I Love Gigging

[Bluewine]

58 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

I love gigging.

 

Somehow us bunch of middle aged farts have got to the point where we can each earn £400 or more per gig (we did a gig for the horsey set, they told Crispian and Portia, who told their chums, word quickly spread and we have at least one high class private booking per month through to next November), but that's just a fringe benefit.

 

I enjoy it at a level I can't begin to describe and would happily play for free (and we do indeed play select charity gigs for free) just so long as there is an audience.

 

The gigging experience is different for all of us. I love gigging but I would never perform for free. I do benefits and charities from time to time however those are also paid gigs.

 

It's really a matter of principle for me. I've seen too many young musicians being taken advantage of.

 

Blue

Edited December 7, 2022 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, mrtcat said:

I love gigging. Yeah there's a world of poo to deal with at many of them but they're still always fun and the occasional special one makes all the nonsense pail into insignificance.

 

10 years ago I was playing pubs for naff money. These days it's all weddings and private functions. The money is decent and from time to time we get to play some special places. Last Friday was a corporate do at the Winter Gardens ballroom for 900 people. This new year's eve gig we are being flown to the Maldives to play on the beach. I think the thing that has kept it exciting is the constant push for something a little bit better. The thing that makes it fun is the guys I play with.

 

Fantastic and I hope everyone knows high profile gigs don't come easy.

 

I've never been flown anywhere and doubt I ever will. The powers that be in my band are 30 years younger than me . They make the decisions and do all the booking. Unfortunately I don't think their sights are set that high.

 

Blue

Edited December 7, 2022 by Bluewine

[chris_b]

My first gig was 20th November 1966. My last gig was 6th December 2022.

 

56 years and I'm still loving every second of being a bass player.

 

And just because I had nothing better to do. . . . that's 1,768,694,400 seconds!!

Edited December 7, 2022 by chris_b

[chris_b]

6 minutes ago, chris_b said:

And just because I had nothing better to do. . . . that's 1,768,694,400 seconds!!

 

I amended the seconds after I found a calculator that included leap years. . . !!

[police squad]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 I think the reference and experience to gigging might vary from generation to generation as well as how old you were when you started gigging. Some of you might have started gigging as adults and some of us started when we were children.

 

Thoughts and opinions?

 

Blue

Good point Blue.

My first gig was in 1981. I had just turned 13 and been playing for 4 months. The drummer was 12, his dad ran a hugely succesful local dance band, his older brothers played drums and guitar, we had so much support from his dad. His dad recently turned 90 and is still looking great. He was a rock to us, gave us great advice etc. Let us rehearse in his house.

We only did the one gig but we practiced together for a few years, went a bit reggae and we had a 3 piece brass section (they were young Royal Marines. The RM school of music was very nearby in Deal. A place very close to my heart)

I have been gigging ever since, The drummer, Andy, eventually played keys for Toyah for nearly 20 years

[Bluewine]

5 hours ago, chris_b said:

My first gig was 20th November 1966. My last gig was 6th December 2022.

 

56 years and I'm still loving every second of being a bass player.

 

And just because I had nothing better to do. . . . that's 1,768,694,400 seconds!!

 

Gigging in a band is one of the few places where you can actually get the same charge out of it as you did in 1966.

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, police squad said:

Good point Blue.

My first gig was in 1981. I had just turned 13 and been playing for 4 months. The drummer was 12, his dad ran a hugely succesful local dance band, his older brothers played drums and guitar, we had so much support from his dad. His dad recently turned 90 and is still looking great. He was a rock to us, gave us great advice etc. Let us rehearse in his house.

We only did the one gig but we practiced together for a few years, went a bit reggae and we had a 3 piece brass section (they were young Royal Marines. The RM school of music was very nearby in Deal. A place very close to my heart)

I have been gigging ever since, The drummer, Andy, eventually played keys for Toyah for nearly 20 years

Sounds like a great environment to enter into the world of playing bass guitars.

 

We also had the support of our parents in the community I grew up in. I think they knew it kept us out of trouble.

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

19 hours ago, Franticsmurf said:

I agree that the great moments are when the band is working as a unit, everyone is having fun on stage and off, and the songs are flowing.

 

The first time I really got that feeling was about a year or two into my 'career', playing a benefit for a local biker who had lost a leg in a crash. The place was packed and we started playing Comfortably Numb (a favourite of mine) in which I sang the chorus. When I went into the first chorus, the audience joined in. It was a 'hairs on the back of my neck' moment that I have never forgotten. 

 

Another great memory was closing a multi-band line up event with an hour long medley of up tempo rock. We played non-stop and kept the dance floor full the whole time. The band had been playing regularly and often for a couple of years and we hadn't planned the song order or to keep playing but the singer just called the tunes and we went into them. We tried to build it into the set as a regular feature, but it never worked as well again.

 

" Fun on and off stage "

 

I wish we had some of the off stage fun. Outside of being onstage we don't see much of each other.

