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I love solo gigs for many reasons...
You play a lot of music at solo gigs. The gigs I do are always instrumental guitar. There’s a lot of creative freedom and I find myself in many different playing situations. Sometimes I’ll be asked to play at a corporate function, or a party, a wedding ceremony, a restaurant, a museum, or a concert. I choose which guitar or guitars I’ll bring based on the situation and the style of music-although many times the styles are quite diverse. Sometimes what I’ll play is planned out in advance and other times I’ll read the room as I go. The solo gig can be most challenging because you basically are the band. I look forward to these gigs because they keep my hands in shape and I have to play very differently than when I’m in an ensemble. When you play in a group situation, you’re cognizant of blending with the other players. But in a solo situation you want to blend with the room. You set the pace, the mood, and the atmosphere. It’s also a very good place to break out new tunes that I’ve been working on and see how they feel. Stylistically, my choices of music will vary. I love breaking out the Beethoven ( love Beethoven! ), or some standard classical repertoire that I don’t get to play in a group situation, but blues is always nice. And I also love getting to play fingerstyle tunes à la Chet Atkins. I do arrangements of pop tunes like “Wrapped Around Your Finger” or “Fragile” by Sting. And I love playing Bossa Novas. If the people are into the popular songs I’ll break out “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” or a Beatles arrangement, or maybe a Clapton or Paul Simon tune. The "alchemic" blend is tried and true and people seem to appreciate the variety of styles they hear. There’s something about the solo guitar setting that allows me to interact with people on a very intimate level. People get quite involved with listening and there’s always people with kind words to say. They may be involved with a meeting, a meal, or a group of people, but they always take the time to let me know they’re listening and really appreciate that someone is playing live music for them. I think live music is a wonderful way of letting
people know that you care about them.
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