First Gig, Need tips

Zodiak

Member
Hello!

So finally the time for my first gig has come. It's on Monday. The venue is quite a decent club. Approximately 9 more bands are gonna play there as well, so it's kind of like a festival. Some really good bands, some not so good ones, and us :)

Bought a snare drum today, tuned it, sounds really cool. Tomorrow's our last rehearsal before the show. Hopefully we'll have time to play all of our songs (5 + an intro), but since there are many other bands, I'm not sure of this. Bought a hi-hat clutch as well. The drum kit there is: SONOR FORСE 3005 FSH3255 22", 12", 13", 16"

I usually play with just one rack tom, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to remove the other one, so gonna have to cope with two.

So yeah, my first ever gig, OUR first ever gig, in fact. Any ideas? Cause it's not like we're playing in our backyard to a bunch of friends... It's a proper venue. Not many people, of course, because it's Monday, but still...

Thanks :)
 
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As soon as you get on stage you're going to get excited and there's gonna be a lot of adrenaline flowing. Unless you make a conscience effort to stay on time and in tempo with the song, you're gonna speed up - probably a lot.

Thus, the best advice I can offer is to be conscience of this adrenaline and focus on playing the songs like you always do when you're practicing.

Oh, and the stage is not a good place to try out new fills. Trust me, EVERY TIME I try something new onstage I end up regretting it. Stick with what you know.

Hope that helps.
 
If you or someone else in the band makes a major mistake , just laugh it off. Tension between band mates on stage can be felt by everyone at times so just relax, it's not like you're showcasing for a major label or anything. The most important thing is to have fun and don't take it too seriously. A word of advice, unless you're the last band, remove all your gear from the stage before you break it all down so the next band can start setting up. That goes for everyone in the band. Good luck!
 
Oh, and the stage is not a good place to try out new fills. Trust me, EVERY TIME I try something new onstage I end up regretting it. Stick with what you know.

Hope that helps.


I wish I would have read that about a year ago lol

About half way through a new fill I would just cringe.

Can't stress it enough, RELAX and have FUN
 
One of my pet peeves ....

During sound check...don't settle for the mix if you are not happy with it. That's the biggest problem I see when you get somewhere to play and find out there is no stage monitor and you can't hear your lead instrument or singer.

Good luck to all of you and just have fun out there.
 
As others have said, relax and enjoy it. Both you and you're band mates may make mistakes. No big deal. Don't get wrapped around the axle about it.

Embrace the moment!
 
go to the bathroom right before your band starts their set.

and be prepared. bring a drum key, and extra sticks and heads and things like that, anything that might come in handy.
 
make sure you have some water to hand before you hit the first song!

oh and remember that *says this quietly* not everyone in the room will be looking you, the drummer....so take some of the weight of your shoulders if it appears before you hit the stage! that is not a point aimed at your ability just to keep you getting too self conscious. it took me a few freak out moments before i actually realised that its 'generally speaking' the whole ensemble that the punters are taking in and not just the guy at the back...

but lastly, remember you are the coolest member of the band anyway so relax...

ENJOY IT. you WILL be buzzing!!
 
No one in the audiance knows if you make a mistake. So just breathe, realx, and have fun.

Hope it goes well.
 
make sure you have some water to hand before you hit the first song!

oh and remember that *says this quietly* not everyone in the room will be looking you, the drummer....so take some of the weight of your shoulders if it appears before you hit the stage! that is not a point aimed at your ability just to keep you getting too self conscious. it took me a few freak out moments before i actually realised that its 'generally speaking' the whole ensemble that the punters are taking in and not just the guy at the back...

but lastly, remember you are the coolest member of the band anyway so relax...

ENJOY IT. you WILL be buzzing!!

This is truer than you know, yet Tuesday, you will know. I had a girlfriend tell me once, "yeah, yeah yeah you played fine. Nobody was watching you anyway. It's alway the singer and the guitar player" Painful but true.

Play with confidence and relax. Other drummers in the crowd are not like guitar players. We really don't watch other drummers and think bad stuff, we're just jealous.
 
Thank you!!! That was very helpful and inspiring!! We had a great band practice today so I'm totally confident.

One problem, though, is that we usually need about half an hour to really get going, you know, and really play our asses off, at least I do. Meaning the further into band practice we are, the better my playing is. Yet tomorrow all we're gonna have is like 30 minutes... That means it's mandatory for me to warm up and stretch... Can I also have a beer? I'm not saying I'll get totally wasted, just a beer to relax. Cause tomorrow's crazy: one hell of a day at university, then back home to get my gear, then to the club.

I'm also a bit worried about how these festivals are organized. It's a great thing, the club lets you play and it's quite a famous club, but you know how it sometimes is... Might be a bit of a chaos with all the organizational problems and issues... Hopefully all this will go away instantly once we get on stage.

Thanks again and, well, we're gonna rock the roof off anyway, so it's all good.

P.S. It's only me and the singer without any stage experience (well, I played guitar at school on stage, but that's like a totally different thing). The others have tons of experience.
 
One problem, though, is that we usually need about half an hour to really get going, you know, and really play our asses off, at least I do. Meaning the further into band practice we are, the better my playing is. Yet tomorrow all we're gonna have is like 30 minutes... That means it's mandatory for me to warm up and stretch... Can I also have a beer? I'm not saying I'll get totally wasted, just a beer to relax. Cause tomorrow's crazy: one hell of a day at university, then back home to get my gear, then to the club.


one beer is fine

when I play a gig, I usually have a cigarette a little while before my band goes on, it helps me relax (bad I know but it's not like I'm smoking a pack a day I only smoke every now and then)

but don't get wasted before the set that never turns out well
 
All right, guys, thanks a lot again!!! Drummers make up such a great community :) Thanks! This is the last time I'm online until after the gig, so... we're gonna rock and whatnot :) Hopefully no equipment glitches etc., that's what I'm afraid of. I really do need to keep my head down, because I always play our songs a little bit differently, and I might just get crazy enough to try something new out - and of course screw it up :(

P.S. My dad's gonna be there, and he's a huge music fan, so he's gonna spank me if I screw up. Best incentive one can have :)

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the tips, guys... It went... rather well for a first gig. All the organizational stuff I was worried about was actually great. As for our performances, apart from mistakes, of course, our rhythm guitarist's strap unfastened right in the middle of a song, the guitar fell and went out of tune... And they didn't let us play our best song (IMO)... So... You know, it's like first sex: quick, you don't remember anything, but feel really tired. Still, I kind of enjoyed it, it was a great experience nonetheless. There was a band before us: they literally butchered Muse... My heart sunk every time they tried to play one of their songs... And I gave my hi-hat clutch to some guy and never saw it again. Meh, whatever... Twas a good clutch, though. So yeah, thanks for your tips!!! They were really welcome! And... I guess I'm officially a drummer now, aren't I? :))))
 
nosdrovye gigging drummer
 
Haha, great stuff, today a guy from some label or something called me up and offered a gig on the 20th of January))) Just like that))) I'm starting to like this music stuff...

But I *do* need to practice more and I guess stay calmer, cause I did screw up a couple of parts yesterday... Although I compensated for it with some kick-ass bass drum triplets and syncopation, but as someone has said here, no one really gives a damn)))
 
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