Pickers Corner-Stage Fright

Stage Fright

by T. J. Lyons

T. J. Lyons is a long-time member of SWBA who's been on the Board of Directors and served as Board President. He often serves as Master of Ceremonies at bluegrass festivals, notably Huck Finn's Jubilee in Victorville on Father's Day weekend. This story was originally published in the SWBA newsletter, The Bluegrass Soundboard, June/July 1997

When I started playing music I would suffer from stage fright. My hands would sweat, I would get goose bumps, and I could not remember the arrangements. I would almost freeze up.

I told my good friend about my problem and she gave me this advice. The next time you are on stage and you start to feel nervous, look out at the crowd and pretend they are all naked. When I first heard this I thought it was pretty silly, but I was willing to try anything.

Finally, after months of practice we landed our first job at the Glen Eden Sun Club. All the way there I kept repeating in my mind, pretend they are naked, pretend they are naked.

Well, being a newcomer to California, I was not aware of just what a sun club was. I just figured they were a bunch of outdoor types. When I arrived to set up our sound system I went into the camp office. The first thing I noticed was that all the women, and there were about 5 of them, were topless. I got this big lump in my throat and began to wonder what I had gotten us into. This place was a nudist colony!

I'm really glad I got there early for setup because it took twice as long to get the sound ready. You haven¹t lived until you¹ve watched people play volley ball in the nude.

Well needless to say, the first set was a real train wreck but as the day went on, we began to get used to the idea. As a matter of fact, the people who really stood out were the ones with cloths on. Namely us.

After that day, I never suffered from stage fright again. I always keep this mental picture in the back of my mind when I'm performing. So if you ever see me playing and you wonder what I'm smiling about, now you know.

Yes it is a true story!