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My first gig...


Z-Mann

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Hey everyone, I've been lurking on this site for a while but this is my first post... anyway... My band landed our first gig next weekend opening up for another band here in town. I'm not too nervous or anything, I think we'll be great, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips or recommendations for a first-timer. Thankya!

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Posted

Originally posted by Z-Mann

Hey everyone, I've been lurking on this site for a while but this is my first post... anyway... My band landed our first gig next weekend opening up for another band here in town. I'm not too nervous or anything, I think we'll be great, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips or recommendations for a first-timer. Thankya!

 

 

Whew, that is a tough one. For some reason it doesn't sink in until you set up and are ready to go, that is when serious dry mouth sets in.

 

Just keep it light and remember this is your first gig, don't expect to be the greatest band ever in the history of mankind. Cut yourself some slack!

Try to start each tune a hair slow, in my experience everything seems to speed up live, especially when the drummers adrenalin kicks in. Stay kewl and have fun.

 

It also helps if you have freinds and family there, it just helps me relax a bit more. You will also be surprised at how what seems like monumental mistakes to you and the band are not even heard by the audience.

 

Think like a boxer, you will get hit, it is part of the sport, the trick is to shrug it off and keep coming.

So, mistakes will happen, don't let it get you frazzled for a second, shrug it off, smile and keep playing.

 

You are going to learn a LOT by playing...

How to be prepared

How to get good volume mixes

How to build a set

And a 1000 other things.

 

Relax and have fun.

 

MH

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The response before is very good advice, especially the part about your mistakes being much more apparent to you than the audience. Also, a thing I learned the "hard way" is that you want to be prepared for anything that may happen or malfunction. If you play through a tube amp, have some spare tubes with you, make sure you bring extra cables, picks, strings, and a backup guitar is nice if you can swing that. I learned to be much more organized with my gear after a while of gigging. I use to just plug in and play, with chords hanging everywhere, and my pedals on the floor with no board or support, and that kind of stuff can lead to extra worries that take focus from your playing. Be prepared!

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Yep, you got to be prepared. Change your strings a few days prior, this can eliminate breaking them on stage. I always take a backup guitar just in case. Spare tubes, FUSES, strings, a bottle of water, TUNER are all good to have handy. Tune up right before you go on, temperature changes due to weather and hot stage lights can wreak havoc on stringed instruments. Make sure everyone tunes up too, if one guy is out the whole band will sound like sh*t.

Also, be conscious of the singer, if the singer can not hear him/herself they tend to go out of key and that is VERY BAD.
If that happens the audience is just going to think you guys suck, they will not notice that one person is out of tune, they will just think the band sounds like crap. Teamwork is the key here; make sure the singer has monitors right in front.

Don

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Let the music flow through you. No matter how good your music is, you have to feel it through your body to sound good. This way, you will rock out and stage and have it be totally natural. Audiences can recognize planned stuff and they don't like it. I also think you will play better if you move. Even when I record I headbang and rock out. It justs lets emotion flow through better, I think.

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Posted
Originally posted by Mr.Hanky

Yep, you got to be prepared. Change your strings a few days prior, this can eliminate breaking them on stage. I always take a backup guitar just in case. Spare tubes, FUSES, strings, a bottle of water, TUNER are all good to have handy. Tune up right before you go on, temperature changes due to weather and hot stage lights can wreak havoc on stringed instruments. Make sure everyone tunes up too, if one guy is out the whole band will sound like sh*t.


Also, be conscious of the singer, if the singer can not hear him/herself they tend to go out of key and that is VERY BAD.

If that happens the audience is just going to think you guys suck, they will not notice that one person is out of tune, they will just think the band sounds like crap. Teamwork is the key here; make sure the singer has monitors right in front.


Don

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