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playing my first gig

totaledheadtotaledhead Posts: 197
edited November 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
hey
im in a band and we're playing our first gig tomorrow in front of like 250-300 people :S

anyways do any of you guys have tips or any words of wisdom you can share, id greatly appreciate it!

i play drums btw :D

~P@M~
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • jeff's_the_manjeff's_the_man Posts: 660
    our band motto has always been "dont fuck up" :D


    go out and have fun, theres nothing worse than goin 2 c a band that has no energy, and ur the drummer so u have to lead by example!

    good luck!
    +--+-Official Upcoming Australasian Tour: Member No.5-+--+
    ~~~~~http://www.myspace.com/breakerfallpj~~~~~

    YieldInHiding: "RED DOT is an intermission...not "filler." I hate that word. Filler is what's in a Twinkie."
  • HailHailVitalogyHailHailVitalogy Posts: 5,134
    totaledhead wrote:
    hey
    im in a band and we're playing our first gig tomorrow in front of like 250-300 people :S

    anyways do any of you guys have tips or any words of wisdom you can share, id greatly appreciate it!

    i play drums btw :D

    ~P@M~

    throw some drum rolls in the middle of a song...haha
    2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore
  • Bob WeirBob Weir Posts: 850
    As a drummer playing out for almost ten years I'll tell you(things you probably already know) bring a rug,many club's stages do not have one and your drums WILL slide,make sure you have a drum key,plenty of sticks within reach(sweaty hands tend to lose sticks)and if possible extra heads and even better a back up snare,also any tools you might need for your kit ex. allen wrench, pliers ect.when you set up TAKE YOUR TIME many of my first gigs I was in such a rush my kit was all over the place because I didn't tighten this or double check that and nothing kills the mood faster than the drummer having "technical difficulties".
    Well hope this helps and have fun,thats the most important thing.And oh yah DONT FUCK UP.
    I need a fix 'cause I'm going down
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    Don't have any advice for you, but good luck man, rock em!

    Galway, huh? I was in that part of the world last summer, beautiful city.
  • totaledheadtotaledhead Posts: 197
    Bob Weir wrote:
    As a drummer playing out for almost ten years I'll tell you(things you probably already know) bring a rug,many club's stages do not have one and your drums WILL slide,make sure you have a drum key,plenty of sticks within reach(sweaty hands tend to lose sticks)and if possible extra heads and even better a back up snare,also any tools you might need for your kit ex. allen wrench, pliers ect.when you set up TAKE YOUR TIME many of my first gigs I was in such a rush my kit was all over the place because I didn't tighten this or double check that and nothing kills the mood faster than the drummer having "technical difficulties".
    Well hope this helps and have fun,thats the most important thing.And oh yah DONT FUCK UP.

    wow thanks a lot, well i infact have an electric kit (yamaha dtexpress 2) so most of that doesnt apply. But thanks as lot for the tips :P

    ...and ill try not to fuck up :P

    P@M
  • totaledheadtotaledhead Posts: 197
    moster78 wrote:
    Don't have any advice for you, but good luck man, rock em!

    Galway, huh? I was in that part of the world last summer, beautiful city.

    coughGIRLcough

    :p

    ya i really love it here its a great place, did you get to stay here long?

    P@M
  • PappasPappas Posts: 809
    play the skins with your top off an sweat like a mother fucker, that way you will look like Dave A :D
    Even Flow Psycho Member #039

    ******Message Pit Australian Tour Members********
    rumour starter President & Member #1

    www.myspace.com/pappas99
  • MissYouAllDayMissYouAllDay Posts: 939
    totaled,

    I envy you man, have an awesome time for me!
    I miss you already, I miss you always
    I miss you already, I miss you all day
  • AlreddieInLoveAlreddieInLove Posts: 45
    Hit hard. Have a good show
    To myself I surrender, to the one I'll never please.
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    totaledhead wrote:
    coughGIRLcough

    :p

    ya i really love it here its a great place, did you get to stay here long?

    P@M

    My bad, sorry.

