Virtual Performances?

[Dom Franco]

Before the Pandemic, I had a pretty good thing going.
I was playing at Retirement Homes, Assisted Living, Rehab Facilities etc. It was almost a full time job, playing sometimes 3 gigs a day. During the spring and summer even during the quarantine I was playing outdoors at some of these same places. But now it's Cold and rainy and the lockdowns are worse.

Recently I have been asked by a few places to perform via "ZOOM" or "FACETIME" or whatever? (They would still pay me of course)

Have any of you guys done this successfully? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

The idea of setting up in my studio, with some backdrop, and singing and playing into an IPAD is not very appealing to me, but I am willing to try. A big part of my act is playing the audience's favorites, and they sing along. I read the crowd and interact with comments and jokes, often playing requests...

But who knows how long this thing will last, and seniors of the most at risk!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to make this work.

[Gary Newcomb]

Hi Dom, I’ve been doing a livestream show every Thursday since July from home and I have loved it. There was some tech hurdles for me to get through at first because i wanted to go live on Instagram and Facebook simultaneously . Also I wanted a more full sound than is possible with just the phone/iPad mics so I’ve got the amp mic’d in the closet and my vocal mic going into a mixer and then out from that to two different interfaces.
It’s obviously way more fun to play for actual people in a room then it is to play in front of two selfie cams but I’ve gotten used to it and now really look forward to the shows.