Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: First time on stage.... help?

  1. #1
    Forum Member Joobsauce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    259

    First time on stage.... help?

    Hey guys, tonight is going to be my first time actually on stage. I'm going to be playing at a bar in aspenwall, with my cousin, who's been in bands longer than I've been alive lol! But I'm going to this bar and i'm going to see one of the "best guitar players" in pittsburgh, and I dont want to &^*$ this up, if you know what I mean.

    It's a blues place, so I'm doing 2 SRV covers, "Pride and Joy", and "Texas Flood". I'm playin with the house band,so I'm not sure how this is going to go. You guys have any tips on what to do, etc? I'm a bit nervous!
    Quote Originally Posted by sting7777
    tone knobs just get in the way of things like windmills and playing with your teeth upside down anyway

  2. #2
    Forum Member curtisstetka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Boyertown PA
    Posts
    5,050

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Try not to suck.



    Okay, seriously - don't drink too much before going up. And, eat a banana or two. They contain a natural beta-blocker that helps settle your stomach and your nerves.

    Try to have fun. Music is fun, right? Don't be overly critical of yourself. Any mistakes you make (and everybody makes 'em) will be glaring to you but probably completely invisible to the audience.

    If you look like you're having a good time and playing well, then your performance will go over well. If you look like a nervous wreck and give a look of disgust every time you hit a sour note, well, the audience will go along with that too.
    s'all goof.

  3. #3
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    5,201

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Never heard of the banana thing. That's awesome!
    "I haven't slept for ten days...because that would be too long." -- Mitch Hedberg

  4. #4
    Forum Member curtisstetka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Boyertown PA
    Posts
    5,050

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Oh yeah, I swear by them. I've gotten to a very managable point with stage fright but it used to be kind of bad back when I was in school (music conservatory). Before a concert I always had a banana or two and things were great (except for banana-flavored burps). It's not too heavy in the stomach either.
    s'all goof.

  5. #5
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Just visualize everything going great. Think about how fun it will be. You'll be fine. Nothing bad can happen. It's not that big a deal, really.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  6. #6
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Watch your alcohol intake before you get on stage.
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  7. #7
    Forum Member NeoFauve's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    in interesting times
    Posts
    12,530

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    Unless you have extra bananas for settling your stomach, that old "picture your audience naked" trick may not be a great idea at some blues jams.
    "Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
    Elvis Costello

  8. #8
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    5,201

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    "I haven't slept for ten days...because that would be too long." -- Mitch Hedberg

  9. #9
    Forum Member rudutch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    state that looks like a mitten
    Posts
    5,260

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    know your material cold, try and enjoy it.
    do I look like I know what I'm doing?

  10. #10
    Forum Member Power_13's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Shire of York, Ye Olde England
    Posts
    1,698

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    It sometimes helps to picture your audience naked, unless you're playing in a nudist camp, in which case imagine them fully clothed.
    i bet this really annoy's you if your a grammar freak.

  11. #11
    Forum Member Mesotech's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Lafayette, LoUiSiAna
    Posts
    2,527

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    The best advice I can offer is to forget the audience is there. Play for the band, play with the band (musically and personably), and try to stay within your musical bounds. Doing these things, you'll have a good time. Having a good time is what the audience will see, and in turn they'll have a good time.

    The next best advice was already given. Don't sweat the mistakes. Everyone makes them. Unlike a recording that gets played over and over, scrutinized for every nuance of style, every note analyzed to nausia, when playing live a mistake is only a fraction of a second away from being completely forgotten. By the time someone recognizes the mistake happened, they're already thinking about the last great lick you pulled off. Most of the audience won't even know it happened. The ones that did notice will be watching to see how well you recover from it (because everyone makes mistakes, not everyone recovers well). Ironically, most stage mistakes are triggered by a mistake someone else in the band makes that snowballs. If recovered well, everyone in the band gets a chuckle from it, and no one feels guilty. If it trainwrecks, everyone still gets a laugh and starts again. No big deal.
    POO DAT!!!

  12. #12
    Forum Member Joobsauce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
    259

    Re: First time on stage.... help?

    aww the gig was canceled, the roads were too bad. But thanks for the advice guys, I'll have to remember it!
    Quote Originally Posted by sting7777
    tone knobs just get in the way of things like windmills and playing with your teeth upside down anyway

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •