This story begins at the corner of a bar sharing a couple shots of Jagermeister (or however you splell it!). I was talking to a guy about acoustic acts and we came across the subject of live performance “augmentation.” you know, adding prerecorded synth tracks and sequences and that sort of thing.

Well I’m no prude but I believe that there should be something sacred about an acoustic artist performance. I mean after all they are called acoustic artists! Bob (the guy I’m drinking the Jager with) reminds me that some people call themselves solo artists. Well, I replied, there is nothing solo or artistic about a performance when an army of computers is pumping programmed music while the “live” performer sings or plays background guitar or piano—I mean isn’t that called karaoke?

I don’t know for sure if this was inspired by the Jagermeister, or if Bob is a latent genius—but he came up with the following analogy:

If a musical performance is like a sandwich, then we must say that the performer and the primary instruments (voice and guitar and or keyboard, etc.) Is the meat and that the mayonnaise is the programmed accompaniment—in other words, the synth stuff!! Some people don’t like mayo on their sandwich some people like a lot. But either way, once you apply enough mayo, the meat becomes secondary and you’re eating a mayonnaise sandwich.

With that said, I sometimes like a little mayo on my sandwich, but not always—just a little. So while the world gets more and more digital, let’s not get sucked up in the bits & bytes that overwhelm our daily lives. Not to mention that it’s a cheap and easy way to perform and to hire an act for a club or bar. I mean, in the midst of all this high tech wizardry, there is something special about a person who gets on a stage and sings and/or plays an acoustic instrument and holds an audience spellbound.

But then again, there are people who love mayonnaise. Enjoy your sandwich.


(obviously, Zoe had too much Jagermeister —The Dude.)


On Thursday June 26th at the Electric Company on Varick Street to see Jamie Notarthomas—now here’s a man who performs with no mayo!!! When I got to the club the bouncer told me that it would be $5 to get in…I thought that was a bit steep and he informed me that a band called Raisinhill would be performing and that Jamie Notaorthomas was onstage for a little while longer…I paid the fee and walked to the bar…after ordering a drink I realized that it was hotter than hell in this place…oh my god!!! And to top things off, the pa sounded thin with a lot of high end—like a cheap auditorium public address system…and that’s too bad, because jamie notorthomas is a great performer and I’ve always enjoyed his shows…the combination of the scalding heat and the irritating sound system were killing me…one girl standing on the dance floor (it was way too hot to dance!) In a halter top, poured a pitcher of water over her head to cool down and at the conclusion of Jamie’s set, the bar owner announced that the band would be starting soon and apologized to the sparse dwindling audience about the heat. He also promised to have fans “strategically placed throughout the room” on the weekend. I finished my drink and left with several other people—no refunds!

Next month: enjoying live music in a smoke free environment!

Zoe

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