This post comes in response to a request that I received from "miss bliss" and I will happily comply because it is a major issues and topic for any musician or entertainer working onboard a cruise ship. I was asked to write about what people do with their downtime while working onboard a ship. How downtime is handled can mean all the difference between a happy contract and a miserable one and also moving forward with professional goals or staying stagnant and stuck in the same cycles.
For almost all musicians and entertainers there is a lot of downtime during a contract. Even on a busy playing day there is still a lot of time to fill. Say that on the worst day a musician is scheduled to perform six hours (which for most positions rarely happens), that still leaves 18 hours left to fill. Consider that on a ship musicians live where they work, there is no commute, there is no cooking as the meals are provided in the mess. A lot of things on land that take up a person's time away from work aren't really considerations on a ship. Port days are probably the easiest because there is always the option to go into town for a while. But there are also sea days, where the ship will not dock while in transition from one port to the next. Sounds easy, but put a few sea days together and most everyone on the ship starts to go stir crazy. My personal record was 10 sea days in a row because we were going from the Middle East to Europe. Seven sea days were already scheduled just for transit time including a day through the Suez Canal (which is still a sea day because the ship is moving and nobody can exit the ship in the Suez Canal), but then the uprisings in Egypt happened and they canceled three ports in Egypt without replacing them with another port, which meant we went 10 days without touching land. That will test the patience and mental stability of even the most experienced seafarer.
Regular life onboard a ship is not exactly like a free weekend at home on land. On the ship you only have access to the tv channels that they are able to get, which might be some cable channels but in other parts of the world might only include older movies and a news channel if you are lucky. And don't think about being connected online 24 hours a day. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the crew is charged by the minute for internet access. The speed reminds me of AOL from about 20 years ago. Most cruise ships use a satellite connection, which means the signal goes from the ship to a satellite in space, then beamed down to a receiving station on land, then sent over to a network, and then all goes back the way it came but in reverse. You can see why everything from weather to positioning around the globe can make a major impact on the speed and even overall availability of access. While most people are accustomed to being connected online 24 hours a day on land, it just isn't possible while on the ship. You can see how much of a premium gets put on a strong wifi connection when the ship is in port. Any place that has strong wifi will have a group of crew members Skyping, checking email, and updating their Facebook statuses.
Most musicians I know seem to either enjoy ships or hate them (or at least find them a necessary evil at a certain point in their lives) depending on what they get out of the experience. This all boils down to planning and sticking to the plan. I've often been asked by younger musicians about whether they should stick with ships or give up ships and try full time on land. My advice is always the same: if you are continuing to get something out of working on the ship, then do it while you can. But if you no longer enjoy it and no longer find it satisfying, then it's time to find something new. It's my advice for ships, but also my advice for any career, whether on land or at sea. If you are no longer enjoying what it is you do for a living, then find something else. Life is too short to spend 30 years or more doing something you hate doing every day.
Finding personal and/or professional satisfaction is key and can be different for each person. I have worked with a lot of musicians fresh out of college looking to gain playing experience, to have a steady gig, and to have time to practice their instruments. A cruise ship definitely satisfies those criteria. Some musicians never traveled much, maybe even went to college just down the road from where they grew up, and want to see the world. Working on a cruise ship that is in a different city every day is going to be a good fit for them.
But a word of caution in that cruise ships are not for everyone and they aren't usually the right fit for everyone for an entire 30 year career (although I do know some who are perfectly happy after decades in the job). Cruise ships are full of repetition, from playing the exact same production shows every week for 6 months at a time, to playing the same or similar charts every week at jazz and big band sets, to playing the same rotation of guest entertainers every couple of months. What might have appeared fulfilling, fun, entertaining, or even challenging at first can become part of the grind. Same is true for the ports. My first two contracts were on a ship in the Caribbean and we repeated itineraries every other week (one week was Eastern Caribbean, the next Western Caribbean, then back and forth every week of the year). At first it was all new and it was nice for someone used to cold and snowy winters to be relaxing on a beach in 80 degree temperatures on Christmas Day. But a year into it, the same 6 ports started to get old. While at first I never missed an opportunity to go off the ship, at the end of one year I found myself staying onboard more and more often. When I went to my second ship (3rd contract), the ship was based out of Dubai and the Middle East for 4 months of the year and doing the same itinerary week after week for those 4 months. The first year we did 3 days a week in Dubai, then one day each in Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Fujairah, and Bahrain. The second and third years changed by adding a sea day and eliminating the stop in Bahrain due to the political uprisings that started between our first and second years there. By the end of my 3rd contract, those cities that seemed to exotic and interesting started to feel mundane.
