Re: MAN I hate gigging

On Sep 20, 7:06 am, DeeAa <de...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
How do you guys find it before a gig...do you stress it much? Do you
use alcohol?

My only stresses are administrative; making sure I remembered all the
gear was properly functional, loaded, that I was going to the right
place, etc.

I might have a drink or two before we start playing, but that's it.


'cuz I do, quite a lot. Stress. I must have thrown a few hundred of
'em but still it's so damned stressful to await a gig. It starts about
a day or two before, that I start feeling a bit anxious. The last day
is just awful; I've had bad sleep the night before and I'm feeling
wired all day long and getting tired. The pulse gets way higher, even
now half asleep lying on a sofa I'm getting over 100 beats. The blood
pressure also gets about 15-20 notches higher. I start doing things
all at once and feel like I can't decide what to finish first, and
keep pacing around. In a word, I'm useless the whole day almost, and
feel short-tempered too.

Hmmm... no, nothing like that. I go into "gig-mode," where I'm a
little detached emotionally. It starts perhaps an hour or two before I
have to get ready to go. I don't really get nervous or anything.



Then we'll have the soundcheck at around six or seven, and the gig
starts at ten sharp. So it's gonna be  hanging around in the bar or
back room, trying not to drink too much or smoke too much, and getting
very tired. Have to visit the bathroom often. Just wait. The place
offers food, but I can't eat anything much, just taste it really.

If at all possible, I try to get out of the venue after soundcheck. I
want to have dinner, quiet conversation, etc. Sitting in the bar...
ugh. You're right. Nothing to do but drink and smoke. I started
socially smoking because of this. Thanks God it never became a habit
for me.


I don't think it really shows to other people so much, but internally
it's really hell. Then on the actual gig I try to just play and
concentrate, but usually it soon starts to feel like 'oh man still
five songs to go' and  I just can't wait for it to be over. The only
thing that helps with that is if I have some friends or fans standing
in front of me and I get to interact with them - that makes it a lot
more easier. When the gig is over my stomach hurts and I feel spent,
and very tired. Used to be I had to lie down for up to an hour after a
gig, I felt so terrible and my stomach muscles were just a tight knot.
These days the recuperation is much faster, though.


I can't believe how fast it goes, and I tend to look more like an
expressionless statue while it's happening. On the inside, I'm
soaring. I can't interact much, I'm almost in a trance. I'm spent
afterwards too, but in a good way.


Thing is, if I just have a few more beers it'll be sooo much
easier...and also after the gig, say an hour afterwards, I'd be happy
to get back on stage, and sometimes we've done that too and _then_
it's fun to play. But the first gig...it's pure hell. And sober, it's
even worse. But I don't want to play drunk no more. It used to be back
in the day we've have a whole case of beer each every day in the least
during gigging trips, and I never played anything even remotely sober.
It's still stressing but not as bad.


Yikes. That sounds like a problem in the making.

I wish I never had to go out to play any more, but I suppose it is
something I *must* do, for the good and progress of the band demands
it.


Whoa. What? Why *ARE* you gigging? The "good and progress of the band
demands it?"

What is the band's goal? Is it to generate income? Are you hoping for
some degree of fame and fortune? Those things are all valid. But if
this is just some hobby thing, and you hate it, then quit it. All of
it.

You WILL quit eventually. I recommend you do it on your own power.
Seriously. Walk away. Life is richer when musical creativity is for
art's sake, and not because you feel like you have to prove something
to a dozen people in a crappy little bar.

My gig was taken from me, but I had already lost interest in the life
it required of me. I really love music, and I love playing. I also
loved doing that with my bandmates. But when it ended, it got easy to
let it just be over.

There's a lot of freedom in dropping unnecessary obligations. I say
drop 'em!

But, that's the main reason I don't play solos or make my parts too
hard...if I keep 'em simple enough, I might actually manage them even
when stressed out so bad. Still I feel like I'm the worst singer and
player ever :-)

You already discovered how silly that sounded when you typed it.


Fxxk, it's eight more hours till showtime. I'll be so tired by then if
I don't get my pulse down at least a little at some point and be able
to rest at least a little while. I feel like I'm on a marathon.

I suggest it's time to plan for a graceful exit.

Hope I'm not touching a nerve with this advice. But if you were waking
up every Saturday morning, dreading the fact that you had to go out
and hit yourself with a hammer, I'd ask the same questions, and offer
the same advice: "If you hate it, and it's bad for you, then quit it."

Gigging isn't for everyone, and it's usually not as great as we think
it will be. Some are great. Those are rare.

Peace,
-dave-----:::
www.myspace.com/geetardave
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Attitude/Standing up for yourself
    ... Just what is your end of the deal when you take a gig? ... playing with him again. ... A number of people keep saying that after I quit, ... Some people don't have that luxury, they may need the money too badly. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: slow slummer
    ... I've found that not gigging often ... has really hurt my motivation to practice a whole lot and get better, ... fwiw to fix this situation I've been going gig hunting for a regular ... Trombone players do it, trumpet players do it, sax players do it, so ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz)
  • Re: Attitude/Standing up for yourself
    ... but ultimately the decision belongs to the boss. ... Just what is your end of the deal when you take a gig? ... playing with him again. ... A number of people keep saying that after I quit, ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Timely NPR story (copyright stuff)
    ... If she's not gigging, she's traveling to a gig, if she's not ... traveling, she's at my dining room table, working on her laptop. ... gets discouraging as I'd LOVE to be gigging a lot more than I am. ... One of the things that I try to do both in performance and on my recordings, is to let the listener know where a particular song comes from, especially if the author is unknown. ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic)