illuminati hotties – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the punk artist, illuminati hotties, shares what she does before every show. You can check out her rituals, after the break.

It is so incredibly crucial to have a pre-show ritual that gets you fired up and ready to rip the gig! Mine begins right when I wake up – I brew a cup of green tea and then text my band the setlist to get them amp’d…also to remind them that we’ve gotta shred later. Then, naturally, I’ll take a quick skate around my neighborhood to get my blood flowing and to snag some fresh air.

Throughout the day I visualize my performance – how it feels to be on stage, what the room looks like, how the audience will receive our energy. Visualization is super essential to ultimate gig-ripping. I’ll picture the show down to as many specific details as I can think of while I’m sending emails or tidying up or while I’m doing really any mundane daily task in order to feel the flow of our show as naturally and effortlessly as possible. All day I try to stay hydrated and eat light and healthy…well…unless there’s a really siqq burrito joint near the venue!

On my way to the performance, I say all the lyrics to every song I’m playing as fast and loud as I possibly can! It feels good to refresh myself on the message of the songs removed from the music, and sheeeeesh it’s sure embarrassing to flub your own words in front of people.

As our set time approaches, I’ll sneak backstage to check power on my pedals and tune my guitars sort of obsessively. The only thing controllable at a gig is our level of preparedness, and as things tend to get a little crazy on stage I try to minimize the variables that could add to the mayhem! The most important part of my ritual though is right before we step on stage. I take 5 minutes alone to sit quietly, take a few deep breaths, and meditate on a mantra that’s kept me mindful both on and offstage for years: Courage & Consideration. If I treat my band, my audience, the sound engineer, and venue employees with utmost consideration, and shred with max levels of courage, there’s no way that the gig could be any less than rip’n!

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