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Most annoying song requests
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Subject: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,alliekatt Date: 21 Mar 02 - 02:37 PM After several blowout weekends of a zillion gigs leading up to St Patrick's day, Irish musicians around here are, I'm sure, enjoying a bit of peace and quiet. For those of you ceolers who play on a regular basis, what are THE most annoying song requests that you get? Ours is that stupid Unicorn song by O'Shel McSilverstein, and we never play it; it's painful enough playing Finnegan's Wake and not rolling our eyes when the audience plays oh-look-who-kept-clapping-after-the-chorus. I'm actually trying to _ceol_ out there. Tossing pearls before swine, like. Doesn't Christy Moore sing a song about it? But at least in any given pub audience there are three or so people who pay attention to what I'm doing and comment later, thank Christ. No friggin Unicorns. alliekatt |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: MMario Date: 21 Mar 02 - 02:54 PM ?? If you don't enjoy playing the songs your audience wants to hear, maybe you need to seek a new audience? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 02:59 PM I once heard Con O'Brian of The Irish Decendants boom out, "I'll 'Rattlin Bog' you if you ask one more ******* time !" Just to learn it, you would have to sing it a thousand times more than it would take to get sick of it, let alone have it requested over and and over. Personally, I'd like to strangle someone with a "Black Velvet Band". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:00 PM MMario... you request "Seven Old Ladies" don't you ? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Clinton Hammond Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:08 PM ONE: People who come up to me when I'm lashing out folk music and ask for old top 40 radio crap like Piano Man or American Pie... This is balanced by the pretty girls who occasionally come up and ask, "Do you play any Jethro Tull?" TWO: People who ask for a song that I don't know, and when I say "Oh, I'm sorry.. but I don't know that one..." say either "Well, play it anyway", or "Yes you DO, play it!" Why on earth would I lie to someone I don't even know about knowing a song or not???? THREE: People who request a song and want to hear it RIGHT THE HELL NOW!!!!!! "Play "Drunken Sailor'!!!", they holler... "Ya... cool... will do... I'll end the set with that!"... and then, after EVERY SONG I play, these idiots continue to yell out for 'Drunken Sailor'.... It's got to the point where now, if they request it more than 3 times, I tell 'em flat outright, "One more request for a song I already said I'd play, and I'm not playing it at all!" FOUR: People who request a song, then while yer playing it are so engrossed in conversation or in tongue wrestling with some dockside tramp that they don't notice and then request it right after I just finish playing it... This is up there with people who ask, "Do you play and Gordon Lightfoot?", right after I just finished 'Early Morning Rain'... So what's that?? About 78% or 85% of bar/pub audiences?? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: MMario Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:09 PM which version? I rarely request ANY song - unless the artist asks me what I want to hear. (And I know several who do "Seven Old Ladies" on a regular basis) Seriously - I don't understand - if you are going to take requests then you have more or less said "I'll sing what you want" - if you *don't* want to sing what the audience requests, then why take requests? Any place I've been that took requests either answered "don't know it" or played the request - when getting single requests; when they had multiple requests I am sure they would pick and choose. (Of course I know one guy lied about not knowing a song - sing I had heard him play it the night before ) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Benjamin Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:09 PM Classical Gas has to be the most annoying request for a classical guitarist. Why do people think I'd waste time on that? Lots of people want to hear me play rock songs as if they all transfered over. Although no one as ever asked me to play Dee by Randy Rhoads surprisingly enough. A teacher of mine was performing in an elementry school once when a kid asked him if he knew La Bamba. His responce was "Yes, next queston! but the kid insisted that he play it. So my teacher made him come up and sing it for the school. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: PeteBoom Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:13 PM "Can you guys play a song? I don't know the name but its a great song and its about beer and drinkin' and it goes something like 'doh-da-doh-doh-dum-doh-doh' (tune-less sounds obviously meant to represent part of said song about beer)?" "Can you guys play 'I'm a Rover'?" (one song after finishing "I'm a Rover"...) Alliekat - we tell people that we'll do The Unicorn song if everyone at their table gets up in front and does the motions that go with it... If that doesn't deter them, we also say we want $50 - a man (5 of us)... Pete |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:20 PM MMario... why take requests? Ooops, sorry. I misinterpreted. Many (hehe) times, the audience is not invited to make requests, but do so, perhapfs from lack off ettaket... hic. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Jim Krause Date: 21 Mar 02 - 03:27 PM While doing a show with the band once upon a time, a gentleman in the audience asked for "Orange Blossom Special." Our bass player without missing a beat said "How 'bout that Orange Blossom Special!" And we played the next number on out set list without any more comment. I refuse to learn OBS, so I can honestly say "I don't know it." As far as St. Pat's Day is concerned, I don't get any gigs out of that event anyway. Most of my ancestry is Dutch, anyhow. So I figure I'm immune from all that Unicorn-green beer-whenirisheyesaresmiling nonsense. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Irish sergeant Date: 21 Mar 02 - 04:07 PM I don't perform for pay but I do play at Civil War re-enactments. I can honestly say that the only time I get annoyed is when people ask to hear someting over and over again. I will refrain from mentioning names but the person in question requested "Marching through Georgia" Fifteen times. I played it once and said no fourteen times. Kindest regards, Neil |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,a fellow concerned musician Date: 21 Mar 02 - 04:11 PM I always get one man in the crowd who shal be left nameless who is bellowing for an " irish " song. I got fed up with the old coot one time and let Bean Phadeen go ........... in irish gaelic. The dirty beggar gets up then and tells me "That's not Irish!" Nearly losing it then and being restrained by my bandmates he then pipes up and asks for the Unicorn ( written by a jewish man no less ). The man in question was then told in no uncertain terms that any further disruptions would result in the band leaving the stage so the rest of the crowd shut him up. Until the next gig. Some people just never learn do they? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Devilmaster Date: 21 Mar 02 - 04:39 PM Well I don't know bout the rest of ya..... But I'm still waitin for Clinton to do 'Wind Up' :) Steve |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: RichM Date: 21 Mar 02 - 04:48 PM Just say you don't do requests. What's so hard about that? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Rick Fielding Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:22 PM Clinton, you've just reminded me of the ONE QUESTION I've never been able to even come close to figuring out. A human being asks you for a song...you say "Sorry, I don't know that one"....and they say "Sure you do, play it eh"? Do you realize that these creatures actually have the vote?! One of my little fantasies before I left the bars, was that the next time that happened, I was gonna stop all proceedings, and sincerely ask that person (from the mike) just what they were thinking. Did they feel that I'd LIED about not knowing it. If so, why? Capped off with calling them a stupid idiot who should be executed on the spot. If I'd been Big Mick's size, I might have done it too! Cheers Oh, P.S. My most annoying request (on St. Paddy's) was also the Unicorn. Rick |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: radriano Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:24 PM Unfortunately, when you play on St. Patrick's Day you will get requests for what I call the "cheesy" Irish songs. These songs are what the general public will think of as the "classic" Irish folk song. I've complained over the years but I've come to the realization that it's better to placate your audience by learning a couple of these songs than fighting with them. The other way of handling this situation is to say up front before accepting the gig that you don't do those kinds of songs and take your chances with the audience. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,alliekatt Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:39 PM Some very humorous responses. We do requests of the most popular songs, just because we would lose touch with our audience if we didn't; becoming background music. Now that we are actually starting to get fans, we need to stay in touch with people. So learning "Fields of Athenry" or "Four Green Fields" or "Galway Shawl" is a must. We can do them as creatively and as lively as anything else, but I want to keep playing the jigs and reels too, and stay in touch with our session side. That's the real reason I stay up there and play the drek well. The fire ceol keeps things from getting tooralooracheesy. But that steeeewpid Unicorn seems only to be requested by drunk six foot meatheads who are permanently stuck in kidneygarten. I'd rather play Black Velvet Band six times in a row for a bunch of old ladies at the back table. alliekatt |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Kim C Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:43 PM Orange Blossom Special. Especially when I'm in 1860s dress. This actually happened to me. Neil, at least you get to PLAY Marching Through Georgia! It's one of our favorite tunes, but the folks here in Tennessee don't care for it much. ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: InOBU Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:49 PM Well, I am no fan of Danny Boy or Wiskey in the jar, For the second request, I tell them I can sing an older version of the same, which they likely don't know, and I sing another ballad which comes from that Patrick Flemming line, The Devil's In the Women... a much better and older song, then for Danny Boy I just play dumb, looking at them wide eyed and saying, "Sorry mate, we're an Irish band..." Cheers, Larry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 05:53 PM .... tooralooracheesy.... ROTFLMAO !!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: DonMeixner Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:02 PM I have a problem with a lot of songs I am asked to play. I don't like even a little bit, "The Old Man" except for a few lines about the color of a pheasant and fishing it is a baddly written mess of sentimental obfuscation. I don't like "The Voyage" particularly for much the same reason., just don't like it. Same with "Grace", "The Unicorn Song" and a bunch of others. But the audience has paid to hear me entertain and the people with the money are paying me to entertain and that stuff is what they find to be entertaining, so I do it. Its the job. But its also the job to enrich the audience, so I do "My Old Man" by Jerry Jeff Walker. And Instead of "The Voyage" I give them "Outward Bound" by Tom Paxton. I draw the line when some one asks for "New York, New York" or "Edelweiss". And because I play a banjo I surely must know "Dueling Banjos". Some jackass Irish lounge singer in the Catskills started doing Las Vegas act tunes and now every blue hair that ever saw a show at The Pines thinks folk singers should wear a tux and do Sinatra. I tolerate a few requests I don't like because I want to be hired next year. But jeepers gimme a break and at least keep them close to folk. Don |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Bardford Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:05 PM Also in the ROTFLMAO dept.... kidneygarten...! How about the guy who comes up to tell you how to play? We had an expert come up (during a tune!) to tell one of the fiddlers to "play a third above the other guy". There was no stage in the pub, we were on the floor, so this fella could get his beery face right into ours -"play a third above the other guy". Jeez. We told him to go away. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Little Hawk Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:07 PM Thank God, no one has ever asked me to play "The Unicorn", but I was asked to play "Me And Bobby McGee" more times than I want to remember. I started to hate the song after a while. I bet Kris doesn't like it much anymore either. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Pseudolus Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:13 PM I can't imagine telling an audience I don't do requests and I can't imagine not doing one if I knew the song. The only time I say no is if I've already done the song. If none of those "drunk six foot meatheads who are permanently stuck in kidneygarten" showed up at pubs, there would be a lot less gigs to go around. Sad as it may be, they're paying the tab. Frank |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:14 PM Apologies for the drift, but it seems to fit, because this is a most requested song, which is NEVER refused... There's a local pub of great fun, where anyone can advance to the mic whilst the performers are on break, or after the entertainers are done for the night. It never ceases to amaze me how many people, filled with liquid courage, can absolutely massacre "Barrett's Privateers" and still have the crowd with them, cheering as if it were himself from beyond. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Hollowfox Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:22 PM Jim Krause, poor lad, you're Orange without being Irish *g* (so's my ex-husband) I have a bit of Orange Irish in me, and my grandmother worried every St Pat's Day that I'd bet beat up over it. Apparently there was quite a bit of recreational brawling over this when she was young. Regarding Orange Blossom Special, once upon a time, the Boys of the Loch had a gig at the Eighth Step coffeehouse in Albany, New York. Afterward we locals and the band went out for a beer, taking our instruments, etc into the bar, as was usual. At the bar, some college kid kept requesting OBS from Aly Bain. Finally, Aly played it, beautifully I might add. Amazingly enough, the kid didn't bother him after that. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: AllieKatt Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:40 PM > It never ceases to amaze me how many people, filled with liquid courage, can absolutely massacre "Barrett's Privateers" and still have the crowd with them, cheering as if it were himself from beyond. YEAH REALLY! I guess a crowd feels better when one of their own gets to fearlessly murdelatin' a song. Sometimes we'll put them in for a bit of comic relief, and people like to be made stars so we occasionally do that shtick. But we pack up the PA system so fast after our last set that it nearly disappears off the stage instantaneously. Just to avoid the postscript of _really_ drunken patrons playing "MY-15-minutes-of-fame-courtesy-the-band". Usually we designate our guests beforehand and we're often lucky enough at our home pub for several talented local musicians to appear at our shows, so they like the exposure during our breaks and the yodeling is kept to a minimum. We also figured out that by barricading ourselves with really big monitors, the people who insist on trying to make requests WHILE I AM PLAYING AND SINGING!!!!!!!! will keep that to a minimum. The first time we did that, we had the satisfaction of watching our most annoying drunken heckler fall face-first on top of the stage left monitor, and after that embarrassment he never got obnoxious with us again. People will actually **poke** me, while I'm **flatpicking** in the middle of a song, to make a request. Even when I was just a patron, I always wrote it on a napkin folded in with five bucks. I think it has something to do with the unspoken belief shared by many locals that being a musician isn't a real job, even though I come out of it exhausted and sore. Oh well. I still love doing it, more than anything else! alliekatt |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Louie Roy Date: 21 Mar 02 - 06:58 PM I'm like the guy who was taking request in a bar and a lady came up and said do you know (Your Pants Are Unsipped And Your Balls Are Showing)He politely told her NO but if you will hum a few bars of it I will try to play it.Louie Roy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Mickey191 Date: 21 Mar 02 - 07:02 PM I hate to say-but I will-most of you sound like you hate your job. Perhaps you should put a sign up stating which songs you absolutely won't sing, no matter how much the paying customer begs. Then they would know where they stand. Husband & I were on vacation, in Durty Nellys in Eire, we asked the piano player to sing a certain song. Can't remember which one-we were in a great mood-non drinkers-and he had a tip jar on the piano. Fifteen yr.s ago a 5 pound note was a damn good tip, and the guy had a great voice. You know what's coming--he never sang our song. It was a lousy,lousy thing to do.IMHO. But he damned well kept the money. Was the intent to put one over on the Yanks? Or had we the nerve to ask for a song he hated? How is one supposed to know? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Maryrrf Date: 21 Mar 02 - 07:55 PM Well, I guess we all have to realize that, unless we really make it big and people will like anything we sing, we have to take into account what the audience wants to hear. I used to naively think that pub audiences would love to sit through all eight minutes of "Willie o'Winsbury". No, Mary, they wouldn't. I made up a "cheat book" of songs people often request and I didn't have time to learn, and I do try to sing what people ask for. I politely say I don't know "The Unicorn", "Finnegan's Wake" and a few others which I really don't like) and I also decline songs like like "Tooralooraloora" that are just so corny I can't bear to sing them, but otherwise I give it a shot and am gracious about it. It is kind of awkward when somebody hands you their request with a tip and you don't know it. I usually ask if they have an alternative, and if they don't I'll pick a similar song or at least a song in the same genre or by the same group "I'm afraid I don't know that one by the Pogues but here's another one they did that you might like...." and I'll do that. I don't like to do songs like "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" but usually the requesters are sincere and really think that's Irish music. What annoys me is when people persist in requesting songs that are obviously not what somebody solo with an acoustic guitar could do - pop songs, broadway show tunes, heavy metal (???). If you want to hear that kind of music why are you in an Irish pub or folky coffeehouse - which is the type of places I play in??? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Bobert Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:01 PM Now, I only play at parties anymore and most of them have other musicans playing, too, but in my area of the country it's "Free Bird", hands down, or some song that's currently playing on the country radio stations. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Rolfyboy6 Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:11 PM Among blues musicians the hell songs are "Mustang Sally" and "Sweet Home Chicago", and in parts of the country there's always some clown yelling "Play Freebird". A friend of mine who had a blues band in North Texas used to stop the band, and yell over the microphone "We don' Know any Lynryd Skynyrd, but just for you we're gonna practice them all week and THEN NOT DO 'EM, just for you." A leading blues musician around where I live in N. Calif. burbles over the microphone "I've had to do this song for twenty years but bartenders love it so buy lots of booze and get sh___faced, here's Mustang Sally." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: AllieKatt Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:24 PM I don't think any of us hate our jobs by the sound of it. I certainly don't. Polite audience members certainly outnumber the other ones. I know I love to play for people. Many people aren't pro musicians, so they often don't understand the root of what the musician is trying to communicate through sharing his or her talents. Like the young Tom Waits who knew the old hat classics and played them as a lounge singer, sneaking in his original stuff when the situation permitted, I think that a sort of dispassionate and lighthearted relationship with the annoyances of public performing is far more productive in the long run. But one can enjoy a crusty bit of halfhearted complaining without missing out on the fun. I might get nauseous on a roller coaster but it doesn't mean I don't love the loop-de-loops. alliekatt |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Irish sergeant Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:25 PM Kim: No bitch about playingh the song and I rather like it myself but not fifteen times. Play it anyway what the Hell/ Are you going to Anteitam in September? If so let me know I will be there and would like to meet you and Mister. Slan, Neil |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: 53 Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:26 PM Damn good counry song by David Alan Coe. Must of played it at least 1000 times. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:26 PM ...."A friend of mine who had a blues band in North Texas used to stop the band, and yell over the microphone "We don' Know any Lynryd Skynyrd, but just for you we're gonna practice them all week and THEN NOT DO 'EM, just for you." " Gee, I can only surmise that such would go over as well in Texas as it would in Albert County, New Brunswick. You think you got some rednecks in Texas ? If they said that down in Albert County, there might be Hell to pay ! After all, the anthem in AC is "Sweet Home, Albert County" and the "Albert County Liquor Pigs" be the religeon down thar ! Best watch out what ya say bout them good ol boys, lest you wanna be leavin yer gear here after the gig an get away wit yer hide !!
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Benjamin Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:27 PM I remember a girl once requested Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercades Benz telling me it would sound great in my voice. I was unable to pull it out of my head though. She later on told me we was just joking around. Ahhh, precious memories! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Les B Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:36 PM Irish Sergeant's plight might not be unusual for the time period he is re-enacting. I've read of several singers, who, upon introducing a new song in the days before recording devices (and even into the 1920's), would have demands for several encores of the same song so the audience could catch all the words. This sometimes had the effect of "stopping a show", but it must have done wonders for the singer's ego if their voice and patience held out. It kind of puts our modern "pretend you're my juke box" problems in perspective! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Amos Date: 21 Mar 02 - 08:44 PM After one Irish bar Paddy's Day gig I swore off "Danny Boy" for five years!!! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: kendall Date: 21 Mar 02 - 09:50 PM MOOSETURD PIE! YUK. I now tell them to buy the tape. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: leprechaun Date: 21 Mar 02 - 10:36 PM The only request I ever get is to please stop singing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: mzkitty Date: 21 Mar 02 - 11:13 PM I love my gigs and always do requests if I know the song. Many times I do the song even if I DON'T know it....that's REALLY fun! The one song that really makes me cringe inside is, "Margaretaville". I like to listen to folks in the audience while I'm playing (do any of you do that too?) and if I hear someone say "I wonder if she know's_______" I'll go right into it for the next song....I love to see that person react to my "mind reading" capabilities, heehee... But seriously, I like playing requests. I always try to remember that I am there for them not the other way around. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,T-boy Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:05 AM Can you sing '10,000 Miles Away' ? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: kendall Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:11 AM No, but I can sing "Close the door gently when you go." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Tam the bam fraeSaltcoatsScotland Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:12 AM I was playing at a festival in Irvine Scotland, and I had to sing The fields of Athenry for five days in a row, in the mornings, the afternoons and at night time, because people wanted to hear it. I don't mind doing requests, however there is a limit to how much you can stand. Tom |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Kelticgrasshopper Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:20 AM "NOPE DON"T KNOW THAT ONE".. say it a few times and they stop asking. I agree that for Irish musicians "THE UNICORN SONG" takes the cake, for most requested and most annoying. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Midchuck Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:20 AM "Can you do a tenor solo? Ten or more miles from here, and so low we can't hear it?" Peter.
