The Art of the Front Man
By Mike Fox

So you’ve been rehearsing in the garage or basement like crazy. The songs are polished, pristine and ready to rock. The band wardrobe is pressed, clean and ready for the stage. It is now time to ask yourself “Who is going to do the talking?” or in the case of Harrisburg PA: “Who will lead us into the musical battle, running point against your typical bar crowd of drunks, crazy people, sheeple and hostiles?” In other words, who will be your front man?
What does the front man do? At the very least he/she is the person who will say thank you when (if) the crowd applauds after the songs and he/she will tell the audience the bands name every once in a while. That is the LEAST that a front person has to do. However, there is a world of fun, craziness and general frivolity that is opened up when you can find the right person for the job.

So what SHOULD a front person do:

It is this persons job to introduce the group after the first or second song. “Thank you. We are Fink’s Constant and we will be playing a blend of reggae and ska for you tonight.” Let them know what your style is and what they should expect. If they get up and leave, so what. You also need to remind the people to take care of their bartenders and waitresses. Do it, it’s just plain classy. Try to find out if there are any birthdays or anniversaries as well, audience or staff, this is a great icebreaker.

Organize the evening. Know when you start, finish and where the breaks will be in between. Organization is everything. Make sure the rest of the band knows the plan too. Band mates shouldn’t be asking when the break is or can they go pee. They should also know when to report back to the stage after a break. Be sure to set the crowd up for the break as well. Right before the last song remind them of who you are, tell them you will be taking a break after the next song, how long the break will be and what they can do during the break ie…buy CD’s, get on the mailing list etc…

Call the songs. Whether this is in the form of a set list or on the spot. If a change needs to be made he is the one to do it and communicate it to everyone on stage. Make sure there is one person on stage with the EXECUTIVE decision on this. You call the song and the band plays. The stage is no place for band discussions. Any conversation should be done over the mics and for the audiences benefit. A band discussion creates inward motion and takes away your interest in the crowd, in turn they lose interest in you. When you turn around again the crowd will be lost in their own conversations and won’t care what you’re doing.

Engage the crowd. If you expect people to sit in their seats listening to you for three hours in your typical Pennsyltucky bar, you better have more than just your music. I don’t care if you’re Aerosmith, three hours is too long to do anything, well except for…oh, nevermind.

There are a whole host of things that you can do to get and keep the crowds interest. Talk about the stories behind the songs. In small doses a VH1 Storytellers segment can be great if the story is good. Don’t go with” this song is about a girl who left me.” That’s been done way to many times, but if you use “This song is about a girl I was in love with who shot me down all the time that I later found out was a lesbian.” That grabs interest and opens a whole door into the world of Lesbianism that could be good for a couple of minutes of great banter.

Talk about your band mates. Know what’s going on in their lives. Something that happened to them that day can make a great icebreaker for you and the crowd. “If our drummer Andy seems down today, show him some pity, he was arrested for matching a description of a wanted felon and was stripped searched and probed in an unclean place for drugs, he’s feeling a little better now.” This is a great way to get the guys on stage involved and get them some spotlight too, they deserve it and it’s not all about the front person anyway. Just know your band mates well enough to know what you can talk about and what you can’t, it’s best to always ask.

Use the Seinfeld method. Make observations about your surroundings, the crazier the better. Yes, it’s kind of like being a comedian, but it works. Maybe it was traffic or construction on the way to the gig. Maybe it’s why are the waitresses in an Italian restaurant wearing sombreros. Who knows, throw it out there and see who in the crowd reacts. Here in PA there are always TV’s in the bars you play. If a movie I know is playing I’ll ask the crowd to tell me when a certain part is coming up and we will actually stop the song and watch when we get to it.

It also makes for an interesting evening if you directly involve the crowd by asking them questions or speaking to them in a way that you expect a direct answer. This method is not for the faint of heart. When you do this you are opening a door that is very difficult to shut. My band tells me that I’m instigating the crowd. I like to think of it as taking a risk to gain a reward. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Nice ways of doing this can be giving out CD’s for the first person to dance or buy a drink for someone with a band shirt or sports team you like. Dangerous ways of doing this are going into a bar in Philly and telling everyone how much you like the Redskins and that the Eagles suck. I GUARANTEE you, you will get a reaction! I once even went on to change the words of a song to reflect my feelings about the eagles. Hey, it got the crowd going and involved. With this technique I’ve found that the key is you must be willing to say what the other guy won’t which in turn gives you the upper hand. If a guy talks about doing bad things to your momma, then you have to be willing to say “Yeah, but didn’t you love her great big *******, they’re the best!” For this to be successful you just have to be willing to go where the other guy won’t.

If the crowd asks for something make them work for it. If they ask you to play a song, don’t just play it, that’s letting them off the hook too easy. If they ask for Elvis, say you’ve never heard of him. When they say “You’ve never heard of Elvis?” Then folks, you have yourself a conversation. If it takes place over the mic it will interest the crowd. If they ask if you can play a song by so and so, you ask “What’s in it for us?” It they want one more song at the end of the night you ask them what their willing to do to get it. I’ve had more fun in the last ten minutes of a gig using this method. I won’t go into details.

Being a front person is a huge deal and a lot of work. It is sometimes helpful to split the work but someone should always be point. If you have more than one capable front man designate sets or nights but always know who is in charge so your band knows who to follow. There are nights where I just know I don’t have the charm button pushed, luckily I have two other guys who can take the reins when need be. Don’t be afraid to give it to them out of ego, or jealously. If you’re not up to fronting you will do more damage than good in the body language you give off or the tone of you voice. If you must do it on a bad night, then make sure you have these things in check because the crowd will pick up on the fact that you don’t want to be there. THE SHOW IS ALL IMPORTANT!

I hope this has been informative and helpful. Feel free to contact me with questions or comments at Bigbubbashackle@yahoo.com