First gig anxiety..

ahriman22

ahriman22

Member
So my first gig is coming up soon and it's only now that I'm beginning to feel nervous.
In the real world, I'm pretty damn shy and quiet, usually in my own corner, despite my 6'5 height, so that doesn't help my situation here.

So not only is it my first gig, but I don't think I would be able to feel any more "out of place". I'm a mix, half Portuguese and half Haitian, which means I have a light brown tint to my skin, but it's still blatantly obvious. Thing is I'm in a Japanese band, the other 3 members are all Japanese and can speak it (Obviously), I can't.

So picture a tall, dark drummer, in a Metal band and add the Japanese into that and my band mates. You can see why it's slightly awkward for me.

Any tips on getting over that "First gig anxiety" feel?

P.S.: Crowd is also mainly Chinese.
 
This might sound a bit hokey.

Remember the old saying "picture everyone in the audience naked?" It worked for me. It was more scary and funny rather than calming. I started laughing hysterically when I did it because the audience was very small and lets just say some of them overindulged in food and drinks most of thier life apparently. Then I started picturing them jumping up and down and the thought of these women doing that just sent me over the edge.

I sat down at my kit and played and didn't think about playing too much. Honestly, I was laughing most of the show becuase the images that I had in my head were comming true minus the naked part.

After my first few gigs I began to feed off of the pre-gig jitters and learned to focus it on my playing.

Now, I don't know if it will work for you.. but it's worth a shot :)
 
Lol. That saying works sometimes, but not here. I've seen most of the audience (Friend of friends of friends type of thing) and it's most female and young... And "hot". So if anything, I'll probably stop and stare with wide eyes.

Maybe if I picture everyone dancing/jumping without any music...
 
The fact that you are a unique person is the answer. Be yourself! Think about how different Ringo and Ginger Baker looked. The fact that you are not like the other members of your band will be an asset. Look at my profile pics. I'm a strange looking Red Haired guy. I use my looks to enhance my performance. People relate to the fact that I am a bit different. I often get more applause than my other band members. Relax and be comfortable about who you are. Don't think about your appearance. Think only about feeling the music and the playing.
 
My first gig was so much fun! Stuff went wrong, (guitar strings broke, blew a breaker for the amps, and I broke a footboard!) but in the end we rocked the place. It was a full bar, record sales for a friday night, and everyone went away happy. We have some fun stories from that night...\

Now the nervous part...

take a practice pad or something to warm up with. Play some perididdles or other rudiments to warm up, don't forget to breath. This is your chance to show the world how much fun you have being a drummer!

Just breath and play! if your practiced up, you will do just fine!
 
Anxiety is a form of energy, so keep it all positive and think to yourself thoughts like, "Tonight I get to play drums for some young hot women", and "I'm so lucky, this is gonna be so much fun" and "I'm going to play in such a way that all the young hot women will have no choice but to get up on the dance floor and shake their bodies to this awesome groove I'm laying down"
Keep your eyes open and visually connect with the audience and your bandmates, get the heck out of your own head and think about everyone else first, don't worry about the drumming.
'
 
My suggestion is to drink alcohol.
Once you limit the amount of oxygen to your brain, your inhibitions will diminish.
 
Alcohol is not the trick. That is only a crutch. Time will help. Put your cymbals up high and on an angle so the audience is hidden from view and gradually lower them as become more confident. Just kidding. You are doing something you like and have looked forward to. The worst you can do is make a mistake. You will survive. Go kick some butt.
 
i was REALLY nervous before my first ever gig. i'm probably a shy person outside of music. i think my nerves were from fear of the unknown. the more shows i played the less nervous i became and now i don't get any nerves, just excitement and anticipation.

a positive mind set is really important, belief in yourself and the effort you've put into learning your material. if you've rehearsed and know your parts, just remind yourself that. you'll play better with a "its gonna be a great gig, wooo!" attitude.

closing your eyes can help if you have some nerves and lets your focus be more on what your hearing.

also diversity is an awesome thing. i wouldn't worry what background the crowd, you, or your band mates are, its all good.

gigs are so much fun, i'm sure you'll have a great time.
 
hateplow said:
My suggestion is to drink alcohol.
Once you limit the amount of oxygen to your brain, your inhibitions will diminish.
Click to expand...

Your inhibitions, and your drumming skills if you overdo it. Personally I'd stick to one or twoo beers beforehand if I really needed alcohol to calm me down. But like others have said, there's really nothing to worry about if you can play the songs you're going to play. Also, standing out because of your appearance is probably going to do quite well with the hot chicks you mentioned.
 