But I have digressed, so back to the downtime aspect of ship life. It is really important to have goals while onboard for a contract. The musicians who are the happiest have something specific they want to achieve during their contract. It might be practicing a certain number of hours on their instrument, or go through certain books, or improve in specific areas. It might be more of a side project, something like writing or arranging. Or it might be to go sightseeing and see new parts of the world.
If you enjoy sightseeing or history, try and do research before you start your contract. Read up before you visit and it will make your time in a particular port even that much more rewarding. I would research all of the new places online and save the info on my laptop, then before we would arrive to the port I would read through so I would know what to expect. In the end it worked for me. While I was out in the city taking mass transportation and seeing all there was to see, others stayed near the ship in a Starbucks (I still enjoy my Starbucks, I'm just saying) or an Irish bar (every city in the world seems to have its Irish bars). Imagine what the crew members have to look back at years in the future: "yeah, I went all over the world and saw the inside of a Starbucks in 60 different countries." I researched admission prices, opening/closing times of places of interest, as well as transportation schedules, routes, and prices so I could use my time as efficiently as possible. I love the TripAdvisor app, and you can now download city guides for a lot of the major cities and use them offline while you walk around without having to be connected to the internet. There is another app called Maps.me where maps can be downloaded with turn-by-turn directions and then used offline. It can be a lifesaver if you get lost on the way back to the ship!
The people who are the most miserable are the ones that come onboard with no plan whatsoever and get bored in their first week. Or they came with a plan but it went out the window because they either weren't focused or were just plain lazy. Downtime can either be a blessing or a curse depending on how its used.
One major downfall I have seen time and time again is spending every night in the crew bar. Cruise ships have a bar (sometimes more than one) specifically for the crew to use at night once they are finished with their work. Alcohol is cheap and flows easily, which is attractive to many musicians. One word of caution though, all cruise ships have limits on alcohol consumption, some more strict than others. Unfortunately as a Musical Director, I have seen several musicians be fired because of drinking too much. It is never a fun moment to have to appear with the musician in a Captain's hearing where they are fired and sent home at their own expense. The crew bar can be a cycle, where some crew members go every night until it closes at 2am, then they sleep until Noon or later, wake up for rehearsal, eat dinner, do the shows, and then repeat the process. One of the saddest cases I saw was an older musician who hated his job. He spent $500 a week (which was about the average salary for the orchestra members at that time) in the bar and was eventually not re-hired because his drinking led to performance issues on the bandstand. Imagine spending every dollar you earn and then eventually lose you job over it. I'm not saying that crew should never go to socialize, and isolating yourself in your cabin alone every night is worse, but everything in moderation.
My advice to those about to do a contract, whether it is their first or 50th, is to set concrete goals and stick to them. Use check points throughout the contract to make sure you are staying on task and staying productive and of course modify if necessary. If you are planning on arranging 10 charts during a six month contract, then set smaller goals, such as one the first month then two the next month and so on. In the fourth month, if you haven't hit at least 7 charts, then you haven't been sticking to your routine. Maybe you got sidetracked by something else productive, which could be OK, but maybe it's a sign that you have been focusing on less productive ways of spending your time.
A sad sequence of events I have seen all too often are with musicians who no longer want to work on ships but find themselves having to. Ships are great if it is where you want to be. But it can be a sad, lonely, and sometimes dark place if you feel that it is your only option. I have seen musicians spend most of their paycheck either in port or in the bar due to boredom. Then they go home with just enough cash to keep them going during their 6-8 week vacation, then find themselves without any other option financially so they come back to the ship and repeat the process over and over. My suggestion: not only set goals for using your time, but set goals for saving money. Make sure to come home with money in the bank.
As far as spending time productively, I mentioned arranging as an example because there are a lot of people that use it to productively fill time and also to make some extra cash during the contract. Singers, guest entertainers, and sometimes even the ship's entertainment department are sometimes in need of new charts or updating older charts. The ship's production cast is made up of singers, some of which are required to have their own charts. As they perform more often, they might decide to pay to expand their personal collection of charts arranged for them, so they oftentimes look for somebody onboard to arrange for them. In one of my latest contracts, the hotel director and cruise director wanted the orchestra to play some very recent pop music (i.e. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift). Because the orchestra usually uses charts and not whole songs by ear, they paid orchestra musicians to do the arrangements. Not a bad way to make some spending money. Plus the skills that a musicians continues to develop in arranging can also pay off on land after the contract is finished.
All in all, ships can be a great experience. I have been able to visit over 60 countries. I have been able to play with some great musicians from all parts of the world, who have all taught me as much or more than I could in a classroom. And from playing every night, I have been able to greatly expand my repertoire. This past contract I wrote a music textbook/workbook because my wife and I will be opening up a music school. And speaking of my wife, I met her through ships which would have to be the best result of them all. Had it not been for ships I am sure our paths would have never crossed.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Building a Repertoire, Part 2
I have already discussed several parts of developing a repertoire in previous posts. There are so many things to consider that it can be overwhelming. This post will take a further look into using demographics while building your repertoire.
Now how can you use the average age of the passengers to your advantage?
One major aspect is realizing the cultural differences and determining what music was popular for the majority of the audience. This is a bit tricky because songs that were popular in the USA weren't necessarily popular in the UK and vice versa. I know it's hard for most Americans to believe that their music isn't the most popular all over the world, or what is the hit song of a particular year isn't the hit song in al parts of the world.
Let me give an example to illustrate my point. I just picked the year 1976 as an example, because in 2015 the people who followed music at that time make up a large percentage of the cruise passenger demographic. Using 1976 as an example, here are the top 10 songs for that year in both the Unites States and in the United Kingdom:
USA
1) Silly Love Songs by Paul McCarney and Wings
2) Don't Go Breaking my Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
3) Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor
4) December 1963 (Oh What a Night) by The Four Seasons
5) Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry
6) Kiss and Say Goodbye by The Manhattans
7) Love Machine, Pt. 1 by The Miracles
8) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon
9) Love Is Alive by Gary Wright
10) A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band
UK
1) Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man
2) Mississippi by Pussycat
3) Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
4) Fernando by Abba
5) Dancing Queen by Abba
6) If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
7) A Little Bit More by Dr. Hook
8) Under the Moon of Love by Shadawaddywaddy
9) I Love to Love by Tina Charles
10) You To Me Are Everything by The Real Thing
As you can see, there is only one song that appeared in the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic in the year 1976. That means, do your research for both. But there is some common ground that can help you out, artists like The Beatles, Abba, Elton John, etc. Try and do a little research into the demographic and see what songs are popular. They might be different than what you grew up with, so it may mean learning some new material to add to your repertoire. It would be a horrible way to start a contract by finding out that a lot of your material gets ignored by your audience. It is much easier to research and learn new songs as home than on a ship, where you perform nightly and internet connections are slow and expensive.
Try and research some "above and beyond" things that could make you the talk of the cruise. If you know you will be performing in front of a large number of British guests, think pub sing-alongs. Consider doing different themes for the evening. Again, use your strengths and your own background to your advantage. Have a background in musical theater? Think about adding a Broadway/West End night. Do you know a lot of music from British rock bands? Do a British Invasion night. Cruise directors and musical directors will appreciate the effort and the audience will as well.
There is another thing to consider with the demographics and that is the age of the typical passenger. This is important because it will give you insight into what songs they remember. As a musical director, I have fielded complaints from passengers because some of the musical acts onboard play music that is either too old and dated and also music that is too current, both of which missed the target demographic. I had one passenger (probably in their 50s or 60s) come up to me right after a show and complain that the music was from way before their time. They said, "We might be old, but we aren't dead! That is music for my parents and grandparents."
How can you use the average age to help build a repertoire? Consider that most people develop their musical tastes in their junior high, high school, and university days, meaning somewhere around the ages of 12-20. Musical tastes can change over time, but you can use that as a starting point. Meaning if the average age of the passengers is 70, then they started developing their musical tastes around 50-58 years ago. Since this is 2015, going back 50-58 years would take us back to 1957-1964. That means on a cruise today with an average passenger age being around 70, I would go focus back as far as 1950s and 1960s. What does that tell me as a musician and musical director? 1950s rock and roll and British invasion would be a good place to start for guests that are now 70 years old. Use the same theory and if the average age of the passengers is closer to 60 years old, then jump forward 10 years and look at music from the 1960s and 1970s. Some itineraries might have more in the 50s age range, then look forward even more to the 1970s and 1980s.
What entertainers must realize is that everything changes over time. The cruise industry has had a tendency to stick with traditions, but in the past decade they have realized that the must start to change and adapt. Go back to the "Golden Era" of cruising, with midnight buffets every night, chocolates on the pillows, skeet shooting and driving golf balls off the back of the ship. When it came to onboard music, most entertainers on cruise ships focused on the music of the Big Band era. Not that there is anything wrong with jazz and big band music, but we have to be honest and say that it lost its popularity after World War II in mid 1940s. By the time the year 1946 came to a close, 9 of the top big band leaders stopped touring: Glenn Miller (killed in a plane crash but band continued touring), Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Les Brown, Jack Teagarden, Benny Carter, Ina Ray Hutton, and Tommy Dorsey. After 1945 jazz as a musical form was not dead, but the popular acts were solo artists backed by a band, such as Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rosemary Clooney. Going back to our earlier formula, that means that a passenger be around 80 years old for it to be the style of music that they "grew up with." By 2015, a person would have to be a minimum of 70 years old just to have been alive at the end of the big band era.
What does all of that mean for music onboard a cruise ship? It is still the tradition to play jazz and big band music (even though there are no full big bands onboard anymore, it is a modified, smaller instrumentation) using the ship's orchestra, the group that plays in the main theater nightly. But there are more and more other groups utilized to cater to the majority of passengers, such as a quartet that plays a variety of music from the 1950s to 1980s. Big band should never leave the cruise industry, but it might find itself in more of a niche than it used to.
Figuring out the typical age of passengers is quite impossible as every cruise is different. When I was doing the same itinerary over and over every 12 days, each 12-day cruise had a different set of passengers and could vary drastically. There are the obvious times when there will be more families and children onboard, such as summer, spring break, and winter break. Another good indicator is the typical length of cruise for the ship. In general, the longer the cruise, the older the guests. Why? Because most 25-year-olds can't exactly take 3 weeks off of work in a row to fly and take an 18-day cruise. Also, Alaska will have an older demographic compared to the Caribbean. European and Asian cruises usually fall somewhere in the middle. It is worth asking your agent or the person from the cruise line who hired you what the typical passenger is like on your upcoming contract. Just as ai said in my last post, you shouldn't completely change what you do to cater to the guests, but there has to be some meeting in the middle.
My suggestions are to do as much research and learning before you start your contract. Being proactive and having a game plan is always better than being reactive and being behind in the game. But no matter what there will always be surprises. It's best to bring song books and bookmark lyric sites so you can minimize your time online, as crew members have to pay by the minute for internet when onboard the ship.
I wish there was a magic formula to know exactly what kind of music the passengers will want to hear. Just try and do as much work before arriving to the ship and remember to be flexible while onboard. All musicians, whether in the orchestra, in a group, or a solo entertainer, will report to the musical director and the cruise director. Work closely with them and ask for their advice if things aren't going as you had hoped. You can even ask them to stop by one of your sets to observe and give feedback. They will appreciate the fact that you care about your job. They are usually permanent people on that specific ship, so they will have a better scope as to what might work and what might not when it comes to repertoire.
If you are heading out to do a contract soon, good luck and hopefully some of this information is helpful. Even if you have been doing the job for many years, it is always good to take a moment to reflect and analyze the current state of your performance.
Now how can you use the average age of the passengers to your advantage?
One major aspect is realizing the cultural differences and determining what music was popular for the majority of the audience. This is a bit tricky because songs that were popular in the USA weren't necessarily popular in the UK and vice versa. I know it's hard for most Americans to believe that their music isn't the most popular all over the world, or what is the hit song of a particular year isn't the hit song in al parts of the world.
Let me give an example to illustrate my point. I just picked the year 1976 as an example, because in 2015 the people who followed music at that time make up a large percentage of the cruise passenger demographic. Using 1976 as an example, here are the top 10 songs for that year in both the Unites States and in the United Kingdom:
USA
1) Silly Love Songs by Paul McCarney and Wings
2) Don't Go Breaking my Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
3) Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor
4) December 1963 (Oh What a Night) by The Four Seasons
5) Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry
6) Kiss and Say Goodbye by The Manhattans
7) Love Machine, Pt. 1 by The Miracles
8) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon
9) Love Is Alive by Gary Wright
10) A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band
UK
1) Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man
2) Mississippi by Pussycat
3) Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
4) Fernando by Abba
5) Dancing Queen by Abba
6) If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
7) A Little Bit More by Dr. Hook
8) Under the Moon of Love by Shadawaddywaddy
9) I Love to Love by Tina Charles
10) You To Me Are Everything by The Real Thing
As you can see, there is only one song that appeared in the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic in the year 1976. That means, do your research for both. But there is some common ground that can help you out, artists like The Beatles, Abba, Elton John, etc. Try and do a little research into the demographic and see what songs are popular. They might be different than what you grew up with, so it may mean learning some new material to add to your repertoire. It would be a horrible way to start a contract by finding out that a lot of your material gets ignored by your audience. It is much easier to research and learn new songs as home than on a ship, where you perform nightly and internet connections are slow and expensive.
Try and research some "above and beyond" things that could make you the talk of the cruise. If you know you will be performing in front of a large number of British guests, think pub sing-alongs. Consider doing different themes for the evening. Again, use your strengths and your own background to your advantage. Have a background in musical theater? Think about adding a Broadway/West End night. Do you know a lot of music from British rock bands? Do a British Invasion night. Cruise directors and musical directors will appreciate the effort and the audience will as well.
There is another thing to consider with the demographics and that is the age of the typical passenger. This is important because it will give you insight into what songs they remember. As a musical director, I have fielded complaints from passengers because some of the musical acts onboard play music that is either too old and dated and also music that is too current, both of which missed the target demographic. I had one passenger (probably in their 50s or 60s) come up to me right after a show and complain that the music was from way before their time. They said, "We might be old, but we aren't dead! That is music for my parents and grandparents."
How can you use the average age to help build a repertoire? Consider that most people develop their musical tastes in their junior high, high school, and university days, meaning somewhere around the ages of 12-20. Musical tastes can change over time, but you can use that as a starting point. Meaning if the average age of the passengers is 70, then they started developing their musical tastes around 50-58 years ago. Since this is 2015, going back 50-58 years would take us back to 1957-1964. That means on a cruise today with an average passenger age being around 70, I would go focus back as far as 1950s and 1960s. What does that tell me as a musician and musical director? 1950s rock and roll and British invasion would be a good place to start for guests that are now 70 years old. Use the same theory and if the average age of the passengers is closer to 60 years old, then jump forward 10 years and look at music from the 1960s and 1970s. Some itineraries might have more in the 50s age range, then look forward even more to the 1970s and 1980s.
What entertainers must realize is that everything changes over time. The cruise industry has had a tendency to stick with traditions, but in the past decade they have realized that the must start to change and adapt. Go back to the "Golden Era" of cruising, with midnight buffets every night, chocolates on the pillows, skeet shooting and driving golf balls off the back of the ship. When it came to onboard music, most entertainers on cruise ships focused on the music of the Big Band era. Not that there is anything wrong with jazz and big band music, but we have to be honest and say that it lost its popularity after World War II in mid 1940s. By the time the year 1946 came to a close, 9 of the top big band leaders stopped touring: Glenn Miller (killed in a plane crash but band continued touring), Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Les Brown, Jack Teagarden, Benny Carter, Ina Ray Hutton, and Tommy Dorsey. After 1945 jazz as a musical form was not dead, but the popular acts were solo artists backed by a band, such as Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Rosemary Clooney. Going back to our earlier formula, that means that a passenger be around 80 years old for it to be the style of music that they "grew up with." By 2015, a person would have to be a minimum of 70 years old just to have been alive at the end of the big band era.
What does all of that mean for music onboard a cruise ship? It is still the tradition to play jazz and big band music (even though there are no full big bands onboard anymore, it is a modified, smaller instrumentation) using the ship's orchestra, the group that plays in the main theater nightly. But there are more and more other groups utilized to cater to the majority of passengers, such as a quartet that plays a variety of music from the 1950s to 1980s. Big band should never leave the cruise industry, but it might find itself in more of a niche than it used to.
