I guess I do both. First, I play something I want to hear (and share) and then I turn the controls over to my victim. My favorite has to be the "I've listened to this a thousand times and I never knew they did THAT." The other night I played the Rebecca Pigeon track for my brother. A good one. Usually I lead with a cut from the Victor Wooton solo CD, Brother John, because it is one of the more fun tracks for imaging and such. It starts as a fairly straightforward bluesey piece with fun instrumentation, all very centered, but then there is a full gospel-style chorus that kicks in that simply blossoms around and engulfs the listener. If you don't know it's coming, it's almost startling. The choir then claps along, with varying syncopated rhythms, and you can hear where each of them is standing around you. And my favorite part, one of them evidently brought a little kid along, standing in the back right of the soundstage, who chimes in from time to time. That usually getsÂ’em. It gets me. When folks ask how much it all cost, I invariably shake my head and admit, with unfeigned chagrin, "too much." Rarely do they get more than that out of me.
Which track do you demo to your friends?
You know when a friend arrives at your house, sees your stereo and says "how much did all this cost". You tell him/her the $$$ and they say "are you mad?" Of course, the next step is to justify it by playing something that will make their jaw hit the floor. Which track do you play? Me, I play a track called "Spanish Harlem" by Rebecca Pidgeon off an album called "The Raven". Works every time :-) Their jaw hits the floor, and no-one speaks till the song is over. Then they something along the lines of "Oh, I see what you mean". Follow up/alternate demo tracks for me would include "Fire and Roses" by Mimi Goese and "Ordinary Life" by Christen Barry. What track do you play in this most demanding of moments?