In my experience as a singer, I’ve come across a lot of funny, sometimes even frustrating situations. I figured that I would share this with you so, that you–and others who don’t know too much about music and performing–would be able to share in these experiences. Feel free to comment or start discussions about these stories; some I have experienced and others have happened to fellow musicians I know and have worked with. Names of musicians involved have been changed for their privacy.
“Set List”
She looked back at Sam sitting behind the drum kit, his usual look of furrowed eyebrows and intense focus on his face. He was holding the wrong type of sticks for the intro part of the song, though. What’s he doing? she thought. Knowing Sam, he probably forgot the song order. She covered the microphone with her hand and leaning back, whispered loudly, “Sam!”
Sam raised his eyebrows as he looked over at her, making eye contact.
“It’s the other song.”
He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “What do you mean?”
“The other song?”
Sam’s eyes widened as he realized what she was talking about and looked down at the metal brushes he was holding. Without thinking, he quickly threw them over his head in a small, jerking movement, and grabbed mallets that were sitting in his stick bag. He chuckled slightly to himself as he smiled at her, dubiously.
The whole band laughed silently as she shook her head and tried not to show her surprise on her face. Sam was good at musical situations that happened on the fly, but sometimes he would make her nervous with how close he came to turning the situation into a disaster.
Well, here we go, she thought to herself, looking towards the audience to sing.