HUGE Gig Coming Up, Possibly Going on Tour

[MikeyFingers]

I play bass in a funk/ska/rock band called the Penguin Revolution (www.myspace.com/thepenguinrevolution1 -- BTW, those recordings were made with a different bassist and the quality kinda sucks...and the picture of me, dubbed "Corky", is freakin' terrible).
Anyway, we have a show coming up in December where we'll be opening for an up-and-coming band called The Energy. I never heard of them, but they have a good enough following to fill the Blender Theater @ Gramercy in Manhattan. So we'll be playing a full-sized professional-level venue for the first time and if it goes well, the Energy may be taking us along to play at Irving Plaza with them.
I'm soo ridiculously excited about the gig that I can't make sense of myself. We've been practicing like crazy with a bunch of new songs and all that, but I still get the jitters. We're used to local gigs and fairly small places, this is at least 10 times bigger then anything we've ever done.

And even more exciting then that: We have a chance to go on tour, with 2 other bands, for 3 months from D.C. through Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and finally back to N.Y. We're mostly gonna be doing college gigs and that kinda thing. Everything is taken care of (transportation, lodging, food, etc) so we're really itching to get in there.
We sent in a "press kit" and they're sending a scout or something to one of our upcoming gigs. We're a local band, not signed and unheard of outside Nassau County. This is also a huge step for us, but I'm looking for some advice on this one. I don't wanna go signing some contract or something and end up getting screwed. But at the same time I'm thinking....if we don't do it, it's gonna be one of those things I'll regret for the rest of my life.

[PunkRocker33133]

Tell me when you get to DC! I wanna come.

[MikeyFingers]

Originally Posted by PunkRocker33133

Tell me when you get to DC! I wanna come.

OK. If we do the tour, we'd be in DC somewhere between the February 26th and March 1st.

[60HzRumble]

If you are unsure, get an attorney to look over anything you are asked to sign. You can get free legal advice from many law colleges - we had our paperwork reviewed by Dickenson College and it was 100% worth the time.

Look forward to you coming to PA.

[dougjwray]

Good advice about the attorney.
But don't worry too much and have a great time!

[GearHeadBassMan]

focus on the show until the show is over. play like there's nothing at stake, don't let the jitters get the best of you or your band. If you're getting this kind of attention it's because your band is good enough to deserve it, so don't try going too crazy and avoid any spinal tap moments (DONT GET SCENERY MADE!!! )

just get out there and have fun!

[lowendgenerator]

Whatever you do, don't get drunk before the show. So many times I've seen good bands blow huge opportunities by getting drunk before the show. Save the celebration for afterwards! I know the nicer places have a backstage area with a full fridge of beer, but that doesn't mean you need to drink it as soon as youre done loading in!

Practice your ass off, make eye contact with the crowd, and have a blast!

[nsmar4211]

Don't be embarassed to have the jitters...... I drive my band mates nuts pacing around before a show sometimes

Once you're up there, and get into it, you'll be fine

Good luck!

[rockambo]

+1 on not drinking before, even a beer can slow you down, but mostly one beer will lead to two, etc.

Act confident, even if you're not pretend to be, no one will no the difference (from one of those father's advice books that I got at Xmas years back)

[MikeyFingers]

I know all too well the dangers of drinking before a show. From my experience, I perform better (more confident and much more relaxed) if I have 2 or 3 drinks before hitting the stage, but I'm definitely able to control myself and there's no way I'm gonna be drunk for this one.
Next week, on Thanksgiving Eve, we're playing a not-so-big show in the city which will act as sort of an audition for the tour. So right now, that's my focus. After that show, it's the Blender gig, and after that, it's just sit-and-wait until we hear something about the tour.
I'm nervous, excited, skeptical, optimistic, and incredulous, all at once. It's a very weird feeling, but overall I'm happy and I cannot wait to see what's gonna happen next.
On a side note, I kinda feel bad for the former bass player. I joined this band almost exactly one year ago. The old bassist was the brother of a friend of mine and he ditched the band because (among other reasons) he didn't think they were going anywhere. Not like this is a record deal or anything like that, but at least we're going somewhere.

[MikeyFingers]

OK, I'm off for the first of 5 City Gigs. Tonight I'll be playing at Don Hill's in Manhattan (around 10:00, if anyone's in the area and would like to get funky). Tomorrow is Uncle Mike's (staffed almost exclusively with "dancers" from the strip club next door), then it's the big one in December at the Blender Theater.
Wish me luck guys, there may be a scout at one of these shows. Not sure which one, but most likely the Blender.

