Three questions for you "gigging" guitarists.

[Spudmurphy]

Question 1.

What was the first song you played in front of an audience - for this thread an audience is fifty or more and does not include a school/ college passing out concert.

Question 2.
Where was it?


Question 3.
How much did ya get paid?

Me :-

1 Ride a White Swan (T Rex)
2 Penylan Bowls Club New Years Eve Party 1974
3 £35 - between 5 of us.

 

[DrKev]

1 No idea but possibly something by the Pogues on a Mandolin (broad majestic Shannon perhaps), though it was my first guitar playing gig too.
2 A small Irish bar in Paris called Finnegan's Wake, March 16 2001, my birthday as it happened.
3 Probably close to 300 French Francs at the time. (About 45€?)

K.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i think in 1966..
i'm fairly sure it was a vfw lodge in milford , delaware ....
w/ a group called the "shades of blue"
i think i made 20 bucks.....( which in 1966 was a lot of doe to a 14 year old kid !!!)
it was w/ my first electric rig !!!!!!!

 

[Astrofreq]

Anthem by Rush at a Battle of the Bands in Edmond, Oklahoma. We got 2nd place, but no loot. Only glory.

 

[TheStoner]

1. Bark At The Moon (Ozzy)
2. Cellar Bar, Birmingham, UK
3. Zero! Nada! Zip!

Due to a horrendous cock-up and total inexperience I did the whole song with my tone control on 0! It sounded terrible and I couldn't work out what was wrong. I was also surrounded by a HUGE cloud of dry ice meaning that I couldn't see the fretboard (or anything else for that matter).

 

[paranoid70]

Radrock, I love that song. Who did the '75 Geddy shriek?

"Wonders in the world we wrought"!

 

[leftyguitarblue]

1. Original song - forgot name, it was 1992!
2. "Orphan Annie's" - Stirling, NJ
3. About $50 divided between 4 guys, but we got free drinks!

 

[mesadualrec]

I have played mostly originals but If were talking cover songs then thats completely different


-'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd
-A pub called Pj's in my city (before its refurbishment)
-I was 'depping' for a functions band so I made £125 ($250),which wasnt much considering these guys normally make £250 each but it was a pub not a function or corporate event



still great I say

 

[PugNinjas]

We played a Battle of the Bands at some club in Shirley, NY whose name has probably changed names 300 times since then oh yeah, it was probably like 1989 or 1990

I beleive we opened with the Motley Crue classic Kickstart My Heart

We won $250 bucks and since it was out first gig, we invited everyone who came to the gig to meet us at our practice space while we took the winnings and spent every cent of it on beer and threw one hell of a party

 

[adouglas]

1. I don't remember.
2. I don't remember.
3. That's easy. Nothing.

 

[meenahga]

1. Sunshine of your love by Cream (after about 6 bars into the song, when I realized the thing I was holding wasn't a big stick and remembered how to play guitar...nerves )

2. Local High School winter carnival dance, 1982, for about 150 students.

3. I made $85. (which I promptly went out and spent on a Crybaby wah-wah pedal.)

 

[passarellee]

1. Under my thumb, Stones
2. some 60's festival in 1985
3. Free drinks, so better not ask about the last song of the evening

 

[mesadualrec]

there are a few great stories coming put from this post


I like this one


well done spud

 

[wired]

The 1st time I played to a crowd was with my family's Portuguese wedding band back when I was 16 (1990). I don't remember what my 1st song was, but looking back, it's a cool memory that I was able to play music for a couple of years w/ my Dad, Grandfather & 2 uncles, especially considering my Dad & Grandfather have since passed. I do remember that it was a pretty big wedding (250-300 people). My family had that band for over 20 years.

I think I got paid $80 & played through a Peavey Rage 10w amp, plugged directly into the board. Oh yeah, my only guitar back then was an Applause GTX in black sparkle

 

[MrMusashi]

my first gig was 17th of may 1989..
we played a 3 set blues gig at the local bar.. i think the first song was mary had a lil lamb in srv version
we prolly made 100$ each (4 man band) which was good pay.. heh.. but what do ya expect.. playing for the door on homeground

MrM

 

[INMT]

1. Whips N' Chains (original song)
2. A "club" called "The Dive"
3. I lost money seeing as how my three boss pedals at the time were ripped off after the show LOL.

 

[threeminutesboy]

1 Ireste Reggae (original song)
2 Our Engineering school
3 The entry was 1.5 Euros (around 200 people attended) and we used the money to finance the drum kit

 

[glockaxis]

1. Only In God (Acoustic meditation song played along w/ my buddy)
2. Church (`500 people)
3. Nothing

 

[robelinda2]

1. Early Warning - Baby Animals
2. Country football club grand final pub party in 1994
3. $300!!! It all went downhill fast after that one- pizza shops and Ottmar Leibert for the next 12 months......

 

[Jimmyb]

1. Some original jazz type thing (not that I like, or can play it for that matter)
2. Manchester Evening News Battle of the Bands heat.
3. Nothing (which to be fair was more than we deserved...)