 

Blue

[Franticsmurf]

My first gig was 1989, I was 25 and it was a couple of months after my dad had died. He bought me my first guitar and helped start it all off, so it was a poignant moment for me. I was a nervous wreck going on stage, not helped by the compare who clattered into the neck of the guitar seconds before the first song, throwing several strings out of tune! 😃 We weren't brilliant, we finished early as the adrenaline kicked in and we played too fast and as I recall we got around £30 (we took the door money). But the buzz was addictive, and still is.

 

Had I been younger when I started, I may not have become so cynical about the whole scene (I have a newspaper cutting of an interview where I go on about the apathy and lack of opportunities in the area - not the best way to promote the band 😬). Most of the band were working full time, too. Had we not been, I think there would have been more energy put into making it work, as we were playing mostly our own stuff. But I also wonder if, had I started earlier, I would have got it out of my system and given up once I got a proper job? 

 

 

[Bassfinger]

11 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

The gigging experience is different for all of us. I love gigging but I would never perform for free. I do benefits and charities from time to time however those are also paid gigs.

 

It's really a matter of principle for me. I've seen too many young musicians being taken advantage of.

 

Blue

Aye. Im at the opposite end of the spectrum. Covers only, no talent to write anything original, financially secure and independent, and long past the age where anyone is going to give me a break anyway. 

 

Im happy just for the opportunity to show off and enjoy the experiencr, but I can quite see where you're at with youngsters at the opposite end of their musical career from me.

 

But we also support two uupcoming local bands in their teens, and where the venue is suitable will often insist that if they want us to play for beer - which we will sometimes for friends who have pubs or clubs - then they have to allow one of these bands to do a set before us.  The older of the two acts are now all 16 and the exposure of their playing for free and being associated with us on the regional circuit has got them noticed and they're starting to be offered proper paid work.  Rather than being taken advantage of they used it as an opportunity for free rehearsals and dry runs, and it's paid off. It's all down to how its handled as to whether it becomes a pith take or a genujne opportunity.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Bassfinger

[Downunderwonder]

Growing up we had a monthly performance evening for all ages of music students. Most months had an adult band or soloist give a mini concert demo. That pretty well normalized performance as the purpose of practice.

[ricksterphil]

My best gig in a long and fairly average musical career was playing Rock City in Nottingham with my Bowie Tribute band.

This was January 2022 for a charity gig so not paid, but to be honest I'd have paid them. It actually surpassed all our expectations because

- there was a stage manager (in a very sharp suit) to receive all the bands at the stage door entrance

- we had our own dressing room, complete with toilet and shower, with our band name on the door

- there were roadies/stage hands to carry your guitar onto the stage (we were using their drums and backline)

- there was a 32 channel monitor mixer at stage right - that's right, just for monitors (us pub players are just not used to such luxury)

- the light show was awesome

- there was a decent crowd in who loved it and we played as well as we ever have - the head stage hand said..."you guys were very good" afterwards

- we were the only tribute band on the bill, we played right before these guys https://cosmicskull.org/

- Bowie played there, on that very stage in 1997 (goosebumps)

 

 

 

 

The only downside was we only had 30 minutes

 

Thanks @Bluewine for posting this thread, it's allowed me to relive a cherished memory.

 

The sadness is that the band has now broken up so no chance of a repeat performance 😢

 

 

 

 

[steantval]

On 06/12/2022 at 13:06, police squad said:

A few years ago I played at the Matala beach festival in Crete, with my Police tribute.

We didn't get paid but

We were flown out there, met by our driver at the airport and driven to out hotel, then the festival.

We were there for 3 days, played on the saturday night, flown home on the Monday.

 

Matala has beach caves, which joni mitchell sand about

Here's a few pictures

 

It was an amazing experience. If I never did another gig, at least I did this one. It was huge.

You can see the caves behind us

 

Our Free tribute band several years ago were offered a spot at the Rhodes Rock festival in Lindos, this event looks very similar.

Unfortunately we had to turn it down, our guitarist was a teacher and this event was in term time and he wasn’t allowed the time off, this was without doubt the biggest gig we were ever offered, but didn’t get to play. ☹️

Edited December 8, 2022 by steantval

[Bluewine]

11 minutes ago, steantval said:

Our Free tribute band several years ago were offered a spot at the Rhodes Rock festival in Lindos, this event looks very similar.

Unfortunately we had to turn it down, our guitarist was a teacher and this event was in term time and he wasn’t allowed the time off, this was without doubt the biggest gig we were ever offered, but didn’t get to play. ☹️

 

Very unfortunate you guys didn't get to play the gig. I would think this could happen to any of us in bands where members have full time jobs. 

 

Any big opportunity for a band could be tough unless your in a professional band and that band is the only source of income for the members.

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, ricksterphil said:

My best gig in a long and fairly average musical career was playing Rock City in Nottingham with my Bowie Tribute band.

