Remember your first performance?

[saturn]

Mine was in 11th grade, I did the high school variety show.

 

The guitar teacher talked me into playing, because there wasn't enough actuall music. A lot of singing and dancing.

She knew I could play some classical guitar. I played "Dee" by Randy Rhoads and "The Spanish Ballad". For some stupid reason I played my friends steel string, and it was a POS. I would have been better off playing one of the school's nylon string guitars.

 

Anyway, I was so nervous my fingers were trembling but I somehow managed to play the songs with only a few errors. I guess it's kind of good that I couldn't see sh!t with the spotlight shining in my face, but I could hear my buddies shouting things like "wooo" and "go Jay...". And girls screaming and fainting

[RichCI]

I was fifteen ot sixteen at the time and played some covers at a camp with my band and was nervous as hell. I threw up afterward.

[Notes_Norton]

I was in Junior High school at the time. I was with a few buddies playing at a place called "The Beach Burger". Most of the other boys were out on their surfboards waiting for that big wave. I was at the Beach Burger with all the girls playing music. I knew I had the better spot.

 

Notes

[Rui Barata]

I never had a first performance...at least as a guitarrist. I've been a drummer for the last 27 years.:-

[Cruznolfart]

My Parents used to drag me out to sing for company. I reckon I was probably 5 or 6 years old first time I performed. That would'a been about '53 or '54. I sang solos in church from a very tender age. First gig on an instrument was a church talent show; I played a piano solo, sang a solo and played in a drum ensemble. First pro gig was at the age of 14, backing up Ray Peterson at our county fair as he sang Corrina and a few other pop hits. I was always a bit nervous until the first note, after that I was in my own space.

[DanvillRob]

Oh yeah... 1965... Carlo's Pizza in Fremont. We had practiced together maybe 2-3 weeks, none of us sang, and we knew about a dozen songs, (of COURSE all instrumentals). Not sure why this photo was on TV... nor how it was sent to me!)

 

If you read Bruce Tahsler's book, "Garage Bands From The 60's, Then And Now", you'll see that MANY SF Bay Area Groups started at Carlo's Pizza!

 

[ChanMan]

Odd... but this seems kind of difficult for some reason this morning. I guess my first musical "performance" was actually playing bongo drums in front of a 3rd grade class...

 

The first time I played Guitar was with Tom Dorsey for Career Day in Jr. High.... We played Smoke on the Water and Wild Thing.

 

My first solo show was an impromptu thing while we were at the beach on vacation. Started out to be just me playing the guitar for a couple of chicks, but I ended up surrounded by folks who stopped by to listen.

 

 

:-

[ShredAstaire]

2001! We started a band for fun and then started writing cool songs so we wanted to play them for people.....the audience was mostly my co-workers but it was a WILD party and everyone had a killer time. I almost barfed before getting on stage but as soon as I strapped the guitar over my shoulder, I felt absolutely FINE!! :- Awesome night!

[stevef]

Local school dance '66 (battle of the bands- lots of 50s/60s slow songs. Winner got to play extra 1/2 hour, and a bit extra in the envelope). I played keyboards. We had a good night, got the extra.

[Kolera]

A school-thing some 15 years ago. My brother on electric-acoustic guitar, a friend of his on drums, me on electric rythm/lead and some musicteacher on keys. My brother plays bass also, but we chose two guitars and let the keys do the bass part.

 

We did a self composed instrumental for a few minutes and then went in to a pumped up rock version of House of the Rising Sun with a couple of chicks doing the singing. Or whatever you would call it. They couldn't sing if their lifes depended on it, but they had other ehm... talents... :- The music sounded great though, if I should say so myself.

 

A couple of the "hip" kids walked out. Rock wasn't very popular amongst kids in that age at the time, but we were having the time of our lifes and couldn't care less. We never really did. I even saw some of the parents rocking out in their chairs, singing along.

 

It was great fun. And we were fxcking LOUD! :-

[L5Larry]

My first gig was around 1973 in a shopping mall. Two guitar players and a harmonica player. The event was an open house kind of thing for a private college the other guitar player went to.

[charlie brown]

I was 13...(1963)...played at the City park, on the tennis courts, during the summer 4th of July Celebration.

Played "Louie, Louie," "Little Latin Lupe Lu," "La Bamba," "Pipeline," "Not Fade Away, Words of Love, Peggy Sue,"

among others. I used our drummer's older brother's '63 SG Junior, and his Gibson (single 12) tube amp. Bass player

used his new Japanese Teisco bass, into a borrowed PA amp and speaker cabinet. Used the City's PA. It sounded...

well, like 13 and 14 year olds, in 1963....not too bad, but definitely, room for improvement. LOL! (Sorry, no photos)

 

3 (short) years later:

That's me, with the Gretsch Country Gentleman, and Vox Super Beatle.

 

3 years, after that:

(200watt Marshall "Major" (AKA "The Pig")) '68 Les Paul Custom, and '68 Rickenbacker 360-12 "Jetglow"

 

Ahhhh, the "Good Old Days!" ;>)

 

CB

[cookieman15061]

I was 15 years old and the rhythm guitar player in my first band. I had an Aria SG copy and we played a Sweet 16 birthday party dance. Opened and closed with Takin Care Of Business.