Im gigging for the first time with my band, any advice and tips for coping with nerves asnever gigged before?

My band April Gunn are a wicked progressive/metal band and we have been entered in a Battle of The Bands competition but im the only onein the group whos never gigged before and dont cope with nerves well and dont want to let the guys down by bottling it on the night. Any advice and tips would be greatIm gigging for the first time with my band, any advice and tips for coping with nerves asnever gigged before?
Picture yourself performing just for the people in the front row and ignore that large crowd. Pick out a person who you are playing for. Don't drink alcohol or energy drinks before the show.Im gigging for the first time with my band, any advice and tips for coping with nerves asnever gigged before?
Many performers imagine in their minds that the stage is somewhat of a protective bubble. Although you see the crowd and they see you, you are in your own little world, that only you and your bandmates share, and nothing has changed from when you all rehearse. Get out those first few notes, and let the music carry you... you wont even notice the crowd. Have fun!!!
As an amateur musician who has played in lots of bands (including battles of the bands) I know where you are coming from.





There are a few tried and true methods to help with 'stage fright' but in the end you can never fully get rid of it (nor do you want to)





'the trick is not to get rid of the butterflies but to get them all flying in the same direction'





Of course the most important thing is to practice, practice, practice. But like my father used to say 'practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect'





What that means is that not any old practice is as good as the right kind of practice. First of all practice your set list and play the songs in the same order in rehearsal that you will in performance. (longtime touring vets can whip together a set list and play songs they didn't intend to but when you are starting out its better to have a 'set' set)





In fact you should try to recreate the performing atmosphere in practice as much as you can. For example if you sit down when you are practicing then you should sit down when you are performing (I don't know what instrument you play but it doesn't matter). If you plan to stand up while you are performing then you should stand up in practice.





You should even practice your 'stage moves' if you plan to just stand there and play (which is my preference) then its OK to do that in rehearsal but if your 'show' requires jumping around then you should do that in practice too.





Like the other guy said, a little alcohol can help but a lot definitely doesn't. Again it should be the same as your rehearsal - if you drink during rehearsals then do it on stage if you don't don't.





Breathing is important. Just before you take the stage take a few minutes and take some slow deep breaths. (sound silly but it actually works) Visualize a successful performance and don't forget to enjoy it.





One more thing. If you make a mistake, don't get mad at yourself (easier said than done) just roll with it and keep going. If its a really serious mistake you may actually have to restart a song (which is better than ploughing through if its really screwed up). As long as you are entertaining and share some emotion then the audience will forgive mistakes.





If you are rigid and fearful about making mistakes then you will surely make more of them and the crowd will be less forgiving. Be a human being complete with imperfections but make sure that you bring some emotion to the table and be true to yourself and your music and the crowd will respond favorably.





You don't have to be perfect but you do have to give the crowd something to chew on.





Good luck.
first of all allow yourself to be nervous before you go on stage..alot of people are sick or hysterical and then give the best performance...tell yourself you want the audience to enjoy themselves and you'll do that by communicating your enjoyment. you want to share..don't get drunk or high..your music will turn to rubbish
I still get nervous before most gigs and I've been gigging steady now for a little over a year. A few drinks definately help, but too many will only make it worse. If you smoke, do it immediately before you go on. That's what I've been doing lately and it works really well for me. But remember, drugs are bad and you should really never do them. Just keep in mind that everyone there (or most of them anyway) are there to see YOU. So allow yourself to have an ego for the night, tell yourself to quit being a panzy, and just concentrate on putting on a show. Good luck!!
You are going out there because it is fun, it is a party, not because you are some great opera singer they are worshipping. Your audience is there to have fun with you. They will get excited and high at the experience and so will you, it is a give and take thing between you, your band and the audience. Don't think that everything has to be perfect. Practice like it HAS to be perfect, but then go out and just have a blast and a party. Remember that is why everybody is there. You can get high on music just like artificial drug, the adrenaline starts flowing and you feel terrific. You and the audience are really there to get high, trust me and enjoy.
Focus on the drummer
Just focus on your music, Once you get past the first few chords you'll loose your nerves.
Just remember were you stand and remember they are all waiting for you to make a mistake. What you do is tell the guys you are going to make a mistake on purpose. Once this is done just give a smile and a titter to the onlookers and you are there. you will find this hard to do, but well worth it you are in charge then.
You need to remember to breathe, and if you're singing, you need to have some chewing gum or tart candy right before so your mouth doesn't go dry. Don't practice too much the day of the gig.
Good luck Leemason, I'm sure you will do well x
once you're on stage you should be fine (if you practiced enough). All the greats still get nervous before performances. But if you want something to help try doing some push ups before the performance. Or you can take a shot of your favorite alcoholic beverage. (Just 1) you don't want to go on stage wasted, because you'll really tank the performance.
bottle of jd and some cocaine will make you feel like hendrix
think of it as a jam session and you got a few thousand mates in .