First real gig in a few years

xtremehardy388

With the exception of playing for my church (and getting overshadowed/sent to play in the corner), I haven't played for people in a few years. Tonight, one of my fellow firefighters asked if I'd be willing to play a short acoustic set for a community 5K. I'd basically be playing for 45 minutes and it'd be just random song--nothing specific. He's got a friend who sings and was wondering if I'd want to play (along with him) guitar. I'm pretty stoked but a little nervous. I don't know if I still have the chops to play and I always get stage jitters. Since it's an acoustic set, I'm only planning on bringing my Fender acoustasonic amp, TU2, and the stratacoustic. If there aren't any outlets, I'll just bring my dreadnought guitar. Don't know what we'll be playing or anything. Hoping that MAYBE this will spark my desire to play

JB23237

Good luck man!

xtremehardy388

JB23237 said:

Good luck man!

Thank you!

gimmesometruth27

you will be fine. its just like riding a bike. we have our first show in 3 months tonight too. we had our first rehearsal thursday and everyone is practicing on their own this afternoon.

you are going to be ok. just enjoy it because you might not get to perform again for awhile. good luck!!

xtremehardy388

gimmesometruth27 said:

you will be fine. its just like riding a bike. we have our first show in 3 months tonight too. we had our first rehearsal thursday and everyone is practicing on their own this afternoon.

you are going to be ok. just enjoy it because you might not get to perform again for awhile. good luck!!

Thanks! Best wishes on your gig, too

All Those Yesterdays

I think i would feel worse if I didn't get pre show jitters. Seriously... I sort of actually like that feeling. Good luck bud

evsgjamm

How did ya do? What songs were played? Heck, I get the jitters sometimes when I'm alone and I can see my guitar in the corner of my eye sitting in the corner waiting for me to play it. I'm sure all was well out there. KEEP IT UP! The world needs the live music!

xtremehardy388

Haven't played, yet. It's this Saturday

xtremehardy388

Met up with my buddy to practice for our gig on Saturday morning. I was pretty rusty but I made due. He's playing a lot of country songs so I figured I'd just play chords over it. I'm okay with country but I don't listen to it unless I'm with people that love it, working on my jeep, or hunting. Anyway, seemed to go well. We needed to come up with a "band name" so we decided to call ourselves the "Ramen Noodles" (in tribute to our love for the food). Saturday is supposed to be cold with possibility of rain. We'll be playing from 8AM until about 10AM, Right after, I'll be having to head back up to the fire station to help out with some stuff. We'll see how it goes...a little nervous but interested to see how it goes.

BinFrog

There are things you can do to counteract your nervousness.

1) As cliche as it sounds, take several deep breaths
2) Practice, practice, practice. Get that sh*t down.
3) Remember: Almost nobody cares. This sounds harsh but in my experience it's true: I am ALWAYS my own worst critic. Play as if you're just in your living room having fun. People are listening, sure, but nobody is going to care about little chord change hiccups or a sour note in a solo. Just avoid making the "oops" face and keep going.
4) Pick your head up and look out from time to time: it's awesome to see people interacting while you are playing, essentially, the soundtrack for them at that moment.

I've been in an acoustic duo for around 8-9 years and we've played dozens of gigs. And 3 nights ago I played my first solo gig ever. I was a little nervous, but man did I ever get in hours and hours of practice leading up to it: I had those songs memorized. Yes, I screwed a few things up here and there...but it was my first solo gig and I was ok with that. I got up there and kicked into the first song...and I was FAR less nervous than I had anticipated. I missed a chord here and there, sang a few lines in the wrong key a few times...but whatever. I had a half dozen friends there and there were maybe a dozen other people. It was so chill and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Again: you are your own worst critic, and I *guarantee* nobody there will be paying as much attention as you think. Just loosen up and play some good tunes. If you are into it, they will be too.

