I Should Cocoa (Futures)

As part of our Songeist Showcase at The Great Escape last Saturday, COCOA FUTURES rocked The Mucky Duck alongside Haze, Mas Agua and Swell. The buzz around this new band from Tottenham (via Scotland) has all been generated by ‘Do Something’, a summery slice of politicised funk-pop that’s been played on Amazing Radio. As Killing Moon attests, ‘huge things are expected from this four piece’ and after the show Barney caught up with Greg for an interview where he lifted the lid on the past and present of Cocoa Futures.

B. I saw you live for the first time tonight. You were great! Did you enjoy the show? How did it go for you guys?G. Thanks Barney! Yeah, the gig was loads of the fun - apart from the power cutting out to half the stage in the first song. All the bands were really good, so thanks loads for having us. I think it was our eighth gig and our first in a festival setting. So it was great to come down to Brighton and be part of The Great Escape, and to meet the Songeist team. Very windy though, isn’t it?

B. That it is! And those damn seagulls! For those who haven't heard you, give us a brief rundown of Cocoa Futures history and your involvement, if any, in previous bands.G. Well, Dave the drummer and I moved down from Scotland a while back and started writing songs together last year. After a while, we met Zoe (Synth) and Jack (Guitar) through mutual friends. They’re both great musicians who whipped us into shape and moved us on a lot. It’s a good team. We’ve all played in bands before which has really helped in having an idea of what to do. With Cocoa Futures, we were really clear that wanted to have fun and play music we really enjoyed. Hopefully that comes across when you see us live.

Cocoa Futures. They don't give a solitary sh*t about hayfever.

B. It definitely came across. So, what bands have been an influence on Cocoa Futures?We’re into bands/artists like Talk Talk, Tom Tom Club, Tina Turner, Talking Heads and The Invisible.

B. You have a thing for bands with two Ts in their names. But no Tanita Tikaram. You call your style Yumcore? How did that intriguing little name come about?G. I just made it up. Are you allowed to make genres up?
B. I don't believe so.G. Probably not. Sorry. We’re pretty indie to be honest! (laughs)



B. Well, one thing that was distinctive to me about Cocoa Futures was Greg's bass guitar playing. A lot of the bottom end was handled by the synths and Greg played funky bass with a pick in the middle of the sonic spectrum. It worked really well. Was this a conscious decision for the band or just something that evolved from your playing style?G. It definitely wasn’t a conscious decision. I used to play guitar, and I love getting fruity with the pick, so it just kinda happened. Someone did come up to me after our Notting Hill Arts Club gig and say ‘you need a proper bassist mate’ though, so I’m glad it works for you. Thanks Barney!

B. You're welcome. It worked for me, and it was unique. Tell us the details about your next single 'Do Something'.G. It comes out May 30^th and you can have a listen on Songeist. We’ve got a lovely launch show at the Finsbury in Manor House. Forget the fact it’s at a tube station you’ve probably not been to, it’s a great venue so come along.  There's a Facebook EVENT for it. A band called Black Forest Ghetto are playing too. They’ll make you dance.

The single is backed up with a rework from a great young artist called Coby Sey. He’s taken the song to a very, very different and incredible place. We’d love to work with him again in the future. The rework is up on Songeist too, so check it out.


B. The lyrics of 'Do Something' discuss contemporary UK politics quite candidly. Not many pop bands dare touch these kind of topics. What is your perspective on this and what would be your respond to anyone suggesting that politics in music is commercially a bad idea?G. I’m pretty sure it’s a horrible idea commercially. I think quite a few people who are into pop would be uneasy with the subject matter. A song referencing Gordon Brown and Alan Greenspan is unlikely to get the fists pumping at V festival(!) But talking about corruption in politics was something that we wanted to talk about and get off our chests. And that’s what music is for, right? From the other perspective, people interested in the subject matter probably aren’t drawn to these issues being talked about in the context of a two minute pop song. So yeah, possibly a terrible idea all round. It’s bloody fun to play though.

B. I applaud you for it. And I think people will be into the honesty. I was struck by the contrast between 'Do Something' and some of the other songs in the set. It sounds like the album will be a darker affair and you've put your most poppy foot forward to make a first impression. Is this an accurate appraisal?
G. Yeah, spot on. There wasn’t a huge amount of thought behind it. We recorded three tunes and ‘Do Something’ turned out best. The other stuff is definitely a bit darker. I’m really looking forward to recording it and putting it out.


Greg's unique playing style is not apparent in this photo I took. You'll just have to check it out at a gig.

B. Where can we follow Cocoa Futures and keep up to date with you and your releases?G. Come along to a show. Let Jack the guitarist buy you a rum. He’ll tell you about his Saab and probably rope you into doing some DIY. After the single launch, we’ve got Camden Crawl on June 21^st which we’re all looking forward to. Oh and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

You heard the man! Go follow Cocoa Futures and check them out on Songeist HERE. Their show at The Finsbury Pub on 30th May has limited free tickets so go and grab your now from the Facebook event HERE.

From The Garage to The Stage Part 4: Confidence and Connection

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming weeks so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH HERE.
READ PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET HERE.
READ PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION

During a live gig, especially a club show, the dynamic between the crowd and act is very different from one of simply Performer and Audience. The relationship is probably more analogous to that of a stand-up comedy show than to a classical pianist and a hall full of patrons, or a crowd watching a game at a sports event. There is very little separation between the parties and a huge deal of direct interaction, both explicit and subliminal. Emotions are high and the audience and band feed and react to them. Sometimes the crowd speaks back. Bluff and self-assurance are essential and, like with so much in life, confidence is the key.

