One man band (guitarist)

kandante you will need a mic and a stand and your talent that should be good to start with and see how it develops,raw talent always beats gadgets and effects and other crutches good luck with it

I found this it may inspire you and point the way a man a guitar a mic and a voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq0tAoO3 … re=related

I would look into looping if you're set on backing accompaniment.

"What is live looping?

Live looping is a new way to create music which can be used with any style and instrument. The musician creates his own background by recording bits of his playing during the music and has them looping as long as he needs them or repeating whenever he calls them back. The consequences are:

for the public:

One or two musicians can create the sound of a whole orchestra all live. As opposed to a real orchestra or prerecorded/programmed music, you can follow the way it is created, because all you hear is once the only thing that is played in front of you, all the rest ist just the repetition of it.
As opposed to a keyboard type of one man band, usually all sounds come from real instruments, so you get the personal touch, the expression from the heart to the string or skin or mouthpiece rather than a computer that follows some algorithm.
There is a big range of musical styles being performed this way, but usually loopers interpret in their own way. The music builds and transforms more fluent, since it all comes out of the same brain. There is a lot more space for improvisation, which means that loopers are more flexible to adapt to a certain situation. Also, since the player has support from the looping tool that keeps a base going out of what he just played, he does not have the stress to keep playing. Whenever he drops a stick, has a lack of inspiration or wants to sip on his drink, the show goes on.
The result is a relaxed feeling of freedom and spontaneity that you hardly could find in any other kind of music.

for the contractor:

Since Live loopers need some equipment to treat their sound, they usually bring their microphones and mixers, so all you have to offer is a stereo input to the house speaker system.
Since the music is bult electronically, it can be made almost at any volume.
Since most loopers play alone or in duo, the stage does not need to be very big. They may need a space for a rack and maybe several instruments.

for the musician:

The live looping tools have to be learned to use like an instrument. They work like an acoustic mirror, so the looper is much more used to just listen to his music than a ordinary live performer. He continues reacting to what he just did and thus goes alone through an intensive process to search for the impact his expression has. It is like a self therapy. So it is also interesting for musicians that do not want to go out on stage and may not have virtuous skills on their instruments. By repeating phrases, they can find their origins and meanings and have fun and enlightenment with simple ideas and by composing in several layers that they would not be able to play at once.
A typical shift is from chords to melodies: instead of seeking sequences of chords, we rather overdub several melodies which then end up in chords that can make more sense and be more complex than what we could compose at once. Therefore, looping is also an excellent tool for composing music which then can be written and executed the traditional way. Often, the character of Live Looping music remains in such composition although not performed this way.

for practicing traditional playing:

Many loop live at home to learn rhythmic precision which becomes obvious in loops and practicing melodies over a loop of chords. Teachers loop their pupils to show them where their oddities are and make them aware of the expression they have. "

Any John, Joe, or Mark can push a button that reads "play" and have a full band sound behind them. Audiences will appreciate the authenticity of  observing and hearing a true musician do their thing with absolutely zero pre-recorded music. No posing here in this arena.........Just some thoughts to think about. Good luck, let us know how it goes for you.

Peace and Guitars,
SouthPaw41L

I would say what you need is either just an acoustic guitar and your voice, or a digitech GNX4 or something alike. You can loop your stuff with it and you have a drumcomputer built in...

check out    http://www.farmerfootdrums.com/    but really if its a small gig you could get by on your guitar ,a small acoustic amp (the kind with an input for a vocal mic) mic and stand. If its larger your going to need a PA at least.
If its just going to be you and an acoustic guitar, songs can have a tendency to start sounding all alike. Make sure you arrange your set list to vary in tempo, styles, artists, etc.
I think SouthPaw41L has a thread on here which is basically his journal of his performances. You'll have to look for it but he goes into specific details about how he set up for that gig and why as well as things like "I played these songs because it was a younger audience or those songs because it was a rowdy audience. By the way, if your reading this SouthPaw41L, I loved that thread.

If you're promoting the use of a drum machine in live performance ,you should give serious consideration to changing your handle.  The re-a-zille Stevie Ray ain't gonna go for none a that cre-ah-zapp........heha :#/

Peace and Guitars and Eternal Doom to Drum Machines,
SouthPaw41L

I've no idea how helpful these ideas will be, but being English, I feel I'm well qualified.

1) Symballs, one on each knee pointing inwards.
2) Big drum on your back, linked to a thing that hits it when you stamp.
3) harmonica around the neck ala bob dylan.
4) Tambourine on your left elbow (if thats your fretting arm) and attach a drum stick to your guitar to play it with.

Master those and you will be the ultimate one man band.

Though I now get the feeling were talking a different type of one man band....

Thank you all for the answers but I still did not get the one I am looking for. Ok, this is new Era and to put all the stuff on me as ApeDoctor suggests I would probably look like and idiot. The place I am supose to play is packed with middle aged generation who wants to dance sing along etc. Now I have seen people playing on their own in the bar using that background music without ,say' voice and/or guitar etc. so that i can put whole bunch of song in my laptop and then sing along. I've been reading about looping but that sounds to complicated for me, although it is a great thing. One more think, thank you SouthPaw41L for such a great text.