Let audience members on stage to sing?

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 06:55 AM

Most UK folk clubs tend to allow people up for floor spots between the guest's spots and the residents' bash. When I ran a club, if there were any performers who I didn't know, they were allowed one song or 5 mins - if they were OK, they'd get offered another song or sometimes more. We once had a terrible singer who sung one of his own songs which seemed to go on and on. "How long's he got left ?", whispered the singer (a regular) who was about to follow him. I looked at my watch and replied "About 45 seconds". I must have spoken too loudly because the audience started counting down "44, 43, 42 etc). The singer took the hint and terminated the song prematurely on zero.

When I'm booked for a a gig in a pub etc, I don't put another performer on without checking with the landlord (or whoever is paying me). The trouble is that it often seems to be one of their friends anyway. Ah well it's usually a good time to declare an interval.

I will lend my guitar to someone I know (mind you very few people who know my guitar seem to want to borrow it .....), but very rarely to strangers. I work on the basis that most reasonable guitarists wouldn't go out without their box in the first pace ! Mind you, Bert Weedon's borrowed my old Yamaha on two oacasions.

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 04:33 AM

One of the great thrills of my life came in 1978, when I was on vacation in the UK the summer after my internship. I went to Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger's Singer's Club at the Bull and Mouth in London. They have a tradition of "floor singers" in between the featured sets. Ewan said, "We're short one floor singer, so does anyone want to come up?" I, a callow 24-year-old from Philadelphia, raised my hand. Peggy, kind and gracious soul, allowed me to borrow her guitar (I think it was a Martin, so I don't know what the penalty would have been for bashing it), and I stood there on stage, between two of my idols, singing a song--that I had written--about the Delaware River. It was well received, and afterward Peggy said to me, "So THAT's how you pronounce Schuylkill!" (On one of her recordings she sings about a man "born in Skile-kill County," but any Philadelphian will tell you that it's "Skook'l".) Needless to say, it didn't lead to a Grammy...but what a blast!

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Troll
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:25 PM

I'm with Gargoyle on this one.

troll

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: maire-aine
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 08:05 PM

I'd suggest that this is something to discuss with the management of the venue. If it's a local pub and the owner encourages it, by all means let them sing. I have a friend who lets me get up on stage for one or two songs, but I don't overdo it. And you don't have to let them use your guitar (or any instrument) unless you already know them. If it's a concert, well, no.

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: greg stephens
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 03:18 PM

In principle I would like to say no, but in practise I sometimes say yes. I even let Richard Who Wears Shorts get up and play the ukulele play with us, which seems to happen quite often at gigs as he is an indefatigable follower of music. On one occasion Boy George joined us to sing backing vocals on Iko-Iko, and he didn't even ask permission! That happened to us with Julian Clary too, and we thought the Boat Band might become rather unlikely gay icons, but the community seems to have gone back to Judy Garland.
   As a rule, I would say avoid people who want to sing the Wild Rover or Country Roads.

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Jimmy C
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 02:33 PM

We have let members of the audience sing but ONLY if we know them, and then very rarely.
One night as a favour we let the brother of a regular get up and we could not get him off. He turned out to be a really obnoxious individual with a superior attitude, a real jerk.
He was on holiday from England and upset some of the canadian audience when he announced " here is a song by John Denver, I suppose you have heard of him over here in the colonies. He was not trying to be funny either he was quite serious.". Anyway after 2 songs he refused to give up the mike and was settling in for the long haul when we unplugged the system, he got quite indignant and to add insult to injury he was f....ing hopeless, off key, no quality to his voice and did not know the words and he was not even drunk.
Better to let the people who are getting paid for the gig do the gig.

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: mooman
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:42 AM

On bad past experiences, generally no for a proper paid gig unless I know them and the song they want to do. A definite no for lendings of instruments where I do not personally know the person as I have had at least one good instrument "belt buckled" and numerous strings broken by less considerate, or inebriated, punters.

moo

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 11:33 AM

Be v-e-r-y careful ... somewhere in England many years ago, a young, snd slightly nervous, man with an electric guitar was doing his best to entertain his audience. The singing was ok, the guitar was so-so, the jokes were passable. But the was a heckler in the audience who obviously thought he was far more entertaining than the guy on the stage. Eventually the poor lad made the Fatal Mistake: "if you think you can do better, come up here and show us!" And he did, and he was better ... The guitarist was Sid Little and the heckler was Eddie Large, and they teamed up to become an object lesson to us all. Never let anyone on your stage unless you really know what you're doing!

