If I Could Go Back and WARN MYSELF About My First Gig

I know there are no "do-overs" but a guy can imagine what it would be like. ;)
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Thanks!!!

[@rockwelljames8210]

I learned to play bass in my 30’s and my teacher told me to go and participate in the local weekend warriors program as he thought it would be a good learning experience and confidence booster. I loved it so much I ended up being the most experienced player there with 14 rounds to my credit. Two of the best bits of advice I was ever given were “ You have to believe that while you are up there on stage that you are the best guitar player in the house “and “ You might not be as good as you want to be but you are not as bad as you think you are “

[@Themusicbiz]

Great advice! That confidence shows on stage for sure.

[@LicksoftheLegend]

I love that. Also congrats on learning bass in your 30s man.

[@HeathenwoodOfficial]

Can I share this in my IG story? It's really good advice.

[@renoyoder6627]

I started telling myself this and it’s made a dramatic difference!

[@nagarev]

Same situation as you but at 33, and guitar but bass. Next Tuesday is my fire baptism, I’ll take your advice! 💪

[@ll7868]

My high school metal band in 1984 was called Broken Coccyx, I was the drummer, we formed because of the school's annual talent show so we practiced 2 songs, Seek & Destroy and Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, until we sounded decent enough for a live show but they were about the only 2 songs we could all play all the way through. Lost to breakdancers and a girl singing Cyndi Lauper. We broke up a few weeks later.

[@ll7868]

We were lucky enough to have my drum teacher Spike give us pointers for performing onstage, he also worked as a sound tech setting up the mics and whatnot. He was also a good pal of Chuck Biscuits of DOA who let me play his kit during soundcheck once, very cool guy.

[@glennkrzeminski7539]

Great band name!😂

[@rvm8315]

I hate when I break my coccyx😆

[@ericvandruten]

First gig: When everything you imagined it to be comes together with what it actually is. Playing Wembley Stadium with Metallica or Maiden, but only it's a 60-100 people birthday party. Nothing beats that!

[@robslabaugh3139]

One thing I would also suggest is if you have multiple rigs/ instruments, practice using what you actually plan on using for the show. I've seen string guys pull out a completely different instrument than they used at practice and a drummer using a different kit. I've always thought this was a bad idea. Im a big believer in muscle memory. It's has saved my ass when nerves have kicked in

[@scourge34]

Absolutely. Practice with what you're going to use. That's insane changing up your rig when you go to play.

[@OgamiItto70]

That's why I don't like to practice sitting down. "Train like you fight" is an old saying in the military, it applies to musicians, too. Practice and rehearse the same way you're going to play the gig as much as you possibly can seems to me to be a capital notion.

[@redacted1462]

Yeah but when playing smaller gigs the drummer usually just uses the house kit

[@alfredoverton9649]

Yup. I switch up my guitars in practice but I have two "go to" guitars for live shows. Both Ibanez RG 550s Genesis models.

[@medinadg]

The tuner!! We did the same thing except that my lead guitar player had a tuner. We'd tune off him. But he had a Floyd rose tremolo and it would always go out of tune. Two songs in and we must have sounded terrible. But the crowd loved us. Metallica, slayer, megadeth, and original tunes. We played little bars in our little 7000 person town. Winning the battle of the bands was an ego boost. Now that I reflect, it must have been a mercy win for the teenagers playing in a tavern. I need to find the VHS tape with our gigs!

[@scourge34]

Apparently he didn't know how to take care of his Floyd. They are very reputable for staying in tune no matter what you throw at them. I have 6 Floyds and rarely have to tune them.

[@richardflora7940]

@@scourge34 mono staying two for almost 6 Months 8 months just depending on how long I playing better than that Seattle string through crap

[@havable]

@@scourge34 Newbs usually don't know how to work their gear.

[@yoiamhere4737]

Here's a story about my first gig! I'll set the stage: (Context I am 15, and in a band with teenagers) It was Leap Day of 2020, and my former bass guitar teacher's birthday party. It was at a party room on the second floor of Mayflower Curling Club (I know, best gig spot) We were asked to play just 80s covers, so we prepared our setlist and began practicing every week, and even got the teacher's brother to watch our rehearsal to see if we're ready. Gig day comes, (we're all 13/14/15 at the time) and we get onstage for about 100 people (lot for a first gig!), and we just play our 45 minute set and we even get an encore at the end! Our setlist was Crazy Train We're Not Gonna Take It Detroit Rock City The Trooper Rock You Like A Hurricane For Whom The Bell Tolls Peace Sells Back In Black (Encore) It was the very moment, that let me know that this is what I wanted to do for the REST of my life!

