Presence

One thing I've noticed when watching concerts is that the musicians all have stage presence. Whether it is the constant sexual energy that Kiss delivers, or the dark energy that one recieves from Alice Cooper, or even the psychadelic feeling one could have attained at a Phish concert, stage presence is a must.

So long as you are not going to be a recording studio only type band, you need the stage presence for several reasons. First off, it keeps your act interesting. You can have some of the best music ever, but if you just kinda stand there looking moderatly pleased, no one is going to pay the big bucks to see you live. Stage presence is the thing that makes a concert worth attending. They usually are not cheap to attend, so if you have no stage presence they will just buy your cd instead. I'm sorry for rambling there, but that is the main reason, the one that needed driven home the most.

Another reason for stage presence is that it allows your audience to feel a connection to you. Any one can sing a song, or beat a drum, but if you are up there making sure that they see you do it, they will take notice. It makes you look like you know what you are doing. If it looks like you know what you are doing, the crowd will assume you do. If you look like you are uncertain of what you are doing, the crowd will become automatically far more critical of what you do. Stage presence sells your skill level, and if used properly can even cover up your mistakes, to an extent.

A third reason for stage presence relates to the second. It allows your audience to feel a connection to your music. If you are singing a song thats just dripping with anger, but you look dazed, they won't feel that anger. If your song is extremely sad, but you look pleased, it will kill the effect of the song. You have to sell your song to the audience. If your stage presence doesn't match your song, then not only do you look retarded, your song sounds a little less good.

The fourth, and possibly most important reason for stage presence is it allows you to have fun. The point of being a musician performing in front of crowds is to have fun. If you sit there terrified of making a mistake, your not having fun. On the other hand, if you are dancing around the stage, or showing off behind the kit, your having fun. If your having fun, that energy will flow out to the crowd, and they will have fun, and it will filter back. That is the reason bands tour for so long. That energy fuels performances and gives you an experience you will never be able to match.