I wouldn't worry about it too much. So what if you like them? At the end of the day they're just people, just like you. I think that's why the imagining them naked is such a good idea, it helps you humanise them. That makes you feel better about it. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You wouldn't be a person if you weren't a bit apprehensive about this gig but try to turn it into positive drumming energy rather than making you worse and you'll be sorted :)
 
As the NIKE ad says: Just do it.


...and as GD says, forget the booze.


There is a first time for everything and it the same for all of those things:


Focus on what you need to do.


Take a deep breath.


Jump in.

Do the best you can.

Works for all 'fist time' wibbly wobblies. Learn from it and move on.

Forget this tall, dark, Japanese, Chinese Metal talk.

Just do it the best you can...and have a cold beer afterwards.

Its really that painless.



............
 
Before I play a gig I always relax, clear my mind and I get into character. I have created the character that I call Bob Da Druma. Bob Da Druma feels equal to everybody. He loves everyone and he believes that everyone likes him. BDD only thinks of music. He doesn't care about anything else. He listens to his band mates while playing and he goes with the flow so to speak. BDD looks at his audience when he plays and he relates to them. He finds faces in the crowd that seem to be groovin to the music and he plays to them. Bob Da Druma doesn't have time to think about anything else. He is to busy groovin to the vibes. That is how I overcome gig anxiety. Its just plain relaxing! I sometimes play without thinking about what I'm playing. Sort of like driving to work and you can't remember driving there after you get there. You stopped at all the stop signs, you made all the right turns. Your subconscious mind did all this for you. You were in a zone so to speak. You were aware of driving but you weren't obsessing over driving your car. You were looking at the other drivers and sights along the way and you were making decisions and responding to them without worrying about it.
 
Learn your parts.

Grab a beer.

Be prepared for lots of faces staring at you.

Watch your time as it's natural for you (and your band) to speed up with the adrenalin.

Be prepared for a wall-of-noise sound, unless you've got grreat monitors

Don't lose your head and start throwing in wild fills all over the place.

Just remember you will be doing something that millions of of people would love to do, but will never be able to.

You're a musician.

Enjoy it.
 
Since it's your first gig, make sure someone gets some pictures of you. You only get one first gig, I wish I had pictures of mine.
Oh yeah, screw the alchohol, save it for after the gig.
 
Don't worry so much about how the audience will picture you. They won't care so much about the color of your skin/size as much as whether the music is rockin'. Besides, you get to 'hide' in the back, behind your kit. The other members are the one's they'll be looking at. Unless youre into drums, the drummer is just the background - so dont get too hung up on it.
Second, try not to overdo anything and stay on point. You dont need to be overly flashy at first, just get through the first song clean and solid and it will get easier.

I had a performance recently for just my peers (about 20 people). I wasnt nervous at all leading up to it - until I sat behind the kit and realized that my right leg was shaking uncontrollably. Every 'kick', I felt my foot double-tap and that made me even more nervous. After the first song, it wasnt as bad and the more I played the more comfortable I felt and the less shaky I was.
try to relax and good luck!
 
ahriman22 said:
So my first gig is coming up soon and it's only now that I'm beginning to feel nervous.
In the real world, I'm pretty damn shy and quiet, usually in my own corner, despite my 6'5 height, so that doesn't help my situation here.

So not only is it my first gig, but I don't think I would be able to feel any more "out of place". I'm a mix, half Portuguese and half Haitian, which means I have a light brown tint to my skin, but it's still blatantly obvious. Thing is I'm in a Japanese band, the other 3 members are all Japanese and can speak it (Obviously), I can't.

So picture a tall, dark drummer, in a Metal band and add the Japanese into that and my band mates. You can see why it's slightly awkward for me.

Any tips on getting over that "First gig anxiety" feel?

P.S.: Crowd is also mainly Chinese.
Click to expand...
Pffffft!! Dude, it's a GIG!! It's supposed to be FUN! You get to show off to your friends that you can play drums and THEY can't!! (well, even if they can, they're there to see YOU!!)

Remember, most people there won't know a thing about playing drums and any small slip-ups will be eaten up by the fervor of the band. They're not concentrating on YOU per'se, they're hearing the WHOLE band.

Just go there to have FUN playing your drums . . . after all, what's better than that ANYWAY??? (um, yeah, BESIDES that, L0L!!!!)
 
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