[@johnjohnson7509]

Great set list

[@yoiamhere4737]

@@johnjohnson7509 Thanks! A life changing experience haha

[@kennyburns6476]

Yo man thats cray cray yo

[@HeathenwoodOfficial]

Dude, that's the greatest first show I've ever read about. I still haven't formed a band due to not focusing much on it.

[@bojangles6444]

Dude it was 2 years ago.. might as well have been yesterday. My first show we played crazy train I wrote 3 other songs it was a school assembly in jr high I was 14. 1996. Only other Ozzy song I ever played- Mr Crowley.

[@Whateves73]

Sigh, I miss my teenage gig days. I started playing clubs when I was 16, and look back on those days fondly. They are cringey to look back on, but the learning process and inexperience is part of the charm. So far to go!

[@santanafan1713]

Those were all great tips for anybody's first gig. Number 10 is the one I relate to the most. I'd be so nervous my fingers would stiffen and my hands would tremble. Each mistake would feel like the worst humiliation of my life. And as lead guitarist in a Santana Tribute I'd be soloing in EVERY song so I had set myself up for a LOT of humiliation. Not only at my first gig. It would happen to me every time, and I even considered not gigging anymore. But I was taught that if you really want to achieve a goal, quitting can never be an option. So I kept going. And gradually I learned that although you strive to play perfectly...all the crowd wants is to be entertained. And they automatically absorb the vibe you are sending. So the more uptight, stressed and frustrated you present yourself, the less entertaining you come across...and the more emphasis you place at your mistakes because thats all thats left for them to notice. So it's way better to ENJOY and have fun, and interact with the crowd because your enthusiasm rubs off on them and they automatically become forgiving of an occasional mistake. The more fun you have and the more they see you love what you are doing, individually as well as as a whole...the more they enjoy the performance and care less about total perfection.

[@havable]

"they automatically absorb the vibe you are sending" And this can multiply exponentially. So, if you're sending a good vibe and they're catching it and send it back you create a positive feedback loop. You do not want a negative feedback loop. Almost nobody will notice mistakes and those who do are going to care more about how you handle the mistake than whether you made one. Maybe some troll would pick on you for it, a troll who couldn't even play the easy part. People are there to have fun and your job is to not get in their way, to have fun yourself, and to combine the fun you're having with what they're having. That's pretty much it. Just have fun and fun will stare right back at you.

[@f1carfan]

Fantastic advice, and well said!

[@realmrjangoon]

Wow, I've never been this early to an Art of Guitar vid. If you see this, just wanna say: you rock man!

[@albincarlstedt2748]

You too!🤟🏻🤟🏻

[@doctoribanez]

I used a 80"s tuner with a beep metronome until last month. I bought myself a rechargeable snark for Christmas and it's mind blowing how much nicer the screen is in color 🤣

[@clownshow5901]

Having an extra guitar is always a must, whether for broken-string incidents or songs requiring alternate tuning. You also need to be able to transpose instantly if a string breaks - do not stop playing! As for practicing, I ALWAYS practice at home as if I were playing a concert. It teaches you to play without looking at the fretboard. It also looks 100x more cool because you can make easy passages look hard by the fact you aren't looking at the fretboard and can put on a performance. That further teaches you the song inside out and you can begin to improvise. I also found the fewer people in attendance the HARDER it is to play - with only a few people it's too easy to look at each individual face which makes it more scary. With a crowd, you can focus on the space between people or just de-focus without looking at a particular person. For any gig, we always do a sound check to iron out any problems with "can't hear so-and-so". I always used a wireless so I could move around the club and see how it sounds. That means you have to arrive early before the club opens or the party starts and set up ahead of time. That's also better because nobody wants to watch you set up, they like showing up and seeing the full band gear set up already, all the lights glowing on the amps, etc - it really sets the tone. Also by having a wireless I could interact with the crowd more and would often play in front of people's tables even though the club owners usually hated that. But the crowd loves it regardless. And the biggest thing for me was to cut the damn chatter between songs. I like to keep the gaps between songs short. There's always some singer who wants to talk endlessly, or the guitarist who's constantly jacking with his equipment between songs. ARgg stop that. You can do that crap during practice.