Steve

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:34 AM

Young Australian Country singer Catherine Britt got her start exactly that way.

She was at a concert which featured Bill Chambers, father of Kasey Chambers. The 12 year old asked Chambers to do a particular song. For whatever reason, he said he'd do it if she'd sing with him. Britt didn't have to be asked twice, climbed up on stage and the rest is history. Chambers liked what he heard, helped her get started, and the now just-turned-18 Catherine Britt has signed with RCA, has been on the Grand Ole Opry, sang a duet with Kasey Chambers (That Don't Bother Me), is slated to do a duet with Elton John, etc., etc.

Just found the quote. "I just went over to him and asked if he could sing TV Blues, I was 12 I think, and he said 'only if you get up and sing it with me'. He had no idea I was a singer, just thought it would be really cute to have a 12 year-old up there singing TV Blues with him. He says he was blown away by my performance, which is really sweet, cause I'm a huge fan of his"

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:08 AM

We've done a fair amount of playing for events sponsored by historical societies and re-enactment groups over the years. Many of their members are excellent trad singers in their own right. They are welcome to come up and sing any time they want to.

Drunk yahoos in bars are another matter. Just say, "No!". Do not let them sing one song because it will only encourage them to sing more. And they'll usually have a handful of friends sitting at one table who thinks it's funny while everybody else in the place wishes they'd shut up and they're all getting mad at you for letting the bozo on stage in the first place

And, if they try to touch my guitar, the punishment is commensurate with the value of the guitar I happen to be playing at the time. If they touch the Gibson, they get their fingers slapped. If they touch the Santa Cruz, they get their fingers broken.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: GUEST,alinact
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 11:41 PM

Gee, I always thought that was part of some egotistical dream I had that I thought when I'm rich and famous, if I'm playing a concert somewhere, what a great way to get "audience participation" than to invite someone up from the audience to be part of a song.

Obviously frought with danger, but just think - the band says "we need some help with this song - any one out there know it"? You put your hand up and they pick you out to do something basic, but YOUR UP THERE!

Wilco, there's many an aspiring "star" out there - give 'em a chance.

Allan

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 11:20 PM

NO.

It is a control issue. You are the professional. You are the entertainment.

This is not Karokoe Night!!!

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: michaelr
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 08:10 PM

I would not let anyone who's not a member of my band perform during a gig of mine, unless it's been arranged beforehand and I know they know what they're doing and we know the song/tune.

After all, it's my gig, and the audience (presumably) is there to see my band, not some random stranger. Too much possibility of embarrassment... and if I'm gonna be embarrassed in public, I'd want it to be for something I did. :-)

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 07:45 PM

It is quite a feature of Irish events that whoevers party it is will
get up and perform a song,and will invite his friends to sing as well.This can be good fun especially if the guest singers have any idea of the key they want to sing in,but can be awkward when the invited singer does NOT know any Irish songs.We did Oasis's Wonderwall for a lad last week,and then followed it with Its Amore a la Dean Martin.- Not bad for an 'Irish' trio.The audience loved it.
    The drunks can be a bit of a problem though, and are best not let anywhere near if you can manage it.And NO you cant play my guitar.If
you want to play a 3000 pound guitar bring your own or your insurance policy.

Subject: RE: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: Maryrrf
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 07:20 PM

Well, my experience has been mixed. In the pub where I work sometimes people ask to come up on stage and sing a song. I usually let them, unless they're visibly drunk. But sometimes they're terrible and don't want to stop, sometimes they're drunker than I thought they were and they are staggering around on the stage and I worry about the equipment (needless to say their performance is seldom very good if they're in that state). The main problem with letting people on stage is the ham who is awful but doesn't know it and doesn't want to let go of the mike once he's got it. But sometimes it's fine. We've had really fun times, too - like the time eight visiting Russian doctors sang Russian folk songs. I never just announce than anybody is welcome to come on stage and sing, but if somebody asks, I usually invite them up to have a go.

Subject: Let audience members on stage to sing?
From: wilco
Date: 03 Mar 03 - 06:59 PM

We played in a rural restaurant last friday, to about 200 people, over about 2 1/2 hours. I encourage people to step-up to the mic, form spontaneous duos or qurtets with them, let them tell jokes, etc.
I really enjoy doing this, and the audiences seem to really like it.
What has been your experience?