Stage theatrics cool but not crucial

Think about all the stories you've ever heard about your favorite bands. Michael Jackson moonwalking, Hendrix setting his guitar on fire at Woodstock and Keith Moon blowing up his drum set all come to mind. The point is that all these stories have to do with concerts or cool live gigs. The concert scene is what it is because of its visual aspect. People go to see their rock heroes up on stage because they want to see something that they can't get anywhere else.\nDespite what most people think, the art of onstage theatrics came about years before Jimi Hendrix humped his guitar on stage and set it on fire. T-Bone Walker was playing with his guitar behind his head while doing the splits, Chuck Berry was doing the duckwalk across the stage and Jerry Lee Lewis was throwing his leg up on the keys years earlier. Of all the great players of the past, the ones who are most remembered are the ones who could put on a good show. In fact, many of rock's legends get credit for being great players even though they were known to occasionally sacrifice a few notes at the altar of spotlight.\nAs a performer I've had to learn a lot about stage presence, and I probably still have a lot left to learn. Someone once said I reminded him of Robert Fripp (King Crimson). I took it as a huge compliment until I realized he was drawing the comparison based on visual performance as well technical. It just so happened that the performance was about a week after I'd had back surgery, so I really couldn't do a whole lot. I was dubbed "the best paraplegic guitarist." Later on, I got a copy of the video and it looked pretty funny. I'd seen mannequins move more than that.\nThe more I played out, the more I saw that people don't even realize it most of the time when you blow a note. But they definitely notice when you bite the head off of a bat (Ozzy) or jump into the audience to jam three feet away from someone in the crowd (Buddy Guy would be proud of me!). But the one thing that is the most obvious is that you've got to feel it. The crowd knows when it's just an act.\nOf course the best shows I've had were the ones where I remember the crowd getting into it. I can still remember a show where our drummer cut his hand and kept playing. I didn't find out about it until after the show when he walked up with blood on his leg and told us about it after the set. I can just recall feeling drums more than hearing them that night and I'm sure the crowd did too. \nOne of the funniest parts of playing live is that you really can't be prepared for everything. Strings break, cords get tripped over and unplugged and occasionally your mullet just doesn't look as cool as it should. But this is cool if you know how to take advantage of it. A few months ago I broke a string in the middle of a song and had to play most of the set without it. As a result I had to reharmonize an intro riff on the spot and improvise the rest of my solos, giving them a cool sound. But in the end I probably would've gotten more from the crowd from dancing than actually concentrating on staying in the right key.\nSo if your band doesn't own a miniature model of Stonehenge or have coordinated outfits, don't give up. I'd rather be remembered for something like Elvis Costello's "Saturday Night Live" stunt than M.C. Hammer's slick moves and crazy pants. There are of course a few limitations. I think we've all learned that, no matter how bad we want to, that we really shouldn't bash beer-swilling rednecks on the head with our bass guitars. Thanks for that lesson, Sid. And really only Thom Yorke looks cool convulsing on stage, whereas I would just look like a jerk. But with all that in mind, you gotta realize that Carson Daly's ex-roommate's cousin's dad might be in the audience that night and you don't want to miss your shot to sell out!