Why I started gigging as a One-Man band!
Playing with other musicians is a great experience but being able to do a full show on your own is empowering and fun. After many cancelled rehearsals and mismatched diaries I decided to embark on the trip of playing all on my Todd- as they say in the London.
There are many challenges to playing on your own though such as humping all your own equipment and not to mention playing all the damn instruments at the same time.
My One-man band features harmonica(on a rack), guitar, foot tambourine and a unique drum made out of a 70's Samsonite suitcase - always a bonus after a festival show when you can quickly shove all your gear in the case and hop off the stage before the next act wants to souncheck.
Living in Brentford (London), I follow in a tradition of One-Man bands with the infamous Don Partridge hailing from nearby and also living on a boat!
One of the best aspects of being a solo troubadour must surely be the independence. I don't have to worry about band politics, musicians having 'musical differences' or annoying each other in the tour van. I'm a self contained artist responsible for my own destiny.
see you at a gig soon.....
Ed