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Katastrophe
February 26th, 2008, 09:00 AM
Okay, I'll throw in a first gig story...

My band at the time got a gig at an open mic night at a club in Austin. We show up and load in at the appointed time. Since it was an open mic, we used the house drums. Our drummer just brought his cowbell (Bruce Dickinson/Chris Walken wasn't present, or we would have made some gold records:D ).

I'd never played in front of people before, so needless to say I was a bit nervous, as in I suddenly forgot what this chunk of wire and wood was strapped around me, and how to use it.

First song hits, and we're doing well. The band is tight, and people are getting into the music. I look over to the other guitar player to my right and see him narrowly avoid getting hit in the eye by a flying drumstick. Our drummer played one handed until he could get another stick, never missing a beat. We get through the second verse and into the chorus, and over the din I hear a loud BOOOOOOOM!. The drummer's cowbell slipped off of it's bracket, and he threw it, slamming it against the metal door, all while playing one handed again.

The rest of the set went well, and all 15 people that were there to watch enjoyed the show. It was a dinky club, with almost nobody there, but by the time we were through, I felt like a god among men. Just a completely awesome experience.

Spudman
February 26th, 2008, 10:31 AM
Where to begin? It's not my first gig (I can't remember that) but it's still a good story.

As a younger man I was touring the USA and Canada constantly. Many of our gigs at that time were in places that the local economy was booming. One such gig was in the oil boom section of Wyoming. I'll spare the name of the place because I don't want any paternity suits.

The start of our 2 week engagement started on a high note. The town was full of mushrooms. See what I mean by "high note." Everyone was in very good spirits, the band and the patrons. The town was very happy to have a good rock band in too because in the last 6 weeks they had what they described as crap bands. So far so good.

Since everything was feeling very positive the phrase "when in Rome" was constantly coming up. So I became a Roman for those two weeks. Every gig was full of smiles from both sides, the band was cooking, the music flowed and there were 0 fights the whole 2 weeks which is highly unusual for an oil boom town. The band was really hot because we'd been touring nonstop for months. We had a large stage with a drum riser built in which was great because we didn't have to use ours and left it in the truck.

At the end of the engagement we pulled the riser out of the truck and got ready to start loading. It was a 28 foot straight truck and we filled it with gear from end to end and to the roof. I was always the loading guy in the truck. I'm spatially adept, remember where everything goes and this was my way of getting a workout by stacking equipment.

Just the band and the bar staff were left at load out time. They were telling us how much fun they had these two weeks, sharing stories and were looking forward to our return. At this time the free booze started to flow and flow it did. Trays of shot samplers were showing up every couple of minutes in the back of the truck delivered by the sweetest looking waitress (grrrrr). I felt energized and happy. Everything was really going well. It was a great feeling to feel appreciated and to have played well those two weeks.

Finally the truck was totally packed. It was chilly outside but I was sweating. It was a good workout.

As we were all standing around behind the truck the wait staff came out and said "Spud, you have been so entertaining these two weeks and have kept us all in stitches. We want to see exactly what kind of a sense of humor you really have." At that moment my whole world went white. Almost 30 cream pies came out of nowhere and covered me. Needless to say I was shocked. Not mad, just shocked. This had never happened to me before and I didn't know how to respond...until...

I hear the bass player ask "hey, are you ready for the drum riser now?" Instantly I found the emotion that had been alluding me - anger. The drum riser had been sitting in the shadows along side the truck and it is THE FIRST item that needed to go onto the truck in order for the pack to work. There is so much equipment that things like this are critical. What to do now?

I'm standing there covered in cream pies and drinking consolation shots wondering how to approach this issue. There was only one solution. The truck had to be partially unpacked then reloaded. Argh!

We got the repack accomplished just fine but by this time all those shots had kicked in. I was warm and hungry so I walked next door to the mini mart to get a burrito. As I walked in the clerk looked at me like I was a robber or something. Strange. I wonder whats up with that dude...until I see my reflection in the cooler doors. I had completely forgotten that I was still covered in whipped cream. If you've ever seen a tripped out, whipped cream covered, sweaty drunk man with a stupid grin on his face then you can imagine exactly what I looked like at that moment.

