Having been playing guitar for the band "Hard Soul" for almost 6 months now I had to do a piece on some of the many intangible subtleties that go with being in a gigging band. Last night we played a killer set in Oneonta, NY. While watching the footage from the show I began texting back and forth with the other members of the band to see what their take on the gig was. Everyone was very pleased with our performance but it was interesting to hear what the other band mates were thinking about DURING the show.
Specifically, our keyboard player Erin Grimm was constantly concerned about the volume level of her instrument and making sure she was balanced with the rest of the band. I was constantly thinking about how to improve my stage presence and make the band more enjoyable to watch. Our drummer Justin Cheever from time to time tosses in slight variations on songs to keep us on our toes and break up the mundane of playing songs we perform over and over again. It always puts a smile on our faces. Our bass player for the show Sean Murphy learned a cover song we did in the middle of our set WHILE ON STAGE. Goes without saying one of the things he was thinking about. Last but not least I can only imagine what lead singer/guitar player/frontman Johnny Salka is thinking about. Between balancing sound, playing, singing, cueing the rest of the band, and all of the other multitasking he does, there probably isn't an un-preoccupied moment that goes by in that dude's head.
Still, everyone hides what their thinking about very well to consistently put on a great show. Trading slaps & head butts, high fives & smiles the band has fun doing what it's doing and will continue to do so in the many shows to come. Next up, Hard Soul will play the SPAC Rock 'n Run this Sunday to provide quality music for all of the participants.
If you haven't already, make it your business to get to a "Hard Soul" show for an undeniably good time! We have a ton of gigs and touring coming up this summer so check our website, Facebook page, and twitter to keep updated where we'll be next.
www.thehardsoul.com
www.facebook.com/thehardsoul
@thehardsoul
