Rick, the need to ask for hush for a singer can be quite common. What tends to happen in some sessions is that the noise levels gradually increase when the musicians are playing and by the time a singer starts, the only people who can hear the singer starting are those very close to the singer.

The singer is quite rightly given silence when it is realised they have started but I don't think they realise that they often contribute to thier own problem by talking when people are playing and how difficult it can be for the musicians at times to compete with noise.

They make think that they are only talking quitely but it pushes the instruments up, then the chat gets louder so people can hear themselves talking... It can be a viscious circle. I wish when a singer gets the silence, they noted the level of noise when they started to sing (and in some cases couldn't even make themselves heard for more than a few yards) and realise that was what the musicans were having to cope with.

Jon