This past October we did an east coast run of shows (west coast based band) so we rented amps. The first show was a radio performance in Philadelphia. Set the amp up and no problems during soundcheck. However, just before we started the performance I hit a chord and the amp crackled bad. Sure enough, the second after i realized i had a problem the dj says "You're live in 5..4..3..2..1. " Shit!! live performance begins with a long intro by yours truly. my amp is crackling all over the place. It righted itself after a couple songs but that was not a good way to kick off a tour.
other than that usualy just playing in the wrong tuning, power dropping out, guitar falling apart, drummer stepping through his kick pedal etc.
it makes you better though. or at least gets you ready for anything that can be thrown at you
keep 'em coming
“I know this song so well, I can smoke a cigarette, have a drink, brush my teeth, take a shit, and mow the lawn while singing it. But I'll only be doing a couple of those things during this version.”
Went to the bar before our last set and asked for a jager bomb. The bartender says, "What's that?" Jager and red bull I tell em. He basically reversed the ratio. We were goin on and it was " a shot" so I slammed that beast. We got up on stage and I gave myself a bit of a head trip thinkin about how wasted I was gonna be when that shit hit.
Well....I was right to think that way. I made it through most of the set, but with about 3 songs to go I got the full on pre puke(spinnin head, cold sweats) thing goin. I lost it on the 2nd to last song and just kinda went back by my amp and spewed behind it.
I'm proud to say that I didn't miss a beat, according to my bandmates, though we did have to cut the last tune.
steppin on the wrong pedals(tuner, doh!!!!!!)
comin unplugged, in various places of my signal chain
smackin my singer with my headstock
one time I forgot I had my amp on standby between sets and we came out and played something that started in a very loud raucous manner. I certainly didn't have the appropriate volume.
My drummer put a hole in his kick drum and the mallet actually got stuck inside the drum...we had to stop and I played Immortality for about 10 minutes while he found and used a half a roll of duct tape to patch his drum back together.
I've had a couple pedal problems, but usually if I'm cutting out altogether, I just unplug and go straight into my amp and figure out the problems later if I get a chance. I've also broken strings but nothing to serious.
"Well, I think this band is incapable of sucking."
-my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
One time my strap broke. It was between songs so I wasn't holding my bass at all. It took a pretty hard knock. fucked up the electronics inside. had to get a bass from a guy in another band for the remainder. Didn't like it at all.
One time my strap broke. It was between songs so I wasn't holding my bass at all. It took a pretty hard knock. fucked up the electronics inside. had to get a bass from a guy in another band for the remainder. Didn't like it at all.
I've had that happen but not to your point. Good to know I'm not the only one that's more comfortable using my own stuff--even if someone elses might be "better" or "more expensive"
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
One time my strap broke. It was between songs so I wasn't holding my bass at all. It took a pretty hard knock. fucked up the electronics inside. had to get a bass from a guy in another band for the remainder. Didn't like it at all.
I've had that happen but not to your point. Good to know I'm not the only one that's more comfortable using my own stuff--even if someone elses might be "better" or "more expensive"
yeah, gotta have my own instrument. I have to be comfortable with what I'm playing.
Is it the same way with pedals/rigs? With me, I have to be using my own pedals and amps, too...just because I know "the sweet spots".
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Is it the same way with pedals/rigs? With me, I have to be using my own pedals and amps, too...just because I know "the sweet spots".
On the bass, it's not as big a problem for me. I rarely use effects so its ok. AS far as amps go I'd rather have my own, but if I can play around for a little while beforehand I can usually get something I'm happy with.
i was so into the song that i forgot how small the stage was...accidentally jumped off, stumbled & landed on a table where i knocked over a pitcher of beer all over someone. before i started singing the next song, i asked if i could buy them another pitcher. 3/4 of them were fine with it & said no worries...but one guy was being an ass about it and walked out. oh well. the other guys stayed & i bought them 2 pitchers.
then there was the time that i hit our bass player in the head with the headstock of my strat & knocked him down...again, i was into it. haha
the same bass player in my old band at one show was so drunk that he couldn't stand up, let alone play the right note. that was pretty embarrassing b/c it was a big show in Houston. we told him to go lay down about 3 songs in & James & I took turns on bass and guitar (depending on the song).
