Topic: Your First Gig

Don't know if this is the right place for this so feel free to move it .........
  Southpaw has one for gigging musicians , but I want to hear about your first time playing in front of anyone , whether it was in front of an audience or a couple friends or even your husband or wife . Amazing the things that can go oh so wrong and make very good stories.............

" Just reading the lyrics , it's hard to hear the song , but if the words tug at the heartstrings......it's enough for now........... "

Re: Your First Gig

i fell off stage and fell on the gym teacher.and my stupid friend farted super loud in the microphone and got us kicked out.

tongue:P:P:P:P

Re: Your First Gig

Gnomefry ,
   Excellent example of things going oh so , so wrong........
   Hope it didn't ruin your musical career.......L O L

" Just reading the lyrics , it's hard to hear the song , but if the words tug at the heartstrings......it's enough for now........... "

Re: Your First Gig

Well, not quite so drastic, but try closing "Wish You Were Here" with a semi-showy ending, whilst your leg's shaking like a pneumatic drill. Darned impossible. Nearly dropped my pick. Then to be confronted with somebody saying "I know that song!". Well...you ought to. It's a classic, right?

[url]www.freerice.com[/url]

5 (edited by gnomefry 2008-03-02 18:32:53)

Re: Your First Gig

Luckily my gig was just in 6th grade.It was hilarious though,the principal was like yelling i don't see why though i guess it was because the falling part but i did not weigh that much.Another thing was when we played Hell's bells by AC/DC which i very much needed a pick for i dropped it halfway through and then leaned over and my guitar strap screw came out and i dropped it and broke it since it was yet another battle of the bands in the gym.:rolleyes: stupid gym floor.

tongue:P:P:P:P

Re: Your First Gig

I was like 10 or 11 in a Middle School talent show. I remember the students yelling so loud I could hardly hear whay we was playing.  That was a cool moment.  A week later we played a gong show style talent show and got gonged. lol  But 30 years later Im still tring to avoid the gong!

Bobby
kickin.ws

Re: Your First Gig

My younger brother, Colin, and I entered in a seaside talent competition when I was 14 and he 13. We were playing a recent Shadows hit "Apache" but a few bars into it it went horribly wrong. I immediately announced to the audience "I am sorry Ladies and Gentlemen, but my brother has made a mistake, so we will start again".

Forty eight years on and we still argue to this day as to who was actually to blame for the faux pas with that number. Still it was not so bad as we won the heat and then came second to a little girl singing Elvis's "Wooden Heart" in the final.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Re: Your First Gig

Playing GUITAR, the first time I did it in front of people was last August at a fishing camp. I had been playing for about nine months of self-teaching time.  It was around the campfire and a few of the guys had brought their guitars.  I was used to playing on a nylon classical and was handed a steel string folk guitar.  I liked it, but I wasn't used to it, and they insisted on my playing a few songs.  I do not have songs memorized well, so I tried to use my book, but there was no place to rest it and my vision was a little weak in the twilight to read it from where it was.  I got out "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" with the singing help of one of the real musicians, then someone asked me to play "Forever and Ever Amen" that he had seen in my songbook earlier in the day.  So I gave it as passable a go as I could, and had a fellow who sings very well say "Well, Hoss, that ain't a bad rendition, but why don't you play it again and I'll sing it the way Randy done."  So I did, and it sounded way better and we were both smiling at the end, and I guess that's the point.  I was nervous as heck and ready to give up the guitar to its rightful owner, but he said, "Oh, you've got at least one more song in you. Keep going."  So sitting in West Virginia beside her second most famous river, I couldn't help but play, "Take Me Home Country Roads."  A couple of the wives or girlfriends of some of the guys that were already at the campfire showed up and recognized it right off somehow and the three of us sang it.  They harmonized real pretty and it actually got an ovation.  This just goes to show that a poor state of guitar playing can be overcome by attractive women who know how to sing. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: Your First Gig

My first gig was very "Blues Brothers"-ish. It was at a club in Radford, Virginia called Lucky's. I convinced the owner to give us a shot and guaranteed him that we would bring 40 people, minimum to see us play. He said OK and charged $2.00 per person at the door and the gate from the door would be our pay. We did not, however, get our drinks for free. We had to pay for them. 2 problems here; 1) I was the spokesperson for the band and not of legal drinking age.(only 17 at the time) 2) Our gate from the door was $100 and our bar tab was $120. I would have offered to play another set and try to get the extra $20 in tips to pay our bar tab but the bar was closed. The owner was cool and gave us our drinks at half price. Also, luckily my age never came up otherwise we'd really be in trouble. So we ended up netting $40, between 5 guys. The owner did like us and had us return many times afterwards. We never made much more money than we did our first time there but we got wise and snuck our own booze in the bar disguised in water bottles.............Ah the good ole days!!!!!

Give everything but up.

10 (edited by L"STRAT" WOLF 2008-04-02 21:57:32)

Re: Your First Gig

First gig was in '69-'70. We had 6pc band. Played a 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' type at a 'BOYSCOUT JAMBOREE'. There was 4 bands including us. Each got to play 3 songs. It took longer for each to set up than perform. I think the shaking of my hands improved my guitar riff's immensely!!! I'm happy to say we took 1st place. Not that we were better than the others, but we were the only band with a keyboard, and we played 'Light My Fire' by the doors, which was one of the hottest tunes at that time. I still have the plaque on my wall, and my keyboard friend still takes the credit for it! Well deserved I guess?? Did I fail to mention we were all 14 yrs of age?  I don't ever want to grow up. We don't  stop playing because we're old, we get old from not playing!!!

Re: Your First Gig

well it wasn't really a gig, but I played to start an assembly in Year 6. lol
i played Wild Thing by The Troggs cool

don't ever stand aside, don't ever be denied
you gotta be who you be if you're comin' with me
cool
okay??

Re: Your First Gig

great thread!! great replies!!

My first time playing in front of anyone was when I was 19 unemployed and spent a lot of afternoons getting out my face with my mate and making up songs ( think along the lines of syd barrett, very silly songs)
He had a party one night and we played our silly songs to a few friends. None of them liked us I dont think lol they left the bedroom and went into the hall I think or another bedroom.
we even apmlified ourselves in the small bedroom and had our own space that we called a stage even though it was not raised.

After that, My first time playing in a band infront of about 100 people in a pub. We had about 10 songs, all heavy rock and we played them fast and punkish as the guitarist and drummer were very nervous and bashed thru them. I was the bass player and sang about 5 songs. The other songs were sung by "guest singers" ( mates from other bands)
The crowd loved us amazingly enough. That got us all a bit big headed and wanted to do more.


Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending