Members of Kiss made a splash in the 80s with their wild makeup and costumes, but it was their driving rock that attracted and maintained an army of fans. Likewise Alice Cooper captured attention early on with the band’s outrageous stage act. Besides adopting the name of the group as his own, and the lead singer’s gender-bending woman’s attire, he was fond of handling snakes and was beheaded during the show. Great songs, however, kept the band relevant for decades.
Lady Gaga has also been known for stunts like wearing a dress made out of meat. But her vocal and songwriting talents overshadow her theatrics.
I started doing my Bigfoot Troubadour act after our small town started an annual Bigfoot festival. I thought it might be a good way to promote an original novelty song I had written called “Bigfoot is Real to Me.” (See the video on my video page.)
For a few years during the festival I would dress up in my bigfoot mask, wookie coveralls, and oversized slippers and roam the street playing my song. While I got my picture on the front page of the local paper once and was asked to pose for several photos, I didn’t gain a lot of traction from the act. But that changed this year, ironically when this month’s festival was cancelled for the second year in a row due to concerns about the pandemic.
I was hosting an open mic (sans costume) when my playing caught the attention of a local businessman. He was interested in me performing at his general store and that interest increased when he discovered my alter ego and viewed my Bigfoot Troubadour page on Facebook. Like many other businesses and street vendors, he had ordered a bunch of Bigfoot-themed merchandise in anticipation of the crowds expected to attend the festival. Now that the event had been moved to next year, the throng of fans wouldn’t be coming to buy all that stuff.
So I agreed to come around that Saturday in full Bigfoot mode to help attract customers to the store. We both promoted my appearance and I played for more than three hours inside the establishment and out front wrangling customers in the door. It worked out well for both of us. Business still wasn’t as heavy as it would have been from the festival, but it was steady and profitable.
I also secured a regular plain-clothes gig at the store.
So let the purists and critics who believe that a gimmick cheapens one’s art. They will probably never know how lucrative compromising your musical integrity can be.