My school is hosting a talent show and me and my friend decided to sign up for it. We chose the song "The Awakening" by Les Claypool. I don't mess around with tone or EQ a lot. Is there anything I should be aware of? Or any tips?
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About to do my first "gig", any thing I should know about?
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s0c9
Supporting Member
Relax and have fun.
One cannot osmote 20 years of stage experience in a single paragraph.
One cannot osmote 20 years of stage experience in a single paragraph.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Whenever you are playing with a drummer, the most important thing is that the two of you are playing in time together. Make sure you can hear each other clearly. I've done gigs where the sound on the stage was poor, and I got through it because I was able to rest my foot against the bass drum to "feel" where the drum was playing.
Watch your volume. A school talent show is not a rock concert, where people are going to be impressed with excessive sound.
Have fun.
Watch your volume. A school talent show is not a rock concert, where people are going to be impressed with excessive sound.
Have fun.
sure you can!One cannot osmote 20 years of stage experience in a single paragraph.
That's a jam. What's tough about presenting music like this is that it's easy to forget that there is an audience.
Yeah, don't play too loud.
Stay with your drummer, lock in with him/her and watch the tempo doesn't speed.
Keep one eye on the audience, if they seem to be fading, look for an early out. If there grooving, cruise with it for a bit and leave them wanting more.old show biz trick...
Good luck
Stay with your drummer, lock in with him/her and watch the tempo doesn't speed.
Keep one eye on the audience, if they seem to be fading, look for an early out. If there grooving, cruise with it for a bit and leave them wanting more.old show biz trick...
Good luck
Or drag. It's a cool song, but a lot of its groove is the bass and drum locking in together at that brisk tempo.
OTOH, I'd wager much of your audience is probably not familiar with this tune. It may be the first time they've heard it and wouldn't be able to say if you were coming at it too fast or too slow. Key will be making sure you and your drummer are in the same tempo, whatever that ends up being.
Have fun and let us know how it goes.
Practice together the day of the show if you can and warm up on your bass an hour or so before.
Don't beat yourself up over mistakes.
You WILL make a mistake. Forget about it and get back in the groove. Remember, you know you made a mistake, the band might know, but the audience will more than likely have no idea.
If you get lost, drop out and wait for a place to jump back in.
Playing in front of an audience is one of the best feelings in the world. Soak it in. Enjoy it. Have fun.
You WILL make a mistake. Forget about it and get back in the groove. Remember, you know you made a mistake, the band might know, but the audience will more than likely have no idea.
If you get lost, drop out and wait for a place to jump back in.
Playing in front of an audience is one of the best feelings in the world. Soak it in. Enjoy it. Have fun.
Smile.
If you look like you're having fun, the audience will pick up on it.
The biggest feedback I always get when playing from everyone is that I look so happy when playing live - and that makes them happy.
Possibly because I'm so moody when I'm not playing...
If you look like you're having fun, the audience will pick up on it.
The biggest feedback I always get when playing from everyone is that I look so happy when playing live - and that makes them happy.
Possibly because I'm so moody when I'm not playing...
Have fun and have someone record it. 40 years after I graduated someone posted a copy of a really bad video of me and my friends playing at our high school talent show. To this day it's one of my favorite things to go on youtube and reminisce.
What's cool is that I thought we really sucked, but the video didn't lie. We were actually pretty good. There was no money involved, and we just wanted to be different from the other cheesy acts. We succeeded... I wish the same for you.
What's cool is that I thought we really sucked, but the video didn't lie. We were actually pretty good. There was no money involved, and we just wanted to be different from the other cheesy acts. We succeeded... I wish the same for you.
No beans for about 3 hours before the gig. And carry some fingernail clippers in your gig bag. Spoken from someone who's played for 53 years. When you move up to bar joints, ask TBers again for advice. That's a whole 'nuther ballgame.
Be kind to yourself if you make a mistake don't dwell on it - let it pass and get on the next beat.
Good luck and have fun.
Good luck and have fun.
You are going to be nervous, we all were at our first gig. Try to use it to help you rather than hurt you. But first things first...make sure you know the song inside and out and can do it in your sleep.
If you are playing in a gym or a fairly large auditorium (even with padded seats), each room will be tuned to a certain frequency. Don't be overly concerned about this - it is natural. For instance, you play an F# and you notice that it BOOMS much louder than any other note. That is the room, not your bass, not your rig, etc. If you have time, set up and find that frequency and turn down that frequency slightly.
Otherwise, relax, enjoy, and have fun!
Otherwise, relax, enjoy, and have fun!
