Musician Tip #3: Volume

"This one goes to eleven..."

Yeah, but should it?

I do believe that good music should be played loud, and that it sounds better when it is loud. However, a guaranteed way to make fast friends or enemies out of the venue, host, or even the audience themselves, has to do with your volume setting and - more importantly - your willingness to adjust it.

I've been told the same tale by venue owners/workers and live show enthusiasts alike of artists or groups that played so loud the audience actually left or moved to the complete other side of the venue. This could easily turn into psychoanalysis... Why would anyone ever feel the need to be so loud that they actually chased off their own audience? This won't make your father love you or bring that pet goldfish you washed down the sink at age 4 (Captain Awesome) back to life.

Why would the volume that the crowd hears matter to someone on the stage, where you're likely using monitors of your own? My only guesses are that:

A) You think by being louder than Gilbert Godfrey giving a play-by-play at Pearl Harbor you'll destroy all other distractions and the audience will have no choice but to focus on you. Keep in mind they're bipeds and as such can transport themselves away from you to continue their discussion elsewhere on how little the world would change if the Kardashians never existed.

B) Delusions of Grandeur. "When I saw Mötley Crüe in '86, they made the speaker's ears bleed, dude!" Big, loud rock shows can be fun. Trying to squeeze one into a nightclub or a restaurant bar is like squeezing Oprah into Barbie doll outfits: It won't work, and it's honestly uncomfortable to even be in the same room with it.

C) You're old and your hearing is shot.

Yeah, you might think it saps some of the intensity out of the show. I've had to play my share of gigs where I was asked to turn down below nursing-home level... but I got paid for the gig and received a lot of compliments from those people with eggshell eardrums. That's what they wanted, that's what they paid for, so that's what they got.

There are exceptions. Years ago, I started a show at a venue that was empty when 2 old women strolled in for a drink. They sat right next to me (this place was HUGE - empty seats and booths everywhere), then called the manager over to complain about my volume level. The word moron does come to mind.

You wouldn't believe how laid-back and supportive a venue owner will be when you simply state up front that you'll gladly adjust your volume to whatever level he'd prefer. When I started doing this, the requests for me to lower my volume almost disappeared. Some guys just like to know they're running the show - so tell them up front and they'll have no reason to push the point with you later.