First song performed live

[pack-rat]

What was your first song you performed live ?
How did you feel before, during, and after ?
If you haven't played live what song would you like to perform and why ?

My first song was with the high school band. The school had a jazz band and teacher asked if I wanted to join. He found out somehow. I was the only guitarist the rest was all horns and precusion.
We played Booker T's Green Onions and Toto's Africa.
We practiced so much I didn't think I'd be nervous.
I wasn't until we walked out on the stage. I sat down so I blended in with the rest of the band - fine by me.
After we started it was cool when I did the solos in the songs I felt everyone looking at me. That was when I was the most nervous! I was glad I had the music in front of me, but it was a strange feeling.
After I was just releived. My close friends and my parents said I was great and I had kids coming up to me on Monday saying I was great even though I thought I was just ok.
I think the best feeling was on Monday when I had kids I didn't know coming up to me.
Anyone else want to share?

 

[OrangeChannel]

My very first "show" consisted of my attempting to play a Dukes of Hazzard plastic guitar for my family when i was like 6 or 7, I remember it well, it was a christmas gift, had nylon strings, didn't intonate at all, and was untuneable. POS! Horrible too. Sounded terrible and I was jumping around thinking that's how the rockstars that my older cousin listened to did it.

My first proper show came in 9th grade, we had a Jazz ensemble as well as a Rock ensemble. We played Metallica's Enter Sandman at the Winter Concert. Pretty funny actually. same syndrome kids coming up to me the followng day.

I think I got more popularity off the Jazz ensemble because that's the one that traveled. We did some festival when I was a senior in high school and I'd won an outstanding solist award and had it presented by a guy that played with Miles. It was pretty cool. I ripped some blues on Sweet Home Chicago with an Ibanez that had DiMarzios and sharkteeth I think it was a RG750. Funny as all hell really. Most of the Jazz kids were the classical kids too and they were afraid, very afraid.

 

[musikarero]

"Smoke on The Water"....it really wasn't live though but rather on an old silvertone played with one finger for a cute little girl up the street...

 

[Jimi D]

April Wine's Coulda Been a Lady followed by the Who, Pinball Wizard and BTO, Takin' Care of Business... I was a sloppy rhythm guitarist but I'd lucked into a slot with a ridiculously talented group of guys. The guy playing Lead guitar had talent and could really sing, and the drummer and bassist/keyboardist were natural musicians from really musical families. Anyway, we had our gear set up in the music room of our middle school where we were going to rehearse accompanying the Choir on some Hair tunes, but we went in early before school started to "practice", thinking they couldn't very well expect us to just leave our instruments there and play only when and what they wanted... We attracted a crowd of maybe 60 or 70 kids from school and our music teacher walked in right in the middle of Taking Care of Business and threw a complete $hit fit and kicked us all out of school right there (our sentence was later reduced to a day's suspension, and no guitars at school ) But we were a hit; we were playing a Friday evening "youth dance" at a local rec hall shortly after that; we only had enough material for about 2/3rds of a set and just played it over and over again. And there were GIRLS!! What more could a 15 year old rockstar-wannabe ask for outta life!

 

[jongitarz]

My first live gig was my band playing for our 6th grade graduation. This was quite some time ago, and it was a different world back then(1966) We had to submit lyrics to all of the songs we were going to play, and they said we couldn't play The Stones "Satisfaction" because it had the line..well he can't be a man cuz he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me" So guess what we opened with? Yep..Satisfaction! We were invited the next year to play for the graduating class, so I guess they weren't too pissed.

 

[lock-ny]

It was gimme some lovin, played it on my red kramer in a jr high talent show type of thing, we had a keyboardist who loved winwood and the singer was terrible but he had a lot of guts, at least I thought at the time. The band was all 9th graders and I was in 8th grade and I had my guitar techer teach it to me so I could pull off the gig, funny thing is for some reason I was thinking about it today when my girlfriend asked me when I really got into the guitar, she must be psychic of something...lol anyway I was scared like ive never been in my life, but I loved it and I felt like a rock star afterwards for sure!

 

[skabassist13]

ive had two first shows, one was when iw as in orchestra playing a standup bass, that was a trip, i was scared as hell. parents, kids, director all there watching, and to make it worse, the chick that liked(which is now my girlfriend) was sittting next to me kicking my ass at the bass line. the second first gig was with my electric bass in a raw ska band. it went ratehr well and i wasnt that scared, and i had that same chikc from the orchestra gig watching me(i was going out with her at the time).
Travis

 

[puppiesonacid]

TOM SAYWER !!!!!!!!!

 

[tvanveen]

Th Cars' "Just What I Needed" about 3 months ago...Dr. Worm helped on guitar...

 

[koogie2k]

My first song was with my buddies band. They were playing in a crap hole in P-town, Va and invited up on stage to do a tune. I did Long Way From Home by Foreigner. I was a little nervous, mainly hoping I wouldn't make a mistake. After that, it was easy. I looked like a cardboard cut-out up there. Now, I can't stand still. It was fun and still is.

 

[peter71]

The first song I ever played live was a bunch of crappy songs I wrote for a work party in College.

This began a breif series of bad songs written and performed by me over the next couple years.

Of course now I am a genius and write magnificent Magnum Opus tunes.

You know, the ones about the big penguin*...


(*80's comic strip reference. Possibly confusing for those of a younger sort. Properly self depricating for those of my age group...)