Every Opportunity to Play
Have you ever met somebody who says they play a little piano or sing a little, and you ask them to play something for you, and they go ‘Oh no, no’ and a multitude of excuses come out. We’ve all been there, on both sides of the fence. But for a musician wanting to go pro, this isn’t good enough. What this means is, if somebody asks you to play, or the opportunity arises, you damn well get up and play.
I’d like to tell you about an acquaintance of mine from Manchester. This gentleman, at 21 years old, was quite an exceptional singer/songwriter. He played most nights of the week in the bars around the city, and I even found him playing to a queue of people outside a nightclub, doing an impromtu, uninvited, gig. Here is the mark of a true performer; one who loves to perform. This gentleman, at the wise old age of 22, was signed to Lavolta records, recorded his first album with Danton Supple, the producer of Coldplay’s mega successful ‘Rush of Blood to the Head’ and ‘X&Y’, and went touring the UK. You can look him up, his name is ‘Liam Frost’.
My point here is brash, and will come across as too strong for some people, but this is only because it is what they do not wish to hear. In order to play successfully, you must play as much as possible. There is no use ‘working on the album’, or ’searching for ideas’. It’s all about performance, if you do not like to perform then you had better quit now. If you do like perform but don’t, you had better put your singing hat on and get started.