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What was the first gig you remember playing?

#41
I was maybe 20, and I think I'd been playing bass for about 6 months. We were really half a$$. We knew maybe a dozen songs, played really cheap equipment (I think I played bass through a small guitar combo), and I don't even think we had a band name.

Somehow we got invited to play at a cop's party, a friend of somebody's family. Nothin' but cops and their wives getting really drunk in the basement. One cop's wife got so drunk she started taking her clothes off. A real fox, too, but her husband stopped her before she got totally naked. Dang, I HATE when that happens! During a break I was standing by the food table stuffing my face when she came up to me and tried to french kiss me. My mouth was stuffed and she told me I don't know to kiss!

I have no idea how much we got paid and, to be honest, I think we were the opening act - the cop's wife was the headliner!
 
#42
In 1971-72, when I was in 10th grade, we played a Junior High School dance. I had my long-lost Hagstrom/Cromwell bass, and I think I played through a 100 watt Montgomery Ward head plugged into two cabinets my grandfather made in his cabinet shop, each loaded with a no-name 15" speaker. We had a lot of songs learned but not enough for three hours. So we finished the night with a 1/2 hour jam on Am-G-F-E7, our special rendition of GFR "Heartbreaker." They loved us, and I think we made maybe $60 for it.
 
#43
My first gig was in 1995; I was 14 years old. We had a cover band that played Nirvana, Bush, Filter, etc. I am not sure why they hired us, but we got to play middle-school dance for a school the next town over. We would play for a while, then DJ, then play, then DJ. I can't imagine how bad we sounded...it must have been horrible! But for some reason, the kids ate it up, and they hired us a few more times.
 
#44
It was the spring of 79, I was 16. we played at an outside party at a farm house in southern Ohio. We were a power trio:rolleyes:
Cream, zepp, sabboth stuff like that with no singer. I remember it being so cold my fingers were frozen & I had a hard time playing. I had a Fender music master (short scale) & a Peavy TNT100 amp.

We got free beer & got to hang out with an older crowd.
 
#45
8th grade, 1963, played rhythm guitar with singer/lead guitarist Joe "Snake" Garcia in someone's patio. Second set the parents came out of the kitchen to listen and passed the hat and we made a couple of bucks each.

Have played thousands of gigs since but still can remember the look on faces of the audience: fun; energetic; moving; awe; and sexual.
 
#46
Mine was in the 80's I will never forget first off I had the flu second there were 1,200 + people there and I never played in front of anyone ever, we played with Micheal Anthony's brother band Asylum Suite his brother plays guitar + 3 other bands but we got the prime spot right before the headliner. Are road crew at that time consisted of 2 funny thing are 2 crew members were so busy smoking up the stage with the smoke machines when the curtain went up my mic stand got caught on it and fell in the abiss of smoke so I had to sing my backups with the singer for the first song,no problem it looked cool and looked planed. We got a great response and Rock Star treatment and it was fun to sign Tand A with a sharpie.
 
#47
My first gig ever playing was as a guitarist in my second band ever, and believe it or not I got paid for doing it.:smug: Unbelievable!!:rolleyes: I was a place called Jan's Corner Bar in Yuba City, Ca, 40 miles north of Sacramento. My first gig ever playing bass was at a high school dance, got paid for that one too.:smug:
 
#48
All my gigs so far have been at my school...which is really no surprise because there are no dedicated musicians who want to make a proper band...bastards!!!!!!
I played the ACDC classic its a long way to the top in front of my school with my friend who is a drummer(Top bloke), a nerd guitarist who was more interested in passing science than learning the song and a singer who graduated last year but came back to sing at the concert.
Right now I`m having more fun playing in my school Jazz/Swing band.
 
#49
I was 13, it was 1974, and me and 3 guys from the middle school band formed a little band called U-235 (which an Irish group ripped off soon after). One guy played trombone, one played bari sax, one played drums, and I played guitar and sang. We only knew one song, Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" (this was way before he was gay so it was cool). And we totally killed!

We actually kept that band together for 3 years. We added a rhythm guitarist, and the trombone player switched to bass. The sax player was dead weight, but he was a lot bigger than the rest of us and told us he'd beat us up if we canned him. Finally we couldn't take it anymore and broke up rather than fire him. The drummer and I played together for about 10 more years off and on. I still see him now and again...has one of the worst mullets you'll ever see and refuses to cut it, even though he's 45!
 
#50
I started playing guitar in middle school and got to play for the church youth group. First paying gig was in college, playing lead guitar in my band. Our audience was a horde of about 40-50 8 & 9 year olds at a party for their sunday school group. Big church. Those kids went nuts and trashed the place, popcorn and snacks flying everywhere. The balloons were popped and we had to stop the show to get those kids to stop rioting.

