How to know if you're ready for the stage ?

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

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There'll be other guitarists there, but if they give you any negative lip about it, bow and worship them in a loud and very sarcastic manner.

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that's fuckign great man! i can't wait to make my next scene! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Fragle]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

"If you're not nervous on stage, it's not fun for you"

i smell

the opposite is true....if you're nervous, you're not having REAL fun.
i personally tend to be slightly nervous before the gig starts (i'm usually the one who's saying "ok, today's gonna SUCK" [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ), but when i'm on stage playing heavy music in front of heavy people, it's pure and concentrated FUN. there's nothing better....well, maybe except a fine young lady [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
an interesting observation i made is that nervousness isn't really dependent on the size of the gig you're about to play...i played 2 large (5000-10000 folks) open air shows, and i wasn't even slightly nervous. on the contrary, i remember small gigs in stinky and generally sucky clubs that totally freaked me out....depends on the mood i guess. and the amount of liquor...lol

[Endrik]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

I've never been nervous on the stage, I have fun, I feel really comfortoble playing in front of big crowd.

[Fragle]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

"I've never been nervous on the stage, I have fun, I feel really comfortoble playing in front of big crowd. "

exactly my point. playing live just feels natural to me, more so than rehearsing...goddammit the only reason why i even rehearse with my band is that it allows me to enjoy the 5150 in all it's high volume beauty lol....

[PallarAndersVisa]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

2 words. Jack Daniels

you'll be fine

[axeman81]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

I'm just gonna quote Yngwie on this one:

"Even though I could get away with pretty much anything, I'm still trying to impress myself, to go on stage and play PERFECT. And that's not easy."

[singlehum]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

I too get scared to do anything in front of people. My job requires that I occasionaly do presentations in front of groups of people. My stage experience is very limited, but at least in a band situation in a club you are not up there alone and more than likely not everyone in the place is focused on YOU alone, so you should feel less pressure. Plus if people are partying, that helps too! No one expects perfection of band in a club, but they DO expect a good time. A crowd will pick up on whether the band is having fun, and they will reflect that in their response.

[Fragle]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

"I too get scared to do anything in front of people. My job requires that I occasionaly do presentations in front of groups of people. "

that's a very interesting point. if you're frightened by e.g. doing presentations, does that automatically mean you'll also be scared on stage?
as a matter of fact, presenting stuff also feels natural to me, no worries. but then again, i just cannot be on the phone with anybody i never met in person [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] kinda weird

"No one expects perfection of band in a club, but they DO expect a good time. A crowd will pick up on whether the band is having fun, and they will reflect that in their response. "
VERY true [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[guitarsjb]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

I get very nervous when we have our staff meetings, but on stage, once the music starts, I feel just fine. I think it's like singlehum said, you arent' up there alone, and it's a more fun atmosphere. Playing on stage is a blast!!

[nor]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

With your setlist, 95% of the folks in the audience won't know the songs - so they won't know if you miss a note or 2. Really. Just have fun - live gigs are the REWARD, not the TEST.

Oh - Just play better that the band before you and well enough to make the band after you nervous.
[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[dannyr]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

Go for it!!! If your other band members think you're ready, then you probably are. Sometimes we are our own worst critics. Since you still have a few weeks, maybe find a small party or a pub(on open mic night) and get a feel for playing live. You'll get used to it before you know it.

[Ace]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

Some people are meant to play live, others aren't ready yet. I got over my stage fright by doing television. I've never been partcularly shy, but knowing that 30,000 people are watching you wipe your boogers on your pants kinda gave me a bit of stage fright the first two or three times. And it wasn't like there was a bunch of other stuff going on. That camera was pointed straight at my goofy face for the world to see.

Now it's not an issue at all. I've played guitar for 40,000 people, no sweat. You just need confidence. You need to BE the rock star that others idolize. Now when I walk onstage I TRY and draw the crowds attention. And I know that I am competing with my bandmates for their attention, it's a great way to keep the show fun to watch!! I know that when I get onstage I want to come across with 666% intensity.

Confidence. Walk out on that stage like you KNOW you have the biggest dick in that building. Go ahead and be cocky!! Cut loose!!

[Fragle]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

"I've played guitar for 40,000 people,"
nice...seems like i still have some work to do [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] would you mind telling me where that was...and i guess you were supporting some popular band right?

"You need to BE the rock star that others idolize. Now when I walk onstage I TRY and draw the crowds attention. "
+1 you're not gonna be able to do this the first time you're on stage, neither the 2nd and 3rd times. but once you get a hang of how things are working on stage, follow this very valuable piece of advice right there. it's YOUR stage, period. think of it like this....it's not you who should be afraid of the crowd, it's the crowd that should be afraid of you [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
over the times i've been talking to the most professional guys i could hook up with about stuff like that...i particulary remember one thing the guitar player of a band i used to tour with once told me. he basically said two things:
-it's YOUR stage
-respect your singer
i actually second both of these statements, and therefore don't really agree with ace's
"And I know that I am competing with my bandmates for their attention"
it's right to a certain degree, but you should know what your time is and what not. during instrumental sections, solos and stuff, you should be right up front, kicking ass, indeed kinda "fighting". the verses and choruses however are your singers territory, respect that. think about if, if you're down there in the crowd you don't wanna watch a guitar player being an egomaniac while the singer is trying to do his thing - and rightly so.

[FSU_Seminoles]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

only thing I can add that hasn't really been mentioned yet is: don't leave too much room for improvisation. Only thing that can happen when you leave things up for improvisation is a major fuck up. Just pratice what you have to practice before and when you get on stage you'll be ready.

[Ace]

Re: How to know if you\'re ready for the stage ?

There is nothing subtle about my band's live show. When I was talking about competing with my bandmates for the audience's attention I meant that there is a certain level of intensity that every member of the band tries to achieve and suprass. We don't have verses or choruses. Our songs are almost completly linear in nature, we don't play verse/chorus/bridge etc... And I don't really play "solos", I try and play with all my intensity all the time.

And stealing the attention from my singer is pretty hard, since she's a 110 lb girl who never comes onstage. She spends pretty much the entire set in the moshpit.

And I played for 40,000 people at Coachella. I was actually doing soundcheck right before the BRMC went on. My 30 seconds to be a guitar hero! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]