Do you remember?

[Killjingle]

The very first time you played out?

I remember mine was at some dive in Barnesboro. It was pretty scary. I had never turned my amp up that loud. Hell we werent even old enough to play in a bar. My mom and dad came with us. All I can vaguely remember is looking at real women that were drunk and hitting on us; not those High School girls I went to school with and couldnt give a crap about me. I was 16; had a power mullet, tight straight legged blue jeans, brand new pearly white hitop shoes, a black Megadeth Tshirt, a Laney 50 watt half stack, a bad mustache, and probably a wetspot up front as I hit my first bar chord. Im pretty sure Space Truckin was the song we opened up with; but I cant say for sure. I bet even though it was the greatest night of my young life we were pretty terrible.


At the end of the night some girl asked my mom and dad if she could take my 15 yr old brother home. When I was loading my gear into my dad's pickup truck my brother was in the cab with my mother guarding him like a pitbull.

Good freakin times.

[Mikey Wax]

The Wet Spot.



Not sure if anyone on here's ever heard of that place. It was an amazing place to hang out and play. I'll always remember the first time I played drums for a band that played there regularly. I think I was only like 15. I only played a show or 2 with them. Honestly I was so scared and nervous I really don't even remember playing the songs. Then when I went on to sing for the Master Plan we played there a good bit. I still have every flyer for every show I ever went to or played at the Wet Spot. Fuckin' good times!!!!

[rreihart]

Yep, some charity pig roast/kegger in New Baltimore, PA. I think I still have video of it somewhere, however I probably don't want to watch it.

[DrumAndDestroy]

drunk and high surrounded by a bunch of my friends and other punk rock assholes i know. the band i was in was called the fisticuffs.

time of my life from what i remember.

[MoonManTom]

Before the name Blaz-On, we were named Skull, and the first show we ever did was the Mount Union Street Fair, we played one song in the talent show, hard to believe but we lost, to the Mayors granddaughter who danced in a cat suit! yeah I know hard to believe! We sucked, but Hey thats beside the point!

[Possessed]

My first show was at the El Dorado in Greensburg with Gehenna sometime in 1991. I believe we opened for the Pittsburgh grindcore band Rottrevore.
I was nervous as hell but we didn't do that bad.
I just remember thinking after the show "I've gotta do this as much as possible from now on."
My rig was an Ibanez ex 350 into a DOD Supra Distortion and a Peavey 2x12 combo. It sounded like ass untill a bought an EQ pedal. It also would have helped if I was a better guitar player too.

[moxham123]

My first public (and paid) performance was in May 1970 at the Ferndale Firehall on the 2nd floor for a graduation party. I was 13 years old and played percussion and sang. The band was called Purple Inferno. The drummer could not make the gig and I played tambourine, maracas, etc. since I had taken drum lessons for a couple years. Plus, I was just learning how to play guitar (poorly) and we already had a bass player. Our big hit of the show was "My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, which was the #1 song at the time. I think we made about $2.50 each and we thought that was great. Prior to that show, all I did was play in the garage or at somebody's house for some friends. The next week, we did another graduation party in the basement of 2nd Presbyterian Church in the Moxham section of Johnstown and I played percussion and sang again. The bass player could not make the gig and we made maybe another $2.50 each. All these years later, I got back together with the same guitar player from Purple Inferno and we are playing in the same band now. We sure have come a long way. I had done a couple grade school orchestra shows as a percussionist but I don't count those as band gigs.

[bassist_25]

I played bass in various open mics, sat in with my father's band at all-age shows, did pit orchestra work, etc. when I was younger; I honestly can't remember the first time I played in public on other instruments, let alone bass.

My first real bar gig, however, was at the Galliztin IMS. I remember how cool it was that the stage was suspended over top the bar. The band's name was Relative Minor, which has some members of the now Beyond Reason. I was 18. I had wanted to start playing in bars when I was 16, but my family decided for me to wait until 18, so I could legally do it. I don't really remember much about the night, except it was cool to finally get paid for doing this.

[crazyeights]

My first paying gig was aroung June or July of 1993 maybe 94? That was a long time ago you know man. Anyway it was a small bar in my hometown. The locals helped ease the tension but I can tell you I was never so scared and nervous in my life. Worse than a prostate exam let me tell you. We finished up ok, but it probably sounded like dog poop from the audiences perspective. But we got through it and played that summer and broke up. Every show got progressivly easier after that for me anyway.

[Plastered Bastards]

My first gig in public was November '87 at a fire hall in Hollidaysburg ( I have the flyer somewhere ). I was in the band Crionics and we played with Necracedia and some other bands that escape me. But the funny thing was I was the drummer at the time.

