The Audience

Jeff Berkley, working his magic at the Rolando Street Fair this year. Photo by Thom Vollenweider.

You never know. Every audience is different. Every audience size is different. Every venue and vibe is different. Your own attitude and experience are different from day to day, from hour to hour, from minute to minute. You never know how you’re going to find the individuals that make up your audience. They never know how they’re gonna find you either. It’s a sacred, reciprocal relationship, which is to be honored and respected and treated with care. You and your audience are create a relationship that spans a specific musical journey in the moment, and you’re in charge of the path!

I come from the place of being a singer, songwriter, solo acoustic performer. It’s how I came up and what I know. That just means that my performance style includes lots of storytelling and talking in between songs. Even with The Banned.

In my case, I joke around a lot and try and keep the audience laughing in between my heart wrenching and personal tunes. They’re not all that way, but most sets are built around finding the perfect moment for poignancy.

Other performing styles will translate from where I’m coming from because it’s still all about empathy and learning to read an audience and guide them through something profound. That’s the best-case scenario. Sometimes it’s just letting them unwind and have fun. That’s more important than ever now.

When I started out as a performer, I talked a lot about me and what I was personally experiencing. A lot of us get on stage and at best talk about what happened that day or a funny story or something specific to us. I can’t tell you how often I’m at a show and the performer is just talking about what’s going on in the music business and their latest conquest in that regard. I’ve talked about those types of things on stage for years and years, thinking it was a good way to go. A few years back though, I began to consciously make a change and it’s really started to work for me.

During my preshow routine, I’ll begin to think outside my own experience in a way that’s more empathetic and seen from the eyes of the audience. I try and put myself where they are at that moment, which is arriving at the show, getting to their seat, and maybe getting something to eat or drink and visiting with each other or their neighbors.

Maybe I try and think about how their day may have gone whether they were at work or school or home with kids. I try and put out of my mind stories about gigs and records and recording and personal, inside info on the music biz.

Once the gig starts, I keep that mindset. How is what I’m doing—right now—affecting these kind folks who spent their time and dough to come see me.

If I talk about myself, it’s in regard to human feelings that other people might relate to. How many times have you heard somebody talk about their feelings in a way that made you realize that something YOU were going through was normal and safe? Like it was something “normal” that everyone does or goes through.

What if I was able to unlock those things inside each audience and become more of an antenna for what they need to receive rather than looking to brag about my career or do for myself in some way.

My father was a preacher. He used to talk about this kind of thing around me. I was too young and pissed off to understand. People are reaching out and in need whether you notice it or not. Everyone is hurt and tired and lonely. Everyone! He believed and now I believe that when it comes to people, the tougher the exterior, the deeper the pain and trauma.

What if we showed up to our gigs with open hearts and the desire to allow the “magic” of music to affect people without us getting in the way of it?

Well, I’ll tell you what happens. You walk away from your gig more inspired, edified, and energized!

Your own life and art become infused with magically charged energy that comes back from those folks who have been affected by your openness and exposed heart. If your reasons are pure and unselfish, your life and everything in it will improve, and all you had to do was get the hell out of the way.

I read a story a few years back about a study that was done at the San Francisco Opera House.

Audiences were wired up to heart monitors so scientists could study the effect of live music/art on an audience.

The strangest thing happened about 45 minutes in. The audience’s heart beats began to align. Not like perfectly or anything, but closer to each other’s rhythm.

That’s amazingly inspiring to me. Whatever the “magic” of music is, it may have nothing to do with us as performers. We may just be the conduit or antenna that it comes through. It may not have anything to do with our attitude or vibe or presence or music genre or clothes or any of that. It may have to do with our ability to allow an audience to feel safe and open their hearts.

Go get ‘em!