To Twitch or not to Twitch
OK, let me just start by saying that this is not for everybody. Many of you may not find this interesting at all, or may even find it extremely boring, but I’m ok with that. But this has been part of my journey during the pandemic and it gave me focus. Focus on music that I seriously missed due to not being able to play shows these last couple of years.
I missed playing guitar and sharing songs with audiences during COVID. Badly. I didn’t feel myself. I tried doing some livestream concerts on Facebook, but found it so odd to do a concert-esque performance while alone in a room, and trying to read comments and interact with a virtual audience. It was the only option at the time if I wanted to play, to do what I do, and maybe even monetize it since I couldn’t do my job the way I had for years. However, I eventually had an epiphany about performing that was really eye opening for me.
It wasn’t the playing of the songs that I missed most. It was what happens between the songs in front of a live audience. The part that wasn’t rehearsed and polished. The back and forth. The chatting, laughing, smiling and all-around dance of listening, and reacting to, a room full of people. I missed the improvisation and immediacy of the moments when I wasn’t trying to showcase something I had worked on previously. Sadly, the livestream concert just wasn’t the same for me. It didn’t give me that interaction and play of the unrefined moments.
Fast forward to mid-COVID days…
I heard about musicians livestreaming on Twitch, and I was curious, so I checked it out. What I immediately found was that “concerts” on Twitch were far more about interaction than they were about the playing song after song. The chatting, the comments and questions, the laughing - it was there and it was interactive, albeit not in person. Most performers spent just as much time chatting with their audience, if not more, as they did playing their songs. I know, some of you are already saying “This is not for me. I’d rather hear songs.” I get it.
Don’t worry, it gets worse. 😉
Later, I found musicians who were livestreaming their practice. Writing songs, exploring new musical ideas, repeating things over and over again to get it right, making mistakes, trying again and again. I know that “practice” is a “performance” of sorts, but not of the concert ilk. I was fascinated. This is what every musician does for countless hours behind-the-scenes before sharing what they’ve created with the world. To make matters even more curious, other people were watching…and interacting. These were not huge numbers, mind you, but dozens of curious listeners who found some connection, not only in the music, but in the discipline, the stick-to-it-iveness, the process.
For years, I’ve struggled with making time for practice. Although I dearly missed performing, I knew that livestreaming concerts just wasn’t my favorite way to “connect.” So, I got to thinking…
What if I stream my practice - AND - get to interact with people interested in talking about the process, the craft, the gear and music in general?! These are all conversations I love to have any time of day - AND - I could have them while practicing and creating new music. I decided to give it a try…and I loved it! I practiced more in the first month than I had in years.
Still scratching your head about why anyone would watch this? Don’t worry, it gets worse.
I made a rule for these livestreams early on. No tried and true songs. I will play nothing that I know inside and out. No “ringers” or “hits” to impress or get people to listen. No time-tested material that had been proven to “work” on an audience. It would primarily just be improvised musical explorations made up on the spot, or me practicing, writing or learning a new song. Oh yeah…and 98% of it without vocals. Mostly instrumental (some exceptions do happen from time to time).
This final decision came about by circumstance because my studio is directly below my bedroom and the only time I could find to do this practice was after my wife and kids were asleep late at night. I didn’t want to make too much noise and encourage stomps on the floor above me because I was keeping people awake. So, I started exclusively on my electric baritone guitar while wearing headphones with no amp, so that I was hardly making a sound outside of the room. Overtime, I reconfigured my equipment to work with both electric and acoustic guitars after I realized I wouldn’t wake anyone up playing acoustic, especially if I wasn’t singing.
It has now grown into practice featuring acoustic guitars, harp guitar, baritone electric guitar, as well as incorporating multiple effects pedals (that didn’t exist in my music arsenal prior to COVID). It’s a whole new palette and a whole new world. This ain’t my previous folk singer/songwriter persona or repertoire. I also chat about fingerstyle technique, explore new altered tunings, and muse on music in general, sometimes spontaneously delving into a mini-guitar workshop depending on who is chatting with me at the time, but mostly it is loose, unplanned and experimental. Mining for ideas. Exploring new sounds. Refining what I find. Reacting to the music that’s happening instead of trying to control or showcase it.
Still reading? Curious? Alrighty then…you passed the test. Don’t forget, I warned you. Join me sometime and say “hello” or feel free to just lurk and listen. I stream on a pretty random schedule and I go live without posting about it anywhere else. No promotion, no appeals to come watch, no sales (tipping is ok though), and it’s not a “show”. So, if you want to see it live, stop by my page and drop me a “follow” so you can be notified when I go live. I promise you won’t like everything you hear, but we’ll both be finding something new. 😆
As a primer, here’s a sample of me rehearsing my arrangement and effect pedal tap-dancing for the song “Deeper Well” by David Olney last month as I was preparing to venture to my first gig in 6 months.