    I was there for about 3 days last summer, staying with a cousin of my mom that lives outside of Galway. Got to see plenty though, and drink plenty of Guinness. Beautiful little city.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    Relax and enjoy jamming with your mates.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • nailz100nailz100 Posts: 1,176
    learn the songs as well as you can...and then go out there and play with your heart and not your head
    Only with our eyes closed can we truly see
  • kigcatkigcat Posts: 298
    remember nerves are a good thing they`ll help to keep you concentrated and focused. But make sure you relax and enjoy it and if you do mess something up or miss a bit dont let it get to you too bad cause afterall thats the joy of live bands.
    I'm not saying stupidity should be a capital offence, but what say we take the safety labels off everything and let nature run it's course?
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    With an electronic kit, the technical difficulties are less important... no broken heads or de-tuned drums or anything.

    But make sure you set up your drum pads carefully so they're where you're used to them. Tighten everything down good. I'd still bring a rug, electronic drums can creep a little. Extra sticks within arm's reach are still a good idea...

    If you get a bit weirded out, scared, whatever... just ignore the audience. Maintain eye contact with the rest of the band when they'll look, and watch their feet when they're facing away. If you get on stage and you're fine, then just live it up...

    The number one clue I can give you is that most people won't notice the mistakes you make if you just keep plowing through. You might think you played a few things wrong, but nobody in the crowd will notice. And the other folks in the band are likely to make a few slips too, so it'll even out.

    Break a leg...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Alright P@M!!!


    It's really happening! :cool:

    Good advice from above, Bob Weir!

    I played for years on stage, guitar, not drums though, and one thing that IS important is to use the nervous energy you'll have beforehand, but not TOO much!
    Make sure all the little electronic connections and your set ups are prepared. Make sure you know your equipment and not to step on connections that would pull wires out of your drums.
    I've done that on stage with guitars. Feeling good and running around and stepping on the cord and pulling it right out of the guitar. :D
    Take some deep breaths before you go on, you'll be nervous, which is natural. Use that adrenaline to propel you into the show and spread that good energy to the audience. Remember to keep the pace and not speed up too much, though.
    There is a tendency to get all hyped up and speed the beat up to a frenzy! I guess fine on a punk song, but it kind of makes a mess of a ballad! :D

    Folks, Totaledhead is DEFINITELY a girl!! :)
    She gave me the grand tour of Galway 2 months ago! :cool:
    It was great to meet you, and good luck and have fun! Next time I come over, we'll go busking in te square! :cool:
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • Bob WeirBob Weir Posts: 850
    mccreadyisgod wrote:


    The number one clue I can give you is that most people won't notice the mistakes you make if you just keep plowing through. You might think you played a few things wrong, but nobody in the crowd will notice. And the other folks in the band are likely to make a few slips too, so it'll even out.

    Took me years to relize this but its very true.
    I need a fix 'cause I'm going down
  • charlotte28charlotte28 Posts: 56
    GOOD LUCK! I bet you'll have a blast! :)
    walk the bridges before you burn them down...
  • brain of cbrain of c Posts: 5,213
    don't forget your sticks.
    d'oh!!!!!!

    http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    How'd it go, P@M?

    Are you all out on tour now? Is Pearl Jam going to open for you on your European tour? :D
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • totaledheadtotaledhead Posts: 197
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    How'd it go, P@M?

    Are you all out on tour now? Is Pearl Jam going to open for you on your European tour? :D

    It went surprisingly welll thank you for asking Bob

    There were a few minor setbacks. The show was on in my rythym guitarists hotel (the big yellow one i showed ya if ya can remember) and there was this tiny little stage where we were gonna play. And as i said earlier i play on an electric kit which is pretty big. So when all the amps were set up and stuff there was no space on the stage for my kit (i blame the two Jcm 200's in the corner :p) so i had to play behid the stage :/ but that didnt bother me so much. When we got on (we were the second of about 7 bands) the whole place went crazy (mainly cos the place was packed with kids from my school) and the first song went down without a hitch, then my drum kit kept turning off throughout the second song (faulty extension cable) fixed that after and played the rest of our set. When we finsished we got the "one more tune" chant and played an encore :D which rocked. Like half the people didnt notice the problems in the second song which made me feel a whole lot better. Not too shabby for our first show :D

    No world tour yet but watch the skies :P

    oh and ill thank you Bob in the album liner notes :p

    P@M
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