First Gig Experiences

[WarPig]

Im still trying to forget it! Infact im not sure whether it was at the Star in Ashford or the 3 Squirrels on Detling Hill, either way i was about 15, had been playing for about 3 months and bodged my way through (most likely) Basket Case - Green Day, Teenage Kicks - Undertones and Smells like Teen Spirit, since they were our only tracks for ages.

[quote name='Protium' post='666701' date='Nov 26 2009, 08:37 PM']My first gig was a covers band in a nightclub. I got smashed on guinness and passed out on a sofa, ended up covered in coats and the rest of the band were going mad trying to find me before our stage slot [/quote]

hahahah nice!

Edited November 26, 2009 by WarPig

[TimR]

First gig must have been in '85, I was 16. I remember we played One Vision, Money For Nothing, a Status Quo Medley, Sunday Bloody Sunday, a long blues jam, Paranoid, She Sells Sanctuary and probably that was it. We had no singer and it was at a friends 16th in his house.

The second gig was the funny one. Again at a house for a party a few months later. By then we had decided to play rock so added The Trooper and a whole host of songs we had written ourselves. We set up and sound checked but no sign of the singer. The room was full of guys a few years older than us waiting to hear some Metal. eventually we got hold of the singer - days before mobile phones - he had to go to his Nan's for tea and couldn't come. We played without him.

Don't ever remember being nervous for a gig.

[steve-soar]

First gig, guitarist, ex Julian Cope, Keyboards- played by a degree level player. Me? I'd been playing for six months and my arse was going, Had to learn 13 songs.
Did it by copying.

In over my head, gulp.

All good now.

Get messy.

[Pentode]

How did my first gig go?

I'll let you know after Thursday night.....

[Jarhead]

Couple of years ago now, I was 14, my first band K.O.D, a set comprising mainly originals with a few covers thrown in, Hello Tomorrow- Zebrahead, that sort of thing. Was all right, reasonable crowd considering that it was a school concert. By no means my best one, but not the worst either.

Zach

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='666105' date='Nov 26 2009, 12:03 PM']And you got more luck as a bass player?[/quote]
No. Two bad life choices. Note to self; take up lead guitar.

[NickH]

[quote name='Pentode' post='667375' date='Nov 27 2009, 02:04 PM']How did my first gig go?

I'll let you know after Thursday night..... [/quote]

Go on then, full report!

[quote]No. Two bad life choices. Note to self; take up lead guitar.[/quote]

Get out!

[Cat Burrito]

22nd December 1989. I was 16yrs old at school and we were the, ahem, band in the sixth form production of Cinderella! On the plus side we had an audience of 700 kids who had to be there. We were awful. I broke the strap to my, ahem, blitz boot and did the gig barefoot which was hotly debated for a long time afterwards. However we got to play school assembly 9 months later and became heart throbs to all the girls in the years below for a good 3wks until the school Rugby team won a match and we became yesterday's chip wrappers. Crazy days!

[Mr Fudge]

1986 aged 17. 23 years later we are still playing every week.

[William James Easton]

aged 14/15. church hall, 3 people in the 'crowd', one of them was called Peter, he turned to be a fiddler of kids. Fact.

[ivansc]

1954. There is a church hall nearly opposite Edgeware Underground station with the word "truth" over the door only it is spelt TRVTH.
We did a jewish wedding reception in there.
Big fat old lady grabbed my guitar after the first set, claiming she was a great guitar player.
Proceeded to tune my guitar up..and up and up and up until a string broke.

But we did get ten shillings CASH between the five of us!

[benebass]

1990 (I think) - must have been about 17 & had just started playing. My mate played guitar in a punk band that already had a bass player, but they told me they wanted to try something different & have two bass players to do a rhythm/lead thing. Sounded great to me (I was well into Joy Division & Peter Hook's lead bass thing at the time), so I was in.

They had a gig booked in a couple of weeks & they wanted me to join them, so I only had a single rehearsal (& a dodgy tape of a gig) to learn the set. Turned up at the studio & was told the other bass player couldn't make it, but we did the set anyway - it went OK & despite being REALLY nervous, was looking forward to the gig.

