Newbie is going to play his first gig next weekend, help!

There is no perfect recipe, but here are some suggestions:

1. Are looks important? We play heavy rock music. What should we wear? T-shirt and jeans, unless you're at a bookstore. Nothing rude until you're famous.

2. How should we start the gig? Should we present ourselves or start playing right away? "Good evening, and welcome. We're the Newbies, and we hope you like our music." And then play a song that is upbeat and that you play well.

3. Should we tell the song title before playing? Sometimes before, sometimes after. Mix it up, but don't talk too much.

4. What if something goes wrong during playing, should we stop playing or continue anyways? Depends on when (early or late in the song) and how bad (miss a chord change, or everyone on the wrong beat). What ever happens, smile and shrug and move on. Read the "Bad Gig" thread.

5. What shall we do about the stress from having lots of people watching us? Is it ok to have a drink or two? What about cold drinks, could they affect your voice quality? Everyone reacts differently to stress. Do whatever works for you, but don't over do it.

6. One thing I noticed in other gigs is that people like to clap their hands to the rhythym, that's nice and all but the problem is that they often clap their hands to the wrong tempo. I find that disturbing. Is there something at all that can be done about that? Nope. If they're clapping, then they like your music. If they are off tempo, then they are not musical, but they still like your music. This is good.

7. What about improvisation? Is it ok to play some extra bars of the same riff with some cool techniques or you should only play what you have rehersed? Improv is not the same as random. Agree which songs are open to extended solos, and also determine some signalling so that everyone knows when it's time to get out.

8. One question about mixing, what should sound louder, my voice, my guitar, my friends bass, or the drums? Listen to CDs. Usually the vocal is the loudest/clearest, with the rest of the band well balanced. Usually a soloing guitar is treated like a vocal.

9. How to end the gig? Do you just say thanks for coming or how do you usually end your gig? "We're about to play our last song. We want to thank our hosts (name the place) and thank you all for coming. We hope you had fun." Then play your last song, and choose a good one.

Be sure to have fun!

I was going to add a couple of comments, but Laz just about covered everything.....great advice there!

A little self-deprecating humour goes a long way - "Hi you won't have heard of us, you might recognise a couple of riffs we've pinched" - that sort of thing, but don't overdo it and tell them you're rubbish. Status Quo - one of the biggest selling bands ever in the UK - were booked into a progressive rock festival in their early days. Quo played mostly 12-bar blues and boogie - the singer introduced them by saying something along the lines of "ELLO! You won't like us, we're loud and we've had hit singles.....but you've paid your money, so you may as well have a listen. After four - 4!"

A few years later they opened Live Aid at Wembley......

Good luck, and don't forget the after-gig report.....

:D :D :D

Vic

Be confidante, and have a good time.

6. One thing I noticed in other gigs is that people like to clap their hands to the rhythym, that's nice and all but the problem is that they often clap their hands to the wrong tempo. I find that disturbing. Is there something at all that can be done about that?
You could ask one of you friends (or some of them) to start clapping on the right tempo to get it going :D

1. Remind the audience that the service staff is working very hard for them and that they should be generously rewarded with sizable gratuities .
2. Act like you're having fun , which shouldn't be a problem because you are ! Don't be afraid to inject a little personality between songs : jokes , banter with band members or the audience , etc. You are there to entertain .
3. Be prepared for the occasional mishap : broken string , dropped drumstick , dropped guitar pick (if you use one) . A spare guitar (properly tuned of course) on standby can be a lifesaver .
4. Prepare a songlist for everyone who needs one , which would include the sound engineer . Lengthy pauses between numbers while communicating (or miscommunicating) what song is next are awkward . Stages at clubs can be noisy places .

Be as prepared as possible. Bring extra strings, cables, extension cords, etcetera. You cannot be too prepared. It seems like there's always something that comes up. Like at our last gig we blew the power breaker 3x in 3 minutes. A trusty 100' extension cable in my trunk did the job.

Thank you so much for all your tips and support.

I'm looking forward to this gig. I already began telling my friends about it!

I'm planning to begin playing at around 11pm.

How many hours earlier do you usually do the sound check?

I'm going to put some new guitar strings on the day before the show. Is that a good idea?

I have 4 guitar pedals. Where should I position them? Close to the mic stand? In front of it ? At the left or right side?

Thanks again.

Bye!

One thing that you should always carry in your gear bag is a circuit tester.
First thing you should always unpack is the circuit tester
First thing you should always use is the circuit tester.

Don't change stings the night before the gig. They will not be properly stretched and likely will stretch and go out of tune the day of the gig. Change them a minimum 3 days before a gig. I generally do it a week before so the strings have stretched out and stay in tune.

Put the pedals in front of you in line with the mic. Are you playing with a whole band or solo? If a whole band the soundcheck will take some time. If just you not long at all. If another band is not playing around 10pm do your soundcheck then.

Don't change stings the night before the gig. They will not be properly stretched and likely will stretch and go out of tune the day of the gig.

Ya, made that mistake once. I was playing for a Walk-A-Thong... or maybe it was a Walk-A-Thon for cancer and changed my strings the day before, I tell you what that was a big mistake. Can you say out of tune..... :roll:

Great advice given by Laz. Smart answers to smart questions. I am bookmarking this thread, even though its highly unlikely for me to play a gig ever.

Good Luck, Grunger. Don't forget to keep us updated by posting your gig report.

Rahul