Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 04:36 PM

Hey guys,
a friend of mine asked me if I could play at his birthday party. I said "Ok, no problem.", but I don´t know yet what I could play... I thought of "Nocturnal Vision" if I manage to play it until Monday. Another songs: Tender Surrender, For the Love of God. Maybe a reggae song by Bob Marley or a song by Metallica? And of course: HAPPY BIRTHDAY (in Hendrix style ).
So, my question: which songs would you recommend to play on a party?

Cheers,
Tolek

Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 12 2008, 04:39 PM

It depends what kind of music does he like(metal, rock, etc.)

Posted by: swingline Jul 12 2008, 04:41 PM

It probably can't be anything way too technical due to your time constraint.

Posted by: Capt.Z Jul 12 2008, 04:45 PM

Happy Birthday (Hendrix Style)



EDIT: Maybe if this was a poll...

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 04:51 PM

There will be a lot of people with different music styles. My friend likes metal and rock, others like reggae and pop. They will like everything I play I think.


You´re right, but I can give it a try. Nocturnal vision is a fantastic song that is easy to remember for me. The other two songs by Steve Vai are hard, but I´ve practised them for ~1 year now...

Some ear-catcher songs?

Posted by: Capt.Z Jul 12 2008, 04:52 PM

Some Crazy Satriani songs!!

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 04:54 PM

I can´t play them. Except from Surfing with the Alien (only a bit). I haven´t had a serious look at them yet.

Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 12 2008, 05:08 PM

Well if you want metal I'd go for something easy but still cool and heavy! For reggae go for Bob Marley.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jul 12 2008, 05:44 PM

Something that everybody will sing, I recommend mega hits for those ocassions, like metallica, acdc, bob marley etc...

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 05:47 PM

Could you name some titles please? I know a lot, but I can´t remember them at the moment. :S Only when I hear them, I know that they exist.

Nothing else matters, I was made for loving you,....?

Posted by: Nazgul Jul 12 2008, 07:17 PM

Is the Nothing Else Matters the right song for a birthday party? I would do "Highway To Hell" . It is quite easy, almost everyone can sing along with it and of course this song rules.

Posted by: Déjà vu Jul 12 2008, 07:31 PM

Try "Midnight" by Satch. It's a good clean song if you want to mellow it down a bit. But, I don't know what kind of party it is . It's pretty easy to learn as well. Also, try a song that people are likely to be familiar with. Yes, I think Nocturnal vision would be a good one as well (be sure to keep a backing track on hand).

Posted by: Kapto Jul 12 2008, 07:59 PM

You can't go wrong with this one http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/rhythm-guitar/dance-pop-rhythm/ if you want to catch some attention

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 08:12 PM

Nice idea. I practised it some time ago and it´s not as difficult. I´ll try to learn it well until Monday.


Yes, that´s a very nice one, but I not familiar with this technique, so it will be very difficult.


I´ll look at it. Thanks.

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jul 12 2008, 09:31 PM

I saw Satriani named earlier in the thread. Even though you're not too fond of Satriani, as well as Nothing Else Matters being a better choice, a really cool and somewhat calm song by Satriani is Starry Night.

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 09:56 PM

That´s a great song. But I´ll NEVER be able to play it on Monday. xD Maybe on the next party.
I thought of playing Paul Gilbert´s version of "Fly me to the moon". But without singing.^^

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 12 2008, 10:03 PM

Definitly choose hits that people will sing , songs from chili peppers are sure bet - Under The Bridge, Californication , Otherside etc....

Posted by: Tolek Jul 12 2008, 10:14 PM

Oh my god. I just finished listening to Californication and you posted this!
On the party will be some girls who love beautiful songs. Which "love ballads" should I play? First thought: Scorpions.

Posted by: Tolek Jul 15 2008, 01:49 PM

So, I returned this morning home. The party was pretty chaotic. :S Two guys drank too much alcohol and barfed nearly all the time. Also, while I was playing...
My playing: I personally am not very happy about it. However, everybody elso admired me like a god. I messed up a lot, I made mistakes which I generally do not do. Firtly, I played Tender Surrender. I love this song. I got a lot of applause when I finished the fast part. That was a fantastic feeling. The next song was an improvisation on Europa (Santana). They didn´t realize that it was improvised. Later, when I told them that I just fooled around with it, they were astonished. In fact, I did play nothing special and sometimes I even forgot which key I was in.
After a break of more than one hour, I played again. This time I only had 2 or 3 spectators because the others wanted to see what the drunkard was doing. My small audience enjoyed "For the Love of God" and a bit of "Always with me, always with you". I had to stop because the drunk entered the tent and vomited. :S I quickly packed my gear and brought him some water which he ordered. He hadn´t the power to hold the bottle and so I put it down on the floor. Afterwards, he vomited again and I ran away. It was a pretty long night. I dozed off at about 4.00 a.m. and awoke at 8.00 in the morning...

All in all, I asserted that I need to be more active in performance. I just stood there and played my songs. I sometimes looked up and moved my mouth with the Wahpedal which made laugh some of them. I´m satisfied that I gained some experience on my first gig. Next time, I WILL be myself. I will show my real freakish guitarist side which nobody knows. YET!!!

Are there any tips that you can give me to improve my performance?

Cheers

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jul 15 2008, 03:30 PM

Cool first experience, glad you shared it with us man. CHeers

Posted by: Henry Dietzel Jul 15 2008, 04:02 PM

First off congrats on breaking the ice with your first gig!!!

I used to have a wall mirror in my band room. The night we were loading up to play out I would get there before the others and put on some heavy music and rip my guitar for 30min in front of it. This always got me pumped up and ready to perform. Once on stage I would try to make eye contact with women in the crowd. A smile , a laugh , or any connection at all always gave me more drive while performing. This brief connection can be used off stage to start a conversation with her after you finish too. Another suggestion, videotape yourself when you play out. It is a good idea to see what you like/don't like about your own performance. Watch other bands and take mental notes about things you like/dislike about their performance. The more you play the more you confidence will build especially as you gather fans.

Hope this is somewhat helpful and again congrats I wish you the best and thanks for sharing

Posted by: Tolek Jul 15 2008, 08:18 PM

Thank you a lot for your advice, Henry. Next, I will give my best to communicate with the audience. And I´ll try to play flawlessly.