Geek99 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) An open mic night at the Church Social. Yeah I know, next stop is the O2.... First time I went was mainly to observe and I got chatting to a local guy who gigs regularly and plays various sessions as well as doing his day job. I was, needless to say, "the only bass player in the village". He suggested next time (ie tmrw) doing "thats alright mama" whcih I didnt know and a random blues jam, the general flavour of which he left up to me saying he'd fit in with whatever I was comfortable with. I came up with an eight note pattern of G, Goctave, E, D with pattern variations for the longer chord sections like G | G | G | G | C | C etc such as walking up and down to following chord and a fairly respectable turnaround. I found a fairly respectable bass tab for the elvis song and it doesnt seem that hard, Ive listened to it and I'm confident I can make a reasonable show of it and rescue if I lose my way. We tried to run something up in the corridor on that first night, but I could barely hear my P unamplfified over his acoustic. It was a relief in some ways when I ran out of time and had to go home before a slot came up. Taking an acoustic bass as well this time to have a run through with him that I can actually hear. He sent me a text saying he is still up for it. any advice y'all ? Edited October 24, 2014 by Geek99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 The only advice I have is to relax, try and enjoy it Your first few live performances are a bit nervewracking but in the grand scheme of things there are far greater terrors in life than playing a wrong note or two. You'll do fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alibabu Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Sounds like you are well prepared already. We've all been there, even the most experienced session players had to start somewhere. I remember my first public appearence in a jazz club, jamming with some friends to "Sophisticated Lady", about 25 years ago. It turned out to be a much more "sophisticated" rendition of the song than both the composer and we had intended, at some point I think we were all at different spots in the chart. But a friendly audience and good laughs about it afterwards saved the day. The best advice I can give is to keep your ears open, make sure you can both see and hear the drummer and guitarist (or keyboard player), and you will be good to go. Good luck to you, and welcome to the world of live playing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b7l4s Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Absolutely agree with uncle psychosis above. Everyone had to go through a first live performance, and most of us went back for more, so don't wind yourself up about it! Good luck for tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 If you drop the odd duff note DO NOT STOP to have a think about it, most of the punters won't notice and they'll be looking at whoever's singing anyway. Keep it simple, keep in time and enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Good stuff best of luck and as above... try and enjoy yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks - I've listened to the track a few times, and I will try and find time to play along with it on my phone using Jamup. I am kind of winging it though. The crowd wildly applauded a plucked rendition of twinkle twinkle on a violin last time so hopefully they will be either drunk or have low standards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Can only echo the sentiments above...try to relax, have fun and don't worry if you drop a note. Once you're done have a celebratory beverage of your choice afterwards to welcome yourself to the wonderful world of gigging musicians Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Better half putting kids to bed so I can practice Sadly can't drink as driving and insurance Ultra strict Mate also performing so train wreck tv likely on Sunday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 All the best tomorrow, and as above - stay frosty in the head and calm in the body. You'll be grand. Just remember to keep yer Boom Ooo Yata-Ta-Ta in order! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZl4bhOTAA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPZl4bhOTAA[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_m Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 (edited) My bandmates (who've been in umpteen bands over the years) persuaded me (never played in public before) we were ready to have a crack at a local open mic a couple of weeks ago. Let's just say the first time turned into a bit of a train-wreck - all I could hear was myself, while the guitarist and the drummer (playing guitar on this occasion) were struggling to hear themselves never mind each other and we got lost several times over the course of two songs! Fast-forward a week, and we went back for another go. This time, we followed the 6P's rule (Proper Preparation Prevents P*ss-Poor Performance), and actually got together a couple of days beforehand to run through three songs until we had them down. We then rolled up to the open mic nice and early so the guitarist could set up his amp where he wanted it, rather than wherever was left once the house-band had set up, and also had a quick run-through before anybody else turned up. When we actually did our spot a couple of hours later, it went far better than the first time. For one thing, we could actually hear each other, also the drummer played drums on this occasion, which held everything together nicely and gave me summat to lock into. Just for the record, we did The Standells / The Inmates "Dirty Water" (re-written with local references of course... ), John Hammond / The Pirates "I Can Tell", and The Kinks "Muswell Hillbilly". Plan for next week is to do these again, plus The Byrds "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" - can't wait! Best of luck, try to relax, and enjoy yourself - if you're like me, you'll be buzzing for hours afterwards!!! Edited October 24, 2014 by tony_m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 As has been said, keep it simple, listen to the others, watch the rhythm guitarist if you can (follow his chords if you get lost!) and enjoy it. You'll be back for the next one with more songs! We started off doing the odd one and are now the house band at a local OM. 14 songs at the next one in a couple of weeks! Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 It's just me, and acoustic guitard and s guy with a tea chest drum box (a dub ?) so quite naked. I'm confident about the blues jam- less so about elvis song. Hopefully get to run that through beforehand at least once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Run through beforehand went well but lost it totally on stage. Total blank, partly my fault as I didn't get enough practice time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Well that's your first gig over and done with!! You'll do better next time and I'm sure the audience didn't notice. Chin up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) They did notice as guitard suggested we stop sooner than we needed to, although I was in a sense glad that he did. Looking back at video footage, I don't think it helped that the guitard suddenly starting scat singing and joking with the crowd. I (unforgivably) got a bit lost in the twelve bar at that moment. I'd forgotten that he even did that. The crowd were nice but I felt terrible, not least for letting guitard down as he gave me a shot despite being a new face. First few turns of the twelve bar were actually ok - I am even pleased with the sound out of my fake stingray and the house ampeg combo. Might try an acoustic twelve string number solo next time but I'm not sure if I can sing. I shall have to ty it. In the runthru I showed him my chord transition runs and variations and turnaround and he seemed to quite like them, so quite pleased about that. Edited October 26, 2014 by Geek99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Well, you learned a lesson. If you are serious about live performance preparation is everything. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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