I still love playing live after 34 years of it and thousands of gigs.

Re: people who come up to talk to you. There are two types: the good ones who walk up, say they enjoyed it , shake your hand and walk away - and the bad ones who say something and then just stand there repeating it or sometimes uttering the dreaded sentence: 'Of course I used to be in a band'. You know you are in trouble then and will never get to the bar in the break.

We used to operate a system that if this was happening we would touch our earlobes (to denote we were being 'earholed' as we call it) and another band member would come up and say he desperately needed you to look at his amp or whatever. It works well.

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

estreet
...

We used to operate a system that if this was happening we would touch our earlobes (to denote we were being 'earholed' as we call it) and another band member would come up and say he desperately needed you to look at his amp or whatever. It works well.

Great tip, I like it, nobody gets their nose out of joint, filed under useful tips - #SG101-24

As for the subject on hand, here's my 2c.

I remember getting worked up into knots and literally making myself sick before a show, thinking about this that or the other. I worried that I was going to be able to keep an end up so to speak, I worried that the people listening/watching didn't throw stuff at us or break anything (pub brawl) I worried that I might break a string, I worried that the amp would blow up, all sorts of weird and wonderful crap even down to 'was my fly open' during a song because some of those people out there had strange grins on their faces while looking at me etc etc etc.

Then I just sort of stopped worrying about things I couldn't control and it just started to fade away, then and now I get a hell of a kick playing in front of people as the feedback you get off a crowd is unbeatable.

I also used to think of rehearsals as like training for a football match and the gig was the match/game.

Remember the first rule of music - enjoy it!

DannySnyder
Re: your audience coming up after the show. A lesson many of us learn in life as we get older is that compliments are mostly about the person giving them, not the person receiving them. They're not doing you a favor complimenting you, you're doing them the favor of allowing them to talk to you. Understand? That's why people always say good things no matter how much you suck. Because they like the feeling of saying something nice to someone who does what they wish they could do, or they can do it and empathize with you.

The compliments to take seriously are the unsolicited ones from your peers (like here on SG101).

Danny -- are you going to tell the story of your "supporter" at the last show you did at Thee Parkside?? I didn't even play that night, and I still felt like I needed to get outta there.

I personally LOVE playing live. If it were up to me, I'd play out every night of the week and twice on weekends. I save all my shyness for when I talk to the ladies, I suppose. It helps that I've been performing in some manner or another for fifteen or twenty years now. If you treat every rehearsal like you're onstage, thigns can really get a lot easier. I feel somewhat bad after a lot of Lava Rat practices, since no one else was there to witness it. Some of the best performances we've ever had have been to the tools in my garage. At least they didn't come up to talk to me after we were done.

~B~

I'm just the opposite. I'm completely comfortable onstage but can't stand to be in a a crowd of people watching something. I enjoy playing too much to be nervous. I don't recall ever having stage fright. I've worked as a stand up comic and that's a lot more nerve wracking. The key is preperation. Until you're comfortable from having the experience about the best thing you can do is be well rehearsed. Know your parts so that you are able to perform any time, anywhere.

There is Surf east of Sepulveda.

Playing live is a highly addictive drug. After a few years, it might get into your blood. Then you're in trouble

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

Playing live I think is one of those things you either like, or don't like. While you can get "used" to it, ultimately, playing on stage behind your instrument is one thing, socializing during set breaks is another.

I know a lot will say it's supposed to be "fun" but it's quite hard to envision that if you've got butterflies the size of elephants to deal with. Public speaking and karaoke are supposed to be "fun" too, but it depends on your definition of fun...

Our bassist was always nervous on stage, but a good socializer on breaks. Til he started to worry about the next set...:-) The drummer was always a nervous sort, the two of us that played guitar didn't really care one way or the other. I usually ended up the front man, being the extrovert and all.

However, I've never wanted to be in the spotlight. It was just a job to get done, and I seemed to be the only one comfortable doing it. Probably a confidence factor in there somewhere or simply not smart enough to be scared.

You'll have to find a way to deal with all the situations so that you're not outside your own comfort zone. The "earhole" advice was good too, we used to do something similar at gigs.

But I did find that live gigs are nothing to TV gigs. TV was nerve jangling. It's not "pre-recorded", it's live, there always seems like it's on the verge of chaos around you, people talk in a strange lingo, cameras are everywhere and if you screw up, well, there's more than 100 people who are likely to notice. Unless you find the groove in a big hurry, you're liable to concentrating so hard, you will make a mistake. Carry on like it was supposed to happen...:-)

Although, playing on TV still beats playing in the clubs with the chicken wire in front of the stage protecting you from flying debris...

Mel

Luke

Thanks for bringing up the subject - I've really enjoyed reading all the responses a lot. I've played live on and off for about 25 years and I -still- get nervous . For my two cents worth, personally,it's something about the balance of taking the music seriously but not yourself too seriously. I say- keep playing!

Tim O
oestmann guitar

tunes

clips

MrReverb63_
The compliments to take seriously are the unsolicited ones from your peers (like here on SG101).

hey mann we meant every word we've said!!

Zanti, you are a peer - relax. I am truly flattered by you and your band mates support and compliments.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

no. no. liked it ok in my time but did not enjoy the socializing with the listeners. do the gig well and not play high or drunk cuz you don't get buzzed at work do you? pack up and scoot, no hanging around. just didn't have much to say to anyone, didn't like compliments from non players but i did enjoy comments from the other players from the other bands. was really into it for the fun of it i guess.

Klas
Try to get drunk next time. Of all the shows I played in the Daytonas, I only had to be sober at maybe five of them. The more drunk, the more fun you'll have.

That's what worked for me in the Toga Kings (my frat rock band). I wasn't nervous at all with them, but then again, the organ parts I was playing weren't that difficult. The most nervous I got was with my band before that, Drive Car Girl (which was kind of an REM/10,000 Maniacs/Belle & Sebastian kinda band....don't laugh!) - we play coffeehouse shows and man, you had to pay a lot of attention to what you were playing - mistakes really stood out. Plus you, and the crowd, weren't drinking.

What really amazed me, with all of the shows I did, was how fast time flies when you're on stage. It didn't matter if we were playing for 20 minutes or an hour - it all just whizzed by. By the time our set was over I was still prepared to go longer (wasn't usually an option though - I've never been in a band that had more than 15 songs in their repertoire!).

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #38 w/17 Song CD