Baptism by fire...

[improvpwnd]

So, I recently took up playing bass for a semi-pro singer/songwriter. We have some paid shows coming up, but we have already played twice in front of an audience. For the first show, I literally got together with him the day of to run through his songs for a couple hours and then played the show--not to mention, we played with a (damn good) drummer I had never met before. It went well, but I think he expected more (even though he said I did great and it was an honor.) The second show was without a drummer and I only played the songs with him the day of (again.) Anyway, how many of you guys have to play live without much practice and how well do you perform under such conditions? Should this be effortless to me if I plan on becoming a professional musician or would you be having to glance at the charts every now and then?

[phat daddy]

If you're going pro, trial by fire is the way 80% of your gigs are going to go. They usually tell you what music to play, you have to download and learn it on your own, and your lucky if they even squeeze you in one short rehearsal. And they expect you to know the tunes well enough to sound strong throughout the first gig even with arrangement changes (you've got to play with your eyes and ears) and basically be spot on. At first this kind've thing is intimidating, but after a couple years of it it's just buisness as usual and you'll nail it every time.