Figuring out the typical age of passengers is quite impossible as every cruise is different. When I was doing the same itinerary over and over every 12 days, each 12-day cruise had a different set of passengers and could vary drastically. There are the obvious times when there will be more families and children onboard, such as summer, spring break, and winter break. Another good indicator is the typical length of cruise for the ship. In general, the longer the cruise, the older the guests. Why? Because most 25-year-olds can't exactly take 3 weeks off of work in a row to fly and take an 18-day cruise. Also, Alaska will have an older demographic compared to the Caribbean. European and Asian cruises usually fall somewhere in the middle. It is worth asking your agent or the person from the cruise line who hired you what the typical passenger is like on your upcoming contract. Just as ai said in my last post, you shouldn't completely change what you do to cater to the guests, but there has to be some meeting in the middle.
My suggestions are to do as much research and learning before you start your contract. Being proactive and having a game plan is always better than being reactive and being behind in the game. But no matter what there will always be surprises. It's best to bring song books and bookmark lyric sites so you can minimize your time online, as crew members have to pay by the minute for internet when onboard the ship.
I wish there was a magic formula to know exactly what kind of music the passengers will want to hear. Just try and do as much work before arriving to the ship and remember to be flexible while onboard. All musicians, whether in the orchestra, in a group, or a solo entertainer, will report to the musical director and the cruise director. Work closely with them and ask for their advice if things aren't going as you had hoped. You can even ask them to stop by one of your sets to observe and give feedback. They will appreciate the fact that you care about your job. They are usually permanent people on that specific ship, so they will have a better scope as to what might work and what might not when it comes to repertoire.
If you are heading out to do a contract soon, good luck and hopefully some of this information is helpful. Even if you have been doing the job for many years, it is always good to take a moment to reflect and analyze the current state of your performance.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Building a Repertoire, Part 1
One of the most difficult parts of being an entertainer is building and expanding your personal repertoire to make sure you are continuing to play songs that people like to hear. It is especially hard whenever your audience comes from from a variety of countries and cultures. This is true for both solo entertainers as well as ensembles.
My first bit of advice is to not try too hard to please every single person. You can never please them all. Remember the saying, "you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." That saying is true when it comes to picking the music to play. Instead of focusing your energy on that one person that leaves your lounge, focus on all the people staying and having a great time. Most musicians I know are perfectionists so it goes against our mold to let it go, but there's no reason to ruin the good vibe you are setting just because you lost one person. People have different musical tastes and don't take it personally if what you are playing doesn't mesh with one particular person's taste. I've seen it happen, though. An entertainer sees the people in their room and sometimes they notice that a small group of people is more involved in their own conversation than in listening to the music. So what does the entertainer try to do? They start to focus their attention on the small group and neglect the rest of the audience, making the much larger group want to leave.
Now although you may not be able to please all of the passengers all of the time, there is nothing wrong with playing music that the passengers actually enjoy. Surprising, right? In some of my previous posts I mentioned the typical cruise demographics. If you can figure out the average guest (if that really exists) on your upcoming contract or gig, then you can start to personalize your repertoire. Try to keep in mind the cultures and ages of most of the passengers that will be coming to listen to you night after night. It will always be a balance of what you as a musician want to play and what the audience wants to hear. Somewhere in the middle lies a happy balance. I've seen guys playing in jazz sets around the ship and they refuse to take requests of standards because they would rather play bebop or something that they personally find more musically fulfilling. One passenger asked the band if they could play "Take the A Train." Simple enough request. The band knew the tune, the passengers knew it and would have enjoyed listening to it. Did the band play it? No. And why, might you ask? Because the members of the band thought it was too basic and not challenging enough. They would rather play 20 choruses each of "Spain" to an empty room than fulfill a simple request from a passenger. While you can't please all of the people, just make sure that it's not just the people on the bandstand enjoying the music.
