Hitting the stage .....Any Last Words?

[lowfreqgeek]

I've been performing in front of an audience since I was 8 with my first piano recital, and regularly on the bass since I was 9. I don't get nervous going on stage, but my mantra after a gig that wasn't as good as it could've been is usually "well, nobody died".

 

[And I]

I have more anxiety about making small talk before / after than I do about the being on stage part. That's the most natural part of the night for me usually...

 

[Ostie]

I think that if you don’t have a little nervous energy before a gig, then you have been doing it too long or you are an egotistical bastard, or both.

 

[saabfender]

I think that if you don’t have a little nervous energy before a gig, then you have been doing it too long or you are an egotistical bastard, or both.

B for sure.

 

[svtb15]

" Don't screw Up"

 

[madbass6]

Hi All.
Talking to my nephew , who is in college now , the conversation of "nerves" right before one goes on stage to play came up.
He is my brother's son and has been playing next to his father since he could hit a drum. He point blankly said "never"....... as it has always been a part of his life .
He then asked me . My answer was I sometimes still feel the anxiety , but hope to welcome it. I try to flip it and make it work for me.
I then told him, "On bigger gigs right before my foot his the stage, I repeat the Kevin McAllister line form the movie Home Alone , right before the bad guys come.

"This is it... don't get scared now." .... then I try to "wreck the house". (He liked this)

Wondering,.... does anyone else have a quick , pep talk , or mantra or saying before going on to the stage or venue? I or some of us could use it. THX MV

yeah, I always say to myself,
Better play good the next gig depends on it !

 

[JimmyM]

In my last band, my mantra was "Let's get this over with so I can get away from you hateful jerks ASAP." But with every other project, it's more like "Woo hoo! Let's turn this place out!"

 

[interp]

Nearly all the major activities of my life since the age of about 12 have been things done in front of audiences—sports, public speaking, language interpreting and music performance. I learned early on that the best strategy is just to prepare, do your best and damn the consequences. I also learned to ignore the embarrassment of making mistakes—because ther are inevitable and rarely noticed by audiences—and to retain the excitement of what i’m doing.

My advice is to never be nervous, angry or regretful about anything that is not likely to bother you when you’re on your deathbed.

 

[packhowitzer]

these are good last words for any situation:

 

[bikeplate]

Dont be a cardboard cutout and have fun

 

[Spectre Gunner]

The audience is really on your side and they want you to succeed and do well. In other words, they are rooting for you. Nothing to really get anxious about. Just do what you do as you normally do it. This is why you practice.

 

[Vin Taj]

Make sure your fly is zipped if you freeball

 

[Manticore]

No mantra, but I often find myself asking as I'm heading up to the stage: "What are we playing?"

 

[Hevy T]

Go pee

 

[pablomago]

I played a gig today backing a friend who was doing the singer-strummer thing for a pre-Super Bowl party. It was a place where I don't really know anyone. So I picked out the cutest girl in the room and played to her. That actually made me more nervous at first, but I just decided to have fun and not worry about the outcome. She ended up leaving before the break with her friends, but they tipped us well. No phone number, though.

 

[selowitch]

Nervous but unafraid. I don't mind a bit of nervousness as that's a natural part of the experience.
Rising above the nervousness and putting on a good show is exhilarating. I find that the better prepared I am for the gig, the less nervous I feel.

 

[LT131]

On any given night I am the best bass player in the band.

 

[laughing house]

Before I turn my amp on I say "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".

 

[lat]

I distinguish between nervous energy and being nervous. I always have nerves before a gig, but am rarely nervous, unless there is someone special in the audience. Even then, once I start playing, that dissipates pretty quickly. I just take the nervous energy and channel it into focus and determination. If I have lots of it buzzing through me, I will jump around a little bit before we start to settle everything down.... sort of like a sprinter before he gets in the starting blocks. I am usually prepared enough that even if I screw up, I can tell myself that there was nothing else I could have done to be any better, and it is what it is.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

Jeeze... who is He playing to? Frank Zappa?