Playing 'Evenflow' in my old band..somehow after we all tuned to the same tuner, my guitar was 1 step higher than the others...my friends dad said it sounded like free form jazz!...intresting
when i was at college we had to play St Patrick night gigs (our tutor was in the pogues for a while)..i was playing bass on 'thousands are sailing'. We had a stern warning pre gig that anyone who was drunk would be turned down on the mixer...right ok....when they handed me the bass to play the song it was a five string with no dot inlays and this COMPLETLY threw me...i don't think i got one note right and got a bollocking for 'being drunk' when i has hadn't had any guiness!!
bad times.....
other things like missing stomp boxes for solos and it sounding piss poor but in your head you didnt hear it and your rocking away to a hank marvin tone
was very handy and changed a fuse once in my old peavey amp i leant to my band mate for a gig..did that in the dark in under a minute
leeds 26/08/06....electric
paris 11/09/06.....crushed...but estatic
wembley 18/06/07.....oh yes
'listen...you can hear the sustain...you just hold that note and you can go get a bite whilst its still going'
I don't make music myself. But my boyfriend's guitar string tore and after 2 minutes the string of the backup guitar tore as well. Couldn't get any worse? 5 minutes later the base drumhead tore. Great show
2 nights ago my rotosphere crapped out during soundcheck..we were to go on at 9:00 and soundcheck was at 8:30 so i had about 20 minutes to troubleshoot all of my pedals and george ls cables...it was a mess...i found out the rotosphere was not working so i just ripped it off of my board and went without it...that sucks because i love that pedal...to my ears it is the best chorus i have ever heard through my rig, so i used it a lot....hopefully it is something easy like needing a new tube or something....at this point i do not feel like dropping a bunch of money into it when i got it used for $80 in 2003....definitely the best value for a $350 pedal..
this is not the worst thing to happen to me, as you can tell by my post earlier in the thread, but still it is a pain in the butt when something is not working the way you want it to...
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.- Hemingway
2 nights ago my rotosphere crapped out during soundcheck..we were to go on at 9:00 and soundcheck was at 8:30 so i had about 20 minutes to troubleshoot all of my pedals and george ls cables...it was a mess...i found out the rotosphere was not working so i just ripped it off of my board and went without it...that sucks because i love that pedal...to my ears it is the best chorus i have ever heard through my rig, so i used it a lot....hopefully it is something easy like needing a new tube or something....at this point i do not feel like dropping a bunch of money into it when i got it used for $80 in 2003....definitely the best value for a $350 pedal..
this is not the worst thing to happen to me, as you can tell by my post earlier in the thread, but still it is a pain in the butt when something is not working the way you want it to...
Hope you can fix it. I've had pedals crap out on me at shows. I was playing when my wah went out and killed my whole signal. I had to rip it off, during the song, and pray the band could keep on going without me doing lead guitar AND singing...but we made it
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
2 nights ago my rotosphere crapped out during soundcheck..we were to go on at 9:00 and soundcheck was at 8:30 so i had about 20 minutes to troubleshoot all of my pedals and george ls cables...it was a mess...i found out the rotosphere was not working so i just ripped it off of my board and went without it...that sucks because i love that pedal...to my ears it is the best chorus i have ever heard through my rig, so i used it a lot....hopefully it is something easy like needing a new tube or something....at this point i do not feel like dropping a bunch of money into it when i got it used for $80 in 2003....definitely the best value for a $350 pedal..
this is not the worst thing to happen to me, as you can tell by my post earlier in the thread, but still it is a pain in the butt when something is not working the way you want it to...
Hope you can fix it. I've had pedals crap out on me at shows. I was playing when my wah went out and killed my whole signal. I had to rip it off, during the song, and pray the band could keep on going without me doing lead guitar AND singing...but we made it
yeah that is the cool thing about gigging....when everything is working properly it is an amazing theng, but when there is trouble with your gear it just makes for s stressful evening...sometimes i wish i could afford to keep a guitar and amp tech on site at our shows just in case somethig bad happened...
i love reading these stories because its like "yep, been there, know what that is like" lol...
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.- Hemingway
Our bassist was my tech. He still does all the repairs and stuff but now, he's on stage and not on the side! I usually have someone to hand me my guitars and occasionally tune them. I don't know about anyone else but, when I read PJ had some kind of technical trouble, I always kinda find that interesting, in itself....shows that we're all human, we make mistakes, and we're NOT PLAYING SOMETHING THAT'S PRE-RECORDED!!(Unless the album skips or the wrong track is being played ) It also makes the event/gig unique
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Our bassist was my tech. He still does all the repairs and stuff but now, he's on stage and not on the side! I usually have someone to hand me my guitars and occasionally tune them. I don't know about anyone else but, when I read PJ had some kind of technical trouble, I always kinda find that interesting, in itself....shows that we're all human, we make mistakes, and we're NOT PLAYING SOMETHING THAT'S PRE-RECORDED!!(Unless the album skips or the wrong track is being played ) It also makes the event/gig unique
it also shows that no matter how well something is made it can break down on the road or under the heavy demands of the musician that uses it. its unpredictable...
by the way, how do you get people to tune and hand you your guitars? i dont think anyone has ever done that for me. i had one guy that sold all of us our stuff change a string for me one time during a set, but that's about it...i wonder what it would be like to have someone set up your stuff and soundcheck it for you and get it just how you like it so all you have to do it show up, walk on stage and rock....that would be so cool, but i think i am waaaaay too hands on for that and like to make sure my stuff is set up how i want it...