First bass-playing gig was with the same band, but shuffled around. I wasn't playing with them anymore, but I was visiting and their bass player couldn't do the show. I took his spot. I don't know why it was so difficult, but I couldn't remember the right 4 chords for the progression, couldn't play on the beat, and the amp was super-farty and loud. We were playing for a high-school youth group at some big cabin in the woods. The youth pastors kept turning down my bass amp, they asked me to do it, but I honestly didn't know how. I sucked, but it was awesome.
 
#51
I was 19. My friends and I had decided to start a band, we were all in college at the time. Of course our equipment really sucked, but we were having a good time.

So the drummer didn't own a drumset and used the lead guitarist's set to play. I just purchased the bass. We had been playing together for about a month and we had about 9 songs. The horrible part was I had only been playing bass for a month (awful) and the drummer had only played drums for three weeks (awful).

And we get asked by a friend to open for his band at a paid gig. In my stupidity, I said "sure!"

So we're up there on stage in front of a fairly packed bar and we all suck so horribly bad. It was a LOT of fun... but man, I became painfully aware that I was just playing the root notes. The drummer lost the beat a few times. The singer forgot some of the words. Worst of all, the guitarist decided to ADD TO THE SONGS in the middle of playing, trying to make them sound better while the drummer and I try to figure out *** to do! Nothing like standing up on stage with a confused look on your face as the guitarist haphazardly noodles away!

Towards the end we were just making up songs. We did get a fair number of cheers, but mostly because we packed in a lot of our friends :P. The most awesome part was our last song... a "heavy metal" cover of London Bridge is Falling Down. Yes, the nursery rhyme. Screaming vocals and everything. People really loved that one for some inane reason, even though I couldn't remember the notes because that was our second time playing it.... EVER.

Go us!!!!!

Despite it being more of a funny/embarassing story at this point than fond memories, it was actually a LOT of fun.
 
#52
i think it was barn party out in the country...i was 17 or 18 i believe, and i was playing lead guitar...i'd just joined a band and i'm not sure how they got it...paid in beverages;)


WyrdoBass said:
I'm bored and curious, what was the first gig you guys remember playing? How old were you? How skilled were you at the time? How did you get it/ how were you paid? Looking forward to the responses/ stories!
Click to expand...
 
#53
1994. My first band. I was 20 years old and had been playing bass for about a year. We played three sets of all original material at a local bar and made $20 each. I was so nervous that I just looked down at my bass for most of the night. Funny now that I think about it.
 
#54
hey...it was at a a friends Grandfathers birthday party, I had an old Teisco Bass which actually had a nice warm sound with decent action...BUT I had this old Sears Bass Amp that was breaking up after trying to play with the rest of the band ...I don't think I had a clear note the whole gig...I was like 15 yrs old ...playing old Irish traditionals and old pop tunes....I just remember the level of discomfort of having a crappy amp.....a good lesson in proper equipment to have a t an early age...peace;)
 
#57
year:1984
age: 14
Venue: Women's Unit of the Arkansas Dept of Corrections :eek::eek:

As part of a jail ministry from our church, we would travel up there and hold services in a gym area.

A little strange, but very memorable.

Ragged old green dodge van

My T-40 and TNT100

convicted felons staring back at me. tough crowd:smug:
 
#58
beta_442 said:
I'll bite..My first time ever gig was just 4 weeks ago. I've been playing bass for about 7 months. I've played guitar for years, but never in a real band. Our band has been together for about the same amount of time and we do original tunes. Our singer got the gig. It wasn't too hard though, this place is basically the place in town you go as a new band to kind of get stage experience. We got paid 15% of the bar take, which sounds nice, but being the dive bar it is...the whole band made a total of $10. Really cool experience though and now we have 2 more gigs at another bar and grille in town...oh, and I'm in my mid-30s since you asked.
Click to expand...

lol, that sucks.

Not my first gig by far, but at the first gig with this one band that I've been playing with the whole band received a grand total of $0.55. It couldn't even be split evenly between the 3 of us. I was just a month over 21 at the time.

However, at my first real professional gig a year before that one we all received $100 as a 4 piece band.
 
#60
First show was at our singers house party in 1989. I was 15. First show in a bar was at the Varsity in Dinkytown on the U of M campus opening for Jawbreaker. I was frozen to the stage I was so nervous. Didn't move a muscle and we were playin punk rawk. It was pretty funny. Wish I had a video of it.
 

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