--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's how I relax before a gig. By…" description: "\"That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards.\" — Tim Key" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png" --- # That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards. ![“That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards.” quote by Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png) > “That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards.” [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes a quirky pre‑performance ritual of laminating cards to relax. **In simple terms:** Laminating cards relaxes him before shows. Key Takeaway Create a calming ritual before performances. Themes performance relaxation creativity Mood lighthearted playful Type creative humorous When to use this quote - theater - public speaking - music practice Key Concepts Ritual mindfulness pre‑show prep Questions to Reflect On - What personal rituals help you focus? - Is preparation more important than talent? A Different Perspective Rituals may not work for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cards/) [Gig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gig/) [Gig Laminating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gig-laminating-1931205/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Laminating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laminating-1931208/) [Laminating Cards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laminating-cards-1931207/) [Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax/) [Relax Gig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax-gig-1931206/) ## Related quotes > [You want to have a nice gig in your hometown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/you-want-to-have-a-nice-gig-in-your-hometown/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [The bath, for me, was always a place to relax, to retreat from the hell of modern-day life. A sanctuary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/the-bath-for-me-was-always-a-place-to-relax-to-retreat-from-the-hell/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Obviously, ESPN, that Monday Night gig is a big deal. You don't just easily dismiss that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-olsen/obviously-espn-that-monday-night-gig-is-a-big-deal-you-don-t-just/) [Greg Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-olsen/) > [By the time 'Dumbo's Circus' wrapped production of its 120 episodes, I had an agent, and I had scored my first feature film gig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/by-the-time-dumbo-s-circus-wrapped-production-of-its-120-episodes-i/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [There's a big difference between doing the odd gig and actually having a record out and your name being on the ticket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-jackson/there-s-a-big-difference-between-doing-the-odd-gig-and-actually/) [Stevie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-jackson/) > [Touring with King Crimson wasn't a lot of fun for me. I had a lot of equipment, and when I was in improvised music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-muir/touring-with-king-crimson-wasn-t-a-lot-of-fun-for-me-i-had-a-lot-of/) [Jamie Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-muir/) > [The first gig we ever played was at a pub in Sydney called the Annandale Hotel to approximately 12 people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hemmings/the-first-gig-we-ever-played-was-at-a-pub-in-sydney-called-the/) [Luke Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hemmings/) > [I owe much of my success to Seann Walsh. He kept recommending me for Live At The Apollo until eventually the producers offered me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romesh-ranganathan/i-owe-much-of-my-success-to-seann-walsh-he-kept-recommending-me-for/) [Romesh Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romesh-ranganathan/) > [I'm trying to get an acting gig on 'CSI' or something like that, so we'll see how that works out. I'm a singer, definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-aldean/i-m-trying-to-get-an-acting-gig-on-csi-or-something-like-that-so-we/) [Jason Aldean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-aldean/) > [I had a gig in Sweden. There were thousands of people there, and when I launched into 'I'm Yours,' they were all singing along.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-had-a-gig-in-sweden-there-were-thousands-of-people-there-and-when-i/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [For my first gig, I got $75. I could make money being funny, so I pursued it as a career and have turned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/for-my-first-gig-i-got-75-i-could-make-money-being-funny-so-i-pursued/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [From Uber and Lyft drivers to financial advisors to local artists, we should support workers' freedom and our gig economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-kim/from-uber-and-lyft-drivers-to-financial-advisors-to-local-artists-we/) [Young Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-kim/) > [It's amazing when I do a gig how many people of different ages come up to me afterwards and chat to me about songs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-henderson/it-s-amazing-when-i-do-a-gig-how-many-people-of-different-ages-come/) [Ella Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-henderson/) > [Our first gig was a battle of the bands. We did 45 minutes of comedy and never played a note - and we won!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheech-marin/our-first-gig-was-a-battle-of-the-bands-we-did-45-minutes-of-comedy/) [Cheech Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheech-marin/) > [There'll be some opportunities for other things post-playing, but it's like, 'Man, I don't want to give this gig up.