Well, it's me again.  We're getting off to an easy start this year. Only a few jobs to perform at. And no huge effort underway for our annual show… But don't be mislead, there is still a fair amount of work that we're doing to get the Hadlock Hangout into gear. With Chris Stone leading us, this promises to be a great weekend for players. So far two thirds of the hotel is rented out so we should have enough people to keep the strings busy all day and most of the nights.
We don't have a new set of songs that we're trying feverishly to learn for a show so what I'm doing on Monday practices is fine-tuning some that we already know. In the process I'm whittling down the list (from 100+) to one that fits into a couple of one hour performances without repeats. Naturally I'm making sure that we have vocals and a parody or two. I'm a big believer in providing "entertainment" for our paying audiences. In the recent movie about Bobby Darin (played admirably by Kevin Spacey) there's a part where Bobby is trying to make a comeback and is advised:  "Remember -- they hear what they see."
That rang a big bell in my head… I think this is a great way to say that if an audience sees you having fun, they'll tend to have fun. If they see you smiling, they will unconsciously begin to smile. While they're obviously listening to a band for the musical sounds, they are actually taking their cues with their eyes. In effect, they hear what they see. So the next time you play a number that's quick and upbeat, even if you've played it a million times before, look up at the audience, smile and nod your head, change your expression from glee to surprise and back to glee.. In effect, give the audience a guide to how they're supposed to be acting. They really will follow you without too much prompting.
Before I run out of space, I wanted to give a warm welcome to our newest member, Jon Sterling. He sent out an email with a lot of good ideas in it. We welcome your ideas and your energy. Thanks Jon.