The Steel Guitar Forum

As a cover band wanting to build a good reputation and earn the opportunity to play out for a little money time to time, how important do you guys think appearance is ??

How far do you take it ?

Our usual dress is jeans and t shirts.

If we want to up our game, how does dress play into that ??

Any and all guidance is appreciated.

Thanks,

IMO the more you lean into the Les-Paul-thru-a-Marshall-stack genre,the less it matters,but I do think if you're playing NON-bro country it helps to dress up a little.

Me, I think appearance is as important as the music. I'm not talking about overkill.

Know our venue, know our audience...

if we are playing for a Pig Roast outdoors, dress for that event. IF we are playing for a club or dance where folks are paying at the door, wearing jeans, boots, nice shirts and hats, dress for the event.

I don't say wear a TUX but these days it is CLEAN jeans and a nice shirt, un-tucked. I rarely wear Tee's while playing anymore.

My take these days, we should look at least as good as the people we are playing for, plus it never hurts to be dressed a tad better than the audience.

we should always

be prepared for the gig
play our best
look presentable

I've played some fill-in gigs recently where I was dressed typical, clean jeans ( blue or black) and a nice shirt, either Western or regular, one or two in the band were in saggy shorts and sloppy Tee's while the other two in two band were like me. It jumped out at me, I noticed it as soon as I arrived. I'm thinking many noticed it.

I don't like playing in t-shirts unless they're plain, colored and tidy. But I prefer button-down shirts, usually in the sorts of prints James May would wear.
Jeans: clean, dark and pressed (sorry, I like that Mike Auldridge look).
You're putting on a show, not sitting on the damn patio

appearance is part of professionalism. Try to look like someone who expects to be paid for services rendered.

If it's alt country or a singer/songwriter, I'll drop it down a notch, wanting to blend in with the act, but still, look like a pro.

If you're working for tips in a dive bar, no crowd, hauling your own gear, it looks foolish if you're wearing a nudie suit. You can overdo it, but if the crowd is dressing sharper than you, you might want to try harder


It's still entertainment , "showbizz- no show, no bizz"

Totally agree with the responses so far.

IMO, here's the thing: your visual presentation can help or hinder the audience's receptivity to your music. A lot of musicians I know hate that fact, but, you know... that's the game, right?

I personally like to think of dressing for a show as finding the right costume. In my main project we dress to emulate the 70s cosmic country look, and it's my chance to tap into my inner child and wear a cowboy hat. I also have an old western suit from the 70s that works great for this.

For a sub gig I'm doing soon, it's all modern/pop country, so I'll be wearing my selvedge jeans, boots, maybe a western shirt or nice black v-neck t-shirt and a trucker hat.

I think the key is erring on the side of "costuming", as what you're trying to do is create a little fantasy. The more you look like what an audience expects a band to look like (for your genre/sub-genre), the quicker you can seduce them into the show. The more your dress makes you look like "just another audience member", the more your band will have to work to draw them into the fantasy.

Edit - here's a photo for context:


Here's some shots where i'm slightly more formal: http://heighburners.com/galleries/345464/at-the-dakota

Whatever you do, make sure you have fun with it!

We play older country mostly, and we try to look the part. I remember going to see Mel Tillis in Tulsa around 1974. His band was dressed in matching suits with lots of sequins. They looked really sharp and played like the master professional musicians that they were. You knew you were seeing a country star and his band. We try to give out audience good music and a professional appearance, a good entertainment value for the money the spend to see us.

There ya go. The band is feelin' good.

We dress up EVERY show. We work 3-4 nights a week and have probably 10 different combos of matching shirts, ties, pants and hats (we are in Texas where the men are men and the sheep are real nervous)! I cannot tell you how many times we are complimented on the way we dress. The usual comment is they like it because it shows respect for the crowd. Professional always wins! People are tired of seeing t-shirts and ball caps. It shows no respect for the people that paid money to see the entertainers. To me it's like playing the Opry in torn jeans, ball cap and sunglasses. No respect for what brung you! I will say that it has elevated our group into more jobs and that 's the name of the game. Even though we play traditional country we have 0 complaints. (steel guitar and fiddle) as leads. No fuzzy guitars here.