15 cans of whipped cream $17.85 ----- rock and roll - priceless.

sunvalleylaw
February 26th, 2008, 01:45 PM
Since my first was just last spring, I remember well. From another thread (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=3323):


My guitar instructor had asked if I would play with some of his other students at a local outdoor "Springfest" in a park. I was not sure about it but said yeah, what the heck. He played a base rhythm on his Martin HD-35 (helped hide student mistakes) and handled vocals. I and one other 15 year old (Shecter LP type guitar, I forget the model) played combo rhythm/lead, taking turns playing solos in each song. Two other young guys played a MIM Fender P-Bass and keyboard. My instructor hired a local drummer who plays with several local bands. He practiced with us once a few days prior and was absolutely rock solid.

We prepared a 4 song set including "Peaceful Easy Feeling", "Found Out about You" by Gin Blossoms, "Sultans of Swing" and "Secret Agent Man". That intro line is just fun to play. The three of us were right on on the timing, I think because the two students were following Herr Instrucktor. I was really nervous about my solos except "Secret". Secret and Peaceful I had practiced melody line oriented solos and had practiced a little something sort of tracking the Gin Blossom's solo. Sultans was just a bluesy type noodle. No Knoppfler chickin pick'n for me yet.

It came off pretty well, and my solos were fine. I could have played the Secret solo better (I rushed it for getting my best tone out of my bends on G string), and blew the dismount on an encore of "Peaceful" by playing the final chorus chords in the wrong order. LOL! Overall though, we sounded pretty good for student types. If one was struggling the others filled in.

I had an absolute blast and was smiling up there big time. Now I need to just get used to adding vocals to the mix. We hope to do it one or two more times over the summer. Anyway, just a beginnerish effort and certainly not perfect, but it sure was fun!! :) :D :DR

Sorry, no vid or recording. I was too nervous to have to think about getting that arranged and no one else did either.


The pictures tell the tale.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/P1000194.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/P1000195.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/P1000196.jpg


And then, despite the overwhelming support for this newb getting out there (see link above. Everyone was really nice), the sage advisers here let me know the error of my newbie ways in the "Why Crocs?" thread. ;)


I can't believe you gigged with these shoes!
Crocs are definitely no Blue Suede Shoes! Man, they are ugly as hell especially in green and pink colour!

Sorry, but absolutely no Rock 'N Roll factor.

;)


LOL!!!! I love it!!

Spudman
February 26th, 2008, 01:54 PM
Nice Crocks dude. Those must be comfortable?:munch:

sunvalleylaw
February 26th, 2008, 02:10 PM
Yep, still love 'em. I am glad they sell them at Costco now. Tone, when is your birthday? Mebbe Jimi75 too. ;-)

street music
February 28th, 2008, 07:41 PM
Great stories from all, I hope to someday reach that point. Question for Spudman. How long have you been playing and what do you play?

Spudman
February 28th, 2008, 07:43 PM
Great stories from all, I hope to someday reach that point. Question for Spudman. How long have you been playing and what do you play?

About 33 years. YA I know, I should be better than I am.
I play guitar, bass, sing and write. I'm assuming you are asking about instruments and not genre.

just strum
February 28th, 2008, 07:50 PM
Yep, still love 'em. I am glad they sell them at Costco now. Tone, when is your birthday? Mebbe Jimi75 too. ;-)

Ah yes, the crocs. One of the things I learned at thefret.

street music
February 28th, 2008, 08:06 PM
Spud, that's a lot of talent. By the way what genre do you play?

Ok, I'll ask what the heck is crocs?

Spudman
February 28th, 2008, 08:12 PM
Spud, that's a lot of talent. By the way what genre do you play?

Ok, I'll ask what the heck is crocs?

Simple....loud.:dude: Ok,ok rock, funk, blues, experimental.

Crocks? Uh oh. Since you had to ask you are now required to don the appropriate. You must now venture forth to Costco and procure your very own..plus one pair for Tone.:)

just strum
February 28th, 2008, 08:14 PM
Simple....loud.:dude: Ok,ok rock, funk, blues, experimental.

