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Recalling first-time-on-stage experiences…

Marko 1

Marko 1

Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2009
9,762
13,744
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Ohio, beeeautiful Youngstown Area
#1
Recalling first-time-on-stage experiences…

Your own, or someone you know.

Nervous? Messed up a bit? Any trick/secrets you employed to get over it? How long did it take to get comfortable on stage?

Did you ever have to endure a new member going through the same situation? Did you give him/her advice? What did they have to go through or put you through?

Share your experience/wisdom.

:)
 
#3
First time I played live I had a shot before the show; really took the edge off of playing in front of 200+ people. I had a lot of fun and really wasn't nervous. After performing in front of that many people for the first time, I really haven't been nervous about playing in front of anyone.
 
#4
It's tough for me as m 1st gig was probbly 40 years ago.

For those who have followed my threads know that I recently started giging again and I have a lot to learn about ques, set list, pace of the show and stage presence. I have no ideas, however I learned last night that it's not easy.
 
#5
bluewine said:
It's tough for me as m 1st gig was probbly 40 years ago.

For those who have followed my threads know that I recently started giging again and I have a lot to learn about ques, set list, pace of the show and stage presence. I have no ideas, however I learned last night that it's not easy.
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I don’t see anyone that looks old enough to be you.
 
#6
Marko, good observation and one of the point's I was talking about in my threads about older guys auditioning.

We all look different, genetics or whatever. There seemed to be this stero type of what a 56 year old looks like.

I'm playing bass in the pic and i'm 56.

BTW it's also the reason why when people would ask my age prior to auditioning, I would lie or skate over the issue.
 
#7
My first on stage experience was laid back to say the least. The talent show we were playing wasn't much of a talent show and they were not a full crowd in the theater. I wasn't really nervous until the volume on my bass was too quiet even when at the 9 spot. I didn't realize that one of my pickups were turn down so I thinking the entire night that my amp was messing up. I don't believe I messed up, but one of the guitarists messed up while I was on right track by continueing to play the same chord even though we already moved on in the I IV V progression.(Blitrzreig Bop) It wasn't too bad of a flop since we listened and play the same chord until he got back on track.
 
#9
Marko5657 said:
Recalling first-time-on-stage experiences…

Your own, or someone you know.

Nervous? Messed up a bit? Any trick/secrets you employed to get over it? How long did it take to get comfortable on stage?

Did you ever have to endure a new member going through the same situation? Did you give him/her advice? What did they have to go through or put you through?

Share your experience/wisdom.

:)
Click to expand...

This is easier now than it was then.1973, West Germany, an American bar in Kaiserslautern called Toms Nashville Country Club. Thats right, West Germany, an american c&w joint. As an aside, you ain't heard nothin' til you have heard Okie From Muskogee sang in a german accent.

Anyway, I had just been sent there from Vietnam. Ended up in a barracks with this old Chief Master Sergeant who happened to play steel for the Melody Makers (Real original name, huh?) He caught me playing guitar in the barracks shortly after I got there, one saturday afternoon. Went down the hall and grabbed his lap steel, and we ended up getting drunk, telling lies and going out on the town. K-Town that is.

I got invited to sit in, then replace the bass player. The next youngest guy in the band was like 30, most of the players were 50ish or older. I was 19. The night we opened at Toms, I had been playing with the guys on base for a couple weeks, but I had never been on stage to play music before. There was this girl that worked at Ramstein air base, Marrianna Teuch (you out there anywhere?) I was sweet on, she was like 24-25 so I was shooting for the moon. Just before the first tune, Crying, Roy Orbison, she sits down at the front row center table with some girl friends.

I think I played the same wrong note for all five minutes of the song. But, as ZZ Top sang, I was just lookin for some Teuch....wasn't that how it went?
 
#11
I can’t remember ever being nevus before or during any of my first gigs. it was always improve and I was more focused on being in key and time then anything else. although in April of 2008 I got asked to do a twenty minute solo performance at a local college. the guy who was booking the show said he expected anywhere from 25 to 100 people to show. well it ended up being closer to 1000 and was held in a huge auditorium. that was first time I was truly nervus. needless to say I went on stage thanked the audience for coming out, played a flawless set and took a bow. the feeling I got looking out upon the crowd and seeing there emotions resonating with mine as they all paid there full attention to me was one of the best feelings I have ever had. so my advice is to stick it out and work through your fears because you might just be in for the ride of your life.
 
#12
16 yrs old, Jr. High Dance. I had to work all day, so my bandmates took my stuff to the gig for me. About 3 hrs before I was supposed to get off, I slashed my leg open with a razor knife. Luckily it was a new blade, so it was a nice clean deep cut. :(:rollno: My boss took me to the ER, where they procceeded to give me 25 stitches. Just in time for me to get back to the gig, in fact my boss dropped me off @ the school. Nice guy there. Anyway, I get there about 15 minutes before the 1st downbeat, set up & go. I still played the gig in my jeans, with one blood soaked leg. It was so F-ing metal \m/, considering it was 1977. :D:bassist:
 
#14
chaosMK said:
I thought chicks would dig me more. QUOTE]

Wow, that happens to me anytime I play.

