The Black Atlas – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the rock artist, The Black Atlas, shares what he does before every show. You can check out his rituals, after the break.

Some people take the stage with relative ease. Others have a crippling fear every time they’ve ever tried to perform, which has inhibited them from ever pursuing a live career. I myself am somewhere in the middle. Once I take the stage I’m fine. But there’s always this one-and-a-half to a two-hour period before a show that I feel like I might laugh, cry, vomit and remove all my music from the marketplace forever. So, I guess my pre-show ritual is anxiety- specifically, how I deal with my anxiety. Thankfully, my feet have never gotten so cold that I didn’t take the stage and give it every last ounce of my best shot. So, here is my pre-show ritual.

1.) I try not to interact with too many people before I hit the stage. About an hour or so beforehand I withdraw to the backstage areas. I try not to be entirely alone, though because that could make me really get inside my own head. I like to be with my bandmates.

2.) Once removed from the ruckus that can be the activity of a live performance of any kind, I like to sit back and shut my eyes, breathing deeply. I try to envision the performance going well, down to the fine details.

3.) Tea and honey help relax me, and they usually prove helpful for anyone having to deliver a vocal performance. Especially night after night. I have found that alcohol will do the opposite.

4.) I perform some light stretches, and the equivalent of such for my vocal cords, in the form of warm ups. I’ve had some great teachers show me the importance of warming your body up for the beating it may take during a live concert. Especially when the dynamic range is pretty high, and there are distorted guitars and heavy drumming. Also, I perform short guitar exercises designed to warm up my hands and increase dexterity. Usually, I try to do this in front of a mirror.

6.) As a semi-meditative thing, I try to maintain a sense of gratitude for performing and being able to play music for people, with people I care about. I usually like to cap the pre-show ritual off with a good laugh. It reminds me that even though some things may get out of my ability to control them, it’s not the end of the world. Life goes on, and I’ll try again tomorrow with another lesson learned, and a performance under my belt.

7.) As a pre and post show ritual that I never break, I thank everyone – EVERYONE – that has been involved in the evening. It takes a pretty solid team to put on a good show.

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