Crocks? Uh oh. Since you had to ask you are now required to don the appropriate. You must now venture forth to Costco and procure your very own..plus one pair for Tone.:)

Man, you are one hard a$$ judge tonight.

street music
February 28th, 2008, 08:21 PM
Ole man, I walked into that one! SHOES! Do I really have too? I think I can remember my brother wearing those ?????:thwap:
I like your choices of genre.
Maybe I learned something else tonight. The advise I got for my practice sessions has already helped me.

marnold
February 28th, 2008, 08:21 PM
My first "gig" was a performance at our Junior-Senior banquet (think: prom) when I was a senior in high school. We played "Pilot of the Airwaves" (see clip below) and "Wipeout."

neGtkM41rNk

I played bass and sang backup (also bass). I also made witty introductory comments (we called ourselves "Vuja De," the strange feeling that this has never happened before and, chances are, it never will). My sister played piano and sang backup. Two of her classmates sang lead and played drums. One of my classmates played guitar. I was borrowing a Fender p-bass that the school had. The only problem I ran into is that I had never practiced whilst wearing a tux so my coat sleeves were doing some unnecessary muting of strings. It was fun but also nerve-wracking. I didn't have much bass experience. Thankfully I fell back on my years of choir to take care of the vocal part so my brain could focus on playing bass. That summer I bought a bass and played on and off throughout college and sem.

sunvalleylaw
February 28th, 2008, 08:30 PM
Ole man, I walked into that one! SHOES! Do I really have too? I think I can remember my brother wearing those ?????:thwap:
I like your choices of genre.
Maybe I learned something else tonight. The advise I got for my practice sessions has already helped me.


pssst. . . . they are the things on my feet in my gig pics above.

tot_Ou_tard
February 28th, 2008, 08:36 PM
Great stories.

Creamed Spud is classic!!

We need cream pie smilies & LOTS of'em.

just strum
February 28th, 2008, 09:27 PM
pssst. . . . they are the things on my feet in my gig pics above.

"things", good alternate name for them:D

bigoldron
February 28th, 2008, 10:37 PM
"things", good alternate name for them:D

Hey dude! You ought to try a pair. They feel really good. I've been known to rock with 'em on.

At my age (and weight class), it ain't about looks, it's all about comfort. Hence the name "big old ron". :tongue: :munch:

Jimi75
February 29th, 2008, 01:48 AM
Steve, I can't believe I wrote it that way! Thanks for reposting and sorry dude for my harsh comment ;-) But these crocks...man.....you know...

Here's the story of my first gig with my first band. We were invited to support the local metal heroes at that time. This was only because we had hundreds of friends and schoolmates to come to our gig, so these guys thought it would be a good idea to let us do the support so that they could sell their demo.

Our singer lost his voice and because he was to nervous, so we had to give him Japanese oil to regain his voice. The gig was a typical beginners gig. We ran out of songs pretty soon and had to play some of the songs two times. We had an instrumental so that everybody could show his ability :thwap: on the instrument. Our timing was horrific and our drummer only knew the ***** batch rhythm at that time, but in two variations: Slow and fast!

Now here comes the highlight of this evening:
I played so many solos that the guitarist of the other band was totally pissed. My solos were bad but my colleagues from school celebrated my solos like if they were played by Kirk Hammett. Now the other guy felt like he had to prove that he is the best, so he came on stage and wanted a guitar battle. He plugged his Charvel Strat into his Marshall and played in front of my nose. I didn't know what was going on, but the kids were either luaghing or booing at him. I played some silly pentatonic stuff and used my wah wah and the kids were cheering. Now, some 15 years later I ashamed of what was going on their and still feel sorry for that poor guy, because he blew me away with his playing :-)

By the way, this could have also been the second gig, don't know if we played 1 or 2 parties before....but it is definitely a happening of the mid 80's.

tot_Ou_tard
February 29th, 2008, 06:42 AM
Jimi's story brings up some questions:

I assume that there are often ego wars between the guitar players from different bands.

For you road warriors how well did you get along with bands that you shared the bill with?

Ever jam with other guitarists after the show?

Jimi75
February 29th, 2008, 07:10 AM
Jimi's story brings up some questions:

I assume that there are often ego wars between the guitar players from different bands.

For you road warriors how well did you get along with bands that you shared the bill with?

