• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

First gig last night.

JoeDaddio

JoeDaddio

Jul 14, 2004
631
598
Orange County California
#1
Thanks for all of your advice the past couple weeks on my upcoming gig. Since y'all were so kind to offer your advice and support I figured that I'd give a little rundown of how it went.

The day of the show I was nervous pretty much all day. We got to the gig, watched the band before us finish up (they were pretty awesome, by the way. Called Jam Soup or something like that... Jame "Something", at least).

They took everything down, and we started setting up. Somehow, as soon as i started to get everything together, all of my nervous energy went away. We set up, did a quick sound check, and went through our set (about 45 minutes).

I screwed up bad one time, but was pretty proud of myself for fumbling around without sounding too terrible before I recovered and picked up again to get in tight with the band. Other than that and a few lame notes, all went really well.

The band had been around for a while before me, and has a small following, so there were more people there than I assumed. Everyone had a really good time, they watched up and drank and cheered the guitar solos. It felt really good.

After our last dong they started chanting for us to do another. Since the other song we have (that I know) requires a rhythm guitar to sound good, we played "Stranglehold" since that has traditionally been our warm up song for practice.

All in all it went well, and I worried much more than necessary, but that just tends to be my style.

Oh, and I should have followed your guys' advice better: when I asked a friend of mine who came to see us if he noticed where I screwed up (a fairly major screw up in my mind, probably three bars where I was trying to find my place), he said he couldn't hear that I messed up, but he saw me grimace and just assumed that I did :hmm:

So yeah, i gotta work on keeping a straight face when i mess up. :)

Thanks guys.


joe
 
#3
Thanks for the update. I am always gratified when something good comes out of this forum and this sounds like it. Mistake and recovery is always someting to deal with and it's not always your mistake either. Don't glower at your bandmates when they drop a clam.

I agree, you got to keep that 'OMG I screwed up look' off face, It's not that easy.

Also, glad to see that the shakes are done. You [DEL]will[/DEL] may get to the point where being up on stage is the biggest thrill and you are totally addicted to the rush and can't wait to get back up there. That's how I feel nowadays.
 
#8
Biggbass said:
The trick to disguising a screw up is to do it again in the same place so everyone will think that's the way it's supposed to be played. :)
Click to expand...

ibateur said:
That's what the chromatic scale is for, and "odd time signatures"

Congratulations on your first gig.
Click to expand...

The name coined for this trick is 'jazz'.
 
  • Like
Reactions: baldyheaded
#12
I'm in a city municipal band so that means mostly marches, show tunes, etc., and we're usually in Bb. If I get lost i just take my Jazz out for a walk and we meet up sooner or later! Glad you enjoyed the gig. There's truly nothing like playing live; it makes all the practice worth it.
 
#13
JoeDaddio said:
Thanks for all of your advice the past couple weeks on my upcoming gig. Since y'all were so kind to offer your advice and support I figured that I'd give a little rundown of how it went.

The day of the show I was nervous pretty much all day. We got to the gig, watched the band before us finish up (they were pretty awesome, by the way. Called Jam Soup or something like that... Jame "Something", at least).

They took everything down, and we started setting up. Somehow, as soon as i started to get everything together, all of my nervous energy went away. We set up, did a quick sound check, and went through our set (about 45 minutes).

I screwed up bad one time, but was pretty proud of myself for fumbling around without sounding too terrible before I recovered and picked up again to get in tight with the band. Other than that and a few lame notes, all went really well.

The band had been around for a while before me, and has a small following, so there were more people there than I assumed. Everyone had a really good time, they watched up and drank and cheered the guitar solos. It felt really good.

After our last dong they started chanting for us to do another. Since the other song we have (that I know) requires a rhythm guitar to sound good, we played "Stranglehold" since that has traditionally been our warm up song for practice.

All in all it went well, and I worried much more than necessary, but that just tends to be my style.

Oh, and I should have followed your guys' advice better: when I asked a friend of mine who came to see us if he noticed where I screwed up (a fairly major screw up in my mind, probably three bars where I was trying to find my place), he said he couldn't hear that I messed up, but he saw me grimace and just assumed that I did :hmm:

So yeah, i gotta work on keeping a straight face when i mess up. :)

Thanks guys.


joe
Click to expand...
Sweet! Good work!
 
#14
Don't sweat the mistakes, we all make them - even great bass players. Similar to what others have mentioned, the trick is to act like you meant it (this actually applies to a lot of things in life now that I think about it....).

The other advice is to keep practising. As you become more familiar with theory and how it relates to your bass you will find your "mistakes" become more musical - sometimes to the point where the mistake ends up being something cool that you want to remember and play again.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back