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beginner forum: for novice and developing blues harp players >
First gig--bad experience. :(
First gig--bad experience. :(
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curlycatvaughan
8 posts
Nov 05, 2016
8:35 PM
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Well.
I had my first official gig today. And it went badly. Not because of me. But I'm extremely upset.
The guy I've been taking lessons from teaches at a studio with multiple teachers. A couple of them were going to be playing a set at a library--American music, to coincide with a quilt exhibit they were showing (it's all sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll over here, lemme tell ya)--and asked me to join. It was mostly folk songs, but my teacher and I decided to throw in a blues number (an acoustic Rock Me Baby) since blues is primarily what I've been playing and it counts as Americana.
So we worked on it for a few weeks. We practiced together multiple times and practiced with the others twice. We had a plan. Two verses, a 24-bar solo, two verses, and a 12-bar instrumental and outro. That's how we practiced it from the beginning, including at this morning's practice before the gig. We also reiterated it to everyone verbally. I worked on my solo for weeks, carefully putting together something that showcased the skills I've learned, built in intensity, and sounded cool. I did something slightly different each time, but had some key elements and knew I had 24 bars to work with. I knew it was sounding really good, so I was really excited.
We did the songs before RMB, including a first position tune I played on, and that went fine. Then we started RMB. I'm playing well. Having a lot of fun. Really feeling proud of myself. I get to the solo. First 12 bars go great! Most of my cooler stuff was in the second 12, so I start playing through the turnaround to get up higher and more intense, and... he starts singing again!! He cut off half my solo! I dropped back into doing the stuff I did during the verses, while wondering what in the ---- was going on, and after that verse, he cued me in for another solo! I just kind of noodled around because I had no idea what he was doing or what to expect to happen next, and after 12 bars he sang the last verse and then we ended it. I was so discombobulated that I ended up missing several bends that I can do really well normally (I made one gross noise on a 2 draw bend in particular).
I was so embarrassed. No--not was, AM. No past tense. I can play SO much better than that. And I'm upset that I got thrown so off and it made me play badly after the guy botched it, but I'm also angry that I didn't get to do the really cool part of the solo I worked so hard on. I wanted to have something to be proud of, and to send to my mom (she lives 7 hours away), and to post here for critiques. And this was a REALLY BIG DEAL to me because I haven't performed music in 14 years. The others said no one could tell that things didn't go right, but I don't care--this was for me as much as or more than it was for anyone there listening.
Moral support would be greatly appreciated.
(Ed. for small clarification)
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"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." --Led Zeppelin
Last Edited by curlycatvaughan on Nov 06, 2016 9:01 AM
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Fil
211 posts
Nov 06, 2016
8:41 AM
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I mean this kindly. I think you ought to reread this after a couple of night's sleep and a cocktail hour or two.
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Phil Pennington
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MindTheGap
1863 posts
Nov 06, 2016
3:04 PM
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Sorry to hear that. I know it's frustrating. But people do make mistakes when performing, and part of maturing either individually or as a band is to be able to ride them out. Someone truncating your solo is a pretty common one in my experience!
Obviously it's important to practice and rehearse and try to get things right. But it's also important to be robust so when something goes wrong you can recover.
There's a great video by Cliffy on the MF where his band experience several power cuts mid-performance. They keep right on playing with what is still working, and make light of it with the audience. That's class.
(I think it was Cliffy, I can't find it now).
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Nov 06, 2016 3:09 PM
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Mirco
436 posts
Nov 06, 2016
5:02 PM
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You're in good company. EVERY pro player I've spoken to has had experiences like this. It goes with the territory. I don't mean to minimize your experience, but you'll learn from it.
No matter how much rehearsal, bands can mess stuff up. That can always happen. But you'll develop the skillset to roll with it.
And I'm sure you sounded fine. We always think we sound worse than we do. Get in the habit of recording yourself. If you had that recording, you could listen back to it (in a week or so), and you'd think it wasn't as bad as you originally thought.
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Marc Graci
YouTube Channel
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curlycatvaughan
11 posts
Nov 06, 2016
5:57 PM
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@MTG, thanks.