Ever jam with other guitarists after the show?

Never had a problem with other bands. Sure we jammed with otehr bands that we played and toured with. This one guy was really an exception and I do not understand his reaction.

sunvalleylaw
February 29th, 2008, 07:53 AM
Steve, I can't believe I wrote it that way! Thanks for reposting and sorry dude for my harsh comment ;-) But these crocks...man.....you know...



No way Jimi!!! I thought it was totally funny!!! That is why I reposted it!. :D :AOK:

Spudman
February 29th, 2008, 10:02 AM
For you road warriors how well did you get along with bands that you shared the bill with?

Ever jam with other guitarists after the show?

I did a tour to support a record that our singer and other guitarist had put out on the East coast. We worked with different bands some of the tour but there was usually one or two that were constant. We all got along great, respected each other for what they did and at the end of each night who ever had the headline spot allowed the other band's members to join in on an encore or two. Usually it was just singing but a couple of times there was still an extra amph on stage. Usually the previous band removed their back line before the other bands went on.

Other bands that would come see us play or were on the same bill all got along fine. We really supported each other and were friendly. However, when the lights went down we all tried to out do each other.:dude:

I loved playing first and letting other bands go on afterward. While they were playing we would be stealing their women.:AOK:

grungeiceman
February 29th, 2008, 10:20 PM
Ohh god, this wasn't my first gig but it was a fun one, I was playing drums for a band, because there drummer was out of town and I was the only one who could play that was willing, I guess it was a hour before we had to play and a bunch of the musicians were jamming and I was behind the drums and then, two of the guitar players, that were both trying to solo at the same time, began to get a little edgy, and that became a guitar battle, lol it was funny how serious they were, one of them I knew pretty well and he was probably the better of the two but the people started going for the other guy because his band was a little better known, and I was just watching this all from behind the set, when I hear through the mic,"My drummer can play better then you" and I didn't understand what he meant at first and I looked puzzled, then all of a sudden I was being handed a guitar, I was really nervous all of a sudden, I glared at my friend and unwillingly got up there, well I played a bunch of shred stuff I was messing around with which wasn't very impressive, at least I didn't think, I "accidentally" stepped on his guitar cable forcing him to come unplugged and I finished my solo while he was gathering himself, and they wouldn't even let the man play, ahh it was a fun night. No hard feelings either.

t_ross33
March 1st, 2008, 09:37 AM
Jimi's story brings up some questions: For you road warriors how well did you get along with bands that you shared the bill with?

Ever jam with other guitarists after the show?

I've had great experiences with other musicians, and have never ran into big egos. Our gig opening for the Poverty Plainsmen (http://www.thepovertyplainsmen.com) last summer was an awesome experience and they were a great bunch of guys - very supportive and encouraging. Since the gig was in our drummer's hometown, it was "our" crowd and they wanted to do whatever they could to make sure we had a good night. Quite the opposite from what I expected from a major headlining band.

My earliest experiences were playing with my Dad at local jams etc. When he started to do the country music festival "circuit" in the early 80's there was more jamming around campfires and campers then there was on stage. Good times, good times ;) I learned SO much about rhthym, timing and picking up on songs you've never played before from sitting in on those sessions.

just strum
March 1st, 2008, 10:34 AM
Someday I shall post one.

Plank_Spanker
March 1st, 2008, 03:18 PM
A long, long time ago.......................................

Our manager set up three bands to play at a huge skating ring, with three separate stages, PA, lights and all - to shoot promo video. I was using a wireless and before we went on, I noticed another guitar coming through my amp. I found the player in the other band and asked him to please keep his wireless off when we did our set. He basically told me to get bent.

So..............................

I switched to a cord and we played our set, but I could see him trying to play over me with his wireless and laughing. We finished our set and it was their turn up. Genius boy didn't have the grey matter to switch to a cord. I snuck behind their stage when they were up with my wireless and had a great time hammering away at off key gibberish to be heard from his amp. He lost his mind, but never tried to grab a cord.

Payback - Satisfying

The look on his face while he was running around with his hair on fire trying to figure out what to do - Priceless

He didn't say a word to me when we all loaded out..................

