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Playing A Gig In Front Of Coworkers

#21
This was all geat advice and the show went really well...

Most of the co-workers were hammered by the second set. One of their wives demanded that I let her wear my hat... I tried to ignore it but gave in so she would just go away..:help: Another one of their wives wants to hire us for their hog pork roast they have each summer at their acerage... That will be interesting....

Overall, I am glad they were there... It was fun even though they heckled me a bit... I was expecting that..



Thanks to all of the support at TB..

You guys are awesome!!!
 
#26
This is quite topical for me. Going to have the same situation in 2 weeks. One of the managers has sent out an Outlook event to the entire team inviting everyone to come see my band. I'm not so worried about them watching me play, but I sing lead on 5 or 6 songs and my lead singing is still a work in progress.
 
#28
tmdazed said:
funny enough this does happen , maybe not rockstar but you do get an awful lot of "Where and when are you guys playing again , a bunch of us want to go". Unless you are detested at work, colleagues can be the least hostile crowd other than close friends
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It is strange, you do get a sort of "celeb" reaction once you go back to work. My coworkers always give me the whole "why are you working a real job" spiel. Of course I only let this slightly go to my head :bassist:
 
#30
Agree with just proceed as with any other gig. Realize that they may or may not like it, but it will have much more to do with the songs, with the kind of music you play and whether or not they like that kinds of music, than with how well you play. If you play their favorite songs even just passably they will love you.
 
#32
We had a work function with employees came from around the world to attend. Altogether around 1500 folks. One of the head office guys threw together a jam at the Hyatt in Burlingame south of SF. I was playing bass and subbed off to another chap while I took a bathroom break. While I was standing at the urinal the whole crowd started chanting my name. I could hear the crowd getting louder and louder. When I stepped back into the room (basement car park actually) everyone gave me the loudest cheer I had ever heard. People were patting and slapping me on the back laying up high fives etc as I was walking back to the stage. Man I felt really bad for the guy who took over for me he just sheepishly handed over the bass and skulked off stage. I draped the bass over my shoulder and let fly with about 30-40 seconds of slapping and popping and anything sounded over the top. Needless to say the crowd went nuts.
I was a rock star from then on in but from that point in time senior management would have difficulty taking me seriously about business and work related issues. It took me years to regain credibility as a business professional.
I would not have traded those moments of "stardom" for anything. I got a little taste of what stadium acts must feel at their performances.

No regrets.

slawie
 
#33
WokenDeer said:
Then you get to go back to work as a "rock star" ;)
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Bingo. I've done it lots of times. Suddenly you're the cool guy who plays in a band. The only down side is that every thought that your coworkers have about anything related to music from now on will be shared with you, even when you are trying to get some work done.

Have fun. You are getting ready to score dozens of cool points at work.
 
#34
Would you be less nervous if it were a crowd of thousands on a big main stage? I've done both, and found that it's ALL fun! Having co-workers out there is a plus, IMO. I've never been nervous about co-workers, but rather the opposite. To me, they've always made the show more fun, and then back at work you'll get to talk about it. You'll always get a smile from them from now on.
 
#35
A lot of our Co-workers have become our most loyal fans! Most who see us for the 1st time say "wow, you guys are a lot better than I expected" to which I reply..."so you thought we would suck?":p It actually makes it more fun to see people you work with let loose to what you are playing.
 
#36
If you're concerned about appearance, just conduct yourself in the most professional manner you can. Show your co-workers you approach your work with the band as professionally as you do your day job. I've played tons of gigs in front of co-workers, never had an issue.
 
#37
Good Lord -- I've been doing gigs in front of my co-workers and professional colleagues at professional functions for so many years I don't even remember what it used to be like to be nervous. We just all have too much fun to worry about it.
 

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