I did recover quickly--I had hit a higher note (6 blow) that was to be the start of the rest of the solo, realized what was happening, and then ran it back down and fell back into the pattern I was using for the verses, and probably nobody could tell. Years and years of piano and sax made that more or less a reflex. But I felt a bit off afterward, for the duration. Even if nobody else knew I wasn't quite on, I did. I know this stuff happens, I just hate it happened my first time out. The first time was very significant for me.
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"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." --Led Zeppelin
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curlycatvaughan
12 posts
Nov 06, 2016
6:04 PM
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@Mirco, thanks. I got up the nerve to listen to it this afternoon, and it was not as bad as I thought for three reasons:
1) It wasn't actually as bad as I thought,
2) The recording didn't pick up on some of the nuances I know were there, and
3) I ran out of memory partway through and didn't catch the end, which I know was rougher than the rest (I blew it on a couple of bends and the teacher botched his part of the ending as well).
I'm choosing to embrace the "I played pretty well for most of it" part. :)
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"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." --Led Zeppelin
Last Edited by curlycatvaughan on Nov 06, 2016 6:51 PM
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2chops
545 posts
Nov 07, 2016
12:43 PM
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I think we should do a first gig thread. Lots of great stories & lessons to be heard I’m sure.
@Curlycat…I get where you’re coming from. The frustration of having something down solid enough that you’re confident with it. Then having the plan change mid stream w/o your knowing it till it starts to unfold. Or unravel as the case may be. Depends on one’s perception.
As mentioned already, you just have to learn to roll with it. Adam has said in one of his earliest lessons about how the hardest note to play is not the first when in the public arena, but the 2nd. First note is relatively easy. But to commit to the whole song and blow that 2nd note and keep going is tough. Same can be said about gigs. You did the first one. Even with it’s bumps and your not so warm & fuzzy feelings about it, you did it & got it out of the way. Cool. Now, with the memory of this firmly entrenched in your psyche, you need to do a 2nd gig. And the sooner the better. Even if it’s only for 1 song as an invited artist. To me, I think the thrill of having finally done it should override the frustration of the best laid plan having unraveled a tad.
I remember my 1st time on stage. I was only playing for about 4 or 5 months & had 3 songs that I could do well. I wanted to get up to the mic but had no idea how it would come about. Long story short, the head of a local band, Cross Keys Jazz Band, heard me play and asked me to sit in with his group. That night for his annual anniversary party. Big crowd to show up. I had no idea what to expect. Unencumbered by the thought process I said “Sure. What time?” I showed up a few hours later, harps in tow, figuring that I’d stand behind the sax guy and noodle in and out on a few tunes then sit down. Nope. Bill says he wants me right up front in the open gap between the saxman & the keyboardist.
Holy Crap!! I can’t hide out there!
And I think Bill knew it. I was on the spot from the get go. Fortunately, I did have performing experience in other areas and could wing it well enough. I made a TON of flubs. (We are our own worst critiques. Audiences are actually quite accepting & forgiving.) But I also had a lot of bright spots. And those poor saps out in the audience encouraging me on all night long. I was hooked. The sound of the harp through the PA. Having the musical conversation that I had only read about up to that point. And the free food for having been a player, that was a bonus. I learned so much from that 1st time. And the many times after for the year or so that I was a member with this group. Here’s why.
Bill would email us the set list a week before the gig. Two weeks prior if there were more than 2 new songs to play. There were always at least 4 songs on the list that I was unfamiliar with as far as playing them on the harp went. Remember, this was a jazz oriented group. Although I loved listening to jazz, the style was not a comfort zone for me as a player. So I would spend a lot of time on of YouTube learning the songs, and figuring out what I would do with them so as to be a good citizen on stage. Then…
We show up, set up and Bill hands out the revised set list 10 minutes before we open. None of the songs I worked on were on the list. Of the 4 sets, about 1/3 of the list was rearranged. He did this without fail every time. After my first 3 gigs with them, I learned that this was how it went. So I expected it and it wasn’t so bad after then. Through all of this I had a crash course in playing jazz harp, improvisation in the purest sense, growing way beyond my current area of musical repertoire, and had the blessing of getting my ego kicked out of the room on a regular basis. I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world.
So learn from it what you can.
Go do it again ASAP!
Have a good time.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
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