How old were you...

[emperor_black]

on your first gig?

Just want to know if there's any hope for guys like me after this age. I'm 31, got a full-time job, wife and kid. Its hard to make time to practise beyond an hour or two let alone rehearse with a band and stuff. Is there hope for me at any point of time? I love playing guitar and dont think I will give that up ever. But a gig? that's a whole different story... Anyway, please share.

[nor]

16. I'm 41 and havent gigged in over 10 years. Workin on a set list to go play some coffee shops or something as a one-man band. Just me and a laptop..lol..

It's the only way I'll ever be able to gig - work keeps me on the road a LOT.

[rjohnstone]

I was 19.
Don't remember much other than it was a benefit concert and we played for free. They did let us have as much beer we wanted.

[Cleveland Metal]

Paying?

I was 14, underage, and playing at a bar here called the Lions Dens and I was the only guitar in band.

We did VanHalen and Black Sabbath covers (probably not that great at the VanHalen). I remember that show vividly as on the first song, Ain't Talking Bout Love, as we started playing I stepped forward from my amp to front stage and promptly unplugged my guitar cord from the amp... The silence was deafening, I assure you... Niiiiice.

I'd played a lot of parties before that though and shortly before that show, we played a grand opening (for free) of a local baseball park in front of probably around 700-1000 people... We played Snowblind, War Pigs, Paranoid, Iron Man, and NIB...

Good times....

[straycat]

I was 17 and it was a high school dance.We got in trouble for playing Louie Louie dirty words and all.We were pretty much a Deep Purple cover band.
Remember this was 1969.

[El_Kabong]

16, we played originals and covers from the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo and Bad Brains.

[straycat]

I saw Devo live in a club in Lousiville Ky and they were really a very good band they could play just about any thing people asked to hear.

[KLNowak]

I was 16 my band played at my old high school. I am 25 now.

[Venomboy]

I think I was 15, in high school.

[bibz]

I was 13, I played at my sisters 18th bday party. A hall full of family and her friends. Outside just about everyone from highschool/the pub across the road. Musta been '95, Nirvana covers were all we did, sides Green Day's longview. I played guitar alright and sang (poorly).

Totally rocked that shit.

[atomic charvel guy]

I wasn't ready until I was 21, or at least thinking I could go knock out some people , so I seasoned along the way and made sure it was all together, the tunes, the arrangements, lyrics, type of music people dug, boy it was like you had to shove me out there but drag me off with 4 or 5 canes by the end ya know-lol

[charvelguy]

Paying.. I was 16. We played at a local clubs in Rochester. Whaler, Dooleys, Outrigger. Played at schools and ballrooms in the area too.
Used to make like 20-30 bucks a night.

Before that, we used to play at school lunch periods..so about 14 unpaid.

[Super_shredder]

i was 14 doing a cover of master of puppets supporting a bigger local band

i have always gone to little gigs throughout my life but i rember seeing some french reggae band when i was 10

[xenophobe]

20, and my share was 76 bucks from tickets and bar....

[buzzsaww]

unpaid, about 15 or 16, typical HS band stuff.
paid, about 31 or 32, we played a ton of gigs that year.