#1645683 - 04/25/05 05:26 PM
Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Guitr777
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Registered: 03/11/02
Posts: 368
Loc: Carrollton, TX
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We've been rehearsing and rehearsing and finally played our first gig. The lights and sound were done very well, the music was very tight, and we had about 100 or so people show up. (Amazing how many people you can get to come to a free event!)
The only real problem we had was when, after the sound check, I noticed that my left hand was cramping and my playing (guitar) was slower and a little sloppier than usual. We had been rehearsing every day for two weeks except for the day before the gig, so I chalked it up to not having played the day before. Little did I know...
My playing was OK throughout the evening, but my playing got sloppier until the last two songs of the night when my hand cramped up real bad and my first three fingers locked up in a row. So, I laid on the wah-wah and played funky rhythmic things to cover up the fact that I couldn't move my fingers. After the show, I noticed that the muscle between my thumb and index finger was very swollen as was the areas in between my index-middle/middle-ring fingers.
It seems that I have a touch of tendonitis. So, I'll be resting the hand for a couple of weeks. Next time I'll know better than to rehearse for hours on end for two weeks in a row.
Everything else about the evening was perfect. I had lined up a few other warm-up solo acts as well as a string quartet. They played extremely well and everyone loved them.
Then the lights dimmed and the audience cheered/clapped/whistled and Ken, the sound guy, turned on our opening sound bite of rolling thunder and howling wind. We have these huge strobes on both front light trees and he did a great job of simulating lightening. The fog made it all the more eery. Then the effects faded and we eased into the first song, which is kind of an epic ballad kind of thing that grooves pretty good after it gets going. The light show was fantastic - lasers, moving lights and much, much fog. I loved it!!!
The crowd was with us the whole night. Since we are a band that does 99% originals, I took this as a good sign.
We received many kudos after the show and we were even asked to autograph a couple of advertisement posters!
Someday I hope to give you the kind of eloquent and awe inspiring gig reviews a-la Erik. But for now, I am just happy to be playing out once again!
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#1645684 - 04/25/05 07:47 PM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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mstreck
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Registered: 12/27/02
Posts: 876
Loc: MD
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Nice! Very, very nice!
Congrats!
Mike
_________________________
Petting Hendrix Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked in the head by an iron boot? Of course you don't--no one does--that never happens.
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#1645685 - 04/26/05 12:31 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Basshappi
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 06/16/03
Posts: 2715
Loc: Tucson,AZ
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Congrats on a successful gig Guitr777!
_________________________
Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai
Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands.
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#1645686 - 04/26/05 01:28 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Strangerbytheminute
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Registered: 11/29/04
Posts: 190
Loc: Seattle
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Congrats on a good gig...
It seems that I have a touch of tendonitis
But...I know that this sounds wierd, but the BEST cure is....Bee stings. I know it sounds like a wive's tale but if you do a search on the web you'll find that there is a branch of medicine devoted to bee venom. I gather that it's a very powerful anti-inflamitory. Check it out. My friend swears by it, but I haven't found a bee keeper yet to do it....and I'm going to have to be pretty drunk before I let a bee sting me. Good Luck....
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#1645687 - 04/26/05 03:49 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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GZsound
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 01/17/01
Posts: 6074
Loc: Somewhere in Oregon
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Yeah, you need to take care of your hand. I have a condition called "trigger finger" that effects the tendon in one of my fingers..can't make a fist and it effects my keyboard playing but seems to have no effect whatsoever playing my sax..go figger.
I'm at the point where the only option is surgery.. Don't let yours get that bad. Cut back entirely until it heals or you will just keep hurting yourself..
_________________________
Mark G.
"A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame others" -- John Burroughs
"I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man." -- Thomas Jefferson
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#1645688 - 04/26/05 08:11 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Kris
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Registered: 03/22/00
Posts: 1531
Loc: Tallahassee, Florida
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I had a similar occurance 9 years ago... I had to stop playing guitar for almost a year...
On the bright side, I picked up the harmonica and joined a blues band...
The moral of the story is NEVER continue playing if your hand cramps up... you run a high risk of permanent damage... My hand has never quite healed 100% but I continue to play fine... though the old injury definately holds me back from my full playing potential... I do lots of stretching before I play...
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#1645689 - 04/26/05 09:05 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Botch.
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Registered: 08/17/00
Posts: 8149
Loc: Ogden, Utard
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Congrats, Guitr! Neat that you thought of using an effect on the last two songs, and saving the show (at least you didn't dance a jig and storm off! :p ).
Take care of the tendonitis, that's cost us two guitarists already! 
_________________________
Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will http://www.puddlestone.net
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#1645690 - 04/26/05 02:03 PM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Guitr777
Senior Member
Registered: 03/11/02
Posts: 368
Loc: Carrollton, TX
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Thanks for the back-pats and sage advice for this withering old man! Oh, to be 18 again! 
After reading your replies, I am going to be extra careful with my hand.
Are there any particular warm-ups that I should do to help prevent this from occurring again? The bee-sting cure sounds interesting, but I think I'll pass! 
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#1645691 - 04/26/05 03:00 PM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Kris
Platinum Member
Registered: 03/22/00
Posts: 1531
Loc: Tallahassee, Florida
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My favorite stretching exercise: (best to do this one backstage)
1) Start with your arms straight out front, fingers/hands/wrists relaxed.
2) Straighten fingers and bend wrists straight up... hold 5 seconds...
3) relax fingers/hands/wrists 5 seconds...
4) hands into a fist and bend wrists down... hold 5 seconds...
repeat 10 times...
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#1645692 - 04/27/05 11:11 AM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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typi
Senior Member
Registered: 12/15/01
Posts: 118
Loc: Coast to Coast
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Many Congrats! It's always a tremendous feeling to get out there and get the First One under your belt. I, too, just recently (November 2004) got my new band 'out of the gate', and we just booked our 6th gig!
There is no feeling quite like the first one, so savor the moment!
_________________________
"You're either WITH me, or you're AGIN' Me!" (Yosemite Sam)
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#1645693 - 04/27/05 01:35 PM
Re: Our first gig - a smashing success!!!
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Guitr777
Senior Member
Registered: 03/11/02
Posts: 368
Loc: Carrollton, TX
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As a result of this first gig, we now have a potential series of opportunities in Colorado. Road Trip! Woo Hoo!
I'm not counting my chickens yet, but I'm just thrilled about the possibility...
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