How Far is Too Far?

You have raunchy songs.

You have songs with swear words that are a vital part of the song.

Do you always use these songs in your set irrespective of the audience or do you customise your set to reflect your audience?

You're invited to do a gig where there are children attending like Fetes or free concerts or gigs at fairgrounds etc.

What would you do?

You have three options:

1. Decline the invitation because you don't want to delete any swear words or leave out unsuitable songs or
2. Accept the invitation and modify your songs accordingly or
3. Go ahead with the gig and refuse to tone down your act and then face the possible consequences

I think most people in the music business would say option 3 is too far.

What do you do if you're at a gig and you find that there are children?

Well, you don't wait to be told to tone down your act. Commonsesne says that you automatically tone it down and then complain to the organisers afterwards for not telling you that there would be children present.

Many bands are tempted to go too far in their acts (not only with audiences with children in them), These are situations where the band do something offensive or illegal. The thinking is that this will get them publicity. Well of course it will but at the same time they run the risk of pissing off the music establishment. Do that and you could end up being blacklisted with venue managers and promoters not touching you with a forty foot barge pole.

So all in all, best to play safe, keep your "adult" songs for adult audiences and either avoid tricky audiences or customise your act accordingly.

The Legendary Frank
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Blog: Unisgned Bands and Indie Label Reviews