[MeYatch]

Halloween party with pnEumatic. 2001-2002 ish

[Trucula]

I think my first actual in front of people gig was in Shirleysburg!.. One of the band member's sister has a dance school with a bunch of hot teen girls. The band was called Class because we were all in the same grade in school. His sister wanted us to play at the dance school's party.
The band was made up of Jeff Peterson (guitar), bass (?), Lee Worthy (guitar) of Lee Worthy Sound and Lighting, and me on the drums.
We and the girls thought we was all that!,....Tho I'd never want to hear what we sounded like...LOL. I think the bass player was Denny and he stood with his back to the crowd the whole time. Lee said afterwards, "Don't ever do this to me again!"...LOL
The only songs I remember doing was "Summer of 69" and "Wipe Out"
If I only knew then what I know now!..

[EyesOfAnguishbassist]

Mine was at our high school's relay for life whenever I was 16. We were a death metal band called "No Warning Shot" and we were pretty bad and everyone hated us there except for like 3 kids. I didn't care though, I was so glad to finally be in a band and playing in front of people.

[Atomic Jim]

The Tipton Fire Hall, Summer 1963. I lived right across the railroad tracks from the fire hall so we carried our equipment to the show in one trip, including drums. There were three of us in the band and we made $3 apiece.
I thought I was in the big time.

[songsmith]

Michaelin Glunt's sweet 16 party, in Saltillo PA, with my first real rock band, Blytz. We played right next to the swimming pool and the little kids splashed us until I thought we'd be electrocuted. It was myself on bass, Doug Forshey on guitar, and Jeff Swope on drums and lead vocals. I remember, Doug started the first "wall of sound" note and spun around a few times (like Kix did!), and unplugged his guitar accidentally... he couldn't plug it back in because the cable was tangled around his ankles, and had to stop and untangle it... we literally effed-up the first note of the first song of the first rock gig any of us had ever played for money.
Gear list: Mid-sixties Ludwig trap kit with Ghost pedal and Zildjian cymbals (best thing we had at the time), Sears LP-copy with a bolt-on neck, a short-scale no-name bass from Murphy-Mart. Doug played through a Marshall 25W solid-state beauty, and I used Jeff's dad's 15W SS Fender bass amp. The PA system consisted of a 100W bogen tube PA head (stolen from Saltillo High which closed in the 50's), a single speaker cab made of 1/4 luan plywood that was roughly the size of a clothes dryer but had a 12" speaker, and (2) hi-z mics.
We got $35, but the guy who drove the van wanted $20, so we each scored a grand total of $5. Incidentally, the newly-16-yr-old Ms. Glunt didn't care for us as musicians or as people, and we barely knew her. We got pretty much no applause, and less respect, but I still knew I wanted to keep doing it.
MoonMan, you know what's funny? I remember the girl in the catsuit, but not Skull, at least not in MU. I remember you coming to see Blytz at Lake Skateway, and I remember you guys playing at the talent show at Hunt. Co. Fair. It could be Catgirl did her schtick a lot of gatherings, and I saw a different performance (smokin' hot teenage girls doing pseudo-modern dance moves in tight clothing tends to catch a teenaged boy's eye). I recall you guys had something we did not: parental support. I think Frank White's dad supplied a practice place, a PA, and rides to gigs for kids who didn't even drive yet! We practiced in a barn, and humped our own begged-borrowed-stolen gear. my mom still wonders when I'm gonna grow up and get a real job.
Oh, first public performance for me? Too early on, don't remember, but I'm certain it took place at Calvin Assembly of God, maybe 1967-ish. I sang, but my claim to fame as a toddler was as the "Halleluiah Kid." Grown-ups would say, "halleluiah" and "amen" alot in the Pentecostal church, and I must have thought I should, too. The preacher used to try to get me to say it on cue.----->JMS

[nickisrb]

November 2001 at the Bedford Elks. It was a benefit show for the 9/11 victims. My band was Contusion and we opened for the band Dr. Phibes. It was an awesome show. I thought we were rockstars, but when i watch it now i cant quit laughing.

[DirtySanchez]

Geeseytown Firehall in the summer of 1998 with Dysfunktion.
Started playing Peter C's not much later.

I miss that place. Big John gave us a shot at OUR OWN show for our very first show there, and it was awesome (maybe not musically, but we had a shitload of friends haha). We used to alternate weds. there with Nevermore(Vs. the Earth) who were just getting started at the same time and Peter C's was really where they got their start, too.