Wow! It’s amazing how one person’s terrible attitude can kill a gig. Bad morale is like an infectious disease that spreads like a sweeping plague through a crowd. It’s like a scene from “28 Days Later.” Once one person gets bitten then the rest of the crowd turns within seconds. They’ll turn on you and they’ll turn on each other.
Any personal problems should be left off the stage. Keep in mind that people have paid good money to see you play. Any problems you have with your other band members, your music director, your sound guy, or your cleaning lady, should be left out of the hands of your fans. It’s not their problem you’re in a shitty mood. It’s also not their problem that you feel the need to act like a baby. They’re the ones that should be putting you back in a good mood. So if anything, rely upon their good grace to lift your spirits for that hour or so you’ve got to play for them.
Bad morale can even get your fired. It can even cause accidents. This is especially the case while performing on stage with cirque-style acts.
I remember watching the series “Fire Within” about Cirque Du Soleil’s show creation process and one episode focused on this one particular guy and how his attitude was affecting things. You make a loud outburst in front of a lot of people and it distracts them. You blow up in anger and it makes people uneasy. Don’t be a baby.
Acting like a baby on stage comes in many forms: you’re mad so you just stop singing, you act uninterested, you don’t come on when you’re supposed to, you walk back out on stage with an electronic cigarette when you know you’re not supposed to. Basically it’s what I call “sand bagging” the show.
The only time I let things get to me on stage is when I’m actually ill. A couple of days ago I had food poisoning and I still performed. I was very dizzy and nauseous though so I didn’t move around too much. I still played fine and I still sang as best I could though. What can I say, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.
So next time you’re in a crap mood just remember not to let it spill out into the crowd. Cause that’s what bad morale does. It brings the rest of the band down and it brings the crowd down. You’re not fooling anyone and you’re not getting even with anybody by acting like an ass. You’re just being a passive aggressive jerk that just burned another bridge.
