. And properly. Having fun in general is not rock and roll, otherwise little kids going to theme parks would be rock and roll.

[Akira]

THe thing with music is that if you have enough talent and enough common sense you can have fun without screwing up too bad. That is a level you need to reach. It is hard to get away with not acting like you are having fun. It works for a virtuoso band such as Dream Theater, but Blink-182 couldn't get away with it.

[Knifeboy]

Sounding sloppy live << Jumping up and down on stage.. Especially when plenty bands have shown that it is very possible to jump around and don't miss a beat, or a note... One of my friends bands guitarist jumped up on a huge speaker during a solo.. And jumped down again, without missing a note..
That got way more cheers than when the guitarist for the next band came on and sounded like **** while he swung around his guitar...

[delinquent]

tis all well and good to have fun. but if it sounds crappy then why should they expect to get gigs?

[cramboli]

The moral of the story is have fun and don't make it sound crappy because if you do thats not having fun/ruining the crowds mood...

[miku]

I'm gonna have to agree with most people here. Having fun is great, but not if it's significantly affecting your playing negatively.

I'll use the band I know about most when it comes to live performances as an example: Phish. They have lots of little gimmicks they use. Mike and Trey jumping on trampolines during the "tramp jam" of You Enjoy Myself, doing a little dance during a latin sounding section of Punch You in the Eye, and a few others, but those are probably the most notable ones. When they do it, it doesn't negatively affect their performance.
But the majority of the fun they have onstage is from jamming. From playing the music itself. Personally, I think if a band can't have fun playing their music, they shouldn't be playing.

[petesaz]

why can't playing well, and making good music be the source of 'fun'; that's why I play.

the discussion seems to be based on the idea that playing well is a task, and to enjoy yourselves you need to be drunk, and making a fool of yourselves. don't get me wrong, I like being drunk and acting a fool, but if I'm playing a gig I prefer to be sober(ish) so I get it right. It's also more fulfilling to know you've played a good gig that people have enjoyed.

music played at the highest quality is not always what the punters want, I think the band's attitude/sense of humor etc are also very important.

[Akira]

why can't playing well, and making good music be the source of 'fun'; that's why I play.

the discussion seems to be based on the idea that playing well is a task, and to enjoy yourselves you need to be drunk, and making a fool of yourselves. don't get me wrong, I like being drunk and acting a fool, but if I'm playing a gig I prefer to be sober(ish) so I get it right. It's also more fulfilling to know you've played a good gig that people have enjoyed.

music played at the highest quality is not always what the punters want, I think the band's attitude/sense of humor etc are also very important.
I believe in sacrificing perfection for an entertaining show if necessary. But If your playing dramatically suffers there is a problem.

[the_uber_penguin]

It's all about engaging the audience.

You you're music is amazingly good, but you look like a cold hearted bunch of bastards, people will have a more negative attitude then if you looked like you enjoyed yourself. You don't have to perform too much, because your music captures and engages the crowd.

If your music is reasonable, but not amazing, a good stage presense makes all the difference between "They were good" and "They were boring". Here your music captures, and your performance engages the crowd.

If your music is rubbish, however, trying to perform won't do you any good. You're music can't capture their attention, so any chance to engage them just gets wasted, and you should focus more on the playing then the performing.