PEOPLE LIKE CONFIDENCE
Consider this. A stand-up comedian can perform to a room with great material but if he stutters nervously through his set, avoids eye-contact with the room, or acts hostile and complains about the crowd’s sense of humour he will leave the stage to silence or boos. A comedian with poor material who projects confidence and a sense of ease, or simply a likeable presence, can create a bond with the crowd and leave the stage with polite applause or even cheers. It’s exactly the same with a band, especially in a support slot. A band's music is a smaller part of a live show than most music journalists get paid to tell you it is and certainly far less than most punters consciously realise when they watch a live show. The crowd wants to like you so don't give them a reason not to. If a band looks as if they’re enjoying their music and come across as confident and cocksure, that will convince a crowd as much as the songs. Conversely, bands that look shy and embarrassed will make the crowd feel awkward and that negative emotion becomes associated with their music. With this in mind, if, like me, you don’t have the kind of natural boundless confidence that lights up the room every time you walk in it, it could be time to put some strategies and concepts into action.

Matt Reynolds, ex-guitarist and singer of rock band Howard’s Alias and now fronting folk act Big Fin, played guitar for Sonic Boom Six for a few tours at the end of 2009. A veteran of live gigs, Matt conveyed a striking live music philosophy to me on stage in Europe that stopped me in my tracks. Its simplicity was its genius. He said ‘every second that you look away from the crowd during a live show is a moment that you are cheating from them’. Over time it's become clear to me that as a general mantra to follow, it's a tremendously effective motivator. Of course, it’s not advised to stand on the edge of the stage and stare dementedly at the crowd for the entirety of the set. And as musicians, it’s great to share eye-contact and moments with your fellow musicians during the performance. But it’s also important to bear in mind that if you look at each other for the whole set, you are depriving your attention from the very place it needs to go… into the audience. Matt’s philosophy is the perfect concept to keep pushing you to do that. And looking at the crowd and conveying your energy, passion and belief in your music is what creates connection.

Matt Reynolds, looking AT a crowd and not cheating them.

CREATING THE CONNECTION
The idea of connection is a great way to conceptualise it. We've all been to sold-out arena gigs where there is a lack of a bond between the band and the audience, yet we've seen half-empty club shows where every single thing the band does has an effect on the mood and causes a reaction in the crowd. Equally we've watched festival headliners electrify thousands but stood through bands in tiny venues getting no reaction in a cold room. It's not the size of the show, it's the connection that creates a truly exhilarating live performance. For those of us petrified of performing that find ourselves looking down and smiling nervously throughout a live set, we need to put some thought into ways of avoiding this behaviour because it inhibits our connection. A good trick to start with can simply be looking over the audience, choosing a spot on the back wall of the venue just above the crowd's eye line and literally performing to that. Initially, your main goal is simply to get the energy out there and not elsewhere on the stage and to get comfortable doing it.

Eye contact is difficult for many people and feeling exposed on stage can increase one's self-consciousness. You may have heard how, to keep eye contact in police interviews, hardened criminals look between the eyes or at the eyebrows of those giving them a grilling. Start by using this technique. Smile at people. Connect with people. You don’t want to give all your attention to the same group of people through the entire set; look to the spot in the back of the room, then to the mass of people in the centre of the room, then give some time to those at the front. There have been times on stage where I have consciously tested this, observing the visceral difference in the body language of the people before me when I look and emote to them as opposed to looking elsewhere. You really do have the power in your body language to convey the energy of your music and to will people to enjoy it the way that you enjoy it. But you have to work at it.

Look, a lovely bunch of foreheads to connect with.

CONTROLLING THE CONNECTION
The paradox of creating connection, is that it's an exercise in controlling energy rather than unleashing it. We've all seen bands that think the key to a great live performance is to leap around the stage and thrash about like maniacs. Rather than encouraging the crowd to get involved, this can have the opposite effect, serving only to underline the lack of excitement in the rest of the room. The contrast between the energy of an act trying so hard and the ambivalent atmosphere in a venue can seem absurd, pathetic even, and this breaks the connection. Onstage, you may feel like you want to leap out of your skin but you need to harness that nervousness and adrenaline and focus your energy to coax the crowd to get involved, not to compel them to.

At the risk of sounding a little 'New Age', the best live acts can adapt to the vibrations in a room, focus them and then amplify them. This goes right back to the 'turning of the screw' through the first part of the setlist that we discussed in Part 2. When you hit the right vibration and take a cold, still room to a heaving mass of sweaty bodies in the space of three songs, it's the greatest feeling in the world. The gigs we all live for are those when the crowd erupts and you no longer need to worry about any of these blog subjects and you can lose yourself completely. But it's important to remember that you and the crowd go through the process together, not separately. Physical reaction and dancing from the crowd is a goal that inexperienced bands often pursue above all else, yet movement is not always the indicator of the best show. A gig's overall connection can even be broken by over-enthusiastic pockets of fans being super-served, moshing violently or chanting louder than the rest of the crowd. The most powerful, memorable and life-affirming gigs are those where the connection across the room between crowd and band is strongest. And the trick to connecting is more often implosion than explosion. It's reaction rather than action.

