Quotes & Sayings About Gigs

TV is just advertising for your live gig, so I'm playing whichever show is gonna get me the biggest crowd. — Lenny Bruce

I was rooming with Jimmy Bowen at the time, doing some gigs, then I went back to New Orleans and played there in '62. — Johnny Ramistella

In my early performing days, I played gigs under the pseudonym Whitey McFearsun. I painted my face blue, wore crimson lipstick, and strung on some tight silver latex pants. — Shawn Amos

Chris Hillman (of the Byrds) recounts ... 'What happened to the Buffulo Springfield at the Whisky was similar to what happened to us at Ciro's ... everybody wanted to be there. It became the place to be ... a great gig.' — Johnny Rogan

I met this wonderful guy who owned an old pub near the Eiffel Tower called Malone's (he's French but it's an Irish name). He had a cellar with a piano and told me I could use it whenever I wanted to. I played lots of gigs down there. When I came back I played a show at the Knitting Factory. — Regina Spektor

I've got about 27 gigs right now. I've got radio, I've got television, I've got The Washington Post. — Tony Kornheiser

One of the greatest pleasures of working on shows is that I enjoy watching the actors - who are all younger than me now - and their careers. I love seeing how they're doing and seeing them getting good gigs and doing well. — Kelly Bishop

I'm not one of those people who sits around knowing all bands and going to gigs all the time. — Nicholas Hoult

Guitar gigs were everywhere in the '50s, and I started diddling around so I could keep working. Playing honky-tonk, simple stuff. I took a few gigs with an organ band that put me out front. — George Benson

My gigs are built on improvisation: I go out there and I'm like the Energizer bunny. — Meat Loaf

I was always lucky that I've always had a gig, I'm fortunate in that way. — Chiwetel Ejiofor

I sang in a rock band when I was training as a lawyer. You know, not professional, we just did it for fun. We just did gigs all over Edinburgh and some in Glasgow and some at festivals. — Gerard Butler

I kept being asked by corporations to do corporate gigs. And I said, 'I don't have anything. I'm not a stand-up. You want me to come sing show tunes for you? I don't think so.' — Jason Alexander

I started stand-up in 2007. I'd done a couple of gigs before that, but not much, and I was in a sketch group at Uni from 2005 as well. — Ed Gamble

I first became interested in style when I was 16 and I had my first couple of gigs. I realised I couldn't look like the people I was performing to. Not in a condescending way, but just that it would be weird if I was wearing exactly what someone in the crowd was wearing. — Tinie Tempah

I had done a couple of plays, but I was a clueless boob. 'Cosby' allowed me to have something on my resume that was real and then the producers of 'Guiding Light' let me play a preppy killer just the following month. Suddenly I had two gigs on my resume that made me look like a real actor, although I was far from it. — Michael Weatherly

Each of our 900 shows so far was different - maybe that's what makes the fans come back to our gigs time and again. And that they're always part of the show. Phish concerts are a communal experience. — Page McConnell

In the early days I was on the road 45-50 weeks a year, driving from gig to gig 6-8 weeks in a row. Not everyone can do that. The show becomes the easy part. Tt's the life on the road that is the hardest ... and you can't get any good at standup unless you do the road. — Henry Cho

2. Fiverr promotional gigs Follow the same steps as when running your Kindle Free promo. 3. Facebook — John Tighe

I remember that first week at the Whisky and the gigs we (The Buffalo Springfield) did with the Byrds, We could really smoke ! That band never got on record as bad, and as hard as we were. Live we sounded like the Rolling Stones ... — Stephen Stills

Just to be around that, to feel a part of it and be able to integrate the experience while I was with the Messengers, of going and playing gigs with other drummers, gave me the chance to realize that it was not just me that was making it happen. — Benny Green

You learn to read the audiences after a while, and there are all different kinds of gigs. — Van Morrison

"Open Arms" has a lot of unison singing in it. And it works: Grown men will come to our gigs and cry during that one. — Guy Garvey

I would say, you can never do enough gigs and you can never do enough songs. Make sure that every opportunity you can, play a show and every opportunity you can, write a song. — Ed Sheeran

Some gigs will go great. I figure you do a gig, and as many as can get there will get there. — Jules Shear

It was 2002, we all got guitars for Christmas and started playing in my garage that summer, rehearsed there and in a warehouse for a bit for about a year. We did our first gig in June 2003 and we played a few gigs in and around Sheffield for a bit then started doing gigs outside of Sheffield about this time last year, recording demos while all this was going on. — Alex Turner

