Looper's Delight Archive Top (Search)
Date Index
Thread Index
Author Index
Looper's Delight Home
Mailing List Info
[Date Prev][Date Next]   [Thread Prev][Thread Next]   [Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index]

Scary Situations


>>David wrote:
>>"I had a nasty and humiliating experience in Berkeley a few years ago
>>when Henry Kaiser and John Oswald invited me to participate in a
>>noise-type event...
>I knew when I got there that I didn't really belong, but it wouldn't 
>have been appropriate to split so I stayed and gave it my best shot.

Scary.  How did you know when you arrived that you didn't 
belong?  Was everyone dressing like the guest list at an art school 
concert?

I think about when I've been in scary situations.  My first impulse 
is usually, "Well, it can't get any worse.  At this point I have 
absolutely nothing to lose.  So I'm gonna dig in and hold on."  Then 
my more sensible brain kicks in and I decide whether I'm going to 
play quietly and not get in anybody's way or loudly and make an 
impression.  But then I taught myself guitar after having nightmares 
about not being able to play guitar and being on stage and having a 
guitar solo.  Man, it can never get worse than that.

I can get tense on stage but I never have actual stage fright because 
I tell myself:

1. The audience didn't come to hear me suck. So they will be charitable.

2. If I suck then the folks I'm playing will also suck.  So they will 
do their best to keep my head above water.

3. Some people have in the past enjoyed some of my most desperate moments.

4. The worst experiences make the best stories.

5. It's only a gig.

Remember what PT Barnum said, "I don't care what they say about me as 
long as they spell my name right."

Cheers,
Kevin

The Nettles: Progressive and Exciting Celtic Music
www.TheNettles.com