A mic, between songs. Remember, you don't HAVE to use it.

KEEPING THE CONNECTION
If there's one place where even the best bands lose their confidence, let their guard down and break the spell of the connection, it's between songs. There’s always a certain amount of discomfort in the act of being on stage with a mic and talking to a crowd and it’s only natural that it feels odd. I don’t want to belabour the point, but to emote clearly and briefly is far preferable than mumbling. If what you do and say between songs is affecting the connection between you and the crowd, then just say very little. There's no rule saying you have to say anything. Don't ruin the mood with stupid jokes if you're not a natural comedian, or, as we covered in Part 3, don't say the same thing again and again for the sake of it. Don't create a cliquey atmosphere by sharing private conversations between you and your friends in the crowd. It's a tempting crutch to lean on but the people in the audience that aren't in your close circle of friends will not know about that mad thing that happened to Batshit Barry at Reading 2007, and frankly won't care, so don't bring it up.

A good way to look at it is that if you get the feeling that you might possibly, maybe, perhaps, just a little bit, be mumbling rubbish into a mic between songs then you definitely are. Next week we'll continue these ideas about projecting a good positive atmosphere onstage and communicating with each other, and others, with efficiency and wisdom before, during and after the show.

Until next time...

Barney

Crowd shot courtesy Cabaret Voltaire's Flickr used under Creative Commons License.
Mic shot courtesty Ashley Collins' Flickr used under Creative Commons License.

From The Garage to the Stage Part 3: Segues and Speeches

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming weeks so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH HERE.
READ PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET HERE.
READ PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES

Last week we discussed the concept of writing a killer setlist and my advice was to break the set into three sections. While this is a technique that works perfectly just to get the songs down into an effective order on paper, this structure can exist within the show itself, creating a set that comes across as a half-hour performance rather than a 'stop-start' affair.

STICK WITH THE SECTIONS
You only have a limited amount of time in the set so stopping for a chat and a tune-up after every song is not an efficient use of anyone's time. Without planning beforehand, bands tend to meander between songs. It’s not engaging as an audience member to look at a group of musicians whose heads are scanning each other from left to right with the singer mouthing ‘are you ready?’ This doesn’t have the same sense of performance as you can achieve if you have your transitions organised. In my experience, a crowd can enjoy two or three songs played back-to-back quite comfortably so the perfect time for a chat or a breather is between the setlist sections outlined last week. So, for that half-an-hour-length, seven-song support set, leaving a gap between songs three and four, then between five and six, and finally saying a goodbye during a breakdown in the last song is a great way to lay the set out in terms of 'breaks' (you can revise your understanding of this standard support-set structure in my last blog HERE).

On SB6 setlists, our we denote the section breaks by drawing a line between the songs. Between the songs that have no line on the setlist, there is no break in the set. We may drag out the last note of the song before and start the next song immediately. We may have a backing track bubbling underneath and just say a few words over that to introduce the next song. The important thing is that the flow keeps going until we see the line on the setlist. Only where there is a line do we know that we’re free to relax, have a drink of water and address the crowd in a free-form way. It’s worth noting that having these gaps after playing three songs or so back-to-back is as important for the crowd as it is for the band. They need to catch their breath too and it’s amazing how the atmosphere of the room can change from exhausted to expectant in something as small as a thirty-second breather.


See how Muse structure their sets with sections divided by breaks.

BANTER IN THE BREAKS
Some bands are natural comedians and turn their bluff and banter between songs into a charming feature of the set. Most of us aren’t, or at least have to work very hard at it, so it’s great to have some tricks up our sleeves. If you’re a little shy with the crowd, that’s a perfect reason to define where in the set you are going to chat and what your subject is. It's a good idea to write a subject down next to the section-break line on your setlist to denote what to speak about. The main thing that this avoids (and I see it all the time) is bands repeating themselves. A way you could do it could be cheat-sheet style notes such as ‘thank previous band’, ‘chat to crowd’ or ‘mention merch / website’. You could even leave the notes as just a word to inspire or remind you of your subject and let yourself wax lyrical from there. This might feel contrived to some but I’m not suggesting you script anything, in fact it's best to avoid over-scripting. Not only does scripting sound unnatural in execution, but scripted setlists grabbed by members of the crowd may end up the source of much amusement and ridicule if the fan posts them on the internet, which genuinely happened to some friends in a leading UK punk band some years ago (but, to be fair, even for a control freak like me, having 'spray beer' on the setlist was too much information!)

When playing a support slot, as a rule of thumb, the less breaks the better, but remember that every break doesn't need to taken after three songs or more, particularly on a longer set. You can see on the example below that SB6 choose to break after song six, then again after song seven. The point is that we all know where we are going to break, and Laila has a subject to chat about, because it's laid out for her on the setlist.


Laila's SB6 setlist, complete with break lines and banter notes.

HAPPY TALK
There are several common errors to avoid when talking to crowds. Saying the exact same thing after every other song is the most usual mistake that inexperienced bands make. It conveys nerves and a lack of sincerity. The most glaring example I can give that many support bands fall back on (I’m sure we all have) is to continuously thank the main band. During the breakdown of the last song is a great place to thank or ‘big up’ the main act. It’s so tempting to do it throughout, because the fans are waiting for them and you’ll get a cheap cheer, but to most people in the room it comes across as fawning and amateurish, almost as if you can barely believe you’re getting to play with your heroes. That’s not how your potential fans want to see you. Once, or twice at most, (once at the start, once at the end if you absolutely must) is more than enough.