Every time I'm not on a project, I'm writing or in the studio or doing gigs DJing. — Taryn Manning

I'm going to Yoshi's. I'm taking a few gigs. I'm playing. I'm not going to play all the time. I'm going to take it easy and take it slow and warm up so I can come back. — Freddie Hubbard

No one I know has a job anymore. They've got gigs. — Tina Brown

When I got started in New York, it wasn't like it is now. If you were different from Miles and Dizzy, it was very difficult to make gigs and make money with your own style. — Freddie Hubbard

They need to practice harder," he said. 'If they're really going to do this, they need to work much harder.'
'They will," I assured him. 'But they got better, right?'
Baz laughed. 'Are you going to stand in front of them during their gigs too? If so, make sure you get equal billing. People will pay a lot to see the girl with the broom. — Antony John

The hour on stage is rarely a drag. In fact, I can't really say that its ever a drag. The few times that its been challenging has been when you don't have a sympathetic audience or there is the occasional strange corporate gig or something that you take or that you're not sure and you're like, "Wait a second. That's just the wrong venue". — Joel Plaskett

When you're applying for jobs, it's best to be employed while doing it. You want the world to know that you're not lollygagging between gigs, but instead have a lot of choices in front of you and are actively charting your own path. — Sophia Amoruso

I do value the respect I get from my contemporaries, but to have Oasis cover my song, to have Puff Daddy cover a song, to have Goldie come along to my gigs - that's where my ego is at. To have my fellow musicians like what I do, that's very cool. — David Bowie

I wasn't very big on going to school. I tried to get a gig as a luthier. — Yngwie Malmsteen

Chocolate thickens the saliva, which isn't good news if you've gotta recite Shakespeare or sing Iron Man. Having said that, you're not supposed to drink tea either but I still do before gigs. It's not very rock and roll, but it's like a magic potion to me. — Ozzy Osbourne

Lindsay Lohan isn't a DJ, but because of her celebrity power she can do a gig somewhere, put her name on a flyer, and she'll probably bring in more people and make more money than I ever will. — Neil Armstrong

I look a lot busier than I am, as I'm actually a rather sporadic, random person and I'll play a few gigs and then disappear for a while. — Paul McCartney

One of my first paid gigs was writing psychology quizzes for 'YM,' a monthly teen magazine like 'Seventeen.' — K.A. Applegate

This current round of gigs, I'm just doing it using pure electronics. — Tom Jenkinson

I auditioned [for America's Most Talented Kids] just to see where I would rank. I had been playing [gigs] around town, and I wanted to see what people thought of me because when I played a show, everyone would clap but I didn't know what they were really thinking. — Cheyenne Kimball

All those years we'd spent learning these chops, and all those gigs in Germany where you'd play all night, and along comes punk. It has nothing to do with that. A lot of people went out of business. — Nick Lowe

Folk rock was my real roots. I did a few gigs as a folk artist, in the style of Fairport Convention. — Alan Parsons

You make your own luck, Gig. You know what makes a good loser? Practice. — Ernest Hemingway,

Mary Gauthier's great. Yeah, we've played a lot of gigs together. She's really wonderful. — Guy Clark

Why not go down the pub? A guy once came up to me at a gig and asked me if I had MySpace. I said, 'This is my space, and you're invading it.' — Paul Weller

The anxiety of not knowing what my next gig is keeps me hungry. — Ben Schwartz

If you're looking to freelance, just get as many gigs going as you can, and you can make it work. It's about getting as many side projects as possible, keeping as many balls in the air as you can, and what you're doing, basically, is diversifying your portfolio, with the same kinds of rewards. One falls through, and you still have another one to work on. — Chris Hardwick

For a long time, my shows were about people walking out or about getting my gigs canceled or having the presenter not wanting to pay me. — Eric Bogosian

Even to play a dead body; that'd be an easy gig. — Maria Thayer

The only way to get better at stand-up is to do loads of gigs, and I don't know. I spread myself pretty thin to get the stage time. I'd love to do more, really. — Peter Serafinowicz

My cousin Joey played the drums. We used to go to his house, I liked beating on his drums. I beat the hell out of 'em, you know? Finally in 1961, I don't know, I guess I was about 15, I got serious about it. My parents bought me a little drum set and I was playing for about 6 months when I started doing gigs. — Carmine Appice

