What do you guys do to get rid of the nervousness?
Two beers. only kidding Just trust in yourself that you are capable of putting on a great show and know that your music rocks! If you don't believe those things then practice a little more.
YOU'RE MY HERO ! I HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE COURAGE DO DO ONE YET>>>>STEVE
Central New Jersey Intermediate Gutair player
into acoustic style blues etc. Looking for someone to jam with.
Steve
Open mics are nothing to be afraid of. Everyone is there to have fun. I have been to many open mics and even ran one for two years. Everyone is always happy to see a new face, variety is the spice of life. Nobody is there to judge you.
Here is a good site to check for open mics in your area. I was just on this site myself tonight. I have been itching to get back to one for some time, my problem is finding one in my area on a Friday or Saturday, the only good nights for me. But check it out by Zip Code.
Just take your guitar and small amp down. You will have a blast. :wink:
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
There's one that I go to, and one night there was a girl there playing who hadn't played in front of people before. She was good, doing well and I didn't realise it was her first time - she seemed perfectly comfortable. Then about half-way through the second song she missed a chord and just stopped. She went bright red and kept apologising, and explained it was her first one. Various random people from the audience, mostly new faces as well, were shouting out "don't worry", "relax", "you'e doing great" etc. It was really nice to see her getting support and encouragement from strangers, but the point is this: If she hadn't have stopped and explained, I'd never have known it was the first time she'd done it - she was doing just great and had no reason to worry.
Now all I've got to do is follow my own advice and get up there myself :) (3 weeks time, provisionally :shock: )
One thing that i've noticed playing in front of people is that 95% of your mistakes go unnoticed by the audience. That always helps me to relax. If you just remember that fact, then you really don't have anything to worry about. Even if they do notice the mistake, it's really no big deal.
The one thing that still gets me nervous, though, is set-up. After all of the equipment is working, I am able to settle down. But until then it's, "I hope the PA works tonight..."