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: VoxFox Date: 22 Mar 02 - 09:04 AM Playing in a classic rock and roll band, you'd think people would KNOW that you play classic rock and roll. NNNNNNNNNNNNnooooooooooo! We always, at sometime through the evening, get asked for stuff like Achy Breaky Heart (poooyuuuuuchchhchchch)and other such musical crimes. Makes ya wonder. Anyway, we usually try to be very polite when we can't or won't do a particular tune. Then there are the old dears who want a tango or a foxtrot so in good spirit we try our best to accomodate them. (Keeps the organizers happy.) *BG* VF |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Rich_and_Dee Date: 22 Mar 02 - 09:37 AM Hi, I keep a songbook of all the old Irish dance hall favorites in my gig bag. If someone larger than myself insists on one of those old songs, we can at least sneak a peek at the lyrics, etc. Sounds like that bloody rotten unicorn is taking the cake in this thread. I enjoy taking requests. In a couple of magic moments, I've've taken a request or two that totally turned the audience from passive listening to active, foot-stomping, sing-along joy, which put them "on our side" for the rest of the night and made it easier to slip in the Christy Moore and Mary Black stuff. One time, we offered a patron a tradeoff for playing "Black Velvet Band". We said we'd play it, but only if you'll listen to a Richard Thompson song after that. The patron did, had tons of questions for us about this Thompson guy and we shared a pint between a set. The worst was a gig playing Irish songs on a schooner cruise vessel. There was a British passenger who totally dismissed our set out of hand, loudly, and ordered us to only play American songs, which was our true heritage. Then he asked for Elton John and the Beatles, over and over. For me, it's not the song requested that raises my ire, it's the odd failing of common courtesy. Rich |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: mzkitty Date: 22 Mar 02 - 09:50 AM My bass player has an odd, if not warped sense of humor..(quite like most of us, I would guess..). One of my favorite moments at a gig was his comment to the crowd after we finished playing a request that we don't personally like doing. He said, "I really like the ENDING of that song..." I don't think anyone else "got it", but I still chuckle over that! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Mark Clark Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:26 AM Kim and Jim each mentioned “The Orange Blossom Special” which is surely a tedious tune for the musicians but for some reason is always a huge crowd-pleaser. Fiddler Al Murphy refers to OBS as “The Orange Colored Possum.” I don't think he intended any reference to Cleigh. Often people—drunks especially—will request “Bonnie and Clyde” (Foggy Mountain Breakdown) or “Deliverance” (Dueling Banjos). It's always a treat to have those requested. I remember Bill Monroe used to ask for requests then just stand there listening to audience members shout out old tune names until he heard one he actually wanted to play. I think it was the Pinnacle Boys (Bud Brewster, Randall Collins, et al.) who used to side-step requests by saying “We don't do that particular number but here's one that has a lot of the same notes.” My question for you all is this: Do you give it your very best and perform the tiresome or unloved request to please your audience or do you refuse (politely or otherwise) on grounds of principle? Is it more important to give your (paying?) audience what they want or to educate them by playing selections you think they should hear? - Mark
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,MC Fat Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:46 AM Bloody absolutely hate 'The Fields of Athenry' but have to remember it every Paddy's Day, however I sang Danny Boy last weekend and actually enjoyed singing it !!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Dave Bryant Date: 22 Mar 02 - 11:30 AM This year at our St Pat's night gig, Linda and I were beset with requests for "Sloop John B" - somehow I never thought of that as Irish ! Still if the request is possible and does not result in Pain, Physical Damage, acute embarassment etc - AND YOU'RE GETTING PAID - then what the hell..... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: guinnesschik Date: 22 Mar 02 - 11:44 AM Ya' know, I've been playing to the drunken, uneducated, unwashed masses every St. Pat's Day for seven years. I always have the best time ever, and I don't care if I get asked to play the Unicorn, Danny Boy, or Whiskey In The Jar. I look at it like this: I'm up there playing. I know I'm a good musician and good singer, but for one weekend a year, people who don't even care about Irish music come out, and for some reason fell the need to make a connection. I play what they want to hear, and SOMETIMES, if they're not too drunk, and they remember us and see our names again, they come back really wanting to listen to what we do. Thus our fan base grows, insuring us continued gigs at certain venues. We owe 'em this, so we can keep doing it throught the year. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: InOBU Date: 22 Mar 02 - 11:47 AM Hi Micky 191, we don't really hate our jobs, and I do try not to be sarcastic with the audience, as long as they are polite... but after all, do you call the cook out to the floor of the restaurant and tell him how to cook, or get insistant if hamburger isn't on the menue at a vegitarian restaurant? Fact is some of us are on stage because we have something to say, and if the audience don't get it, fine, but that does not mean we should be playing just what they want to hear, that ain't art! As to a fiver in the jar at Durty Nellies, if he didn't thank you, let me, on behalf of all of us hard working stiffs. You are the kind which keep us afloat and I really want you to know we appreciate you... COME TO NEW YORK!!! (I always get real and Mudcat names mixed up... did I send you a CD?) If not, for being such a good sport, PM me, and I will send ya a free Sorcha Dorcha CD, in the name of the fella who ignored your request. Cheers, Larry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Declan Date: 22 Mar 02 - 01:12 PM As I mentioned earlier on annother thread the one I hate is "sing something we all know". - there's no such song. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Jim Krause Date: 22 Mar 02 - 01:40 PM InOBU, I have heard, but have seen no documentation that Londonderry Air to which Danny Boy was written sometime around the turn of the 20th century, is actually current to the 1790s. I like the melody, Londonderry Air, but the Danny Boy lyric......well, a couple of shots of Jack Daniels (which I hate) would certainly be enough to wash the taste out of my mouth. P.S. By the way, do any of you Irish/Celtic style musicians do any material from Thomas Moore (1779-1852)? He's one of my favorites. That's the closest I get to doing real Irish material. And it seems almost everybody has forgotten him. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: MMario Date: 22 Mar 02 - 01:55 PM Larry - having spent more years then I care to think about cooking in restaraunts - yes, the customers will tell in detail how to cook; and yes, they will complain about burgers not being available in a vegetarian restauraunt, and yes, they will complain their steak is "raw" because it's still pink in the middle (when they ordered it medium rare)- etc, etc, etc.