I had already imagined how it would be next year.
I'd be at Columbia, and Marcus would move to Manhattan, or maybe one of the outer boroughs. I would study hard, and he would make money playing gigs at dingy bars. We'd spend countless hours going to clubs to see bands on the verge, touring obscure art exhibits, and sipping pot after pot of black coffee at hole-in-the-wall cafes. Many more hours would be spent lounging under the covers. We would never run out of witty and fascinating things to say to each other. Eventually, he'd apply to Columbia, and we'd be the sort of well-educated, cosmopolitan couple that confuse the suburbumpkins who never leave Pineville. — Megan McCafferty

I saw Damien Rice in Dublin when I was 13, and that inspired me to want to pursue being a songwriter ... I practised relentlessly and started recording my own EPs. At 16, I moved to London and played any gigs I could, selling CDs from my rucksack to fund recording the next, and it snowballed from there. — Ed Sheeran

Luce blushed. "Then what kind of angel are you?"
"I'm sort of in between gigs right now," Daniel said. — Lauren Kate

I use Twitter as a tool to get involved with people, to sell tickets to gigs where I can stand in a room and smell the audience - and I love that! — Rob Delaney

I write in English. My first album came out in Italy, and I toured and did gigs. — Violante Placido

I was recording stuff with my dad when I was like five, six years old. I played with him on tour. I'd gone with him to Japan in '91, played some gigs, did a couple shows at the Albert Hall. — Dhani Harrison

After the week at the Fillmore we flew down to L.A. to hang out and pick up whatever gigs we could. We did a gig in Santa Barbara on July 1st and then the next night we opened for Sam & Dave at the Whisky ... — Mitch Mitchell

I do road gigs occasionally but I don't want to go out on the road for months at a time. — Kathy Griffin

For me, practice isn't doing scales but doing things like writing, jamming with other people, or playing gigs. — Tommy Bolin

Raw, alive and honest to the point of disgusting it's listener, Placebo set out to inspire mystery and confusion. Admitting to relishing groups who could make their audience vomit with the sheer intensity of their musical vibrations, Brian clearly knew how to make an impact. Discussing sonic overload with unsettling enthusiasm, he claimed "Some frequencies can make you physically ill or make your bowels loose. The Swans used to do it. By the end of gigs people would vomit because the frequencies were so nasty. — Chloe Govan

Obviously I still gig on my own, but I've always heard my music with a band. — George Ezra

Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancybrig,
And a bos'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig! — W.S. Gilbert

Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard for people to take you seriously. — Corey Smith

My wife bought me a vintage Gibson guitar that isn't just beautiful but has tremendous sentimental value. I have plenty of guitars for live gigs but this is one to treasure. — Bill Bailey

I'd have to do unannounced gigs because your fans will laugh at everything because they know what you do already. What you really want is a neutral audience that isn't too harsh - a good comedy crowd - but that don't know necessarily what you're doing. — Noel Fielding

The early gigs were pretty panicky - and great, sweaty fun. We were brand new to most people, and they were willing to take anything brand new, for the first time in years. — Andy Partridge

And I never missed one concert. In 89 shows, I think I did one a bit suspect show. In the old days, I'd pull gigs left, right and center because I was too f - - up. — Ozzy Osbourne

As a fanboy myself, one of the fun things about the gig has been every time I get a new script, I get to find out more about his day - to-day life and what goes on and what his relationships are. — Clark Gregg

At a festival, a lot of people came to see other artists, so you have to put on a signature set and performance: 'This is what I do, this is why I'm here.' At solo gigs, I'm a DJ - I'll play two-and-a-half hours, and not just my own music, also my favorite songs by other artists. — Afrojack

I'm pretty lucky to work on both 'CSI: NY' and 'Supernatural.' Not bad gigs! — A. J. Buckley

I really worked with icons in the music business, which really had a strong effect on me. It wasn't just pick-up gigs. — Kevin Eubanks

I see myself as a comic but the acting helps sell tickets for gigs. — Alan Davies

I get nervous about gigs sometimes, but not with records - I always get excited. — Alex Turner

I cannot wait to come back to Glasgow. I know the place like the back of my hand. In fact, one of the jobs I had as a student was in Cineworld. And I was always at gigs in King Tut's, Nice 'n' Sleazy's and the Barras. I played Ultimate Frisbee down on Glasgow Green and pulled pints in O'Neill's on Queen Street. — Colin Morgan

It took us two years to get our first real gig. That was a big dream. We ended up booking a lot of our own gigs and putting on a lot of our own shows. We were trying to get our actual music across, trying to make a connection there. — Greg Ginn

