The Worst gig of my life
If it bleeds, it leads. That’s one of the first lessons an aspiring journalist will inevitably learn in their studies. The most gruesome, scandalous, and otherwise attention grabbing headlines will always make the front page of any publication. We have a macabre fascination with danger, excitement, and drama. Perhaps it’s an evolutionary trait, we study horrific events to learn how to avoid it in the future. It’s on this principle that The Worst Gig of My Life is based. A podcast that dives into the lesser explored side of the performing arts; when it goes horribly wrong. Joe Lucas interviews bands, musicians and comedians to hear the true, uncensored stories of the worst gigs they’ve ever played. The guests then get a shot at redemption by performing a live set in our very own studio. The podcast can accurately be described as half storytelling and half catharsis (for the guests). We aim to entertain, inspire, and reveal a side of our favourite artists that is rarely explored. Even the best bands in the world are not immune to terrible gigs.
There have been five episodes thus far which have explored a variety of terrible situations. We’ve had stories of drunken crowds, fluorescent pink vomit, technical mishaps, bushfire relief gigs with no attendees, a folk musician accidentally entering a rock/metal music competition, wardrobe malfunctions and much more. An interesting idea to explore is the differences between different genres and the kind of terrible gigs that come from belonging to a certain niche. Will heavy metal bands encounter different situations to a pop band? What kind of worst gig is universal? We hope to answer these questions as the podcast grows and features a wide variety of guests.
Joe Lucas works in front of the camera interviewing the guests, but behind the camera is the venerable Nathan Laurent. A professional sound engineer that ensures the interview and the live performance are recorded and mixed to the highest standard. From the outside of the unassuming garage where the podcast is filmed, you wouldn’t suspect that behind those garage doors leads to a fully sound treated studio that hosts some of the most interesting and entertaining people in Australia. Built from scratch, the formerly brick walled and concreted floor now leads to the first words from every guest “holy s**t, this is nice”. The profanity is censored in this article, but the show holds no such restraint. Thus far, no guest has said f**k less than 10 times. The show is by design, not child friendly. Guests are free to tell their stories unfiltered and with no restraint. If bad language and drug references offend you, this show is not for you.
If you’re in a band, play music by yourself or perform stand up comedy, why not come on the show and relive some painful memories? Over half of our guests leave the studio with a feeling of calm and relief, the other half have trouble sleeping for a few days.
About The Worst Gig of My Life:
The Worst Gig of My Life is a podcast where performers from all walks of life discuss their worst ever gigs, after the interview they then do a live performance. The Worst Gig of My Life is filmed and recorded in Essendon. The first episode aired Friday November 20 and a new episode is released every Friday. Episodes are available on Youtube, Spotify, Itunes and Google Podcasts. For all media, advertising and guest enquiries Joe Lucas can be contacted by email at Joe@theworstgigofmylife.com