This was January 2022 for a charity gig so not paid, but to be honest I'd have paid them. It actually surpassed all our expectations because

- there was a stage manager (in a very sharp suit) to receive all the bands at the stage door entrance

- we had our own dressing room, complete with toilet and shower, with our band name on the door

- there were roadies/stage hands to carry your guitar onto the stage (we were using their drums and backline)

- there was a 32 channel monitor mixer at stage right - that's right, just for monitors (us pub players are just not used to such luxury)

- the light show was awesome

- there was a decent crowd in who loved it and we played as well as we ever have - the head stage hand said..."you guys were very good" afterwards

- we were the only tribute band on the bill, we played right before these guys https://cosmicskull.org/

- Bowie played there, on that very stage in 1997 (goosebumps)

 

 

 

 

The only downside was we only had 30 minutes

 

Thanks @Bluewine for posting this thread, it's allowed me to relive a cherished memory.

 

The sadness is that the band has now broken up so no chance of a repeat performance 😢

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very cool story. Something I hope everyone gets to experience.

 

We get the same treatment when we play Summerfest in Milwaukee WI, world's largest music festival.

 

Cool pics.

 

Blue

[ricksterphil]

On 08/12/2022 at 19:30, Bluewine said:

 

 

Very cool story. Something I hope everyone gets to experience.

 

We get the same treatment when we play Summerfest in Milwaukee WI, world's largest music festival.

 

Cool pics.

 

Blue

Cheers Blue 

[jimmyb625]

I'm sure this has come up before, as I think I've answered it. Anyway, I don't mind repeating myself.

I love gigging! In fact, I love every type of live performance, whether that be music, theatre, comedy or whatever. 

I've been involved with theatre and musicals for over 25 years, both on and off stage. During that time, I've also been involved with bands, comedy performers and dance troupes (tech only for the dance, a line needs to be drawn somewhere)

There's an immediacy to live performance that I find addictive. Sure, recording an album is great and it's around forever, but the instant feedback from an audience can't be equalled in my eyes. 

I've also found when being a part of a band, or a production, there's a sense of teamwork, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. You're with a group of people all pulling forward with the goal of making it the best you can.

Is it perfect? No, there are always things you might want to improve, but when it goes well, there's very little that can compare.

[Franticsmurf]

9 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

I've also found when being a part of a band, or a production, there's a sense of teamwork, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

That sums it up for me too - I've never been part of a sports team but I guess the feeling must be the same.

[Bluewine]

On 09/12/2022 at 19:27, jimmyb625 said:

I'm sure this has come up before, as I think I've answered it. Anyway, I don't mind repeating myself.

I love gigging! In fact, I love every type of live performance, whether that be music, theatre, comedy or whatever. 

I've been involved with theatre and musicals for over 25 years, both on and off stage. During that time, I've also been involved with bands, comedy performers and dance troupes (tech only for the dance, a line needs to be drawn somewhere)

There's an immediacy to live performance that I find addictive. Sure, recording an album is great and it's around forever, but the instant feedback from an audience can't be equalled in my eyes. 

I've also found when being a part of a band, or a production, there's a sense of teamwork, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. You're with a group of people all pulling forward with the goal of making it the best you can.

Is it perfect? No, there are always things you might want to improve, but when it goes well, there's very little that can compare.

 

 

You never really know what's going to happen depending on the circumstances. You usually find out a couple of bars into your first number.

 

Blue

[Dr.Dave]

All I can say is that when I walk into a pub or club with a gig bag on my back I feel like I belong there but if I walk in without I feel like a stranger. I definitely belong on the stage. I'm not comfortable in an audience. Don't know how else to put it.

[peteb]

On 08/12/2022 at 19:06, steantval said:

Our Free tribute band several years ago were offered a spot at the Rhodes Rock festival in Lindos, this event looks very similar.

Unfortunately we had to turn it down, our guitarist was a teacher and this event was in term time and he wasn’t allowed the time off, this was without doubt the biggest gig we were ever offered, but didn’t get to play. ☹️

 

Daft question, bit couldn't you have got a dep for a gig like that?? There are plenty of guys out there who can do a pretty good take on Koss and would have been only too happy to do a high profile gig out in the sun! 

 

[Bluewine]

On 10/12/2022 at 05:06, Franticsmurf said:

That sums it up for me too - I've never been part of a sports team but I guess the feeling must be the same.

 

I was a part of a sports team. I'm the kid on the far right. Me and the guy next to me had already formed a band. 😀

 

Blue

Edited December 13, 2022 by Bluewine

[MacDaddy]

On 07/12/2022 at 00:53, chris_b said:

 

I amended the seconds after I found a calculator that included leap years. . . !!

 

Did you account for leap seconds?

 

https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/leap-seconds-faqs#:~:text=a leap year%3F-,What is a leap second%3F,than the Earth's rotational rate.

 

 

[Franticsmurf]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

I was a part of a sports team.

Great photo - I bet it brings back memories? And is the feeling of playing well and/or winning comparable to a good gig?

[peteb]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:06, Franticsmurf said:

That sums it up for me too - I've never been part of a sports team but I guess the feeling must be the same.

 

Not really! The people who gravitate to being in a band tend to be very different to those who play team sports to any level. Also, performance in sport is generally quite easily quantifiable and it is all about winning and losing. However, music is far more subjective, which leads to a different mindset...