[@DVMartin997]

Great advice. Practice like you are live, tone and tune. The big three. Almost 60 here and remember my first gig well. My own 16th! 😂 Second was a popular “starter” club a few miles from Disneyland. July ‘81 at 17. Three piece at the time. Playing all originals., with 2 covers we loved (Waysted - Def Leppard and Shoot Shoot - UFO.) Opened for JD Drews band. They had some former members of Alice Cooper’s band. We worked hard to get good but forgot to practice stage presence. Oops. Then when we finished, this guy in a green velvet suit walks up and says “Great job guys!” My drummer (15) freaked. It was Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick! Went through some personnel changes, became a 5 piece and gigged a few more years before giving up in ‘89. What started as “best band gets the gig” became “pay to play” - the bands with the most money. Buy your tickets in advance and have to hoc them yourself to get paid. Plus a buck per ticket returned. We would draw 200-300 any given night, even sold out a 750 seater once back then, yet when this happened, even we were told pay to play. L.A. was over saturated with bands by then. Made the clubs more money, but the cream did not always rise to the top! Tons of bands, some bad, some great. Miss those early days.

[@havable]

Living in Boise, I heard about the Pay To Play in LA from Watsonville Patio who are from there and stayed at my pad when on tour. I couldn't imagine how anyone could come up in a scene like that. Like, your first gig you have to pay to play. Holy cow. Around here its pretty easy to get a gig even tho my town is totally a music town that has always had tons of local bands. We even have a noteworthy festival now (Treefort). But we're also the home of Built to Spill and Caustic Resin.

[@rustyaxelrod]

I’d say (after a lot of years of experience), it important to be skilled and have a good opinion of what you do but in the end, its often the crowd that makes or breaks a gig. I’ve showed up jazzed about new material, and really looking forward to the show and just see the backs of everyone’s heads (bar band). By the last set we’d be ready to finish up and get home. On other shows I’ve shown up tired with stuff on my mind, looking to just get the show finished but the crowd was pumped, everybody dancing and yellin and having a good time, by the end of the night we just wanted to keep playing! This dynamic isn’t something you are in complete control of, certainly you can influence it and really, that’s your job. Jazz up the crowd, help everyone have a good time and practice the skills you need to ride that wave when it happens!

[@icoz7]

Virgin verified KZbinrs: "Wait I gotta upload this precisely 10m 34s video at exactly 10 o'clock eastern time on a Wednesday morning for the 87th week in a row to appease the KZbin algorithm gods" Chad Mike from The-Art-of-Guitar: "Hey bro, it's 1AM Tuesday morning so I think I'll put up a vid real quick, you want anything while I'm up?"

[@theredoutcasts]

My band and I have our first Gig in a month or two, and we have been watching videos for tips and such, But this one was one of the ones that helped us the most. Thanks Dude

[@charlesenglish8617]

Goodluck mate 🙂

[@bernkastel2]

How'd it go?

[@theredoutcasts]

​@@charlesenglish8617thanks

[@theredoutcasts]

​@@bernkastel2it was delayed until the beginning of August, and it went pretty well thank you. If you look up our lead guitarists and singers channel DaGibs07 he posted the first half of the footage

[@lachiewallis9214]

i had my first gig with my band last night, we all said after it was done as soon as get on stage we just didn’t feel nervous at all and our 30 min set felt like 2 minutes. It went way better than I could have imagined despite my overdrive pedal being turned down way too low for the first song 😂

[@chrismiller1661]

This is spot on. Pretty much everything applies to my "younger self". More than anything else I have learned about tone since then. Pretty funny.

[@yooutubb]

I had my first public gig last month and it was with our music teacher who is a bassist, wasnt playing metal then but we still did great cus all the guys in the crowd said we were the best band that night.

[@johnnyjaime123]

I'm just starting out so this is really helpful. Big Thanks! 🙌

[@DoorStudios]

I just played my first gig last weekend and it was an awesome experience but so, so much went wrong. If I could go back and warn myself I would have said to look into how various equipment works, what a PA system and monitoring is and how both of that works, how to sound check properly, and more technical/sound stuff like that. Basically all this stuff I started binge watching informational videos about AFTER the concert. Don't rely on the "sound guy" or "the crew" to do everything for you if you are new to this. That can really mess you up. In our case, we couldn't hear drums for the entirety of our performance. And despite our begging for more drum volume on stage, nothing could be done. Our rythm was completely off.