Much more of a cardinal sin of onstage banter is the behaviour of bands who attempt to scold the crowd for not reacting to them the way that they want them to. I’ve seen support bands call crowds ‘lazy’ for not dancing to them, I’ve seen hardcore bands call crowds ‘p*****s’ for not moshing. This is not the way to deal with these situations. As far as playing a support set goes, you really are on an emotional knife-edge with a room full of strangers; they want to like you, but you shouldn’t give them reason not to.

Hands up who is ready to see the MAIN BAND! WOOOOO!

EXPECTING TOO MUCH
Also in the ‘expecting too much from a support crowd' category is a peculiar no-no I used to see a lot, especially among punk bands. Bands would attempt to guilt-trip the audience into buying their CD based on the simple fact that they had made the effort to play a gig. Politely suggesting that the crowd might want to buy a CD or support the scene is one thing but saying ‘we’ve driven 500 miles to get here and we have no money and the only way that bands like us and the ones you will see later tonight can keep going is for you to buy our merch’ is just a downer. No one twisted your arm to join a band. We paid our money to get in. Entertain us! There is a more positive way to get that notion across than to come out and say it in those terms. Rock the crowd as hard as you can, come across as affable and positive, tell them about your merch and let them work it out for themselves.

If the room does turn against you, it’s far better to come across as blissfully ignorant of a contemptuous venue, lost in the joy of your own music, than it is to discuss that elephant in the room. Those fans paid for their ticket. It’s not the crowd’s duty to dance to you, to shout your name, or to like you. This isn’t just a one way conversation. Often the crowd will answer back… but that’s a story for next week where we will discuss the subliminal discourse that goes on between crowd and audience at every gig. That might sound a little like psychobabble but I'm simply talking about the unspoken contract between performer and onlooker that goes on in every kind of performance.

Until next time…

Barney

Cheers to Theo Araby Kirkpatrick for the SB6 setlist shot.
Crowd shot courtesy Chad Cooper's Flickr used under Creative Commons License.

From The Garage to The Stage Part 2: Structuring Your Set

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming weeks so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH HERE.
READ PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES HERE.
READ PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET


Your songs are ready to go. You have rehearsed every detail of each composition so many times you’ve lost count. You’re absolutely confident that you won’t miss that cheeky bar of 2/4 or that weird bridge part that Bob made up when he was high. All that remains is to put your seven or eight songs down on a list and to play them from beginning to end, tuning up, drinking beer and thanking the crowd in between them, right?

Not really. You need to put a great deal of thought into the order of your tracks. This could be the difference between a good set and a great set. When you put together an album, you think of the entirety of the recording and structure the songs accordingly, right? Why should a live set be any different?

A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END
As we’ve already discussed, we must give a great deal of consideration to the opening of the set but we should approach all of the set with that same attention to detail. Of course, as with all of my blogs, there are exceptions to the rule. There are bands that can go on with no planning at all and stumble through a set and blow the room away. But for the vast majority of us, it benefits to use some strategy. The way I approach a set is like a good book or film; with a beginning, a middle and an end. For a thirty-minute set I think of three sets of ten minutes. For a forty-five minute set, I break it down into three sets of fifteen minutes. Of course, this isn’t an exact science. It won’t necessarily be the same amount of songs per section but the concept remains, even if the section lengths vary.

To illustrate, I will use a thirty-minute, seven-song support set as the example. This set-length will probably be where you start and gradually your sets will get longer as you get bigger as a band. We can extrapolate these concepts across longer sets, simply by extending the sections by adding songs into them. Once you get towards an hour, you might want to actually repeat a full middle section or two, creating different waves of energy moving up and down through songs during the middle section of the set.


A vintage SB6 support set that follows all the rules outlined in the blog. A 3-2-2 section structure, most abrasive track third, reggae track fifth and fan favourites to close.

DON'T PEAK TOO EARLY
The first section of the set, from your moment coming onstage to impact of song three, should build. While you should hit the stage with purpose and focus (as we discussed on the last blog) you don’t want to peak too early in terms of impact. People may still be shuffling in from the bar at the point you go on. Opening the set at full-blast in terms of attack and energy is tempting because it seems logical and the nervous energy is easy to get swept away in, but it can actually create a disconnect between the band and the crowd. If you’re supporting a bigger band and you're new to a crowd, the floor often needs easing into a set as opposed to dragging into it. The people in the crowd are jostling and jockeying for their positions during the start of a set. Open with a song that’s secure and solid to play, so that you can iron out any potential sound issues and get comfortable in the room. You don’t even need to necessarily play a full tune, maybe up to the middle 8 is enough. The first three songs are not the time for extended breakdowns or banter. These songs need to gain, not grab, the crowd's attention and ‘turn the screw’ on the room’s atmosphere. For song two, up the ante, turn the screw, move that energy forward but keep in mind that song two is not your destination. You and the crowd should feel locked-in by this point so that when you drop song three the set ignites. When you get this right and the cork on the bottle of the room's energy pops, it's one of the most exhilarating feelings a musician can have.

