Unplugged

I always liked unplugged performances because they felt more intimate and real. That genuine quality and raw nature of the sound is what engenders connection.

I've been thinking about this concept lately, of wanting to unplug and go back to experimenting with ideas by doing them as artists do with sounds when unplugged.

Less performance for a public, more conversation with smart and accomplished colleagues.

It's more fun to riff off the insights of who is working on creation than to debate who is or isn't the rock star in the room. We could discover there is more there there.

 

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Comments

[Beth Harte]

Well said, Valeria.

I often wonder if most people aren't performing unplugged because the 'studio enhancement' is required. The raw and unpolished would simply be ugly. It's like Milli Vanilli vs. the band above (she has an amazing voice, thanks for sharing!).

"Less performance for a public, more conversation with smart and accomplished colleagues."

I hope we can all get back to this ideal otherwise business will never move forward in the next decade. And it's smart thinking and accomplishment that is sorely needed.

[Susan Tormollen]

I wholeheartedly agree. And, the interesting thing about seeing an unplugged artist performance is that not only does the audience feel an authentic connection with the artists, but they also feel a connection with the other people in the audience. It becomes a unique community of itself, perhaps for just those few hours, but many times for longer.

And, related to marketing...about a month ago, Simon Sinek's Imagine That email stated

"Take people on a memorable journey, and they don't notice the mistakes you make or the things you get wrong. Ignore the journey and all they will notice is the mistakes you make and the things you get wrong"

I think this idea of a memorable journey goes hand-in-hand with getting unplugged. Be real, be transparent, and working together find the new ideas and creative approaches.

Thanks Valeria for the big idea here.

[Adam Singer]

Fantastic Valeria. Anytime you want to riff, feel free to call me - always enjoyed our chats. You always succeed in making me think.

[Gabriele Maidecchi]

I feel unplugged when I leave apart my electronic stuff and doodle on my notebook to map ideas for my next blog posts.
Focusing just on the simplicity for 30 minutes is really relaxing sometimes.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Beth - glad you liked the video. I do quite enjoy live music, as you know, and this has that quality. There is a time and place for performance, of course. Making everything one is counter productive, though.

@Susan - really great point about people feeling a connection with each other in the audience. Because the artist is not overpowering the room. The challenge with the memorable journey is to provide it consistently, which is probably why it starts as unplugged and ends up as performance. You gave me more to think about. Thank you.

@Adam - I should still have your number somewhere ;) Congratulations again for your new job. It takes two in the thinking department: I write the post, you willingly read and think about it.