A Texan told me one time that "I judge a man by his boots and hat".
He was from Pflugerville.

Here in Amarillo, whether rock or country about anything goes. Our band, Lindsey Lane, dress OK. We don't dress alike or all western but neat and clean. Some of our gigs I'll wear coat and tie, others Hawaiian shirts and red sneakers depending on venue. If we were a hardcore country band,like I wish we were and some jobs I've played, yeah I'm all pressed up, hat, or as close as I can get to what they want.

Erv Niehaus wrote:A Texan told me one time that "I judge a man by his boots and hat".
He was from Pflugerville.

In a business situation like sales, I used to look at a man's boots and his wristwatch. His jeans might be worn and dirty, but if he's wearing $1000 boots and has a Rolex on his wrist, he probably owns the big-ass ranch he's been working on.

Pflugerville's a nice town, I used to live up there.

The style of dress depends on the gig and the audience demographics, and I try to match the band/crowd. If it's a summertime T-shirt and ballcap gig I can do that (ballcap worn correctly), likewise a Scully/Rockmount gig, and I have western suits and a tuxedo (two, actually... don't ask)

Gig venue should dictate proper attire...
outside, 90+ degrees

inside, big dollaH w/multiton a/c...

lookin sharp is all that matters . When i played out years ago we wore black leather pants with a beatle shirt and silver belts along with nice looking demi type shoes plus we always always had our hair looking sharp or combed that is lol i forgot the black leather vest was there also just looking good means alot to your audiance plus a pleasent attitude goes along way .

A lot of my shows are behind older one-time famous acts that now just travel around doing smaller shows. The protocol we use is that the band wears all black and whoever the star is dresses as they wish.
I've played behind guys like Jack Green in his sparkling Nudie suit and in contrast behind Stonewall Jackson in his jeans and tee shirt. Basic black works no matter what they wear.
JB

I prefer playing steel in a t-shirt because when I play steel in a long sleeve shirt, I have to adjust the sleeve to adjust the bar with cerebral palsy in my left hand. When I play with a t-shirt on, it makes it easier for me to adjust the bar if I need to.

A singer once told us, the people you are playing for wish they were you!..if they wear grey suits all day at work....don't were grey suits!!..We used to get some of our outfits at upscale Black clothing stores....or from acting company's...later we had years of getting our duds custom made..Larry

Wear black. It helps a little hiding the belly.

I've heard it's quite important.

Proper attire, neat look. No shorts or tees unless its a hot dog grilling on the patio. Whether we like it or not most paying customers want to see a band that has got it together somewhat. You are judged by your appearance like it or not. I know I would not hire a band in my club if I had one that looked like a bunch of skid row bums. If you want to be a working band look the part. Just my 2 cents, J.R. Rose

This bit of Monk's advice always stuck with me. Among other things he notes "Look sharp as possible."

Now That's cool !

I agree with Herb. Depends on situation.

When I played steel with Country Justice it was great. Wear my dark pants, Boots, The band leader furnished our shirts. They belonged to him, His wife washed, ironed and kept buttons tight. We wore about 4 different shirts. He gave them to us at the gig and picked them up when our gig was over. He had clothes that matched colors in the shirts. One neat group on stage.
He stated once that by him owning the shirts, They were washed together and all looked identical. And no one could wear the wrong shirt to a gig.

Back in the day when my wife and our band Lou Rose & The Entertainers, we supplied the shirts. She would laundry them and we took them to the gig and then we took back home with us. They were nothing fancy or sparkly but were all the same color and always looked good. We always had a lot of good comments on how the band looked. Presentation is important, J.R. Rose