Setting the Stage….Or Not

First, an update….

The Pickens Flea Market Musicians have a new home. The Market at the Mill has welcomed us with open arms. They have shown us hospitality and have even heavily promoted our presence there. We have now been dubbed The Mill Jammers, which one of my friends said sounds more like industrial sabotage.

This morning, Wednesday, our core group played our first session at The Market at the Mill. There were the usual glitches with a performance in a new location. I forgot a crucial power cable for my wireless mics. There were issues with instruments not projecting very well, and there were lots of starts and stops as as tried to figure out what we were doing. But it was fun. It was also great to be making music with my friends.

First let me say that I appreciate everything Market at the Mill has done for us. This post isn’t meant as a criticism of them at all. It’s more my observations about informal musical sessions in general.

In this new venue we’re up on a stage.

This presents some problems. As you can see from the image above, there’s limited space. That means that only a few musicians can join us. This is an open session and we encourage folks to join us, and if we really attract a following (which we probably won’t) it might be a problem getting everyone up there.

There are some other problems inherent with stages in addition to space considerations. My friends Matt and Sam also recognized this at Fireforge Craft Beer when they put a stage where we had been playing.

I’ve spent most of my life on stages. As a preacher’s kid I was trotted out to sing songs in front of the congregation. There have been piano recitals, school plays, middle school band, and high school chorus. I played in a rock band, I’ve taught music and conducted my own school plays and school choral groups. I’ve conducted church choirs, and have performed with multiple choral groups.

I’ve acted, lectured, sung, and played on just about every kind of stage, from Florida to South Carolina to Arizona to Washington State. I’m no stranger to stages. I’m also no stranger to music sessions and how these two complement, or more often conflict with each other. Here’s what I’ve observed.

A stage implies performance.

If you’re up on a stage, there are certain expectations. A group on a stage is automatically assumed to be a band. There are also expectations of quality and that you kind of know what you’re doing. That may or may not be the case in a musicians circle.

A stage sets up barriers.

First, there’s a barrier between musicians and non-musicians, now delineated as performers and audience. We’ve always had people listening to us as we play, and they have applauded when we’ve done well, but we rarely think of those listeners as “audience.” They are an integral part of the experience, and sometimes they join in by singing along, dancing, etc. With us, it’s an informal distinction at best.

Stages can be intimidating

The biggest barrier, though, is between the players and those that might want to play or sing. We encourage people to join us. There have been people who play or who have a song to sing, but if we’re on a stage the response is often, “But I don’t want to get up there in front of everyone!”

Stages are limiting.

In our new venue we have room for maybe six players at best. That makes it hard for casual players to join us. This has really been a challenge at Fireforge where we’ve had 20+ players show up on a Tuesday night. Some evenings I’ve sat out several songs so that others can join in. I’ve also seen this at the Celtic sessions at Jack of the Wood in Asheville, where they are set up on a stage.

A stage is great when you need a barrier, or you’ve got a group with restricted members like a band, choral group, or other organization. It’s not so great when you’re trying to get others to join in.

This morning I started off our sessions by stating that we were not a band, and to think of us like a group of folks that gathered in someone’s living room to have fun with instruments. However, if you were a casual shopper who happened by after my disclaimer, you might think otherwise. You would see us on a stage and think that we were a really crappy band with all of our faux pas and starts and stops. And I wouldn’t blame you. Maybe I need print a large banner with that disclaimer for our next session.