sound. It’s not so much musical, as in repeating riffs, as it is a stylistic way of playing.
When it’s happens and is done well, it becomes something of a musical trademark.
Another important element of your musical brand is your stage presence. Fans expect
to see a show when then shell out some money for a ticket. Otherwise, they’d just listen
to your tunes in the comfort of their home or car.
What you do on stage and how you do it should be memorable. You want the audi-
ence to leave wanting more and thinking, “Whoa! That was amazing!” That’s going to
require thought, planning and some maybe tapping into some resources for props, special
equipment, etc. Your stage presence and show don’t need to rival a major Alice Cooper
theatrical production, but it should be more than you just standing there crooning out
some lyrics about love gone wrong or what’s wrong with society.
YouTube is handy to generate performance ideas without breaking the bank buying
concert tickets. Nonetheless, seeing various artists’ live shows is also important. What do
these acts do on stage? How do they interact with and engage the audience?
Lighting equipment can get expensive pretty quick, but it can also give your show an
inviting and exciting edge. Fog machines and similar equipment can lend some atmos-
phere to a show and enhance the lighting. But, even with the most state-of-the-art equip-
ment, if there’s no personality on stage, the show will be weak.
While on stage performing, you and the band members have a completely different
perspective than the audience, even, and maybe especially, if you’re standing next to the
other performer. You need to see what your show looks and sounds like from the audi-
ence’s point-of-view. Consider videotaping your performances. You might start out with