I'll go first:

*First job (that's for Uncle Dave, who hates the "G" word): February, 1956 (11 years old) at the Officers Club-Ladd AFB, Fairbanks, Alaska. Pay: $10.00 for two hours.

*First song: "Mr. Sandman"-Les Paul style.

* Worst Gig: 1976-Sportsman Lounge-Lexington, Kentucky. A guy comes staggering out of the mens room just a few feet from where I was playing with his throat slit-caught by his "date's" husband.

* Best Gig: Imperial House-Lexington, 1978. Raised, revolving circular platform stage. Several well endowed servers with low-cut tops passing by constantly. Man, I missed a lot of notes and changes, and didn't give a damn!

Who's next?

R.

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-26-2008).]

Hi Russ,

Here's what I can remember;

1st job: When I was 12 years old my best friend's uncle hired me to play a party. He had a nice Hammond organ and I mad $15.00. I thought I owned the whole world.

I really don't remember a first song.

Worst job: October 12, 1992 in Harrisburg PA. It was a bar mitzvah for the son of the local cantor. The wife made the job a living hell. She was on my back from the time I got there until the time I left. I never did another bar mitzvah after that. A few years later I learned that the cantor had been sent to prison for molesting little girls. I guess what goes around comes around.

Best job: I like to think I haven't worked it yet. I've had several. My first long term club job in Tallahassee Fl. was great. It was at the 12ht floor supper club of the round Holiday Inn and I was there 6 nights per week for 7 years. I built a huge following and every night was so much fun. For a single gig, the time I was flown down to Miami Beach to do a wedding at the Doral Hotel stands out. Another night was back at the Holiday Inn when Peter Nero came in and sat in with me. I was on B3 and he played piano. We had a ball. There have been many more but I don't want to bore you.

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

I'll add one more. A few years ago here in Baltimore at the Renaissance Hotel there was a broadcasters convention. Mr. King of Kingworld (which distributes Oprah, Wheel of Fortune, ect.) came in every night and put a hundred dollar bill on the piano and said, "Play whatever you want." Now that was cool.

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

[This message has been edited by Songman55 (edited 11-26-2008).]

1962.... 10 years old I was playing my accordion at a backyard family party....some one came to me and said can you play Mala Femmina, I said sure & when I was done he handed me $10.00 !!!WOW!! that's was in 1962. I said to myself maybe there's something to this music thing?... 40 years later I'm still gigging the rest is history!

..........................................

Worst gig was in 1981...I was the musical director for a big 50's Rock & Roll show series sponsored by New York radio station WCBS...these were shows aboard the Holland America Cruise lines ships HMS Vollendam. We were on our way to Bermuda & this show was with the 50's singing group Mystics who had a #1 song Hushabye 1959 for Lauire records.....there was 5 singers & 5 musicians for the shows...anyway on the second night I noticed the officers stringing up velour ropes throughout the hallways....when I asked what are these for he said " captain says we are in for some rough seas, Hurricane David" but we will cruise 200 miles around it....yea right!!!! that night we were ready to perform in the Grand Ballroom and the ship was rocking beyond belief...the piano was shifting, the singers couldn't stand straight on stage, people were vomiting in the audience....& most of the passengers were hanging off the railings outside....my drummer was so seasick we had to finish the show with a Filipino Drummer from the crews band YIKES!!!! It was horrible
.........................................

Best gig.....there are too many to select just one.....I play alot of high end affairs with super food & every kind of rich accutriments you can think of, at all the top places....but what makes a gig best for me is when the client hands me a check with a Big smile on their face, gives me a hug & says WOW....thank you so much for making my affair a night I will never forget.

That's what its all about!



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-26-2008).]

First paid gig didn't start out as a paid gig. After two songs, someone paid me to stop playing.

Best gigs........the ones where I didn't go straight home (when I was young and single, of course).

chas

1st gig was my next door neighbors birthday party. 25.00 dollars for the whole band. played 2 songs and the police shut us down for playing to loud.
first song i sang was "Lonely teardrops" by Jackie wilson live on the radio. i got 500 letters to get me off the air. that was in 1964.
the worst gig is me not playing now. i never thought i would miss it this bad.