Spudman
March 1st, 2008, 07:03 PM
That's a great story Planky. I would have loved to witness that.:rotflmao:

Brian Krashpad
March 3rd, 2008, 08:25 AM
I actually have two stories, since what was supposed to be our first gig kinda didn't happen.

The Atomics was my first band, begun in the Fall of 1980 when I was in my 3rd year of law school. Everyone else in the band was undergrad age or younger (our drummer was about 14 or 15!). We played a bizarre batch of covers that basically just included anything we liked, from hard rock to punk to power pop to new wave.

Our first show was to have been at Lake Wauberg, a receation area for the University of Florida located just south of Gainesville. We agreed to play for free (as was true of almost all our shows) since there would be food and beer at this party hosted by some law school group. After schlepping our PA to the hall, tearing through our soundcheck ending with our deconstruction (most Atomics songs were deconstructions, as we seldom if ever attempted note-for-note covers, and hadn't any keyboards despite that numerous songs we covered did!) of Led Zep's "Rock and Roll," the noise complaints from the rich folks living on the other side of the lake began pouring in.

We were unceremoniously asked to leave, since the "guests" there had all paid a few bucks to get in and we had not. It was not even sugggested that we kick in a few bucks to stay, much less that our efforts in practicing up 4 sets of material and hauling and setting up, and then striking and loading out, our PA and backline might've been worth something. Our drummer, Chad, and our bassist Frank both wanted to commit a little mayhem in return for such shabby treatment, and in retrospect, that's exactly what we should've done. But I prevailed on them to simply eat and drink as much as we could during an extended load-out.

The Atomics' actual debut came a month or so later at another kegger, this time at an apartment complex then called Maracaibo Manor. We played 4 sets, marred only by my vocal mangling of the Records' "Starry Eyes." My brother Kerry and Kerry's friend Mike both sang leads on several songs. People danced and had a good time, and George Tabb [who has subsequently become semi-famous in punk rock circles via his column in the punk zine "MaximumRockNRoll" and his friendship with (and extremely short duration employment as a roadie by) the Ramones] and Bob Fetts of the local punk band Roach Motel slammed to our rendition of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated."

After we ran out of material, George Tabb somewhat sheepishly approached me and asked if Roach Motel could play a set on our equipment. Our bassist Frank, who also played in RM as their drummer, vouched for them so we said OK. They played a short set of 5 or 6 songs including "Burger King Is Dead" and "Brooke Shields Must Die."

Here are some pics of that fateful night!

Me:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/BrianKrashpad/dots.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/BrianKrashpad/slamatom.jpg

Roach Motel playing our gear:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/BrianKrashpad/RM80GeorgeFrankBob.jpg

BK

serries 10
March 3rd, 2008, 01:05 PM
my first gig was a battle of the bands

Brian Krashpad
March 3rd, 2008, 02:34 PM
my first gig was a battle of the bands

And...?

What happened? Where was it? Did you have fun? How old were you? What gear did you use; what songs did you play?

A smidge more detail, por favor.

Plank_Spanker
March 3rd, 2008, 02:43 PM
I played alot of gigs even in my teens..............................I can't remember my very first gig. :D

They all run together after a while....................

tot_Ou_tard
March 3rd, 2008, 06:10 PM
Great stories all!

It's good to know that musicians care about the music. If it were me, I'd be rejuvenated by being able to jam with new people.

Spudman
March 3rd, 2008, 07:20 PM
And then there was the time....

We were playing my birthday in Great Falls Montana in a very nice and big A club. I had a good buzz going by the last set. At this point in the tour most of the material I could put on automatic and still do a decent job, so I partied. It was my birthday after all.

I usually get up on stage after breaks before everyone else does so that I can make sure my guitars are tuned and all my gear is ready to go for the next set. As I got done tuning at my amp with my back to the crowd, I turned around and walked up to the front of the stage to plug into my effects. This was just at the time the rest of the band was coming up on stage after the break.

Each of them wished me a happy birthday...with a cream pie!

I had cream pie all over me, my effects, my monitor, mike stand, guitar and the spot I stood on stage. It's quite a shock when it happens and then the set began so I couldn't go get cleaned up. Good thing I was buzzed. Happy birthday to me.:D