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.- Hemingway
Depends on the show. Sometimes I have friends do it. Othertimes they are provided at the venue I'm playing. When I opened for Kansas, Loverboy, Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels, and the Isly Brothers, I was supplied roadies and techs. Otherwise, it's all on us.
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Depends on the show. Sometimes I have friends do it. Othertimes they are provided at the venue I'm playing. When I opened for Kansas, Loverboy, Mitch Rider and the Detroit Wheels, and the Isly Brothers, I was supplied roadies and techs. Otherwise, it's all on us.
Used to use a Boss multi-effect unit till it died in middle of a set. Took short break and bypassed it all together and did rest of night with no effects, just clean and dirty channel. I have since gone back to stomp boxes. Another time I completely forgot song, I pretended there was problem with my guitar till I remembered the song. When I listened back to recording of that night it turned out it was only couple beats but at the time seemed like an eternity. Have had guitars go out of tune in middle of song but you get through. On the flip side, one of my proudest moments was watching a bandmate's wife pass right out and collapse on dance floor right in front of us and entire band didn't miss a note or beat while she was being dragged off the floor, good times, good times, to this day, one of the funniest things I've seen
Stepped on the lead going into a boss chorus pedal causing the guitar to lose sound, people started clapping thinking that was the end of the song. I crouched down, plugged the lead back into the pedal and played the last 20 seconds of the song.
Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
Comments
other than that usualy just playing in the wrong tuning, power dropping out, guitar falling apart, drummer stepping through his kick pedal etc.
it makes you better though. or at least gets you ready for anything that can be thrown at you
keep 'em coming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpH8PEBr82A
Went to the bar before our last set and asked for a jager bomb. The bartender says, "What's that?" Jager and red bull I tell em. He basically reversed the ratio. We were goin on and it was " a shot" so I slammed that beast. We got up on stage and I gave myself a bit of a head trip thinkin about how wasted I was gonna be when that shit hit.
Well....I was right to think that way. I made it through most of the set, but with about 3 songs to go I got the full on pre puke(spinnin head, cold sweats) thing goin. I lost it on the 2nd to last song and just kinda went back by my amp and spewed behind it.
I'm proud to say that I didn't miss a beat, according to my bandmates, though we did have to cut the last tune.
steppin on the wrong pedals(tuner, doh!!!!!!)
comin unplugged, in various places of my signal chain
smackin my singer with my headstock
one time I forgot I had my amp on standby between sets and we came out and played something that started in a very loud raucous manner. I certainly didn't have the appropriate volume.
Seattle Key Arena 9-21-2009
Seattle Key Arena 9-22-2009
I've had a couple pedal problems, but usually if I'm cutting out altogether, I just unplug and go straight into my amp and figure out the problems later if I get a chance. I've also broken strings but nothing to serious.
-my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
then there was the time that i hit our bass player in the head with the headstock of my strat & knocked him down...again, i was into it. haha
the same bass player in my old band at one show was so drunk that he couldn't stand up, let alone play the right note. that was pretty embarrassing b/c it was a big show in Houston. we told him to go lay down about 3 songs in & James & I took turns on bass and guitar (depending on the song).
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
when i was at college we had to play St Patrick night gigs (our tutor was in the pogues for a while)..i was playing bass on 'thousands are sailing'. We had a stern warning pre gig that anyone who was drunk would be turned down on the mixer...right ok....when they handed me the bass to play the song it was a five string with no dot inlays and this COMPLETLY threw me...i don't think i got one note right and got a bollocking for 'being drunk' when i has hadn't had any guiness!!
bad times.....
other things like missing stomp boxes for solos and it sounding piss poor but in your head you didnt hear it and your rocking away to a hank marvin tone
was very handy and changed a fuse once in my old peavey amp i leant to my band mate for a gig..did that in the dark in under a minute
leeds 26/08/06....electric
paris 11/09/06.....crushed...but estatic
wembley 18/06/07.....oh yes
'listen...you can hear the sustain...you just hold that note and you can go get a bite whilst its still going'
the legend , nigel tufnell
this is not the worst thing to happen to me, as you can tell by my post earlier in the thread, but still it is a pain in the butt when something is not working the way you want it to...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
i love reading these stories because its like "yep, been there, know what that is like" lol...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
by the way, how do you get people to tune and hand you your guitars? i dont think anyone has ever done that for me. i had one guy that sold all of us our stuff change a string for me one time during a set, but that's about it...i wonder what it would be like to have someone set up your stuff and soundcheck it for you and get it just how you like it so all you have to do it show up, walk on stage and rock....that would be so cool, but i think i am waaaaay too hands on for that and like to make sure my stuff is set up how i want it...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
uuhhh... Just kidding. I need a tech!
On the flip side, one of my proudest moments was watching a bandmate's wife pass right out and collapse on dance floor right in front of us and entire band didn't miss a note or beat while she was being dragged off the floor, good times, good times, to this day, one of the funniest things I've seen