Oh, the irony...
 

So... apparently my first live gig won't be with the alt. rock group I've played (and learned) with for the past few years, or with the experienced synthrock band I got into ~two months ago which is scheduled to get back on stage as soon as possible.

Today a friend of mine asked me to help her band out, as they apparently lost their bass player. Punk rock/metal. Briefly saw them perform last Friday. Actually listened to the music and ended up at their rehersal today. Gig this Saturday, guessing ~100 people in the audience, tops. Oh well, who'd want practice and preparation anyway? :D

That, my friend is not irony,
It's call 'opportunity'. Everything else is just preparation leading up to it.

Accidental metal musician.

There's a pilot for a soon to be cancelled late night drama in here somewhere.

But seriously, good luck for the gig. Remember to jump around a sh*tload. That's how I've been getting by on not being very good for the last 8 years.

Thanks :) It's a one-off gig for me, as I've already committed to the other groups and frankly prefer their music, but hey, it'll be a good experience and hopefully a blast.

Hey don't feel bad about it....

I received a last minute call to be a fill in drummer for a country band. I had never played drums in a band setting at that point, being mostly "lead guitard" metal head. But I did it anyway. I sucked, messed up the tempo on a few tracks, and they still paid me despite my refusal of the money since I messed up so bad.

The thing was that even though I was scared at the time and felt terrible about my performance, they were nice enough to say that it took serious ****s to play that gig with no prep, having never even heard the songs, on an instrument I wasn't completely comfortable with. After all of that, they paid me the agreed amount of money anyway. I got lucky.

Go up there play that show as best you can, and try to have fun while doing it. If nothing else they will remember you as a good guy that sticks to his word and can be counted on to help out in a pinch.

If it's out of style for you and your subbing without much prep or rehearsal, it might be 'interesting' musically. Dress the part, keep it simple musically, and especially for this genre: bass below pancreas and let it loose on stage. If you can't truly rock these lines the way a more familiar bassist would, having some stage presence and playing like Sid Vic is probably better than being a punk-metal shoegazer with impeccable technical precision.

Seriously. Just throw yourself around. If in doubt kick something or someone.

That's how I've been covering up my ineptitude for years...

It would only be ironic if Alanis Morrissette was their previous bass player.

Because then she would be getting replaced by someone else who doesn't really understand irony either.



---I kid, I kid!!! Forgive me!

Never gets old :)
http://www.thedistractionnetwork.com...-memes-320.jpg

That's pretty much what I think I'll do, keep it simple and have fun. Besides, while the guitar and drums smash on at full speed, a simpler bass brings a nice groove and there are a couple of places for a nice fill or two. The only thing is speed, haven't really played anything this fast since... well, since I learned some black metal tunes years ago :D

O.K. maybe I'm missing something here...

Band 1= a few YEARS, and no gig.
Band 2 = Two MONTHS, and no gig.

Band 3 = Got a gig in 5 DAYS.

A Bird in the hand, is worth 2 in the bush.

Band 1 = First band for most of us, some started their instrument at that point, originally formed just for fun. Add to that replacing the awful songs we made at first, the drummer shattering his kneecap twice in a row etc. and you'll easily get a few years.

Band 2 = New bass player (me), new drummer, some new songs. Justifiable in my books.

Band 3 = Not too serious about things (unlike me, usually).

Personally, I don't really care that much about how long it takes for a band to get gigs. However I do appreciate that for a working musician or for someone who otherwise needs to get things (i.e. gigs) going quickly this is not the case. You probably missed the difference in priorities, but you couldn't have known that beforehand.

There's nothing wrong with 100 people.

Especially if it's 100 metal and punk kids that want to mosh. That can really fill a space.

Just a quick follow-up:

The gig was last night, and it was probably one of the best experiences ever :) For some reason my Darkglass B3K wouldn't power up -> no distortion, but luckily the Marshall VBA400 & 8x10 cab provided by the event were _sweet_. The first five minutes or so were more or less awful due to nerves and the excitement, but I managed to mess up only once in addition to a couple of minor mistakes (as in oops, right key, wrong note): Suddenly blanked out during the second part of a chorus. Oh well, just return to the root and no one will notice (hopefully) :D

The others had their share of misfortune as well:
- The guitarists cable randomly detached a couple of times
- A random fan of the previous band booed at us (before we even started :scowl: ), which threw the singer off for a while (this was her second time live ever)

All in all it could've gone a lot better in many aspects, but it could've been a lot worse as well. After the first five minutes I had more fun than ever and I hope that my actual bands get gigging as soon as possible.

Also, there was a random guy in a horse-head -mask moshing like hell, hilarious :)

Congratulations dude. This takes me down memory lane in a big way. Sounds like a classic first gig.

HA! Wait till you're 50!!! :p :D

See? Now we're talkin' baby!

Funny how our outlook can change so quick ain't it...

Have to admit it, so true :)

lol, I can totally see that. "he was first chair bassist in his high school concert band. But everything gets turned upside down when--[record scratch]--he gets accidentally placed in a heavy metal band! *insert lame metal-based pun here*"

Sounds like you did a good job to me. In my first band I barely knew my way around the instrument, had two week to prepare (first practice was my audition, the second was a half-assed attempt with the rhythm guitarist showing me some things and the singer there watching porn on his phone with his hand in his pants), then had my first gig ever. I was ready to whizz my pants.

Peace,
Greg