Oh Boy!!

[marshmellomann]

Guys tonight was my first gig. i was so excited but when i got up ther in front of everyone i forgot my lines and got butterflys in my stomach. it was at church. i feel pretty good about it. everyone told me how good i did but i told them that i was just doin my job. well i dono why i started this thread i justed wanted to ask you guys if the butterfly thng in your stomach goes away after a gew monthes weeks years. but then do u ever get the feeling when ur done and its all over your butterflys are gone and u just wanna play some more. yea so

[midopa]

Congrats on your first gig. I've never had a "gig". My praise team hardly practices and we do all our playing on the whim so I'm kinda used to that situation. Sounds like you did a good job. Continue to rock, fellow bassist!

[marshmellomann]

thanx alot man and we will be sure to keep rockin

[SGMan88]

Congrats on a gig-well-done marshmello

[Aussie Mark]

Some people never get over pre gig nerves. In fact some people thrive on those nerves to perform well. If you're confident in your ability and the ability of your on stage comrades, there's no reason to get nerves, but as I said, some people "need" to be nervous to play well. For instance, my ex wife is an exceptional singer/songwriter and performer, yet was often physically sick before a performance, but this didn't adversely effect her performance in any way. On the other hand, I'm always relaxed before a gig, since I'm very confident and have played enough gigs over the years to understand that even if I stuff up that 95% of people in the audience won't notice anyway. Really, the only people in the audience who will notice a missed note or wrong chord are other musicians (unless it's a major f-up), so there's nothing to be nervous about. Having said that, I'm often a little stressed before gigs because I also own and set up the PA for the band, and depending on venues there are often little dramas to deal with immediately before a gig, or its all a bit of a hurry, but once the first song starts I completely relax and get in the groove.

[midopa]

Plus you drink da beer to loosen up, ya?

[Nick2]

The butterflys are all part of the excitement!

[Dees]

I've always got nerves before a gig (we haven't gigged that much), but just before a gig, a run through everything (is everything connected? tuned?,...) than I relax, take some beers (not too much, I don't like the idea of getting half-drunk on-stage or realising that after the 3rd song I have to go to the toilet)

luckily, everything turns out just fine and my nerves are gone after the first song

[spectorbassguy]

Originally posted by marshmellomann
Guys tonight was my first gig. i was so excited but when i got up ther in front of everyone i forgot my lines and got butterflys in my stomach. it was at church. i feel pretty good about it. everyone told me how good i did but i told them that i was just doin my job. well i dono why i started this thread i justed wanted to ask you guys if the butterfly thng in your stomach goes away after a gew monthes weeks years. but then do u ever get the feeling when ur done and its all over your butterflys are gone and u just wanna play some more. yea so

First gigs are always tough. I really used to have the butterfly problem on a regular basis until my wife and pastor encouraged me to look inside myself and determine why I am playing.

Is it for:
A) Myself?
B) Recognition?
C) God?

When I finally gave it up to God, the outcome is far better than ever before. Our whole worship team is responsible for leading the congregation into an atmosphere of worship. The players you see messing up quite often usually have made it about themselves.

My advice: Relax and know that if your heart is purely playing for the Lord, He will be pleased no matter how it sounds. And pray for His hands to guide your playing - it really helps!

[bovinehost]

Now see, I looked inside myself to see who I was playing for, and it turned out to be Madeline Stowe.

[marshmellomann]

HAHAHA bovine your a funny guy

[Kennyhoe]

Just go up there and giv'er.

[Bassplyr]

The better you know your bass lines , the less nervous you'll be.
Plus, by just playing in public more will ease your nervousness.
Keep rockin' my friend.

[Psychicpet]

I usually always have some sense of noerves before I play, not really nervousness like "am i gonna screw this up" but more excitement nerves..... and a bit of "am I gonna screw this up".. There are some technical nerves that do come into play even in Worship settings, I totally hear what you're saying Spector and agree and at the same time even when our head is in check there still is the matter of sometimes playing to loops or click or extra tracks and that does add a bit of stress but like everyone here has already said, the more practiced up you are the more confident you'll fell but pre-show jitters are great!! Just hold on to them and go "Doooooood!!! I'm getting to actually play this thing outside of my bedroom!!!!! Coooooool!!!!!"

and heres to many more gigs!!

ps. a couple of Worship Leaders that I play still get a bit nervous before they get up in front of any sized audience.... it's a pretty normal thing.

[Psychicpet]

AND.... the benefit to Bar gigs over Church gigs is that in a Bar when you do play a really good set and things are really cookin' you get atleast 2-3 more sets to keep it going where as in Church I've played some mornings where it's awesome and we're in a great groove but the hour is up and we gotts shut it down unless people are really being moved then we'll go for a bit more