The cowboy way, heh well not exactly...

Have you ever had a bad experience involving music, what seemed like a really debilitating experience at the time? I mean, have you ever sat with someone and felt like you blew it, not being able to come up with all of the great ideas that seemed so easy at home, but were just nowhere to found during what seemed like your first break with professionals, or even your first break on stage, losing some of your enthusiasm as a result? I'm sure that this has happened to everybody at one point or another, but what matters is how you deal with it. It sometimes happens that we all take a small failure (or percieved failure) too seriously, because all in all we take our music very seriously. Which is when we should really take a lesson from the cowboys: jumping back on the horse that you just fell of of. Meaning not to think about it for while, just try your best to get back to your old routine.

I remember my first show, as well as my first time with big fish in what seemed like a little pond. For the first two years of playing, I think its safe to say that we develop a chip on our shoulder, (especially if we have lightning fingers), but although we are told time and time again, we dont realize that timing is everything until much later (through experience.) With my first show, I felt very much prepared, but the rest of the guys involved were very out of it, which tends to put a damper on your enthusiuasm as well. Needless to say the show was a disaster in my mind. Which can kind of kill things for you, especially since you have tried so hard for as few years of mandatory practicing.

However, the idea is that confidence is an important part of being a good rider. (back to cowboy stories again.) One of the main reasons for that is the horse is much bigger and stronger than anyone, but if the rider is confident the horse doesnt realize just how small that rider is in relation to itself. If the rider successfully gets back on his horse he can begin to counter effect the fall in his mind. I think Ive seen too many John Wayne movies with my free time, but i think you get the picture, heh...

This is just coming off of the top of my head after a long hard day, :).

-Joseph, :)

I remember the time I saw Bill Dickens (aka "The Buddha of Bass") play as part of a Peavey guitar/bass/drums clinic... I coudn't even look at my bass for 3 days. But after that I started trying some of the ideas he was talking about, and I'm probably a better bassist for the whole experience.

Other than that, I've had a few crappy nights. One night I was sick as all hell. I went home from this open mic early and went to bed- for three days straight. Anyway, I was really off- I screwed up Johnny B. Good very badly. So I blindly wandered off the stage and some guy comes up to me and asks me to play in his band and all I can think is "I just ____ed up Johnny B. Good... what does he want from me?" So like I said, I went home and spent the next 3 days in bed wondering if I was going to vomit or leave some skid marks.

But if you can get back on stage after a horrible and public humiliating experience, you're well ahead of the game. It prepares you for far more traumatising events later in life like nothing else can.

Originally posted by Raskolnikov
"I just ____ed up Johnny B. Good... what does he want from me?" [/B]

Well, sometimes during what seems like our worst shows (and in reality really were our worst shows), there is sometimes just that one person who was able to notice certain key elements to the performance that made it all worth while. Then again, perhaps they are just too kind, :).

-Joseph

Actually, I think they were just despearate for a bass player.
And being sick just made the whole situation extreamly sureal.