First gig ... About 13 years young (circa 1952), my father got me a gig for $5 at a local 'Eagles' club ...
At 16, in my first band (R'n'R) playing at a picnic at my High School on the back of a truck as a stage ... felt like a rock star !!!

First vocal - PS I Love You by Johnny Mercer and Gordon Jenkins http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/psiloveyou/psiloveyou.htm

Worst gig ... a wedding where no one from one side spoke with the other side ... no dancing, laughing, NOTHING !!!

Best gig ... A lot of them, but one of the best was at "The Manor" in New Jersey ... 8 hours - all the food we could eat, including lobster !!! ....... http://www.themanorrestaurant.com/dining_buffet.htm

We are VERY fortunate to be in this business ...
t.



[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 11-26-2008).]

First gig: don't know. Probably singing at some church with my dad's band.
At age 4, I sang 1 song on an album we recorded, and sang 1 verse and harmony on the chorus of another. Age 5 I was full-time drummer with the family band.

Worst gig: Hmmm. Maybe the time I was playing in a bar with a country band and some drunk knocked over one of our lighting rigs which almost fell on top of me; glanced off my shoulder. Or, maybe the time a couple years ago when I was playing sax outside in 100+ degree weather, no breeze, and literally passed out for about 15 seconds. Oops.

Then, there was what could have been the worst gig and turned out to be a great one. I was working with a booking agent at the time who booked me for a few shows through Texas. One was at this big church somewhere, I forget the town. Anyway, I arrive in town and call the pastor to get directions and figure out where we're staying, and he says "you're who? And you're here why?"
Well, they managed to fit me in to do a few songs during their evening worship service, and I ended up making nearly 2 grand that night; which wasn't bad at all for being unexpected.

Greatest gigs? My 2 short performances on the Ryman Auditorium stage have to rank right up there at the top.
Last month I was part of a band playing a private Halloween party at Naomi Judd's residence. Wynonna Judd and 2 of the Supremes, (one original) came up and sang a few songs with us.

[This message has been edited by FAEbGBD (edited 11-26-2008).]

Tony..... I love the West Orange Manor played there many times thru the years...super nice place!

http://www.themanorrestaurant.com/




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-28-2008).]

1st gig-non paying-1977, My high school band played at a dance marathon...no money

1st gig-paying-1977, Played w/same band above outside for a summer picnic for our guitar players Dad's American Legion in Monroeville, PA. Pretty sure we each made $25.

1st song-Can't get enough of your love-Bad Company

Worst gig-1999, my drummer fed me a strong lead to a lounge in Dayton, OH. This club was known for mostly 70's rock but in talking to the owner, they assured me they really wanted to bring in some new kinds of music for their patrons. (I WAS UP FRIKKIN' FRONT ABOUT THE KIND OF STUFF WE PLAYED!!!) They booked us for the full weekend (Fri/Sat)

By the 4th or 5th song I realized we were in trouble...Apparently all those people that "wanted" something different stayed home or something. On the 2nd set, realizing this was not going well at all, I approached the owner and offered knock $100 off that night's wages and we'd stop now. They could find someone else for Saturday night. She looked at me kinda funny and said, "F*ck those clowns-I think you're great and I work tomorrow night so I want you back anyway..."

Ugh...

Its worth mentioning that whole weekend was just weird. My sax player's dad passed away early on Friday and while he insisted on playing the gig, his mind-understandably-was elsewhere...My bass player (who I would wind up firing)lectured me that I couldn't add a female singer or a guitar player...we had to stay a quartet and not under any circumstances become a 5 piece. His rationale? "I have no right to reduce his pay..."

Best gig-One that comes to mind is when another band I was in performed at the Three Rivers Arts Festival at Point State Park in Pittsburgh. The estimates from the people running the event put the crowd that night around 30 thousand. We had one of those "Live Aid" size PA's and the weather was perfect. My family was in the front row and they seemed to take me & my music a little more seriously after that, lol...

------------------
Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-27-2008).]