On the day of the gig we all turned up & the other bass player was in a right huff - didn't know why though. We set up & sorted out our tuning then went off for a pint. When it was time to play, I went on stage, put the bass on...and it was COMPLETELY out of tune. I'd been sabotaged!

Managed to sort of tune up by ear during the first song (it was in E!) & then turned round - the other bass player was stood there looking pretty smug & had obviously been responsible. I was furious, but thought I'd keep playing & try not to let it show. However, justice came a couple of minutes later - his bass completely cut out! We didn't have any spare stuff with us, so it meant I had to do the majority of the gig without him. He managed to borrow a really horrible pointy Flying V copy off another bass player on the bill & came on for the end of the set, but his mates stood in front of him heckling him with his 'Rock God' bass - what goes around comes around, eh!?!

Found out later that the rest of the band were trying to get him to leave, but it was his band - they thought bringing in a new bass player would do the trick. It did - the band folded for good after that gig!

Cheers,

B.

[thepurpleblob]

I did my first gig on the bass about 6 years ago. It was one of those multi-band charity gigs in a local pub. We play about 6 songs, nailed them all, nobody would believe it was my first ever gig and I had a great night. Unfortunately, hundreds of gigs later, it's never gone as well as that since. I'm still here I suppose

[LukeFRC]

First ever playing in front of anyone was about 6 months into trying to teach myself, in front of 80 or so folk at church. Scary as you cant be rock and roll and mess it up! And my mum and dad were visiting me at uni so were there. root notes all the way!

Me and a friend had been inspired by the franz ferdinand homecoming christmas gig and he support band the Fireengines. We decided to form a artschool punk band, all attitude and no skill.
It actually turned out I could play and so could she so we formed a 6 piece electro pop band (toy keyboard being the main instrument) and got a support slot at a gig at our uni bar, 'the Wee Red', we packed it out with our friends and played our 6 songs. Cheering afterwards our singer decided we should play another, we didnt have another but seeing that our first song was called 'Hi!' we did a song called "Bye!". It was fun.

[clauster]

A pub in Nottingham (the Narrow Boat?) in 1989. Frantic, quick set, good fun.

[Apex]

Too many years and too many 'first gigs' to remember! Teenage 'band' was a folk trio - 2 guys on guitars and a girl singer. We did a couple of songs here then a few songs there, then a short set - kinda drifted into it.

However, because of that I got asked to dep rhythm guitar in the school 'rock' band. First outing (of two!), in some mining village NE of Sheffield, and the evening gets broken up by a gang of skinheads, bent on mayhem. The police are probably still looking for me for using my axe as a cricket bat to defend the stage. Or at least, they would be if I did that today!!

Defence lasted all of 15 seconds before we legged it out the back...

Never had [i]that[/i] in a folk club!

[allighatt0r]

18 - I had attended two or three practices and was rather non-chalant about the whole thing.

Highlight of the gig was the singer introducing me as the bass player playing his first ever gig, and his name is Bryan. To which someone shouted "He's not the messiah he's a very naughty boy", "I'm Bryan and so is my wife!" etc. etc.

Great fun. I had been playing in the front room along to CDs for a couple of years by then, but still managed to mess up most songs. The crowd also demanded a bass solo, which was absolutely awful.

[Funkmaster]

I played a gig on the day I got my first bass guitar!

It was disasterous (but I think it cured me of performance nerves right from the outset!).

I was 15.

I'd been pursuaded to become a bassist by the band that was in my year at school (back in those days every year had it's own band!) I could play the piano a bit and had been playing guitars round mates houses for a few months.

That Saturday afternoon they took me to Leeds and I spent £19.50 on a horrible short scale Jedson bass. On the bus back home they said 'Oh by the way we've got a gig tonight!'

The guitar came out on the bus and by the time I got home I could play 'Sunshine of your love' And a 12 bar progression. I think by the time the gig came I could do four songs so the 12 bar jam we played lasted some time.

The gig was at the house of another school mate - an old victorian pile that had a small wharehouse out the back that he'd converted into his own little nightclub!

The first gig was crap and I threw up before it but it was a particularly good summer after that!