Week 130: Getting Paid Gigs

Hi Music Lovers!

After last weeks free gig at Teteria Salterio (Teahouse) I realised I could perform without a mic and amp in front of a small friendly crowd for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It wasn't just about steaming through the songs like a train. I got into a comfort zone and a rapport with the audience and even read some poetry.

My second official gig is at Pipiolo this weekend. It's a place known for six nights of singer-songwriters every week.  It's the biggest of the small places I've elected to play and the 1st paid gig. Just 3 Euros at the door!

I've also set up at Ticketea.com, an online system where people can purchase tickets in advance for all kinds of events and venues can scan printed tickets or electronic tickets on mobile devices to validate the tickets. It was fun figuring out how the system worked & will come in handy in future.

I've started rehearsing with a few different people and hope they will join me onstage  for a few songs each.

The other group sharing the billing are POOL, playing as an acoustic duo of Gilles Estoppey on piano and Claudia Steccato on vocals.

I'm planning a few theatrical elements and would like to add some surprises to each show. I've been looking into guerilla marketing and used recycled train tickets to write my address on last week and hand out to the audience. I also collected email addresses at the show.

I'm working on new songs too, just to give some surprises and something never heard before, even on my website.

PLJ
Zack aka RedEyeZack

Week 129: Creating A Setlist

Hi Guys!

Well I'm pleased to say I managed to play for 1 hour and 20 minutes with about 11 Songs  at my first gig last Thursday at Teteria Salterio.

I started rehearsing last Monday and put a setlist together. Its important to change the key and pace of the songs. I kept the singalong songs till the 2nd part of the performance so I and the audience were both warmed up. I started with 2 completely unknown songs never heard before. 

Feel free to listen to these Red tracks by following the link:

• What Do You Feel
• Who Knows What You're Going To Be
• Summertime & Smile
• Hold Me & Flying Free
• The Purpose of Existence & RadhaKrishna
• Two Sparrows
• I Can't SleepTonight
• 21st Century Man & Satisfy My Soul

Then I introduced a poem called Sweet love and asked for a volunteer - Giulia to read some selected parts with me. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to use the microphone and amplified that I had brought along. So it was a completely unplugged performance. Luckily most of the people sitting close were friends and they were very silent during the performance of the quieter songs like Sofia's Song. 

I gave a short introduction to each song, about where, how or why it was written. I decided not to keep regular time for a lot of the songs and improvise some intros and outros, with some breaks in the middle for teaching the audience some of the melodies. I finished on two very melodic and catchy songs.

Overall the gig went well. It was a calm and chillout atmosphere and I think the music reflected that.

Next gig is Saturday May 4th at Pipiolo. I look forward to seeing some of you there!!

Zack aka RedEyeZack

Week 128: The First Concert

Hi Music Lovers!

Gig at Tea shop. Milestone - 5000 views on this Blog. Wanted - Acoustic Guitarist & Cajon player

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It's been a sunny start to April and I'm rehearsing for my 1st gig on Thursday April  18th at TETERIA SALTERIO. I've dug up some old acoustic songs that have never been heard before. They have a folk element and story-line with characters, I thought it would be a good idea to present them at my 1st acoustic solo gig as RedEyeZack. See more info on this reverbnation profile page.

I'm excited about playing to such an intimate group of friends in a very sweet location. I'm a bit of a tea man myself, so what better place than a tea shop to make your first gig as a solo artist.

I've started checking out other places I could play and in the meantime I'm looking for other musicians to jam with and accompany me with these original songs. Another acoustic guitar or Cajon. Please send me an email at redeyezack@gmail.com if you are interested.

The other thing I've just noticed is 5000 views on this blog. That's since I started in October 2012. I've managed to post regularly every week since then. 

Enjoy the sunny weather in Barcelona. If not, get yourself over here!!

Zack aka RedEyeZack

Week 127: Starting to Gig - Pipiolo Bar

Hi Music Lovers!

I've got my first paid gig at PIPIOLO on May 4th! I will be sharing the stage with POOL. It's a small, cozy place for an intimate evening of acoustic live music. Here's more info and a slideshow of our evening at the bottom.

https://www.facebook.com/pipiolo.bar

Last night after our Pink Floyd Jam session, a small group of us headed off to meet up with other friends in a music bar called 'Pipiolo'. Jose had brought along a producer/ singer-songwriter to introduce me to & I was there to meet the music organizer, Gemma to see if it may be a good place to start my small performances.

The tiny door at Pipiolo - C/ Balmes 113 had a guitar fretboard as the door handle and we stepped down into the cozy bar. The friendly staff took out guitars into the backroom which was full of more guitars! There were 3 musicians playing covers booked and 1 by 1 they came to perform a set of cover songs. Before the evening had finished we discussed the possibilities of organizing a gig for RedEyeZack for May. 

Pipiolo have music every night of the week from Tuesday to Saturday. From 10pm to midnight it's singer-songwriters with their own material and from midnight onwards it's covers groups. It's a small cozy place, 

people chat during cover performances so it looks like a good place to practice. I will visit a few more times in the week to get a feel for the place and how different the crowd are for the singer-songwriters.

Have a great week & catch up soon!

Zack aka RedEyeZack