From the Bedroom to the Stage
So, you've been spending some time perfecting your craft. You probably feel pretty comfortable with your instrument now and perhaps you're ready to take yourself out into the great wide world. You may have been having your drum lessons, bass lessons or your guitar lessons for a while now and you've honed your technique. Perhaps you've built up a good range of songs you can play, or maybe you've started writing your own. What now?
Let's get on that stage!
Before you step foot on a stage, as a solo act or with a band, here are 5 tips to make your first gig go smooth.
1. Preparation
The first thing you want to do is be prepared. Make sure you know what your setlist is going to be and be aware of your stage time. If the promoter of the night tells you that you have a 30 minute slot, don't prepare and expect to play 45 minutes worth of material. Remember there are other acts on the bill and a little courtesy and good timekeeping goes a long, long way. Measure the length of the songs you plan on playing and account for time between songs where you might want to speak to the audience to tell them about yourself and to plug your weblinks/merch. Preparation also extends to your instruments. Tune your gutiars, make sure you've got spare strings and spare cables. Make sure all your amp settings are in order. Make sure your drums are tuned and your vocalist warms up before the show. Preparation is everything and you want to make the best impression you possibly can.
2. Promotion
No one wants to play to an empty room. Promotion is a tough art to master, and you could spend hours and hours promoting this gig, the fact is, you might still not pull a single head through the door. But, you have to try right? The old school musicians among us love the tried and tested methods of promotion which involves flying and posters, but good promotion doesn't have to come at a cost. You have an entire network at your fingertips with social media. Set up a page for your music or your band and invite your friends. Ask your friends to share the page and gig related posts, this will expose your content to a new network of people who might not know you directly. This will help broaden your visibility and reach. Being visibile on social media will help audiences connect with you and your music which in turn also encourages them to share your content. If you have a date booked in a specific town, contact the people you know live in that area and recruit them to spread the word.
3. Rehearsal
This should go without saying, you need to rehearse the material until you can play it with your eyes closed. You want to be familiar with the songs you'll be playing and if you're playing it with other musicians you want to be sure that everyone knows their parts and how they all fit together. If you're playing as a band, spend time working on your start and ends of songs. You want to be sure that you're all starting at the same time and finishing at the same time as well as keeping things tight in between. If you're rehearsing as a band, you should set up as if you're on stage (amps beside the drums) to get used to the sound of how it will be on stage. If you set up in a circle you will get tuned into hearing things coming from certain directions. It's good practise to time your rehearsals too, especially when running over a setlist that has to stick to a certain timeframe. Be sure you aren't going over and plan what you or your singer is going to say to the crowd.
4. Be Punctual, Polite and Friendly
This is a tip that should extend to every gig you do, not just your first. Show up as early as you can. I don't mean at 9am, but if you know the venue opens in the mid afteroon, show up shortly after. This will give you a chance to just be seen and most importantly meet the people running the show. The sound guy is the person responsible for making you sound good so get on good terms with them, introduce yourself and chat a little about your sound. If they like you as a person, they will go out of their way to help you. If you show up late and you're dismissive, people won't be as inclined to help. Just remember we're all in the same sinking ship, we have to make the most of it and network and get on with each other whatever our roles.
5. Enjoy It
This is your moment. Your songs and your talent are getting shown to the world. Have fun and enjoy it. Lose yourself in the moment and put on the best show you can. You should play every gig like it's your last and give the same energy to 10 or 10,000 people.