...visually speaking, any band should show some interest in the music it is playing...actually, it should radiate enjoyment. In this regard, I am absolutely useless. I stand still. Always have, and probably always will--look at the attached photo, Riotstar at the now defunct Underground in Hamilton (also, I believe, the last show we played with the late, much missed Tim Beck) in 2002, if memory serves me correctly. That's me rocking out! I'm not sure what it is, but as soon as I hit the stage, I feel as if spikes have been driven through my shoes and feet into the floor, grounding me, so to speak. I can barely stand up, let alone "feel the music". I suppose I could blame my duck-like flat feet for a lack of balance, but there are other forces at play. I am lost in concentration and worry, and rarely think about going anywhere. Perhaps it's just nerves ( a separate entry altogether), or the fact that I can't really do anything, as it seems very forced. Several times I have tried to do a little jump, but it has looked/ felt so contrived that I felt ashamed and simply gave up. To wit, I am at the mercy of anyone else moving on stage. I have been smacked with guitars, basses, and even drumsticks and cymbals. The only thing astir is my mouth, which seems to be playing an invisible guitar all of its own. Watching video of myself playing is tortuous--I seem to be chewing on a battleship...
...ironically, at a practice, I will jump around and act the fool, without a care--so what is it about the stage, after all of these years, that stakes me so...? Of course, there have been some great "standing" guitarists in the popular music field, like Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood, Blockheads), etc, but at least they look menacing...in the words of Dan Gruba, Responsibles drummer, when he looks up from his kit, he sees "a pencil with a guitar strapped to it"..and that's about that...
...perhaps there are lessons for this...?...some might suggest a few drinks...oh no, no, pappy no...that would be much, much worse...I may as well sit in an office chair, but not one that swivels, please...I'm "fretting" (ugh, pardon the pun...)...
...ironically, at a practice, I will jump around and act the fool, without a care--so what is it about the stage, after all of these years, that stakes me so...? Of course, there have been some great "standing" guitarists in the popular music field, like Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood, Blockheads), etc, but at least they look menacing...in the words of Dan Gruba, Responsibles drummer, when he looks up from his kit, he sees "a pencil with a guitar strapped to it"..and that's about that...
...perhaps there are lessons for this...?...some might suggest a few drinks...oh no, no, pappy no...that would be much, much worse...I may as well sit in an office chair, but not one that swivels, please...I'm "fretting" (ugh, pardon the pun...)...
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