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: PeteBoom Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:08 PM Wait a minute! What's wrong with Danny Boy? Just "arrange" it yer own way and have fun watching the funny looks ya get! MY band does it BLUEGRASS style - mando lead, banjo, accordian and guitar supporting, with a bodhran fer good measure (its IRISH after all!) ;) Pete |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Mooh Date: 22 Mar 02 - 02:31 PM Once, during a bar gig, while playing bass for a Neil Young tribute band (keep yer f*^%ing comments to yerself, ya hear?) the band was inundated by requests from a table of knuckleheads. Only one song, not by NY...Stairway to Heaven. Sure we knew it, but we didn't have anyone with a Robert Plant voice, weren't inclined to do non-NY tunes, and as a rule weren't predisposed to prostituting ourselves to moronic drunken requests made loudly even after being politely turned aside. The bar management were disinclined to do anything about the behavior of their patrons, and in fact we knew they thought that was the band's job. During a break our singer, the "Neil Young" of the act, and a usually very diplomatic sort, approached the table and discretely informed the dissatisfied listeners that they were pissing off the bass player who'd been pretty well behaved since returning from prison. At the time I saw their uneasy glances my way but didn't know what it was about and wasn't told until days later. I guess I looked surly and unapproachable enough to make it believable. Anyway, the tactic worked, but could have been a disaster if it had backfired. I play in a celtic band which used to take a zillion requests but now only does concert styled performances where the issue never comes up. Very few of the request nightmares would exist if it wasn't for alcohol, but then neither would the pubs exist. Great trade, huh? Peace, Mooh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: JedMarum Date: 22 Mar 02 - 03:01 PM A little old lady sat up front of a recent "St Patrick's Day" show we did, and looked sour faced for most of the first set. Eventually she spoke up, "We're not all Irish ya know, you don't have to play just Irish music. I'm Jewish, don't you know any Jewish music?" Karen cleverly told the crowd we were going to sing a song written by Shel Silverstein, then launched into "The Unicorn." Our little old Jewish lady seemed content! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Spartacus Date: 22 Mar 02 - 03:20 PM I can't beleive no one has mentioned the original pain in the ass pirate himself...Jimmy Buffet. I get more requests for this crap than anything else. I could play an entire set of traditional folk tunes, but as soon as some idiot with a bad "parrot head" t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops on sees an acoustic guitar, he wants to hear "margaritaville". Worse yet, when they consider themselves musically literate and dip into thier extensive archive of non-cliche folk songs and request "A pirate looks at forty". The last annoying thing is the guy who wanders up to the stage and wants to have a conversation with you - mid-song!! A friend of mine was playing a gig a while back where a really drunken woman kept shouting "Jimmy Buffet". He dealt with it for about an hour until he'd had enough. He leaned over toward her and almost yelled into the microphone, "Lady, Jimmy's dead" -Spartacus |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Jeri Date: 22 Mar 02 - 07:19 PM Well, he's really laid back, but I've never heard him described as "dead" before! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Ian Darby Date: 22 Mar 02 - 08:28 PM A couple of songs in to our first set the bass player usually says; "Anybody got any requests. We don't actually play 'em. We just like to know what you'd rather be listening to." Read your audience and give them what they want early on, get their attention and they'll usually let you get away with murder as the evening progresses. Personally I'd rather play the requests, have a good gig, get a return booking and end the night with everyone telling us how much they enjoyed it. I always remember Neil Innes introducing one of his songs, "I've suffered for my music. Now its your turn.
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: leprechaun Date: 23 Mar 02 - 06:41 PM OK but I want to find out where guinnesschik is playing next St. Patrick's Day. Everybody be careful. I heard St. Patrick's Day is going to be on a Friday the thirteenth next year. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Clinton Hammond Date: 23 Mar 02 - 06:46 PM I think you'd better check yer calendar, Leprechaun... ;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Ducksy Date: 24 Mar 02 - 10:19 AM livenitupabit |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Celtic Soul Date: 24 Mar 02 - 02:33 PM We do requests occasionally...usually our audience is very polite, and they ask at reasonable moments. However, at one gig, we were not only requested to sing something by "Bruce Hornsby" (whilst dressed in golden age of Piracy garb, playing all acoustic/historic instruments), but we were asked while *right in the middle* of a song. Now that was the most annoying request ever. Fortunately, it is not the norm. But, I *am* completely tired of "Drunken Sailor" (We call it "DFS"...you may correctly infer what the "F" is for), "Roll the Chariots", "Wild Mt. Thyme" and "The Boatman". All nice songs, all songs I thoroughly enjoyed once upon a time...all done to death to the point of nausea. Sometimes the fans don't let you completely give a song up, and so, we bite our tongues, and play them anyway. Canna complain too much though...I still get to do what I love best, and people pay me to do it. Doing old standards even when you're sick of them is a small price to pay. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Maryrrf Date: 24 Mar 02 - 03:11 PM Darn right - this is in response to Celtic Soul's last comment. Just about any job can get boring and repetitious, music is no exception. But we have to remember that although we may be sick of some songs the audience isn't, and we get to have the fun of doing the songs we enjoy, as well! Oh well - Off to a gig where I hope everybody's all "Danny Boy'd" out from St. Patrick's Day! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: CarolC Date: 24 Mar 02 - 03:14 PM I'm starting to get really tired of Spaw asking me to play "Lady of Spain" all of the time. Sheesh. I never ran across anyone as devoted to a piece of music as Spaw it to that one. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: CarolC Date: 24 Mar 02 - 03:44 PM (P.S. thread creep: Irish seargent and Kim C, I live less than five miles from Antietam. What's happening there in September?) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Angie Date: 25 Mar 02 - 07:17 AM I am very surprised and saddened by the attitude displayed in some of the responses here.Music is to be shared,loved and rejoiced in....not to be used as an excuse to feel superior,judgemental or in any way above those who are listening to it.Just because people ask for (perhaps)over-played songs does not mean that they have no appreciation of music and are to be pitied or patronised. Instead, if you find yourself in the privileged position where you are gifted with a musical talent, share it selflessly, without predjudice and in good humour. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Hamish Date: 25 Mar 02 - 07:32 AM On Friday night, after I'd finished and was packing up, I was asked "Why didn't you play....?". As it turned out that was the best part of the evening, 'cos I just busked some stuff acoustic with no pa, and we had a great old time |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Irish sergeant Date: 25 Mar 02 - 04:13 PM Carol C; The 140th anniversary of the battle of Antietam! Huge reencatment they're expecting 22,000 reenactors. Let me clarify, I actually like the song Marching through Georgia. And the aspect mentioned about peole requesting it so they can learn the lyrics hadn't occurred to me! Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.. kindest regards Neil |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST Date: 25 Mar 02 - 11:55 PM Any that you don't know. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: leprechaun Date: 26 Mar 02 - 02:17 AM I also heard Halloween, Cinco de Mayo and Independence Day are all going to be on Friday the Thirteenth. What an unlucky year! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: CarolC Date: 26 Mar 02 - 04:59 PM Thanks Irish sergeant. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of the tourist overflow here (Shepherdstown) when that happens. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: poor lonesome boy Date: 26 Mar 02 - 06:00 PM this is a great thread... and I just haveta get my two cents in. there's a little neighbourhood bar that features rocking blues bands most night of the week, but on Tuesdays features a single performer with an acoustic guitar and a bland repetoire of old top 40 adult contemporary stuff. it's the one night you can go in and talk while yer drinking. A couple of weeks ago, some local bandito must have got his days of the week mixed up and wouldn't leave this poor, bland acoustic guitarist alone, shouting "OZZY!! OZZY!!" over and over. You could see the guy sweating under the lights. He didn't have a chance. The bouncer was sitting with us and didn't do much about it. He just thought it was funny. One more thing: why do acoustic guitars around a campfire automatically mean you must sing American Pie? One more thing: The Unicorn, in defence of the non-Irish music lovers, is the one song they can identify with when out on the town on St. Patrick's Day. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Midchuck Date: 26 Mar 02 - 06:50 PM If it weren't for "The Unicorn," Shel Silverstein would not have written any bad songs. And that would have made him inhuman. So it's just as well. Peter. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: gnu Date: 26 Mar 02 - 07:07 PM Shel riding off into the sunset on that unicorn... not it the saddle, though. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,ollaimh Date: 26 Mar 02 - 10:16 PM it's me i'm just too lazy to sign in. i was busking with my harp and some punk kids asked for a punk tune, i banged am f, amd g cords and shouted" "god save the queen, and the fescist regime" over and over . they thought it was so funny they threw me a fiver. i hate stairway to heaven but i have wirked out a harp version(badly) to get drunks to go away, and they usually throw money for the effort/ my all time most hated is molly malone. it's a famine song for christ sakes, |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: mandomad Date: 27 Mar 02 - 01:52 PM Q Can you play Duelling Banjos? A Well you see this isn't a banjo, it's a mandolin. Q Why can't you play it on that then? A Cos it's a duet. Q Oh right........Do you know Pedro The Fisherman?
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Heely Date: 27 Mar 02 - 02:27 PM One more about "Danny Boy". I thought I would never get the crowd to quit requesting it this past St. Pat's. They didn't seem to understand that bagpipes just can't play the tune. It just doesn't work. So I just played "Scotland the Brave" and "Amazing Grace" instead. They think those are traditional St. Patrick's Day tunes. Luv those Americans. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Irish sergeant Date: 27 Mar 02 - 03:46 PM That comes from every Saint Patrick's Day parade having a pipe band in the parade. Some of us actually know better. Poor Lonesome Boy, you just aren't hanging out at the right campfires. Who ever made the comment about Thomas Moore (Sp?) I am working on learning "Believe me if all Those Endearing Young Charms." Which I thing is one of his lovliest pieces and was also popular in America prior to and during the Civil War. By the way, can't remember the band but some one did a rap version of Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" I fully expected Canada to declare war over that insult. What the Hell was Gord thinking when he let the rights out for that?! Kindest regards, Neil |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Guest Date: 28 Mar 02 - 08:44 AM After about 6 years hearing request for 'Danny Boy', and politly answering that we din't know the song, we learned it. No one has asked for it since.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: IanC Date: 28 Mar 02 - 09:34 AM Well, I have to admit I was getting a bit fed up till somebody pointed out that the Unicorn Song people were talking about was by Shel Silverstein (the one Val Doonican used to sing, which is why people think of it as Irish, I suppose). The solution might be to sing the one by Bill Caddick when people ask for The Unicorn Song.