Our old booking agent Ian Armstrong of Hidden Talent Booking imparted to me long ago that you should always play your best song third. Over the years, I’ve seen the wisdom in this. If you’re strangers to an audience, it will take a couple of songs for people to make up their mind about you. The difference between someone leaping into the pit and cheering at the top of their lungs as opposed to standing at the back and politely applauding could be to deploy a killer third tune. Even for a big band with an established crowd, the third song is a sweet spot to really ignite the party. Just ask AC/DC.


AC/DC, dropping the big gun 'Back in Black' third. (Photo courtesy of The Revenge of Riff-Raff)

THE CREAMY MIDDLE
Next up is the middle section. You have their attention, now you have to do something with it. Choose something solid for song four that 'turns the gas down' slightly and can surf on the inertia of energy that song three has created in the room. In a thirty-minute set, it’s probably a bad idea to go too far off into experimental territory but if you want to do something left-of-centre during the set then choose song five to do it. If you have a ballad or some excursion into a different tempo, such a reggae tune, then this part of the set is ideal. If your material is all the same pace and style, you could still use track five to extend a middle eight and get the crowd clapping. Just adding something into the set at this point that’s a little out of the box can work really well to piqué the crowd's interest beyond the first few songs.

Track 5. Made for clapping along to.

THE TRIUMPHANT ENDING
The last section is the right place for another couple of your best songs or fan favourites. You’d hope that across the set you’ve built up some momentum and established a rapport with the crowd. By this point they understand what the band is all about and are ready for you to make your final impression. The very last song is another great one to stretch out. Maybe settle on the middle-eight groove of the song and get the crowd involved again, whether it’s getting them to clap or to repeat a word or lyric you shout out. You could even try some more creative crowd interaction. The old Iron Maiden ‘Scream for me London!’ always works wonders but there are lots of ways that you can get people involved. You could part the crowd down the middle and get them to sing alternate lines. You could get them to sit down (or maybe set up a wall of death or circle pit if you're a heavier act) as you vamp on a breakdown and then jump up when you drop the big riff. Push yourself to try something interesting and memorable and use your imagination to relate whatever it is you do back to the music. People remember a band that does something original with the crowd, and the last song is the time to do it.

Finally, always remember to end the set on a bang, not a whimper. The rock n roll clichés are clichés because they work. It isn't rocket science to do the old ‘crescendo drum roll with guitar noise followed by synchronised stabs’ routine but it works. If you raise your guitars slowly together as you strum those discordant chords and the drummer thrashes about on the cymbals like Animal behind you, the crowd is naturally, inexplicably compelled to cheer and holler and clap louder, no matter what has preceded it. No one knows exactly why this is, but it would be unwise to blow against the wind of this piece of tried and tested musical science. Rock n Roll clichés are your friend. As Keith Richards said, Rock n Roll is music for the neck down.

To end this blog, a very simple lesson. When writing that setlist, don’t be tempted to squeeze in an extra song just because you might be able to manage it. It will stress out the band having to watch the clock and it will cause you to rush. Running over set time during a support slot is NOT an option (gig etiquette is another blog for the coming weeks). Instead, simply use the remaining minutes to stretch out your last song and communicate with the crowd. You want to leave them wanting more, not wanting you to get off stage, and even a support band that’s being received very well shouldn’t push their luck when the crowd’s favourite band are coming on in half an hour.

Now we've got our setlist written, next week in 'From The Garage to the Stage' we'll deal with applying the structure of your set into your performance, dealing with the gaps between songs and when, and when not, to chat to the crowd.

Until next time…

Barney

Credit to Revenge of Riff Raff for the AC/DC Setlist.

From The Garage to The Stage Part 1: Making a Splash

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming months so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET HERE.
READ PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES HERE.
READ PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH

You’ve got your songs written. You’ve memorised your lyrics. You’ve rehearsed every verse, chorus and bridge so many times that you’ve got blisters on your fingertips. You’ve got your guitar, leads, spare strings and you’ve borrowed Uncle Barry’s van.

You’re ready to do a gig.

For the purposes of getting better as a band, there is no alternative to doing gigs. As soon as you are able, get out there and do it. Chances are, you’ll learn more in one gig than ten rehearsals. But the lessons learned during a live performance are subtle. Many of them are personal. You won’t find these lessons in a ‘100 Hot Guitar Licks’ book but they are just as important as nailing that gnarly bend during your extended solo. There are no hard-and-fast-rules to playing live, but across this series of blogs I’m going to attempt to impart some live music advice that I have picked up which, if nothing else, should stimulate a few thoughts about your approach to your live show.

OPENING THE SHOW
What better place to start than… the start! I can’t tell you the amount of times that I’ve witnessed this scene. The crowd stands in the venue, waiting for the next band to play after the opener has finished. The band is busy swapping around their equipment, tuning up, testing mics. The guitarist idly plays the riff from ‘Layla’. The drummer sits behind the kit and last-minute tunes his toms. BONG, BONG, PLOP. The crowd is murmuring, some watching this going on, some not watching. The band gradually settles into their places, still nervously playing little riffs and tapping away. At some point the singer mouths ‘you guys ready?’ to the rest of the band. They nod and the singer shuffles to the front and says ‘hello, er, we are The Ferrets and we hope you like us’. 1, 2, 3, 4 and it’s into the set. Half the crowd aren’t even watching. The performance fizzles into existence, rather than explodes.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing bands that, without even thinking about it, can storm the stage and say ‘hello, we are The Ferrets’ and kick into a deafening roar of rock that can knock the socks off everyone in the venue. But for most of us, we need to put a little thought behind how we can start the set with a bang.

