Poll: How many shows have you played?

[darwin-bass]

One per week for 25 years. 1250. Add in a few bigger things and I'm probably approaching 1500.

 

[LowActionHero]

I've lost count, but then again I can't count that high.. .

I know it's over 50, so I voted 50-250.

Pretty sure it's over 100 by now. I was playing twice to 3 times a week for awhile there.

 

[AndyPanda]

My first ever paid gig was in 1961 and I was dressed in a Santa suit playing the Ukulele and singing Christmas songs at an Elks club . But my first "normal" band gig was a bit later at a bar by the train station and the songs I remember doing were Memphis Train (Buddy Miles) and Come and Get Your Love (had just come out that week so it must have been 1973) and some early Chicago tunes and stuff like Use Me (Bill Withers) Superstitious (Stevie) etc.

 

[tb4sbp]

I have been in and out of bands since '79 or '80
So 250-500 range seems about right
Busy in high school
Moved to Ireland, gigged a lot there!
Was in a band a few years ago with the intent to gig
Did one show and then the band fell apart

Side note: it is really great reading all these stories from everyone, great topic!

 

[ONYX]

First gig......I was probably in 7th or 8th grade ( about 1981 or so)....it was in a garage for some older dudes 1/2 barrel beer bash. The four of us together had about 6 months combined experience. We sucked. Totally sucked. We hacked and slashed our way through AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc. Nobody really payed any attention to us, but they didn't throw beer at us either. But it was more fun than a kid that age should be having.

 

[twinjet]

And/or where was your first gig?

Responses to my last thread on what covers have you played most got me thinking. Some people put down some incredibly obscure songs, and then it occurred to me - maybe they're much younger and have only played a small handful of gigs in their life?

Anyhow, I did a little rough math. My first gig was in a battle of the bands in 1976. Guitar was my instrument. First "real" club gig was CBGB in 1978. And I kinda quit music from 84 to the early 90s. That's when I picked up bass and fell head over heels in love.

All that being said, my best guess is I've played throughout my life just a little short of 2000 shows.

What's your best guess as to how many shows you've done?

My first real gigs were spent cutting teeth over some jazz standards in a swanky dinner joint. I was maybe 16-17. I really have no idea how many I've done in my life though. I shall do some complex math to figure it out.

In thirteen years of playing, I'd say I've done about 60-70 shows. Feels like a lot more.

 

[Kro]

I'm glad you have ranges, because I barely have an idea. Definitely more than 50, but probably a little shy of 250.

My first real show on bass consisted of playing band-leader for my University's "SNL"-style sketch comedy house band - because I couldn't find any competent bassists on campus (I tried my damnedest... I had wanted to play guitar).

Aside from that, my first show where I actually choose to play bass was a battle of the bands type thing at a library outside of Philly (they had a stage) and put on by a local youth group. I happened across a video from that first show a few months ago entirely by chance and watched a few seconds - what a mess! Also, digital video recording has come a long way since 2007!!!

 

[2saddleslab]

Wow!

So 2019 minus 1986 is 33 years! 3000 divided by 33 is 90± gigs a year. So that's around 45 weeks of every Friday and Saturday night for 33 years. That right there is some serious dedication!

In those 33 years there's probably been no longer than a 5 week stretch without a gig. I had 1000 gigs done by 1991. Spent from 89 to 94 playing 6 nights a week. I feel very lucky to still be at it. Although I don't have a gig tonight.

And I got married the same year I started playing professionally. Lucky to still be part of that too.

 

[getbent]

My first gig was in the back of an Italian restaurant in Farifax, VA in the spring of 1988, with my junior high school stage band, for some sort of public school principals convention.

My first paying gig was senior year of college when a local high school needed a ringer for their spring production of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl. 3 rehearsals, 3 performances, worked out to $10/hour #cha-ching

 

[Stevorebob]

All of them.

 

[Manticore]

Well over 2,000 gigs over the years. The first gig was a party in the early '70s.

 

[backin82]

Not including church: Probably 200 or so
Including Church: 750 ish

 

[SmokinJoe992]

I started playing bass at the young age of 47 in June of 2016. I joined my first band 6 months later and played my first paid gig at a craft brewery in May of 2017. I played covers for 2 1/2 hours and made $68. Since then. I have played about 60 paid shows spread out between 4 bands. I still suck, but I am way better than I was at that first gig, and I get a little better every time I play out.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

First gig was 8th grade talent show at school, 1982, playing Stones and Grateful Dead tunes. Had just turned 12.

 

[lat]

my grandfather would take me to the elks lodge with his drinking buddies when I was 3 and they would feed me quarters so I would sing all their faves on the jukebox standing on some table while doing some silly dance

nothing has changed

Reminded me of this...

 

[rollie 55]

And/or where was your first gig?

Responses to my last thread on what covers have you played most got me thinking. Some people put down some incredibly obscure songs, and then it occurred to me - maybe they're much younger and have only played a small handful of gigs in their life?

Anyhow, I did a little rough math. My first gig was in a battle of the bands in 1976. Guitar was my instrument. First "real" club gig was CBGB in 1978. And I kinda quit music from 84 to the early 90s. That's when I picked up bass and fell head over heels in love.

All that being said, my best guess is I've played throughout my life just a little short of 2000 shows.

What's your best guess as to how many shows you've done?

its like why am i counting na nan a na na ive done more than you man come on

 

[fishdreams]

Rethinking this : conservatively:
~20 years at 1 gig a month on average
~10 years at once a week on average
~Pitband work over a period of 13 weeks in total
~5 years of gig inactivity

=>750-1000 range

First gig must have been with our Jazz Band (or what we thought jazz was) at our high school talent night at age 15 or 16

 

[mrjim123]

My first gig was in a cop's basement. I can't even remember if we got paid. The drummer's dad was a cop and we played at a birthday party for one of his dad's cop buddies. It was about 1972 and we played whatever was on the radio at the time - Santana, Stones, Credence, Steppenwolf, etc.

One cop's wife became quite drunk and began removing her clothes. He finally stopped her when she was wearing only a leotard. She then went around the room making out with everyone. She tried to french kiss me when I had a mouth full of food and then told me I was a terrible kisser. Those were the good old daze.

 

[Obese Chess]

My first paying gig was as my high school's Sadie Hawkins dance.

My first "paying gig" was in May of 1970 and I played percussion instruments (tambourine, maracas, etc.) in my friend's band for a graduation party because the drummer could not make it. We made $2.50 each.

First gig: high school drummers garage doing Maiden, AC/DC, and Priest covers.

First paying gig: trumpet in a brass quartet for an Easter service at a Catholic church, ca. 1982. Hey man, 25 bucks is 25 bucks.

First paying gig was shortly after that.
I played in two bands and occasionally for the school orchestra and then took a hiatus from '99 to '05 when I finished school and moved out of town.

First paying gig was our 3rd overall, in December 2009. I'd say 90 percent have been paid since then.

My first paying gig was senior year of college when a local high school needed a ringer for their spring production of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl. 3 rehearsals, 3 performances, worked out to $10/hour #cha-ching

 

[beaglesandbass]

Between cover and original bands I'm probably in the higher end of 50-250 or lower end of 250-500