[@havable]

You're actually better off having had so much go wrong. The lessons you learned have to be learned *deep* and if you only learn them on the shallow you won't know how important they are. I pity anyone whose first gig went according to plan.

[@havable]

One of my bands, the first gig was at North By Northwest (now defunct, but like SXSW). We'd just changed names so this was our first official show. It was in a pizza joint where the building was shaped like a pizza slice on a sharp corner street in downtown Portland, Oregon. The band was clustered in the "tip" of the pizza slice and there was room enough for a small audience. There were more people outside than in, listening and watching thru the glass wall. Just as we were getting started the lights went out along with most of the power outlets. The ones our amps were plugged in to worked. We happened to have a bunch of candles handy so we set up candles, turned on our instruments, and carried on. But it was also our last show because it was too much stress for about half the band.

[@liquidsolids9415]

That was really fun. Not many people would be willing to show videos of themselves from when they were teenagers. Thanks!

[@GuyNarnarian]

I still have that old Korg tuner. I checked it to see if it worked a few months ago. Keeps on keepin on!

[@lilty3778]

I just finished my first ever gig. I didn’t play my best but I still had fun while doing it. I made sure to enjoy every bit of it while it lasted lol.

[@KelticKabukiGirl]

Funny thing, my first paying gig was in 1994 at the age of 15 was opening for fucking MADBALL! Man I wish scene points were transferable to cash, I would have Space Joyride money....

[@germansalas6159]

Damn! What was you band?

[@PintsofGuinness]

duuuuude love the goldie STV. st vincent is one of my favorites.

[@caryrodda]

Good advice. Love those 80 tuners! (Love the Dolly t-shirt too.)

[@ThumperzGG]

Thanks this is super useful! Rock on

[@mattthompson7131]

Nice shirt Mike! Again, thanks for the advice 🤘

[@sterlingpratt4901]

What a fantastic little Frank on your guitar! 🤩

[@luthercozzi6485]

Wow dude. My first gig was pretty much exactly the same. teenagers at my high school. no tuners, no mid range to break through on a solo lol. those were the days!!!!!

[@corporalclegg914]

if I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to, “better quit doing that…you’ll go blind,” then I’d give myself insight into future stock buying musts. I’d be typing this comment from my yacht in the Mediterranean, while receiving a massage from G. Paltrow…instead of from a Van down by the River. You Rule, Mike. it may be a great time for more/new Beatles Content; that or a nice dive into the 1st 4 Metallica records again (or anything pre-Bob Rock)

[@scourge34]

We would practice in performance stance, always standing up like you're there. We would always work on songs and everything like we were on stage. Huge advantage for when you perform in front of people.

[@minkya1010]

The point is you did it! And learned and had fun

[@Australia__]

Brilliant video Mike, not only from a nostalgic perspective but also from the great advice provided, thank you Do you still have that guitar you used in your first gig.

[@jsbszic]

Wow interesting analysis of yourself mike great job

[@YesYouCANPlayGuitar]

I really enjoy your channel. Man do we have much in common when it comes to guitar, bands, influences etc… I’m thinking we are in the same ballpark age wise although I look like Gandalf for my age (crazy life in music lol). Really enjoyed your video on Testament. Happy new year!

[@freecandy4580]

My first gig was at Summerfest and we did alright but you could definitely tell we were amateur. We were able to do again last year and we had an extra 2 years of gigging experience so we killed it.

[@Toxodeth1984]

Dear Dude Guitar Master You are a Perfectionist , so really glad that finally someone was interested in review those horrible TABs or "music' books from back on the day or the 1st books ever , they were so wrong in almost every sense , I remember arguing with friends about that sounds not so much like the original and everyone saying : you are envious cause he has the book and you not , anyhow then more books came along and good hear and ear guys/gals playing the songs somehow almost identical or so close to it , then we starting to have doubts about the books then due to our ignorance back then we did not realize that it was NOT by the band who publish it but somebody who transcript it. Thank You again , you Rule compadre

[@becksvlogs9057]

Just played with my Youth Group band last night for a worship concert, Raise the Roof it's called. It was the first time; I'm the newest member of the band; except for once on a Sunday morning a couple weeks ago. It went great; I had a short solo (I'm the new lead guitarist) in one song and I had a lead part in the other song. Yeah, I wish I had looked away from the guitar more. But, nerves. And I wish I had gotten to play off my bandmates more. Next concert will be in October sometime probably, so hopefully I can loosen up and a have bit more fun then. Still, last night was awesome.