[tank49]

Good luck! I hope it works out for you. I'm in the DC area too so let us know if you get the tour. I'd like to show some support to a fellow TB'er.

[undeadbass]

Sounded great at the Don Hill's show - sorry I didn't get to see more of your set, but I had to help my friends load out, then lost track of time outside.
As much as I liked the old bass player, you are a great fit in the band.

[MikeyFingers]

Originally Posted by undeadbass

Sounded great at the Don Hill's show - sorry I didn't get to see more of your set, but I had to help my friends load out, then lost track of time outside.
As much as I liked the old bass player, you are a great fit in the band.

You were there? Sh** man you should've said something. Thanks for coming out! I just wish there was more of a crowd, the place was pretty dead. Anyway. leaving now for another city gig tonight. Uncle Mike's on Murray St. between Church & W. Broadway.

BTW, you were with the first band that played? They were pretty good too (guitar player was sick), we've played a gig or 2 with those guys in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if we've met before.

[undeadbass]

I am the old bassist of the first band, actually - I still hang out with them and whatnot (the singer is like my older brother). When I was with them, we played with you guys at the DJ Riders grand opening (with your old bassist). Always loved you guys, and I definitely want to play some shows together with my new band (check my signature - Ten Thousand Dollar Ego).
Good luck tonite - I'd go, but I'm on my way to the studio.

[MikeyFingers]

^if that's the case, then we did in fact meet and have a brief conversation right before I went on stage. Cool.

Our gig last night (at Uncle Mike's) went beautifully. The crowd was a little better then Don Hill's (still not as big as I'd like, but better and very enthusiastic), and we played freakin' great. After our set, the owner of the bar came out and talked to us, saying how much he loves ska and how awesome we sounded.
I haven't been gigging regularly for very long, but I take it as a good thing when the owner buys us drinks and wants to get us back there for a weekend show.
And, amazingly, we had enough self-control not to go in the strip club next door!!

ps -- Happy Thanksgiving TB

[MikeyFingers]

Played at the Blender last night and OH MY GOD it was awesome. I think I'm still on an adrenaline high from yesterday.
There were 2 bands, then us, then the headliner. First band was good, pretty straight-forward rock, fun music. Second band was more like Yngwie with the super-epic guitar solos. Not bad, but kinda boring after the first 2 songs.
Then we went on. We're a 7-piece funk/ska band and this was by far the biggest venue we ever played (I heard the final number of tickets sold was around 700, but it didn't feel like that many people, maybe about 500 max) so we were ready to throw down. Not to mention we looked freakin HOT!!
Sticking with the band theme (we're called The Penguin Revolution), we all wore some variation of a black & white suit, but we had our front man in a pimp-ass white Tuxedo jacket - the kind with long coat tails in the back. I'm sure our choice of wardrobe contributed to the fact that we absolutely KILLED!!
We were so pumped for this gig that we pretty much stole the show. We got a massive response from the audience (3/4 of whom had never heard us before), we had incredible energy onstage, every single thing about the night was amazing - from the crappy backstage room we had to share with the other 2 opening acts, to the climax of our final song fading into applause and cheering. I felt like a total rock star.
In the end, and I hate to toot my own horn like this, but it's true: I think we out-played the headliner. By the time they were a few songs into their 90 minute set, people were leaving. The place was dead by the time they were finished. We sold a ton of merchandise (t-shirts, sweatshirts, tank-tops, CD's, and we just got thongs with our logo on the crotch) and, I swear to god, we actually had people asking for autographs after the show. 3 people came to us at our merch table to get CD's signed, and I had a great conversation with some cool old guy who swears that "we're going places".
It's been a long string of not-so-great gigs up until last night, so having a show like that, even with only 30 minutes onstage, felt really really REALLY good

[crijan]

I wanna see pics of the penguin suits. No pics, no suits.

[MikeyFingers]

I was just coming back to edit that in^...I will be posting pics as they surface. I had friends in the crowd and at least 5 people I know had cameras. I heard someone got a whole song on video too.
I'll be posting more as I get it.

[rokkitt]

Dood!

I am in the bronx, did you go on tour yet? I would like to catch ya in the city.

Do you have a myspace?


Congrats, it sounds like you guys are doing great....

Big Al