My first gig I sat in for the bassist from my buddies' band while he went to take a leak at a middle school function. He was using my bass, so that worked for me, but it was horribly out of tune and I didn't really know the song. Luckily it was 4 notes over and over again. Soon thereagter I was a BassGod.
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#15
I've been a show off since before I can remember. No performance anxiety here! However, I remember getting a case of the shakes - really bad - before my first piano recital when I was 7 years old. But once I started playing everything settled down. And then I also got the shakes when I sang my first solo at the age of about 9 or 10, but again everything settled down once I started.

After that I have never been bothered/scared/apprehensive about performing in public. I have played with lots of musicians (and many so-called musicians) who get nervous, and many of them "need" liquor or pharmaceuticals in varying quantities to be able to perform. I never understood that.

The "no-empathy" version of my opinion is that if you love to perform, you should be able to do so without the jitters and without chemical reinforcement. And if you still get them after the first few times, then maybe you don't love to perform. But of course I do have empathy and I know it's more complicated than that. BUT NOT FOR ME! And I DO consider myself fortunate.
 
#16
My first gig (and 1st time on a stage) was 15 years ago. It was my first band and I had only been playing for about one year. I was petrified. I just kept my head down and concentrated on the music. It got better from then on. I found that if I was really prepared and knew the material then the fright was not as bad. It took about 5 years to completely rid my stage fright.
 
#17
well the first time i played live was at about 8 altough i had been in dance school performance since the age of 3 (thanks mum) whch was on the violin. i dont think i really understood it to be honest, and where i have grown up being taught to perform. the first time i played bass live was when i was 12 smoke on the water f*** yeah. in front of the whole school, nervous no i thnk its nice for everyone to pay attention.

gigging the songs i wrote, nervous? hell yeah...and that was 4 years later. but i think thats the truely nerve wracking thing. learning someonelses songs A-ok. my own not so good at first but im cool now!

i hope.
 
#18
My first live gig was also many years ago. I was nervous as a rabbit tossed into a cage with a very large snake. The way I got through it was really quite simple. I first walked out on stage during setup when very few people were there and got used to those few people seeing me on stage. After setup was done I'd walk back onto the stage every 10 minutes or so as if I was adjusting something so I could get used to more and more people in the bar. When we first hit the stage to play I didn't look at the crowd until we were well into the first song. When I did look up I saw people really getting into our playing and from there it was a breeze.
 
#19
Mine was pretty cool. I was in a decent but kinda of crappy coverband (classic rock). I had been eyeing a place that i thought would be cool to book us a new bar near our area. To my surprise when i went in to speak to the owner she was still setting up and had not opened yet. She said she needed a band for her grand opening on St Paticks day! We came up with a price of $200.00 and free drinks. The band i was in had not played one show and i had been with them 6 months practicing hard but getting nowhere. We still were struggling on ending some songs and trainwrecking others.

I went to the band with the offer and i thought they would jump on it since they were all experienced players. They had cold feet saying " Were not ready yet". I told them the owner needed a band and we were doing it. We had a week to get ready and we were shaky allot of nevous looks at practice. I had not played a real gig really ever. I played a few parties in high school and my last gig was 25 years before in a bowling alley lounge to 10 people after hours.:eyebrow:

The last practice before the gig the second guitarist who had struggled to learn his parts had a meltdown and said he would not play the show that we would sound terrible and look like asses! I said "your kidding right'? I havnt played in years and you have and your backing out? He said "Dont be surprised if i dont show up at the show as he left practice. I decided right there to look for a replacement and did. A local hot guitarist filled in who could pull off songs like a jukebox and sing backing vocals. I hired him with a phone call since he had sat in with this band before for a summer party. I called the bailout guitarist who was kinda shocked that i moved on without him but like i told him i promised a show and he couldnt handle it so he was out.

The night of the show came and to tell you the truth i had a ball. I was not nevious rocked out and the band played better than ever with few noticeable mistakes or miscues. We had chicks dancing and people said we were pretty good and had a huge crowd...it was St. Patty night! The guitarist we booted even showed up and said he couldnt belive we did so well and that we sounded great. You could tell he was kicking himself but he was half the the player to the guy who rescued us that night...Thanks Larry!
 
#20
I was playing guitar in a fusion band (2nd guitar, I'm no Al DiMeola). It was enough work to where my surroundings didn't affect me much. 2nd time was with a cover band that lost their guitarist and had to play a bar and I was just filling in. The club was rowdy and everyone was drunk, so we just made the songs longer to make up for the ones I didn't know and repeated the first set as the last (of 3), nobody commented and I'm not sure they were sober enough to notice. Military base gigs can be a blast! Those were my only stints as a guitarist.

1st bass gig was some dive with a band that played bad originals, maybe 12 people total. I had a blast and was enjoying my old (at the time around 1980) Precision. The guitarist was an old friend who convinced me to pick up the bass and helped me score the Precision, and a few years later he was killed in a carjacking incident. I don't have the P bass anymore but I have his Stratocaster ('75). I actually have a picture of him playing that Strat at that gig, but no pictures of myself there.
 

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