[@The_Rude_French_Canadian]

Love the Donny darko bunny on your guitar!

[@nickefgen9219]

Great video

[@MagikarpDiete]

Loved the advices. I’m very nervous when thinking about my first gig. It’ll be very soon. I’ll be by myself too so the pressure is all on my shoulders alone. It’s gonna be great tho. Thanks a lot

[@tleva]

How'd it go?

[@putridabomination]

My dad has that exact same guitar tuner.

[@greybushgames1]

Guitar strings is a must lol…My first gig went downhill because of no strings..We were 3 songs in and during the solo to (caught somewhere in time) I snapped my b string luckily I had another guitar I used at the time and was able to switch and finish the song…Then about an hour later while playing one of the solos to (Orion) I snapped the e string on that guitar..At this point I’m pretty much done for the night until I remembered that I had 6 packs of strings at my house…So I had to send a friend to dig around my house and find them and bring them back to me…Once he got back I restrung and got to finish the night out…What a crazy learning experience that night was and from then on I always made sure I had multiple string packs on hand for gigs…

[@dust17111]

Just have to chime in at 2:00 please do a video on how a at home player or small gig can get their lead sounds to sound full and crisp , I love my Rythm tones as a at home player but unless I'm playing with headphones on my fender mustang, my lead doesn't fit with the music I'm playing to , just sounds twangy and weak to be frank.

[@KelticKabukiGirl]

Get an Eq pedal, seriously, its an eq, volume boost, and if you boost almost all the bands, an overdrive.... there you go... done.

[@dust17111]

@@KelticKabukiGirl that seems to be consensus lol , but how to use the equalizer pedal there's the next video. I'm very impatient and when I see all those dials on the equalizer pedal I'm like damn that's gonna take some time ⏲ I'm not the boys from Styx I don't have too much time on my hands lol half Tru joke I'm a stay at home dad of 4 so time is always of the essence

[@Kjuio]

@@dust17111 expiriment, you'll get your sound quick

[@That80sGuitarist]

Im still searching for some members for my band, not a whole lotta people at my school like Ozzy, or Metallica, or Motley Crue or just metal music in general, Im about to go into high school next year so hopefully I'll find some people who like that metal and want to be in a band. I'm taking this advice though 😂

[@alfredoverton9649]

Yup. Our bands first show it got dark by our last few tunes and I couldn't see my neck well. Caused a few iffy notes.

[@device1974]

So do we get to see anymore of the actual gig? I know it's terrible but it'd be fun!

[@HannahCope88]

🤘🏻Hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing. At the same time I do like to think that everything happens the way it happens for a reason 🙂

[@ImYourOverlord]

Appreciate that practice and rehearsal are not the same thing.

[@MrTPF1]

I busted out laughing when you showed that huge China cymbal! My first "gig" was a bunch of us high schoolers with a modicum of talent attempted to play Freebird for the school's talent contest. What a disaster, but the crowd was cheering! LOL!!

[@Metallex]

Oh, this video takes me back to my first gig. So many memories of the exact same mistakes. There are a lot of positive things about making these mistakes that make us better performers and musicians. All these tips are brilliant, but I really think until you've lived snapping a string on stage with no back up, bad lighting, lack of rehearsal you really don't know how bad it could be. The last gig I did pre-pandemic, the support band had their frontman who had a Flying V with a Floyd Rose and no backup and he was at least 40. He'd never made that mistake of snapping a Floyd string and being ruined. Great video, but you don't truly learn from these tips UNTIL you live them. IMO, anyway :)

[@JoeyB469]

OMG, that road sign looking pic of the guy throwing up, had me rolling on the floor laughing. 🤣🤣🤣

[@johncrafton8319]

That St. Vincent is sick. I wish guitar companies would step out of their comfort zone more often, because when they do, we end up with instruments like this.

[@KelticKabukiGirl]

I bought a Digitech Legend II in 1993, the year they stopped making them, no tube in the preamp. Digital diarrhea into a Tubeworks SS Poweramp and 4x12 cab. Still love the cab. The processor has been obsolete for decades, so will every modeling amp. Tube amps just get vintage.... My Orange RockerVerb100MKII will outlive me...

[@GuitarguyRichard56]

pretty critical for a 1st gig!

