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I'll never have another first gig!

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(@jimsea789)
Posts: 7
Active Member
Topic starter
 

It's hard to explain the combination of sheer terror, absolute panic, pure fun, and then blessed relief that follows the first gig, but I'll try. I was asked if I would lead a sing-a-long for a Down Syndrome Association conference. Now, I've only been playing for a couple of years and my voice is somewhat suspect, but my wife sings beautifully, so I recruited her to help out. At first, I was told it would be for about 45 minutes, but then the times changed and I was told that I needed to lead the kids in singing for 90 minutes! That's a lot of singing.
When the crowd assembled my wife decided that they would need a lot more "hands on" help to get them up and singing, so she went out to "work the crowd." Which left me all alone in front of the mic. This sent me into panic mode pretty quickly. The last time I sang in front of kids was when I was a new dad and I launched into my first lullabye and my daughter whispers to her little brother, "If you just pretend you're asleep, he'll stop." So, needless to say, I'm a little self-conscious about my singing. Anyway, I launched into a tried a true favorite, "Puff the Magic Dragon." It went great - the kids sang out, I wasn't so nervous, my singing was maybe a little flat, but passable. So emboldened, I went right into "Oh Susanna" Now, I've played this song a hundred times. I know the chords, I know the lyrics, but for the life of me I couldn't come up with the melody. Has this ever happened to anyone else? As I strummed the intro I stared in disbelief at my strumming hand. What was coming out sounded nothing like the song! I didn't know what to do so I just started singing and hoped that eventually my right hand would catch up with my voice. It did - but that got me into worrying - what if that happens on every song?! With my mind wandering I made several more mistakes - but I quickly realised that if you just play through the goofs, most people don't notice them.
Low-lights: A few songs fell completely flat with my wife in back frantically making the "cut it quick" sign.
Highlights: Chubby Checker's "Limbo Rock" - Easy chords, fun to play and the kids had a blast going under the limbo bar in ever more complicated ways - lots of fun, lots of laughter. I played it for about 25 minutes before my fingers started cramping up and I had to quit. That defintely made it worth it!
When asked about what events they wanted at next year's conference, the kids said they wanted "The Guitar Man" again. Imagine that - I was being called "The Guitar Man!" That was cool!
I was lucky - my first gig was in front of a very forgiving audience. Maybe next time I'll try a real "open mic" in front of paying customers. We'll see....
Thanks for letting ramble.
Jim

 
Posted : 15/04/2007 2:37 pm
 Taso
(@taso)
Posts: 2811
Famed Member
 

:lol:

Very cool Jim. Your own kids sound awesome, "If you pretend you're asleep he'll stop" hahaha.

Anyways, glad it went somewhat well, the first is always the hardest eh?

Thanks for sharing, Guitar Man.

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/

 
Posted : 15/04/2007 3:00 pm
(@causnorign)
Posts: 554
Honorable Member
 

Way to go, Guitarman.

 
Posted : 15/04/2007 4:37 pm
(@elecktrablue)
Posts: 4338
Famed Member
 

:D Very cool! :D

"Who draws the crowd and plays so loud,
Baby, its the guitar man.
Who's gonna steal the show, you know
Baby, its the guitar man...." - Bread

(Now I'm going to have that song playing in my head all day long! :D )

..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-

"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"

 
Posted : 15/04/2007 5:20 pm
(@dogsbody)
Posts: 715
Prominent Member
 

Good on you Jim,

The experience you had with your playing is oh so familiar, especially the "Oh Susanna". I had the same trouble with "You Ain't Going Nowhere" during my second open mic experience. See my posts on "I Will Return".

Bet you can't wait to repeat the experiece!

Well done again Jim.

Chris

The guitar is all right John but you'll never make a living out of it! (John Lennon's Aunt Mimi)

 
Posted : 22/04/2007 3:12 pm
(@wes-inman)
Posts: 5582
Illustrious Member
 

Congrats and great story Jim.

Sounds like you did just fine. It will get easier and easier the more you do it. Hit a few of those Open Mics to practice up for your next gig.

Always remember, the object is to Have Fun. :D

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis

 
Posted : 25/04/2007 8:44 pm
(@rocker)
Posts: 1128
Noble Member
 

you know what you did? you made alot of kids happy, great job, way to go and i salute you 8)

even god loves rock-n-roll

 
Posted : 26/04/2007 2:50 am
 pbee
(@pbee)
Posts: 2096
Noble Member
 

Well done Jim,
your over the hardest part, getting up there the first time is always hard. I think a few open mikes is a great idea and you will find that each time you get up there, its easier. Even making mistakes up there won't seem so bad.

cheers

Paul


Check out my Reverbnation page here

 
Posted : 26/04/2007 6:20 pm