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GIGGING IN THE '70S, ANYTHING TO EARN A BUCK $$

marshall1987

marshall1987

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Anything to earn a buck and get your band's name out there. And that's probably all the money the band made from this gig. A buck.

This photo captures a regular event at one of our local music stores back in the '70s. The music store is Giant Music and they would host these outdoor shows on certain weekends throughout the year. Note the cool vintage autos in the photo. I don't recall the details about this band and can not claim credit for the photo. You would rarely see something like this today at a strip shopping center. I believe this is the Giant Music in Falls Church, VA, however, they had other stores in the D.C. local area.

Post your "Gigging in the '70s" photos!

 
Ace139

Ace139

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I hope this thread gets some traction - could be really cool. That being said - I got nothin’ - HA !
 
LeonC

LeonC

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One of the weirdest gigs I ever had was in about '75 or 76. I was playing an a funk/fusion band in Detroit. We got an offer to play in and around a predominantly black college in the Atlanta, GA area. We were to be put up at somewhere with room and board and play at the school for a week or so. We packed up our stuff and "wagon-trained" down there...arriving at about 4AM. The "promoter" told us to meet at some pancake restaurant where he bought us breakfast (very magnanimous, lol) and direct us to the "motel" where he had rooms booked for us.

We left the restaurant and followed him to the "motel"...which turned out to be a large house in an old, run-down residential area. It's now like 7am or so and we're wiped out start hauling in our bags and stuff, ready to crash. As I get into one of the bedrooms, I note that closet already has someone else's clothes in it!!! Well, I figured, "screw it, I'm wiped out...I'm just going to make room for my stuff." And as I start pushing the other clothes out of the way, I start to realize...these are all women's clothes. And they're all like, really flashy and racey. Then it dawns on me...this is a whore house! hahaha! The other guys confirm...same deal in their rooms!!! The %#$er put us up in a whore house!

We grab our stuff and get the hell out and find the closest, cheapest #$%hole motel on the map and that's where we wind up staying. It wasn't much better, but at least we weren't likely to get arrested for being there, LOL. I have a couple photos from one the gigs. I had an early '70s tobacco colored 335 and blond Bassman piggyback...with an LPB-1 in front ;) I believe I also had a cry-baby and a 3-button Maestro phase shifter.

Some club in Atalanta, crica '75 or so
 
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Cliff Gress

Cliff Gress

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Technically 60s. Famous drummer and LP.

J5M0cYT.jpg
 
corpse

corpse

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No pics but a story that I thought was cool. We closed a high school show in about 1979 my sophomore year. Our band opened with Tom Petty and the HB "refugee"- I was playing my very first electric guitar , a sunburst Rick 360- Now I know it was an old pristine one, but who knew then, right? into an Acoustic 360 (what are the chances- a 360 into a 360- just thought of that now). There was our drummer (Bailey Blanchard- a tranny, epileptic- nobody knew for sure if she was a he or not), a keyboard player (Jimmy Sauder), Alan Parker on bass (recently discharged from the US Army and jail somewhere), and his 15 year old wife, Weenie- who sang- I guess- although she had a heart of pure gold, and I hope like hell she is well, although the two of them were off to an inauspicious start in life. We were the bottom of the barrel socially in school frankly- a ragtag collection of folks who wanted to make rock and roll.
The second to last band was really the cool kids (actually I was friendly enough with them) and their band played every function and in a few bars locally IIRC. This was my first gig, and it was getting on closing time due to local ordinances for teenagers, so a number folks had left or drifted off to make out. After we started (amazingly enough) the crowd thickened- I am guess to about 150 or so.
Our last song was Jumpin Jack Flash- and me and Weenie did the whole guitar player singing into the lead singers mic bit- a couple of real rockers right?
Now Denise was the lead guitar players girl friend in the other band, and she was very pretty, and really was friendly with everyone at Edwin O Smith School (dwin mith cool- every time they tried to fix the sign someone would steal the offending letters). She was always very nice to me and everyone I knew, and I would have pulled my own eyeteeth out with pliers to go out with her. As we were leaving I passed her at the exit with an armful of speakers or something, and she was singing "But it's alright, now". That was one of the high water marks of my music career. Thanks Denise.
 
ourmaninthenorth

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I absolutely love this stuff...thanks for sharing Lads.

I'm only 55 times round the sun, so I've got nothing.

All I remember about the '70's is that I had long hair and a head full of magic...

:laugh2:
 
Triburst

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I think my Mother still has some shots of my old band from the late 60's - early 70's era. Problem is, back then I was behind the drum kit. :##
 
mdubya

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The OP photo looks more like the 60's than the 70's.

I grew up around the DC area so everything looks familiar.

I saw the Foo Fighters play in the parking lot of Tower Records in Rockville, MD on a weekday afternoon @ rush hour in the mid 90's. I had just gotten off work ~4 PM and Rockville Pike was turned into parking lot. Madness.

I also saw Pearl Jam play an acoustic set inside the same store right around the time 10 was released.
 
Ed Driscoll

Ed Driscoll

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Is mid-1980s close enough for LPF work? That's me on bass at a "Battle of the Bands" competition at a Philly-area vo-tech school.

i-mGHLBmz-M.jpg
 
marshall1987

marshall1987

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mdubya said:
The OP photo looks more like the 60's than the 70's.

I grew up around the DC area so everything looks familiar.

I saw the Foo Fighters play in the parking lot of Tower Records in Rockville, MD on a weekday afternoon @ rush hour in the mid 90's. I had just gotten off work ~4 PM and Rockville Pike was turned into parking lot. Madness.

I also saw Pearl Jam play an acoustic set inside the same store right around the time 10 was released.
Click to expand...

Maybe late '60s, early '70s. Difficult to tell precisely.

What do you think of that rickety little wooden stage? Not only is it very tiny and a falling hazard, the construction appears very flimsy. A wind gust could send those guys and their gear over the side! :dang
 
ourmaninthenorth

ourmaninthenorth

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No band shots, but here's one of yours truly in '79. 15 going on 35.

Long%20Hair%20pic_zpskbs6cgum.jpg


Daft as a bloody brush.

Still am.

:hee
 
mdubya

mdubya

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marshall1987 said:
Maybe late '60s, early '70s. Difficult to tell precisely.

What do you think of that rickety little wooden stage? Not only is it very tiny and a falling hazard, the construction appears very flimsy. A wind gust could send those guys and their gear over the side! :dang
Click to expand...

Looks quite typical of the "what could go wrong?" ethics of the times.

Muscle cars with no brakes, don't handle, non-functional seat belts.
 
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