I have played in them as well and most of the people there are in the 80s, a lot with some kind of dementia, so they like pop tunes from their youth. I talked with someone at one of those places last year and she said that our kind of music works better in retirement homes in upscale communities with more of the demographic that might have been concert goers in their youth.

I have also played in restaurants and coffee shops over the years. Chains don not work at all - they want each of their places to be exactly the same and lute music does not fit with their corporate image.  Here in California even the ones that are not part of a chain like to look they are a chain and have done their research about the local communities they draw from. The last one I played at was fine until a new owner came in and decided that looking like a sport bar was a better image to make more money.  That said, if I had a mailing list of active lute music fans, I probably would have been able to stay there playing in what was a dead time in their schedule.
Nancy
I remember playing at a "retirement home" once. Most depressing thing ever - the pensioners were all down on heavy drugs and one foot away from the grave... or one push of the wheelchair away, more accurately.  After that, playing at the veterans hospital was a truly joyful experience. You do the gigs you can, specially when they are payed.

One of my friends, a jazz player with a golden album, used to play in local bars and got minimal audiences with minimal attention spans for music. Jazz is still popular in Europe, but all but dead here. Part of it I think are the venues: streets, metro stations and restaurants in Europe lend themselves to music, particularly in the summer.

Any brave soul tried to play at a McDonald's or a Starbucks?? I am wondering how many seconds it would take to see them ejected by "management".

Also, watching The Blues Brothers does not encourage acts of musical bravery in local bars deep inland...





On 01/04/2018 01:57 PM, John Mardinly wrote:
    I played my lute at a hospice once. Went over like a lead balloon.
    Classical guitar was better received.

    A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E.
    The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
    Francisco Goya

    On Jan 4, 2018, at 2:38 PM, Tristan von Neumann
    <[1][email protected]> wrote:

    My proposition would be the following:
    Assemble a team: three lutists minimum!
    If possible, add recorders, Renaissance guitar, cittern etc., a dulcian     and a trombone, and for the sake of beats some Renaissance percussion.
    If you have a portable organ, get it on stage.
    Go to your local jazz club and pitch "Early Music Jazz Jam Session".
    When playing, have the musicians occupy the functions of respective
    jazz musicians.
    Jam the hell out of Passamezzi, Romanescas, Bergamascas etc., throw in     some song standards like Vestiva I Colli or Can She Excuse, do virtuoso
    solos. I bet the audience will have fun.
    Get that stick out of your spine and rock the venue.
    Am 04.01.2018 um 20:52 schrieb
    [2][email protected]:

         Having friends in psychology, economics, and
      marketing/advertising, we
         have had this discussion over beer. And the general conclusion
      was that
         most artists (including early music artists) ought not be
      lamenting
         about why people don't show up to appreciate their art, but
      rather they
         should be discussing how best to draw in an audience. Think about
      it,
         if a graphic artist wants to put on an exhibit, they will
      bringing
         alcohol, maybe food, hire a musician, and create an inviting
      atmosphere
         for socializing. Moreover, symphony orchestras also have this
      problem
         and their partial (yet successful) solution are the multimedia
         programs; live performance of film music over film clips of Harry
         Potter, Star Wars, etc.
         The fact (sad or not) is that audiences have MANY distractions
      pulling
         their attention nowadays. Music alone, no matter how pure or
         inspirational, won't draw an audience as much as music PLUS
      something
         else - drama or a story, visuals, alcohol, dance, etc. I think it
      would
         behoove early music artists to start thinking about this and
         corroborating and creating more engaging programs. And there are
         successful examples of this out there, but there needs to be
      more.
         One more thing, I am also reminded of a program done years ago by
         Steven Wade (?) called 'Banjo Dancing' (?). He performed as one
      man
         with a banjo. He played, told stories, sang, and had a truly
      engaging
         performance. And it drew audiences. There is absolutely no reason
      why
         something similar couldn't be done by a lutenist given some
      talent and
         hard work in creating such a stage performance. And as a
      disclaimer, I
         am not a professional musician, so these are merely my opinions,
         looking in from the outside.
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    --

References

    1. mailto:[email protected]
    2. mailto:[email protected]
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--
Nancy Carlin
Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org

PO Box 6499
Concord, CA 94524
USA
925 / 686-5800

www.groundsanddivisions.info
www.nancycarlinassociates.com


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