This next bit might sound a little contradictory to my first suggestions, but my second piece of advice is not to lose yourself in that process. You were hired because of what you do best. There will be some genres you feel more comfortable with and others not as much, and that is OK. It is good to expand what you can offer, but at the same time make sure not forget your own strengths. Think about it like branding, because as an entertainer or band you are your own brand. When people see your name or the band's name, there should be something that comes to mind. When people hear The Beatles, they expect rock and roll, when they hear John Coltrane, they expect jazz. If you start going off in a million directions you will lose the power of your brand. You could imagine the confusion if The Rolling Stones would come out on stage after decades of doing rock and roll and then started doing nothing but waltzes. It would destroy all the work they put in to build their brand and their image. The same is true in if the band isn't playing in Madison Square Gardens or the Hollywood Bowl. For instance, if a band was put together to be a "Latin band" that performs on ships, they should focus their attention to playing different Latin styles. They should also learn some other styles, such as some ballads, pop, ballroom, and jazz because there will probably be a time when it is useful. But if the one band hired to play Latin styles then they should play mostly Latin styles. If that band starts playing more rock than anything else, you can see where it would become a problem with the onboard management.
I would recommend asking the hiring person at the cruise line or your agent if you are not directly hired, and ask what need they are trying to fill with entertainment onboard. The person in charge of hiring entertainers should know and can help you out. Try and get an email address for the Musical Director/Bandmaster on your next ship and try and find out what they have been experiencing and ask for suggestions. I have always been more willing to work with somebody being proactive, rather than playing to an empty lounge and not caring. Yes, you will receive your pay no matter what, but it might be your last gig with that cruise line if the Hotel Director, Cruise Director, and Musical Director aren't happy with you job performance.
There are other factors to take into consideration as well, and some of them will be the subject of my next post.
My first bit of advice is to not try too hard to please every single person. You can never please them all. Remember the saying, "you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." That saying is true when it comes to picking the music to play. Instead of focusing your energy on that one person that leaves your lounge, focus on all the people staying and having a great time. Most musicians I know are perfectionists so it goes against our mold to let it go, but there's no reason to ruin the good vibe you are setting just because you lost one person. People have different musical tastes and don't take it personally if what you are playing doesn't mesh with one particular person's taste. I've seen it happen, though. An entertainer sees the people in their room and sometimes they notice that a small group of people is more involved in their own conversation than in listening to the music. So what does the entertainer try to do? They start to focus their attention on the small group and neglect the rest of the audience, making the much larger group want to leave.
Now although you may not be able to please all of the passengers all of the time, there is nothing wrong with playing music that the passengers actually enjoy. Surprising, right? In some of my previous posts I mentioned the typical cruise demographics. If you can figure out the average guest (if that really exists) on your upcoming contract or gig, then you can start to personalize your repertoire. Try to keep in mind the cultures and ages of most of the passengers that will be coming to listen to you night after night. It will always be a balance of what you as a musician want to play and what the audience wants to hear. Somewhere in the middle lies a happy balance. I've seen guys playing in jazz sets around the ship and they refuse to take requests of standards because they would rather play bebop or something that they personally find more musically fulfilling. One passenger asked the band if they could play "Take the A Train." Simple enough request. The band knew the tune, the passengers knew it and would have enjoyed listening to it. Did the band play it? No. And why, might you ask? Because the members of the band thought it was too basic and not challenging enough. They would rather play 20 choruses each of "Spain" to an empty room than fulfill a simple request from a passenger. While you can't please all of the people, just make sure that it's not just the people on the bandstand enjoying the music.
This next bit might sound a little contradictory to my first suggestions, but my second piece of advice is not to lose yourself in that process. You were hired because of what you do best. There will be some genres you feel more comfortable with and others not as much, and that is OK. It is good to expand what you can offer, but at the same time make sure not forget your own strengths. Think about it like branding, because as an entertainer or band you are your own brand. When people see your name or the band's name, there should be something that comes to mind. When people hear The Beatles, they expect rock and roll, when they hear John Coltrane, they expect jazz. If you start going off in a million directions you will lose the power of your brand. You could imagine the confusion if The Rolling Stones would come out on stage after decades of doing rock and roll and then started doing nothing but waltzes. It would destroy all the work they put in to build their brand and their image. The same is true in if the band isn't playing in Madison Square Gardens or the Hollywood Bowl. For instance, if a band was put together to be a "Latin band" that performs on ships, they should focus their attention to playing different Latin styles. They should also learn some other styles, such as some ballads, pop, ballroom, and jazz because there will probably be a time when it is useful. But if the one band hired to play Latin styles then they should play mostly Latin styles. If that band starts playing more rock than anything else, you can see where it would become a problem with the onboard management.