[@dukenavarro9582]

This wasnt my first gig, but a couple of weeks ago I played a concert at my school to celebrate graduation. This concert had a few bands from different classes, and my band was somewhere in the middle of the event. Well for our forst song I played drums so I didnt know anything was wrong. Somone from one the bands before us cranked the volume and turned the gain way down on the dirty channel. So I go to play our second song, high enough by damn yankees, and we get the chorus and my guitar was soooo loud but really clean. Since we were playing, I couldn't fix it. I was sweating bullets during the solo trying to mess with my voulme knob to fix it, but it didn't work. So always check to make sure everything is set up right before you play, especially if you are sharing gear! Plus, maybe don't mess with the knobs on an amp unless you plan on putting them back to where they were

[@uncleoyster]

Oh boy do I recognise myself in this - all the way down to the overly sharp toned Peavey rig which wasn't really meant for guitar! A fun look back at a simpler (but more clueless) time, and some valuable advice for fresh musicians here.

[@muaythaikid4706]

I was thinking about playing lead in my church. My church does need a good lead. I hope I do good this Sunday

[@ricksonelbowknees6042]

Can u plz do a greatest guitar techniques on frank zappa

[@ylabwilly]

That is a great thumbnail!

[@vik2638]

That guitar is beautiful

[@addictedtoguitars4948]

The first time I ever play in front of an audience where I was supposed to be paid, it was an acoustic set. I broke a string, finished the song and changed it. No one was paying attention, no one cared. Later on in the night, I broke another string. By then, people were actually listening and noticed. Also, would you warn yourself that 30 years later you'd still be talking about this band?

[@TJTinerella]

I joined my first band a little different. I got in with older dudes at 17 yrs old and went straight into playing bars, clubs and street fests every Friday and Sat. They resisted my attempts to get them all to use a tuner because I was the rookie kid and they were the pro's. Until I challenged them to each tune by ear then check were they were on the tuner. When they saw that each of them were off a little bit but in different directions they all came to the conclusion we needed to use a tuner and suddenly it had always been their idea LOL...and YA bring extra guitars I had one get blown off stage at a huge Chicago Street fest and land on the head stock shattering the neck. My other Guitar player always brought an extra backup. And that gig are some of the rare surviving pics I have frome those days .....I used a EQ pedal as a boost too..... ps Ok That's not a "Concert" that's a backyard gig but cool you were out playing.

[@Juzze1983]

My advice: learn your songs before the gig together reheare with the band and learn the songs together that makes you sound tight. And don't take it so serious it's only rock n' roll. An older guitarist told me once when I noticed him hitting the wrong note: I didn't play it wrong I only pnayed it slightly different.

[@SG-js2qn]

Nice looking guitar, BTW. :)

[@ronmounts8075]

I can Relate to all your stuff that you went thru also,,, only,,, we could never play the whole songs to about 10 songs!!!! We only learned the Beefy parts,,, and people who would come over to watch us practice or party,,, would be big time getting into it,,, and then we would kinda stand around and timidly start playing a different tune,,, thats what I wished in my younger days of late 70s me and my Buds could of done,,, however,,, that was my fault cause I wouldn't learn the whole songs!!! Just the main riffs and rhythms,,, cause,,, we never had a singer,,, Man those were the days!!!! Im 58 years old and still thrive to jam in garages again lol!!!!!

[@ralphieralph9176]

its cool that you refer back on old experoences..but now the tech itslef has evolved a bit..like for instance, for me, I have ha boss katan 100..and I am ithe only guitarplayer..are these tips still "present/actuall? :.what would you recommend me getting that might lift borh rehearsals and aeventual live performance in terms of pedals or anything else?..thanks!

[@jnknsflrvy]

that was a good one

[@666Havers]

I was like this except I was the only guitarist..I found drinking beer on stage loosened me up a bit so it's handy to drink while playing👍

[@j.delacuadra_]

May be a little late on the comments but curious, how long was the set for this gig? Im hoping to play for a good friend of mine for his birthday. Any suggestions on how long the setlist should be and roughly how many songs? Cheers. All the way from Australia🤘🎸

[@OgamiItto70]

Maybe start with two easy songs. Stage fright/excitement can mess up your fine motor coordination, so a couple of songs that are easy to play can help break the ice and get you and the audience in the mood/into the groove. Save _Technical Difficulties_ for the second set. Play _Blood And Roses_ or _The Green Manalishi (With A Two-Pronged Crown)_ or _Wild Thing_ first.