The Bassbone works great in the studio or on the live stage. Throw it in your gig bag and take it wherever you go. — Victor Wooten

I saw my first gig here actually (Festival Hall in Brisbane) Duran Duran. — Bernard Fanning

'Hairspray' was my first Broadway show. In the meantime, after the show was over, I would go down and do gigs at these clubs that I wasn't even old enough to get into. That continued on, and I think what ended up happening was that I just got these incredible opportunities on Broadway. — Laura Bell Bundy

I'm not conscious of the speed ... it's not my motive ... my motive is displaying a voice through the fingerboard ... it can get to the point where I don't have control over what I am playing ... I never end the gig until I can't sing anymore — Alvin Lee

When the Strokes first started playing gigs, instead of getting into a costume for the shows, we talked about how we should dress every day, in real life, like we're playing onstage. I don't really care about clothes, but it's about wearing something that gives you social confidence. Or maybe helps you pick up chicks. — Julian Casablancas

I've been doing magic since I was five years old, and when I was trying to get acting gigs, I found I could make a good living at it. It's great to kind of shake the cobwebs off and get the feeling of a live audience again. I love close-up magic, the card stuff, the coin stuff, the really up-close David Blaine stuff. — Steve Valentine

The truly incredible thing is were realizing that you can perform a two-and-a-half-hour gig without being high and still have a fantastic time. — Stevie Nicks

Television is where you earn regular money so you can plan a little bit but even then only when you have a regular gig. If you're just doing the odd appearance, you don't know if it will carry on. — Bill Bailey

Your wig steers the gig. — Lord Buckley

When you're a regular on a TV show, they give you more of a backstory, so with these recurring gigs, you have to make up your own backstory. — Alan Dale

I've done some really weird gigs. The ones where no one turned up - they're probably not the interesting ones to talk about. I played some pretty random ones in L.A. I signed to play all-R&B nights or an all-comedy night where I'd be the only white person there. They were fun. — Ed Sheeran

They're very sociable occasions and there's no barriers between us and the audience. It's customary that after our performances, we go out into the foyer and spend an hour or so signing autographs for the fans and having our pictures taken with them.We strongly believe that going out front to meet the fans is just as important as playing the gigs - and we all love a good natter! — Ric Sanders

I'm not really a director or producer for hire. There's lots of big gigs out there, but I'm not looking to do that. Usually, when I'm directing or producing, I've written it myself. I'm not really trying to get on some big horse that's running through town. I just make my own stuff. — Mike White

I love festivals because they seem like more of an artsy, supportive attitude - which benefits a more theatrical performer sometimes with having theater and other non-club venues, as well as the audience being filled with other artists. It's nice to be with other comics, as usually at other road gigs, I'm solo for the most part. — Maria Bamford

You've seen one of the our gigs you've seen 'em all. But if you're into the music, you'll know that we played better the night before or we can play better. — Liam Gallagher

I did a gig in the U.S. once for the homeless. I said 'It's nice to see so many bums on seats.' — Jimmy Carr

To make money in New York, you have to add gigs when starting out, so while I was acting quite a bit, I would do modeling. — June Squibb

What, in the devil's name, is the use of respectability, with never so many gigs and silver spoons, if thou inwardly art the pitifulness of all men? — Thomas Carlyle

Donald Rumsfeld also lost his gig last week. When asked what his future plans are, Rumsfeld said, 'What's a plan?' — Bill Maher

I had to figure out how to survive in New York, and most of my time was occupied in getting an apartment and getting money. A lot of older jazz guys looked out for me and found me gigs and places to stay. — Wynton Marsalis

I think I'm good with actors. I like directing actors. I also like to show up and just do an acting gig. Where I'm just a hired gun, I don't have to have an opinion on anything.I never got involved in all this stuff because I wanted to control stuff; I got involved in writing and producing because I wasn't getting interesting acting gigs. In a way I'm grateful that I didn't get interesting roles, because it made me pull my finger out and do some work. — Steve Coogan

Now when I say Sophie Ellis-Bextor I feel that's not really me because that's become this entity from doing the gigs and the shows and the make-up contracts and whatever else. — Sophie Ellis-Bextor

If you want to know how important Portland is to me, there's no Saturday night gigs here. They weren't available. So our whole thing coming into Portland, which is going to be different from anybody else, any other city, is every night is Saturday night. — Garth Brooks