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-woodson/there-ll-be-some-opportunities-for-other-things-post-playing-but-it-s/) [Charles Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-woodson/) ## More by Tim Key > [Any columnist will tell you that sometimes the well runs dry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/any-columnist-will-tell-you-that-sometimes-the-well-runs-dry/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Ever since I was able to consume entertainment, radio has been one of the main things I've devoured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/ever-since-i-was-able-to-consume-entertainment-radio-has-been-one-of/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [If I'm writing a radio thing that's narrative, it's quite nice to stop for an hour and write a load of garbage that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/if-i-m-writing-a-radio-thing-that-s-narrative-it-s-quite-nice-to-stop/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [The bath, for me, was always a place to relax, to retreat from the hell of modern-day life. A sanctuary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/the-bath-for-me-was-always-a-place-to-relax-to-retreat-from-the-hell/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Doing a new show is just so much pressure. I saw a magazine with my face on the cover and the question 'Is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/doing-a-new-show-is-just-so-much-pressure-i-saw-a-magazine-with-my/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Weirdly, it's much easier to write a poem than a film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/weirdly-it-s-much-easier-to-write-a-poem-than-a-film/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Imminent resignation isn't a fun thing to have on your plate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/imminent-resignation-isn-t-a-fun-thing-to-have-on-your-plate/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [It's vital to get something useful under your belt early doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/it-s-vital-to-get-something-useful-under-your-belt-early-doors/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [When I write poetry, I write in torrents. I have no interest in quality or finesse, only in quantity and waste. Scribble and discard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/when-i-write-poetry-i-write-in-torrents-i-have-no-interest-in-quality/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Tim Vine's off the scale. Exhaustingly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/tim-vine-s-off-the-scale-exhaustingly-funny/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [My ideal Friday night is spent playing scrabble in my local in Kentish Town with a goon called Lenny. After I've won a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/my-ideal-friday-night-is-spent-playing-scrabble-in-my-local-in/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I try to write jokes but when I've written about four I run out. Writing my show is a very lonely place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-try-to-write-jokes-but-when-i-ve-written-about-four-i-run-out/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I used to be really good at squash until I did my shoulder in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-used-to-be-really-good-at-squash-until-i-did-my-shoulder-in/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I delivered dartboards to pubs. That wasn't when I knew I wanted to be a poet, but it was when I knew I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-delivered-dartboards-to-pubs-that-wasn-t-when-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [I don't have an inflated opinion of how much artistic merit the poems I do have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/i-don-t-have-an-inflated-opinion-of-how-much-artistic-merit-the-poems/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) [Explore all 100 Tim Key quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) ## More Before quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [There aren't traditions of freedom in a place like Iraq. They're going to have to come to grips with a concept that they hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/there-aren-t-traditions-of-freedom-in-a-place-like-iraq-they-re-going/) [Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/) > [I don't like just traveling in for a short time. I've done that before, because sometimes you work for magazines and they have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sacco/i-don-t-like-just-traveling-in-for-a-short-time-i-ve-done-that-before/) [Joe Sacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sacco/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) [Joe Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pitts/) > [I've been told before, and I tend to believe it, I'm not like most actresses out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-ve-been-told-before-and-i-tend-to-believe-it-i-m-not-like-most/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Before I got addicted to comedy, I was seriously thinking about playing tennis full time. I joined the tennis team and played with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrot-top/before-i-got-addicted-to-comedy-i-was-seriously-thinking-about/) [Carrot Top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrot-top/) > [But even before I was in the military, I was extremely jumpy when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/but-even-before-i-was-in-the-military-i-was-extremely-jumpy-when/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [When I'm making stuff, the thing that excites me most is not the result, but the process and trying to do something I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/when-i-m-making-stuff-the-thing-that-excites-me-most-is-not-the/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [I've pulled ticks off of me before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-ve-pulled-ticks-off-of-me-before/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [You know, before I would think, my cab driver hates me. Now I think my limo driver hates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/you-know-before-i-would-think-my-cab-driver-hates-me-now-i-think-my/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) [Browse all 4,123 Before quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Key" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-laminating-my-cards/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Before" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-laminating-my-cards/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/tim-key-5773_before_that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-lamin_2599346.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's how I relax before a gig. By laminating my cards.” — Tim Key", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tim Key", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That's how I relax before a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-laminating-my-cards/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/that-s-how-i-relax-before-a-gig-by-laminating-my-cards/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```