[@ozman6602]

My first gig my guitar unplugged but was a good learning experience that's when someone told me to tuck the cord in my belt loop that was before wireless but our vocalist always thought it was bad luck to do a practice rehearsal the night before a gig so we never rehearsed the night before, but overall as nervous as I was it didn't go horrible. Lol but that is definitely something I would have said to myself if I went back in time is whatever dude you're old lol I was an Asshole when I was a kid couldn't tell me shit I would go back and probably hit myself lol.

[@danplaysguitar6706]

I don't have a wireless, I'll take that advice!

[@OgamiItto70]

"...Our vocalist always thought it was bad luck to do a practice rehearsal the night before a gig..." Your vocalist didn't want to burn his or her voice out before the gig. A good idea. For a vocalist. Ditch the vocalist and the rest of the band can rehearse the night before the gig. Or, if the vocalist also plays an instrument, they can play that and not sing. It is pretty important to be confident in your ability to play the set. Real confidence comes from proving it to yourself through rehearsal.

[@martyhafermann938]

I remember not having as much fun as I should have back then. Probably because we murdered the first song...Shout at the Devil...singer apologized to the crowd for the beginning

[@risulkospirecko2598]

Hey man, question for the point #2, does an overdrive pedal work as a booster for a gig? my main distortion box is a big muff. thanks and i love your videos!

[@TheArtofGuitar]

I wouldn’t because it would further saturate your tone which can make it almost disappear. MXR Micro Amp is my go-to now.

[@babylemonade2868]

Hi Mike is that a St Vincent guitar? If so do you think it’s a good guitar.

[@serigraph73]

oooh i love that shirt...

[@prod.everardoalcala69]

for the boost do you guys think an overdrive would do the job? My band is playing our first show in a month and I have a MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive that I don't use really but would keeping it at a low gain and higher tone be enough to boost my signal?

[@barryengle12666]

Well..... I have to say, that first show was leagues ahead of mine!! So you can go easy on your younger self, you guys were great. Picture this- 1983, a young Barry has never had a single guitar lesson. Lessons??? What? Where would you find a place to do such a thing? In Omaha Nebraska in 1982 when I got my first guitar, there was no well known spot, or guy in town. No internet, nothing like everyone has today. All I had was this beat up (believe it or not) 1959 Fender Stratocaster and a Peavey Deuce amp I bought from a neighbor, because I saw it at their garage sale. I got all this stuff for a whopping $150.00. The amp was $100, and I almost couldn't justify spending my last $50 on this crusty old, over used guitar- Oh how I'd love to go smack myself in the head back then and tell myself just to keep that beat up thing, trust me, keep it, although if you do the math, that now super expensive guitar was only 23 years old at that point, but still worth some cash as I've learned over the years, that's another story though- So I had gone to see Billy Squier with RATT opening the show, a dude my age comes up and asks me if I'm in a band, I said no, he says you want to be? Hell yes I do. He played bass, and he had to teach me what a barre chord was, well that was magic and I felt like I was officially a guitar player, no more "one fingered" song learning. After a couple months of rehearsals and now mastering 4 Black Sabbath songs, minus solos of course, those guys book a gig. Huh?? A gig? Yep. At a church here called St Lukes which held weekly punk shows in its gymnasium, so you can imagine the majority of the crowd that showed up. I was beyond nervous, and it was most likely obvious. Those guys mimicked every Motley Crue stage move they knew of from any videos they'd seen, and I stared at my guitar and tried to remember how the songs went, and horribly noodled way out of key noise for the solo sections. It was devastating to my image in the city for a good number of years. Most people understood I just had started playing and had no instruction, and most people have always blamed my band for booking the gig when they should've waited til I had more knowledge under my cap, but there were some who wouldn't let it go for years. I've gotten proper since then, not that I'm the greatest guitar player, but I can now noodle in key at least!!! But THAT whole experience is something I should be able to go back and be warned about. Great video, great topic!! Take care man, I dig your channel!!!

[@USSCYT]

Can you do a tutorial on how to use an eq as a boost please

[@bwgti]

He can do one here. but.. there are many excellent videos on this subject.

[@Ayyem93]

Pretty straightforward, on the eq boost the mids and highs/whatever you're trying to boost as well as the volume slider on the eq, turn it on when you want the boost.

[@Ayyem93]

Forgot to say slightly cut the bass and low mids if you want your low end to tighten up, you can basically use an eq like a tube screamer without the gain if you set it right.

[@marclaforest3282]

It's what we call learning process we all have to do it . And yes it's painful to listen after all this years but funny in the same time

[@Rikk_Klaww777]

That's what an ADA preamp was there for...lol😁 but the eq pedal into the fx loop of ADA wasn't also handy as everything HAD TO BE "thrash" scooped..😑🙄😒

[@thesoundboardstudio]

That MusicMan looks awesome

[@joeroe2622]

3:13 Literally every guitarist: *terrified gasp*

[@thegamingfish547]

you had some glorious hair

[@Graveyard_666]

I remember my first gig. Lots of fake blood and tuning issues. Good times.

[@Xero-Xmask]

Where are some places or ways to get a first gig as a teenager

[@havable]

First gig was a train wreck but I'm very glad I did it b/c I learned a whole lot in one night.

[@archangelofcoffee922]

You looked like a member of Canadian thrash band Sacrifice with the long hair.

[@tonyeckman4822]

All true words. Music is a gift. A lifelong learning process.

[@ilikeguitars3511]

Is that a new guitar?

[@technobat8601]

What guitar is that? It has a very cool body and color although im not a fan of the machine head placement. I like all off them on top.

[@vorpalblades]

Ernie Ball St. Vincent signature.

[@xyz8655]

You look like a young Ace

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

When Metallica released Ride the Lightning it made me want to play guitar. My dad took me to Mars Music (yeah, that Mars) and told me I could get whatever I want but I was going to make the payments. And not knowing shit I got the Jackson Dinky that Kirk played, a used Carvin 50w tube amp with a matching 4x12 cab, a Tube Screamer and a Boss delay. All told it was $1200 which was $40 /month. I did get a Korg tuner later when I got new strings. But what I learned the hard way was the tone you dial in while practicing in the basement didn’t even come close to a good live tone with a band.

[@chrishudson4940]

Have you ever regretted selling any guitars or gear? And have you ever found an older peice of gear you sold and found years later?

[@Ayyem93]

I'd tell myself "don't drink too much". I was pretty nervous so I got completely bombed on Jack and coke hours before and kept drinking until we had to leave, but watching the videos I didn't mess up a lot, a sour note once or twice per song. It was mainly that I don't remember hardly anything of the 30 or 45 minutes we got to play and now that the videos are gone because the person who filmed it deleted them I have no way of ever reliving that experience. Also I looked super cringe because I had these awful sunglasses on to try to hide the fact that I was wasted from my friends parents

[@xLegend1000x]

Jesus, are we the same person? Although, everyone _knew_ I was wasted - I just thought sunglasses in the dark was a *look*

[@ladyevil64]

One of my best friends was a bassist (and I acted as his roadie, because I had a car that could fit his amp in the trunk...paired with I was the only roadie that was a woman), and the band was sweating, because they didn't want him to be drunk on stage again. He and a friend ordered mudslide shots a minute before he had to be onstage, and even our friend was saying don't do it. After the band begging me to get him up there a bit sober, when our friend grabbed his own shot, I quickly grabbed the bassist's, and downed it. While he wasn't happy that I did it, he laughed, because it wasn't my style to do shots, and got up on stage, and was able to do the show successfully. One of the more memorable gigs. 😁🤘

[@waywardspirit7898]

Do what I did. Get yourself a flux capacitor and a DeLorean. That way you can go back and forth in time as needed. (in style I might add)

[@dartmoon6443]

I wish i could do that too. Had my first gig 3 weeks ago. Im 14 (lol)

[@ladyevil64]

While I haven't performed in a few years, many of these tips can be applied to belly dance. Too dark stages; dancers only practicing in front of mirrors, and not knowing how to dance in front of an actual audience; focusing on being technically proficient only, and not enjoying themselves; in the same vein, performing as if every teacher they've ever had is in the audience, and not finding their own performing style out of misplaced reverence. I felt I was too hard on myself, but some of these women are so hard on themselves that they take it out on other dancers. I try to take my cues from KISS who have said that from their very first show, they envisioned themselves playing at Madison Square Garden. It definitely helps if you have your sights set on bigger things. I would add, play and perform to your best, and don't get frazzled by the performer that can't keep up. I've watched too many friends start flubbing their performances, because they believe it will look, and sound, better to perform to the lowest common denominator. It just makes the whole band, or troupe, look bad. Do you, and fire the slacker afterwards. 🤘