"BONG, BONG, PLOP."

DEALING WITH DRUMMERS (AND NOODLERS)
Once the preceding band’s gear is off the stage and your amp or drums are line-tested and set up and you have a few minutes to spare there is NO REASON to stay on the stage. Granted, in small venues there are times that a drummer may have a difficult route to negotiate so may need to stay on the stage. But there is no excuse for sitting there tuning drums and tapping unless absolutely necessary. A drummer will not understand why this is, so we may have to explain this to them. It is a truth of live music that the atmosphere of anticipation of a good, hard rocking is much more palpable and dramatic without the backdrop of BONG, BONG, PLOP reverberating across the venue.

Once your gear is set-up, get off the stage. Get into a group. Maybe even a little football-team huddle. Focus on what you’re about to do. When the time is right, storm the stage, with purpose, wave to the crowd, together. Would you believe that an experienced band can get a round of cheers to a room of complete strangers by doing this before even playing a note? They can, we can and YOU CAN just by looking the part and acting the part. Even if the venue is so small it has no backstage, or even stage, to speak of, a band can still get to the side and then, at the right time, descend on their gear together. This will still get a reaction.

Simply put, an empty stage is a metaphor. It symbolises the potential of the new band about to fill it. Stormed by a band with purpose and swagger at the right moment it fills with excitement. Then ‘Hello, we are The Ferret’s’ is performed, rather than just happening.

Wave your hands in the air like you mean it... and they will too. It's science.

CREATE SOME IMPACT

Another question is, is the ‘Hello, we are The Ferret’s’ really what you want to do? As I said, many bands can pull this generic entrance off but there are so many alternatives to this that are way more effective. A great trick to grab the crowd's attention is to simply crash down as loud and hard as you can together on crash cymbals and open strings repeatedly to really create some impact before kicking into the first song. Another way to approach it is opening with a short instrumental piece, perhaps simply an extended intro of your first song. I enjoy an instrumental set-opener because it allows you to get used to the sound of the room and the feel of your instrument before starting to sing or go into a song for real. The right piece of music can really build up an atmosphere before the songs start. A way that we will often approach an intro is to come on stage together, without the vocalist, and play a short instrumental before pausing and letting the vocalist walk on, which really ramps up the drama and aura around the singer.

A final option you might well want to think about is if your intro could be complimented by theme music? The intro music of a good TV show, film or such can work wonders to set the scene for the carnage you are about to unleash. Most sound guys will be totally happy to whack a CD on for you if you sort it in advance.

The right theme music can get them moving before you even come on...

So there we are. Remember, it’s not my intention to say one way is right and one is wrong. It’s my intention to get you asking yourself which of these options is right for you, rather than not thinking about it until you’ve already started the gig.

Next week in 'From The Garage to the Stage' we'll deal with the dark art of writing a setlist. Not just throwing a few songs on a list, but putting together a flow of music that will maximise the impact and impression you make with that thirty minutes you have up there. See you next Wednesday!

Until then...

Barney

Barney is a founder member of Manchester’s Sonic Boom Six. Sonic Boom Six has released 4 studio albums and two full-length compilations with countless singles, EPs and compilation appearances. 'The Boom' has performed headline tours of Europe, America and Japan as well as slots at festivals including Glastonbury, Download, Sonisphere and the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festival. SB6 has written and performed songs that have appeared on BBC Radio 1, Channel 4, BBC 2 (TV), Rock Band and Sims 3 video games.

BARNEY BOOM’s TOP 5 90′S HIP HOP TUNES (THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW)

This is a repost of my original blog from the BANDSXBASS blog. You can read the blog HERE.

We asked our pal Barney from the mighty Sonic Boom Six to give us a rundown of his favourite 90s Hip Hop tunes. Boom!

Everyone knows that early 90s hip-hop was the best music ever. By the venerated period of 1991-1996, rap music had evolved from its early 80’s roots in party electro into a an altogether more serious proposition, galvanised through the militant politicisation of Public Enemy, the street-level parables of Kool G Rap and the poetic, mercurial lyricism of Rakim. By 1991 hip-hop was ready to mature into its finest vintage on both coasts, with the East Coast project-street rhymes of Nas, Biggie, Gang Starr and Mobb Deep complementing the G-Funk, sun-drenched gangsta and smoked-out Soul Assassin rollers of the West Coast. By the time Jay-z dropped his debut classic ‘Reasonable Doubt’, Mafioso pretensions, a pre-occupation with ‘Benjamins’ and having Puff Daddy dancing in every video had pulled the music away from its natural street-corner setting. The rest of the decade was spent dancing to synthesised typewriter beats in front of light bulbs in Hype Williams videos or rapping on self-consciously low-fidelity production about kung-fu and chess. And I love a Wu-Tang spin-off project or Timbo beats as much as the next man, especially when you consider it next to most of what constitutes mainstream rap today, but it’s during 1991-1996 that hip-hop was at its most prolific, creative and pure.
The dearth of incredible material that dropped between 91 and 96 is such that there are likely to be some undiscovered gems in there for those that occupy the vast expanse between being ‘into rap’ and the bona fide ‘crate-digging hip-hop heads’, as the parlance goes. So strap on your Timberlands and your red and black lumberjack (with the hat to match) because here’s a few of my favourites you might have missed.
I’ll only include songs with videos, with this being the internet and all.

SHOWBIZ & A.G – SOUL CLAP
I chose this one to start with for a few reasons. Firstly, it might well be one of those tunes that you have heard at a club night and you dance to it, then shout at your mate with a finger in your ear ‘who is this’? To which they shrug and shout ‘I don’t know!’ Well, it’s none other than the right talented due of Showbiz and A.G! Secondly, I chose it because it’s a tune that pretty much lays out the blueprint of exactly what early 90s hip-hop consists of. Sampled Boom-Bap Drum Loop? Check. Prominent funk bass guitar line? Present. Call and response chorus shouts from the homies on the block? Right here. The sound of an old-school whistling kettle every four bars? Can do. It’s all there. Also worthy of comment is that it does that weird thing that only hip-hop videos do. Seeing as they are going to all that trouble of making a new video that people are going to watch and stuff, they put 30 seconds of another song of theirs at the start of the video. For no good reason at all. It’s a tradition that continues to this day (watch Azealia Banks’ new video for an unexpected reprise of ‘212’ at the start) and this particular one is remarkable for showcasing 30 seconds of a perky little beat with an alto sax as its main component. What with Macklemore’s recent success with sampling the very same instrument, I’ll leave you to watch the video on that thought, as if it was some kind of legitimate segue.



MILKBONE – KEEP IT REAL

If any of you have heard of Milkbone, it’s as likely as not to be from Eminem’s fleeting mention of him as he runs through the litany of every white rapper in history, before dissing them on his twisted anthem ‘I Just Don’t Give A Fuck’. While I don’t have any beef with dear old Slim taking issue with Vanilla Ice, and I’m not sure who Silicone is, or if that’s even a rapper, his knocking of Milkbone causes me more unease. And that’s because Milkbone is the white rapper behind this wonderfully chill slice of hip-hop, with a piano loop beat that you may have heard before on various freestyles and radio sessions by more famous rappers. So, even if his slightly over-enthusiastic dancing and ratty pencil moustache somewhat lend credence to the concept of completely burying evidence of the white race’s participation in early rap history, the strength of this tune and the perfect rhymes he spits are proof enough to ensure that Milkbone should be celebrated and not consigned to a footnote in a verse from his melanin-challenged successor.



GROUP HOME  - LIVIN’ PROOF

Right, let’s get serious. Group Home is one of the best acts that no one outside circles of dedicated hip-hop heads has ever heard of. As with the fate of poor old Milkbone, a fleeting mention of them in Nas’s ‘Hip-Hop is Dead’ might be the nearest any casual listener might have got. Starting out as protégé’s of the greatest hip-hop producer who ever lived, DJ Premier, Group Home’s limitations as lyricists and emcees saw them overshadowed by their New York contemporaries. And while Group Home might lack the charisma of Guru, the distinctive character of Jeru The Damaja and the evocative street-poetry of Prodigy on early Mobb Deep, what they do have is a uniquely subterranean seriousness that pervades every inch of their LPs. For me, without a doubt their best moment is the stunning ‘Sacrifice’, in which each member earnestly pledges to dedicate their lives and souls hip-hop. Close second is ‘Livin Proof’, the title-cut from their debut album with an accompanying video every bit as sober and thugged-out as the tune. If you dig it, check out ‘Sacrifice’ next and take if from there.


THE WHOOLIGANZ – PUT YOUR HANDS UP

As with The Red Hot Chili Peppers appearance on BBC2’s Rapido, (which I caught when I must have been all of 5 years old) and seeing wrestler Kerry Von Erich remonstrating with a some fat baddie over the honour of a fan (on a TV in a cafe bar in Tenerife, no less), the next entry is something I accidentally saw on telly that left an deep-seated impression on my young mind. I saw a portion of this video, along with clips of Onyx and other hip-hop acts, on a Channel 4 TV series about US TV, which just happened to be reporting the influence of gangsta rap on suburban white kids. I guess it was supposed to be a cautionary tale, but I taped the damn thing and pretty much wore the VHS out to watch this video and Onyx’s ‘BacDaFucUp’ as much as my young mind would take. The Whooliganz were actually a teenage version of the hip-hop producer The Alchemist and his mate Scott (actor James Caan’s son) who were brought into the Soul Assassins fold alongside Cypress Hill and House of Pain. These guys were young white kids, doing the whole “teenage suburban rebel skater punk rapper” thing years and years before that yawnsome movie ‘Kids’. Because I was just about ready to do the whole “teenage suburban rebel skater punk rapper” thing, it provided a blueprint of sorts. ‘Put Your Hands Up’ showed me not only what clothes to wear and how to move my hands when I pretended to rap but it also provided explicit instructions of how to (hypothetically) behave towards the police and stagedive into another group of “teenage suburban rebel skater punk rappers”. I have no way to be even vaguely objective about this song; it’s such a part of my psyche that I’d be as at a loss to adjudicate the danceability of my own pulse. I still fucking love it. I hope you enjoy it, and failing that, I hope you can see why this looked a whole lot better to me than Cast and Man United at the time.