;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,Les B. Date: 28 Mar 02 - 10:05 AM So does anyone do a rap version of "Danny Boy" ? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Pseudolus Date: 28 Mar 02 - 10:12 AM I wouldn't have started another thread for this but considering that the Unicorn seems to be one of the "favorite" annoying songs here goes.... I have a "Far Side" calendar by Gary Larsen....today's cartoon is very funny....There are groups (two each) of animals all gathered around Noah and in front of Noah are two hooves facing up, and the caption reads, "Well, so much for the Unicorns....but from now on, all carnivores will be confined to "C" deck...." Frank |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Genie Date: 28 Mar 02 - 02:53 PM Clinton, I'm with you. I particularly hate it when someone who wants to hear, say, "Early Morning Rain," instead asks me to "play a Gordon Lightfoot song;" then I comply by playing, say, "Cotton Jenny," and then they say, "Oh, no, that's not the one I wanted!" Drunks in bars are not a lot different from seniors in nursing homes who have short attention spans and some short-term memory impairment. Both groups will often: I, too, am annoyed [or at least puzzled] when I'm doing a theme and someone asks for something completely out of step with it. E.g., during a Christmas program someone requests "Danny Boy" or during a St. Patrick's program someone requests "some country/western"]. Or when the program [or the venue itself] calls for something other than contemporary hits and some of the [usually] younger set keep asking for whatever has been in the charts in the last two or three years. I don't mind so much being asked, but some folks are so narrow that if you don't know [or won't insert into the program] whatever song they come up with, they won't even listen to what you do play/sing. Strictly as an aside, folks, the fact that Shel Silverstein was Jewish is not as relevant re "The Unicorn" as the fact that he was a Jewish American and, as far as I know, not an Irish-Jewish American. There are Irish Jews [James Joyce wrote about one in "Ulysses, e.g.], Irish-Canadian Jews [ask Paddy Graber], and Irish-American Jews [I'm told that George M. Cohan was one]. If an Irish Jew writes music is it any less "Irish" than music written by a Christian Jew? [For purposes of this thread, let's just call this a rhetorical question.] Rick F., Genie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Lonesome EJ Date: 28 Mar 02 - 03:37 PM At a Jefferson Airplane concert years ago, the crowd shouted for White Rabbit on every break, until Grace Slick finally sang (to the tune of White Rabbit)
"Have you ever had peanut butter and jelly They didn't do it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST Date: 28 Mar 02 - 03:50 PM I agree with Genie. I played in some nursing homes recently and in one an old lady requested "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" every 10 minutes or so. I did play it several times for her! I wasn't annoyed - I truly think she forgot she'd already heard it. Although I pretty much always stifle any annoyance while playing and try to be gracious, I do find it incomprehensible that people don't realize what kind of a venue they're in when they request a song, as in the examples cited above. Or that they just won't figure "Oh well, I'm in an Irish pub, might as well enjoy something different" instead of making faces and getting upset because you don't know a song from the current charts. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: Genie Date: 28 Mar 02 - 04:24 PM Yeah, Guest, in a nursing home you can often honor the same request repeatedly and no one will care. But in a residence for higher-functioning seniors, there is often one person who has begun 'slipping' who will repeatedly request the same song. The rest of the folks DON'T want to hear it over and over. But you can usually appease the requester by saying "Well, we already did that one. How about [some other favorite] instead?" Usually they'll let you move on. Don M., What's really frustrating is when I have carefully constructed a set with just the right mix of songs in just the right sequence, and then sabotage all my work by blurting out requests, uninvited. E.g., one song leads naturally into patter that merges into the next song, or a series of songs builds to an emotional or musical crescendo--and the requests throw the rhythm of the whole program off. In a normal adult concert setting, this is seldom a problem, [so that's usually where I do this type of program] but it often is a problem in bars or with children or folks in nursing or assisted living facilities. I almost never refuse a request because I'm tired of a song. I've done enough theater to know that part of your art is keeping the same thing fresh night after night. It's especially hard with comedy, but that's the job. It's kinda like sex. Some people care more about their own favorite moves and positions, regardless of what their partner likes. Others [who probably have better sex lives] get off on pleasing their partners as well as themselves. If you find a position [song] that turn you both on, it's fantastic! The one kind of song I usually refuse to sing [solo], though, is one that just isn't suited to my voice or gender. Some songs just don't sound right to me when sung by a [straight] woman. ["Lay, Lady, Lay" comes to mind.] Others need a belting-type voice [e.g., Janis Joplin's "Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart" or some sea chanteys]. Or someone requests a band song, though I'm solo; can you imagine one woman with an acoustic guitar making "Black Water" sound at all palatable? [Using the sex analogy, I feel that on some songs, even if I comply with the request, neither my 'partner' nor I will be satisfied with the outcome.] leprechaun, the requests to stop singing could be lucrative, if folks would fold 'em up inside $20 bills! Mark C., Harnish, does "some stuff acoustic with no pa" mean "bastard acoustic stuff?" |
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Subject: RE: BS: Most annoying song requests From: GUEST,maryrrf (by the way that was me above) Date: 28 Mar 02 - 04:33 PM A good analogy, Genie. I, too, would only not do songs that were totally unsuitable. I was once requested to do the one by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson - "To all the girls I've loved before". As a straight woman it just felt too ridiculous. Although I have no problem doing tradtional ballads from a man's point of view - such as "The Newry Highwayman" - well there's a slew of them out there. Ditto for songs that take an entire band do do well! |
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