Pills & Drugs for nerviness on stage

[Jevil]

hey guys, what would you recommend to avoid terrible nerviness before going into stage?

I've been playing live for 10 years as guitarrist without a problem, but now I'm on a project in which I have to be the frontman ,sing, play, etc... and due to the success of it I'm going to play in bigger audiences...

I'm worried... debut is on June 5.

Beer is always a good friend but it makes me forget the lyrics!

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Beta Blockers.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Beta Blockers.

I know some classical musicians who pop them like nothing. Works very well apparently...

I'm just glad I don't have any issues with that. If it's five people, five thousand or fifty thousand, I wouldn't care.

I've had several people freak out as studio guests, though there were no one around except a few people standing in the studio. I guess the thought of being listened by a few hundred thousand people puts some people off the moment the mic goes live.

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

How bout a blow job? Seems to have a very mellowing after-effect for many.

 

[Jevil]

Beta Blockers.

Isn't it a bit risky?

 

[Jevil]

How bout a blow job?

Okey sweetheart. Whenever you want.

 

[Jaymz]

Isn't it a bit risky?

Yeah its more forgiveable if you forget the lyrics rather than having a heart attack mid set

 

[Sweetnothing]

I used Lexatin or Myolastan back in the day, however, as soon as you drink, you get sleepy quite fast.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Dude, just tought it out. Yeah it sucks, and this is comming from someone who was had huuge problems with pre-gig nerves, but in the end nothing works better than just doing it. It will be scary for the first couple of times, but the more you do it the better it will feel and you'll get used to it.

One thing that did work for me however was working at McDonalds. Everytime I work the register I stand in front of like 30+ people all looking at my every move, and as I got used to that, I noticed that all my pre-gig nerves was getting alot better! Probably not a very helpful advice, but it proves that you can get over it with practice.


PS: One last, kinda controversial tip, would be to before you go onstage just think about the worst thing you can imagine. Like your loved ones being tortured to death or something. That way, thinking about the worst thing that could possible happen to you, will make just playing in front of a bunch of people seem like nothing. Try at your own risk though!

 

[Chryst Krispies]

I'm pretty sure any drug you take is going to have a risk of some sort attached to it.

 

[OctoberRust]

Go on stage before doors open and make it yours. Stand on your place and imagine how it'll be playing there in a few hours and how much you'll enjoy it.

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Everyone thinks that they'll get too nervous to play, but once it's game time you're usually fine.
Just think that the people are there to see you, all your favorite bands play live and tear it up, repeat a few Pantera lyrics as a prayer to Dime, make sure you're hydrated properly, and your good to go.

As long as you've practiced and were tight there, you have really nothing to worry about. Just make sure your mix you're hearing onstage is hood.

Drugs would be like my LAST ditch effort to save myself, but I don't have the problem.

Sometimes you gotta go back to basics, especially moving from guitar to singing.

 

[iamandy]

just syke yourself up before you go on, and don't get too drunk where you forget lyrics.. just get abit merry!

 

[AudioPhile777]

Two shots of Tequila... thats it.

I'm usually pretty nervous until I get on stage, then it goes away...

 

[beyond dead]

percocet or oxycontin work pretty well... lol

 

[StefTD]

I was pretty nervous in the beginning, nowadays it's an almost "normal" feeling.
But for me it's really relaxing to talk about ultra-bullshit with my bandmates before going on stage.
Stuff like: "I heard that gorillas are able to tie knots into there penises-do you think
I am able to do the same thing because I am hairy as a gorilla"
(and no-I never heard of stuff like that and I am way more hairer than a gorilla , it's just an example)

Oh and I fucking love to drink a few shots of Jägermeister before going on stage.

 

[Jevil]

I was pretty nervous in the beginning, nowadays it's an almost "normal" feeling.

Yeah, for me is normal in my usual band where I play and sing backing vocals and the same old songs played during the last 12 years, but this time is different is a project similar to Spinal Tap, Bad News and that kind of stuff, stoopid lyrics and funny things. The success has been huge, radios, mags, tv, more than 100.000 downloads of the albums, almost 1.000.000 views in Youtube... I have to tell the jokes, sing, remember the lyrics and play guitar.
Another problem is that we have rehearsed only 3 days all together and is only 1 month to the debut.

 

[Via Noctis]

Lorazapam. Anti Anxiety drug.

 

[Moonlight_Seeker]

I try to remember how my life would be boring if I never did gigs. It's not a miracle recipe but it reminds me why I am there.

 

[Erkan]

One thing that totally kicks ass is fooling around before you start... like some sort of warmup. You might not be able to do this at every gig though, especially if the gigs are more like a show, an act, where everything is pre-dictated so you can't fool around for a minute. By fooling around I mean like, just playing some random shit and watching people's reaction to what you play, it really is an awesome tension-unloader.

I play drums, and even though it has been a long time since I played live at a big show, I still remember how I felt before the very first show. I was fucking nervous, but as soon as I got on the stage, it disappeared and I was filled with focus instead. And when I got to my kit, I just "sound checked" a little and warmed up and played some random shit and I watched the audience while doing so, and it destroyed any nervosity that was remaining.