REDMAN – WHATEVA MAN

Even the most casual of hip-hop heads know who Redman is. And you very probably don’t need me to tell you how great Eric Sermon’s production is. But here we are at the end of the list and, while I had a list of other tunes as long as my arm, I feel it would be somehow untoward of me not to put Reggie in the list. Because while Big L, Wu-Tang, Big Pun and the rest of the East Coast masters get all the props and plaudits they deserve, I sometimes think that Redman gets forgotten from the Mount Rushmore of East Coast Hip-Hop. I was going to go for the phenomenal ‘Rated R’ off Redman’s stunning debut but there’s no video for that so you’re going to have to Spotify it. Instead, here’s ‘Whateva Man’, a complete and utter bona fide banger some casual rap fans might have missed. If you never missed this, and you full well know what a banger this is, here’s an excuse to rock it again. Turn the bass up a bit before you do.

A great read about Nelson Mandela on ThinkProgress.org

The subtle media whitewash of Nelson Mandela from political firebrand to cuddly, smiling Uncle happened well before his death. I remember a few years back (maybe it was his 90th birthday) watching a show with celebrities offering trite, gushing tributes to Mandela. I particularly recall David Beckham appearing and rattling on about Mandela's strength and how he was an inspiration to us all in utterly vague terms. I don't mean to rag on Beckham in particular, but I expressed interest at the time if he knew the first thing about the politics of Mandela, because he, or the show, certainly didn't relay anything of substance in that regard. The media's cultural inertia just told the UK that he was an innocent man who got put away for ages and was dead stoic and old and grinned a lot on telly. And that's about it. And while we've got the Tories and right wing media championing him along with the rest, it's good to remind ourselves of the opinions he did have that challenged the right. And if we consolidate them alongside the image of the smiley, benevolent elder statesman we were presented it might help us understand the importance of his contemporary political observations...

 Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About

The Daley Dozen.

It's been another one of those days on Facebook and Twitter. It might appear like my psyche is currently entirely reserved for disdain towards the everyday trends that pop up on our social networks, but if you'll just indulge me this one more then I promise I'll leave it alone for a few weeks.

As far as Facebook goes, today's treatment of the news about Tom Daley coming out has been great as far as I can see it. There have been a lot of sarcastic tweets with people spelling out how his sexuality is of no consequence to them and quite a few congratulatory tweets lauding Tom for leading the way for other sports personalities. Of course, converse to the observations on my last blog (which I won't mention again today...) that's exactly what you'd expect of the circle of friends of the faux-punk, lily-livered liberal that I've been repeatedly assured I am over the last few days. If someone posts homophobic, or indeed overtly racist or misogynistic things, I'll generally just un-friend them. But of course, I know this behaviour exists. I see and hear it across the internet and across real life.

We all know it's there.

Do we really need 'best of's?'

Tom Daley, winner of today's internet.

Is it just me that is getting suspicious of these blogs that make compilations of the 20 worst tweets then post them to Tumblr as an example of all the bad things that are being said? I'm sure this phenomenon started well-meaning enough. First time I was really aware of it was the litany of disgusting tweets supporting the boys in the Steubenville High School rape case showcased on a webpage. The tweets were truly disturbing and a worthwhile window into a culture that castigates victims of rape if the social circumstances are convenient enough. It was eye-opening. But from there these tweet compilations moved into other territory such as sexist responses to Miley twerking to teenage idiot girls tweeting how they'd still like to shag Chris Brown after all the bad things he did. I clicked through one today, offering to lift the lid on all the awful things the UK public had to say about Tom Daley and was left feeling slightly confused about the practicalities of a list that basically comprised of a Twitter search for the words 'Daley' and 'fag'. And I was also left feeling slightly had.

Because you click and look at them don't you? It's a bit like rubbernecking at a car crash. If a car crash was a faceless pillock using text speak to present their bigoted worldview on their phone while they wait for a bus. But these aren't the kind of people who are going to be overly concerned about appearing on a Tumblr list of this sort. Quite the contrary. If someone's throwing the word 'fag' about on Twitter, chances are they're only going to be too happy to appear on that kind of a wall of shame. And I know, because I've just ten minutes looking at people attacking them on Twitter and they're just laughing at then AND getting retweeted by other bigots to boot. Whatever we're doing, it isn't working.

Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age but now I can't work out whether the people who make these lists are genuine... or just going for clicks, publicity and the chance of some filthy lucre for their own website in the name of social consciousness. Maybe a bit of both? I think we're just sharing them on our Facebooks without even wondering about the motives of those who have compiled them. And even if the motives are sound, I think they are, judging by today's response, misguided.

All those saying homophobic things on social media about Tom Daley deserve to be called out. The culture of Facebook and Twitter and other sites should be muscular in its disapproval and express outrage and anger at these outmoded schools of thought. I absolutely support the idea that this behaviour should be challenged and social media is a place where that's not only appropriate, it's the right thing to do. But whereas a criticism or challenge from someone you know, follow or speak to online might make you change your mind, a mass social attack from a faceless group of vengeful strangers who have seen your post displayed on another stranger's blog is likely to be much less persuasive. Frankly, they'll probably just tell you to fuck off.

We don't need webpages re-presenting this dirge on a list to know it goes on, furthering the oxygen of publicity and attention these daftpots crave. And so, I'm not clicking any of these bloody 'look at all the shit things they said on Twitter' lists any more.

Until The Sunlight Comes...

Barney x

p.s. Don't ask for a link to the list. For obvious reasons!