Crowd Reaction vs. Musical Integrity
This relates more to band situations than sessions, but I think there is some crossover.
Last night at my band rehearsal I was going through my instrumentals with my guitar and bass players and we came to Tam Lin (which we play in Dm following a song) and I feel really uneasy about the treatment we give it.
Let me explain. The pace is quick, the ornamention- raw, brash and explosive. While that may not sound so terrible (i don’t know, maybe it does), I sometimes feel like what I am doing is nothing more than slop, cheap tricks and smoke & mirrors.
The problem is that the crowds eat it up. Every time. I feel like it is my worst quality instrumental and they react to it the best. I feel like the ITM equivilent to a wannabe ‘80’s hair band. I still have fun playing it, but I feel a little artistically bankrupt.
Does anyone else ever feel this way? What do you do to feel better about catering to the crowd?
~autumn