I would recommend asking the hiring person at the cruise line or your agent if you are not directly hired, and ask what need they are trying to fill with entertainment onboard. The person in charge of hiring entertainers should know and can help you out. Try and get an email address for the Musical Director/Bandmaster on your next ship and try and find out what they have been experiencing and ask for suggestions. I have always been more willing to work with somebody being proactive, rather than playing to an empty lounge and not caring. Yes, you will receive your pay no matter what, but it might be your last gig with that cruise line if the Hotel Director, Cruise Director, and Musical Director aren't happy with you job performance.
There are other factors to take into consideration as well, and some of them will be the subject of my next post.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Long Overdue Update
So it has been a while since I last wrote a post... a long, long while. I wish I could have a really good excuse, but it was just a matter of things got busy once I was on the ship and continued for the next 8 months and then got home and was busy there as well.
Being back on land really reminds us how much technology and communication plays a part of our every day life. On the ship, phone calls are pretty much for emergencies and internet access is a commodity that is charged by the minute. On my last 3 contracts, we were able to buy an internet package of $30 for just over 6 hours of access. And the signal is a satellite connection that makes 1997 AOL dial up speed seem fast. So next time you complain that you are paying $20 a month for high speed data on your phone, just know it could be much worse. At our best rate, unlimited internet on the ship would be over $2,500 a month. Even worse, the rate for passengers would work out somewhere around $25,000 (this is no exaggeration, their rate is somewhere around 60 cents per minute, just do the math from there).
So what were we up to for the last 8 months? I started my contract in November in Athens, Greece at the start of the crossing, meaning that the ship was moving locations around the world, this time from Europe to Asia. We spent about 4 and a half months throughout Asia until returning to Europe where we finished the contract on July 4 in Southampton, the port for London, England.
All in all we visited over 40 countries on three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa). I added seven new countries to my travel list, bringing it 65 countries visited while working on a ship and 68 visited in my lifetime. Some of the new ones were fun and exciting and a couple of new ones were major disappointments... more on those in a separate post.
During this past contract a lot happened with different opportunities and things that will be happening for us in the future. I will give a full update later, but this past contract will be our last where my wife was in the production cast and I was a member of the ship's orchestra. We have learned to never say never, but this is the right time to head in a different direction. Everyone on a ship laughs when a crew member says it will be their last contract. For many, they say it every time and make their way back to the ship contract after contract. But right now we have several opportunities to continue doing what we love in different venues so we will take it.
My goal is now being back on land will give me the chance to continue writing right here. We will continue to travel and perform and we will also be working on land so I will surely have plenty to write about. At least it will be easy to improve from the amount of time from my last post to this one.
Being back on land really reminds us how much technology and communication plays a part of our every day life. On the ship, phone calls are pretty much for emergencies and internet access is a commodity that is charged by the minute. On my last 3 contracts, we were able to buy an internet package of $30 for just over 6 hours of access. And the signal is a satellite connection that makes 1997 AOL dial up speed seem fast. So next time you complain that you are paying $20 a month for high speed data on your phone, just know it could be much worse. At our best rate, unlimited internet on the ship would be over $2,500 a month. Even worse, the rate for passengers would work out somewhere around $25,000 (this is no exaggeration, their rate is somewhere around 60 cents per minute, just do the math from there).
So what were we up to for the last 8 months? I started my contract in November in Athens, Greece at the start of the crossing, meaning that the ship was moving locations around the world, this time from Europe to Asia. We spent about 4 and a half months throughout Asia until returning to Europe where we finished the contract on July 4 in Southampton, the port for London, England.
All in all we visited over 40 countries on three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa). I added seven new countries to my travel list, bringing it 65 countries visited while working on a ship and 68 visited in my lifetime. Some of the new ones were fun and exciting and a couple of new ones were major disappointments... more on those in a separate post.
During this past contract a lot happened with different opportunities and things that will be happening for us in the future. I will give a full update later, but this past contract will be our last where my wife was in the production cast and I was a member of the ship's orchestra. We have learned to never say never, but this is the right time to head in a different direction. Everyone on a ship laughs when a crew member says it will be their last contract. For many, they say it every time and make their way back to the ship contract after contract. But right now we have several opportunities to continue doing what we love in different venues so we will take it.
My goal is now being back on land will give me the chance to continue writing right here. We will continue to travel and perform and we will also be working on land so I will surely have plenty to write about. At least it will be easy to improve from the amount of time from my last post to this one.
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