The Hear/See Effect
When I was just starting out play music, one of the best pieces of advice I got came from a sound man running the main stage at a music festival I was playing at. We were discussing light rigs and setting up shows. He said:
"People hear what they see."
The discussion centered around the hypothetical situation where you take a band that is of average talent, neither horrible nor extraordinary. You put them on a stage with just their personal gear, a good P.A. system, in normal street clothes and let them play a set. More than likely the audience will come away saying something along the lines of "yeah, they were pretty good". Then, you put them on the same stage with the same gear but this time you put them in flashy "rock star" clothes with an awesome light system and have them play the same set and it is almost guaranteed that the majority of the audience will walk away saying "damn, those guys are GREAT!".
It has nothing to do with technical prowess on their instruments. It has everything to do with the fact that popular music is a VISUAL medium as much as audio. This discussion took place before MTV converted music almost entirely to a visual medium, but it still holds true today. It isn't just light shows and fancy clothes anymore. Humans have always ascribed talent or skill to attractive people, even if it isn't deserved. Much of the incredible success of some modern performers is due to said performer's understanding of this fact, not just in music but other performing arts, as well.
So, what does any of this have to do with me? Well, I'm not one of the Beautiful People, nor am I a "Big Time" drummer in a famous band. My success is entirely in my own head, meaning that what I consider successful, for me, is all I really care about. To me, that means playing regularly in a band that I consider fun and entertaining. I currently play in a band in Pensacola, Florida and we play out pretty regularly (enough for me, at least). At first, I used my Pearl Decade acoustic kit live. I don't care for acoustic drums (for a number of reasons) so I decided to use my Alesis Strike kit, powered by a Pearl Mimic Pro.
Apparently, there aren't many E-Drummers in this area, as most people didn't know what to make of it. They made comments that they sounded nice and some of the effects I used were cool, but it was obvious they didn't really care for it. So I decided to convert my Decade kit to electronic. I chose to get Yamaha DT50 rim mounted triggers and mesh heads. I had Yamaha PCY cymbals and I ordered a Lemon 18" ride, which has gotten rave reviews among the e-drum community. I simply run a stereo signal to the FOH and use the headphone output to my EV 15/Horn powered speaker for my monitor.
I'll give you 3 guesses what happened.
The first show I used the kit at a local musician came up and was asking me questions about my kit. He stated that he didn't even realize it was an electronic kit until someone he was with told him. I can't tell you how happy that made me! I've had other people ask me what kind of kit it was and when told it was an e-kit they were amazed. They commented on what a great drummer I am (I'm not) and how great my control was because I wasn't overpowering everything. That is exactly the result I was hoping for.
It is what I call "The Hear/See Effect".
The most successful bands I've been in (meaning the ones that were most popular/made the best money/played the most often) were the ones that factored this into the show. It isn't necessarily about have big light shows or expensive clothes. It is about putting what you do have to the best use until such time as you can afford better. Learn the capabilities of the gear you have and USE it. Don't drink your pay away. Most musicians know that a large portion of the money you make as a "weekend warrior" band is going to go back towards gear. Learn about modern gear like DMX LED lighting, Class D powered speakers, digital mixers, iPad-integrated gear, backing tracks, in-ear monitors. Yes, some of it can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Behringer and American DJ are companies that make great gear that is reasonably priced. You don't have to use iPads. Any cheap table will do (frankly, I don't like to take a $600 iPad into a club). Apps are usually available for Android, as well.
As a side note, much of the modern gear for lighting and sound reinforcement not only make you look better and sound better, but also make set up and performance much easier (at least after the initial learning curve).
Many musicians will argue with me that it should always be about the music, which is not untrue. I am referring to working cover bands, for the most part, so ultimately we are entertainers and alcohol salesmen, whether we like it or not. Put on a good show, keep people entertained and ensure the audience enjoys what you are doing and let the music speak for itself.
Of course, this is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