F Me In The Brain

Think of the non-musicians you will play to as well....I suck balls at playing guitar even though I have plunked on acoustics for 15 years. Just not a talent I have. Probably a result of this, but every time I am somewhere and there is a person who is displaying some level of talent with a guitar I am very appreciative of what they are doing and how hard I imagine they work to be able to do it.

I am sure that musicians are very critical of each other talent/performance wise...the rest of us? Not so much!

Have fun, I am sure your audience will think it is cool.

BinFrog

To play devil's advocate: usually it's the musicians who understand that what you are doing is not easy. They have been in your shoes, making the same mistakes and going through the same nervousness. Yes, they may notice screw ups a little more, but they also understand them more.

xtremehardy388

I've played shows before---a ton of them. But those were years ago. Now I'm rusty---thankfully our audience will be running by us---we're just playing for background music and just to have fun. Hopefully my fingers wont freeze with there being a frost advisory in the area

i_lov_it

xtremehardy388 said:

With the exception of playing for my church (and getting overshadowed/sent to play in the corner), I haven't played for people in a few years. Tonight, one of my fellow firefighters asked if I'd be willing to play a short acoustic set for a community 5K. I'd basically be playing for 45 minutes and it'd be just random song--nothing specific. He's got a friend who sings and was wondering if I'd want to play (along with him) guitar. I'm pretty stoked but a little nervous. I don't know if I still have the chops to play and I always get stage jitters. Since it's an acoustic set, I'm only planning on bringing my Fender acoustasonic amp, TU2, and the stratacoustic. If there aren't any outlets, I'll just bring my dreadnought guitar. Don't know what we'll be playing or anything. Hoping that MAYBE this will spark my desire to play

Yep Good Luck and Have Fun...I'm in the Process of saving up for a Proper Gig worthy Bass and Amp myself then it's just a Matter of getting out there

xtremehardy388

Played this morning. The temps were in the mid 30s so it was pretty cold. The first few songs were iffy and my voice was pretty bad on a couple. I got into my groove, though, and we did well. Got a lot of positive feedback as runners passed. "Dirt Road Anthem" (Jason Aldean/Brantley Gilbert/Colt Ford) was where my voice finally got into tune. The highlights, for me, were "Horse With No Name", "Small Town", "Last Kiss", and "Clarity"(John Mayer). We also did well on "Hotel California". Otherwise, I just strummed chords to most of the country songs. I was rusty and I could really tell but I enjoyed myself. I think the best part was being able to play with someone else. I love playing solo (easier and less stress) but my buddy made it fun. He got me to relax. I played/sang "Clarity" while he drummed along on his guitar. That's my favorite to play. The only bad part was when our fire pagers went off and we had to stop playing (I kept singing) and reset them so the dispatchers weren't talking over us playing. All in all, a great time jamming. Only last about an hour which was just enough time for me to play without my fingers hurting too much.

BinFrog

Great!

i_lov_it

xtremehardy388 said:

Played this morning. The temps were in the mid 30s so it was pretty cold. The first few songs were iffy and my voice was pretty bad on a couple. I got into my groove, though, and we did well. Got a lot of positive feedback as runners passed. "Dirt Road Anthem" (Jason Aldean/Brantley Gilbert/Colt Ford) was where my voice finally got into tune. The highlights, for me, were "Horse With No Name", "Small Town", "Last Kiss", and "Clarity"(John Mayer). We also did well on "Hotel California". Otherwise, I just strummed chords to most of the country songs. I was rusty and I could really tell but I enjoyed myself. I think the best part was being able to play with someone else. I love playing solo (easier and less stress) but my buddy made it fun. He got me to relax. I played/sang "Clarity" while he drummed along on his guitar. That's my favorite to play. The only bad part was when our fire pagers went off and we had to stop playing (I kept singing) and reset them so the dispatchers weren't talking over us playing. All in all, a great time jamming. Only last about an hour which was just enough time for me to play without my fingers hurting too much.

Glad you had a Good time

mfc2006

nice job!

xtremehardy388

Thanks everyone I appreciate all the advice and well wishes. I found some of my old pedals and I'm very SLOWLY starting to get the itch