Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Searcher on May 09, 2006, 06:17:02 AM

Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Searcher on May 09, 2006, 06:17:02 AM
So I was just thinking about mine and thought I'd start a thread on it.   I can't remember if we've had this kinda thread already.  My memory is lousy tonight.  I did a search but didn't see one.

So spill!  What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you either on stage or off, as long as it's music-related.  But don't make it a "gig-from-hell" moment; try to think of something that's more embarrassing or funny than humiliating and frustrating.

Ok, here's mine:

I was sitting down on stage for a mellow acoustic solo number and, while adjusting the mic in front of my guitar, I farted.  Yeah, basically into the mic.  Through the PA.

I kinda rocked the chair a little bit back and forth to make out like it was the chair that made the noise, but unfortunately, chairs don't really make those noises.  Well, not unless you're on a date.
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Johnny Mac on May 09, 2006, 11:36:11 AM
That's a funny one!

There was a thread on this last year. The one at stuck in my mind was the two guitar players having a fight on stage! I can't remember who posted that though or if he's still here. Someone from Southhampton? Very funny story!
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: _tom_ on May 09, 2006, 12:37:40 PM
Quote from: Johnny Mac
That's a funny one!

There was a thread on this last year. The one at stuck in my mind was the two guitar players having a fight on stage! I can't remember who posted that though or if he's still here. Someone from Southhampton? Very funny story!


Yeah I remember that hahah. I cant say I've embarrased myself on stage though, having only played one gig..
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: maliciousteve on May 09, 2006, 12:49:05 PM
there's been a few for me

Almost falling over at a few gigs from head banging too much and i lost my balance. Fell into the bass player in front of a full room  :lol:

Another time was when i was playing a solo, i had turned the second channel up in volume for when i play solos so that i could cut through more. But i ended up turning it up too much and it was just about 20 seconds of loud feedback. That was pretty shite  :lol:

The last time was a few weeks ago. Our drummer f*cked up every single song we played. He either played out of time or he'd play something completely different to what he was surposed to originally. And i mean every single song. That was an embarrasement. I actually stopped playing at one point because i just got to the point where i was about to launch myself at him and walk out the venue. But i stopped myself and just played anyway. Worst gig ever.
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Searcher on May 09, 2006, 06:05:18 PM
Yeah, I vaguely remembered a thread on it, but I wasn't sure it had been here and I couldn't find it.  Ah well!



Quote from: maliciousteve
Almost falling over at a few gigs from head banging too much and i lost my balance. Fell into the bass player in front of a full room  :lol:

Another time was when i was playing a solo, i had turned the second channel up in volume for when i play solos so that i could cut through more. But i ended up turning it up too much and it was just about 20 seconds of loud feedback. That was pretty shitee  :lol:


Lol!  They're pretty embarrassing.  What did you do about the feedback?  Could you get to the amp to turn it down?  Or what about just ad-libbing some whammy stuff and pretending to be Hendrix?   :lol:
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: maliciousteve on May 09, 2006, 06:20:00 PM
I just tried to carry on playing. When i stopped and changed channels every one had a laugh. Must of made some people deaf  :lol:
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: JamesHealey on May 10, 2006, 07:15:59 PM
when i was about 7 i wet myself whilst playing recorder in the school orchestra.. im guessing thats pretty damn embarrasing.

erm yer that year i became a recluse n started playing guitar lol.
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Crazy Gra on May 12, 2006, 01:25:07 AM
I reckon I was about 7 when I arrived for the school concert with trumpet in hand late as buggery, no time to warm up my lips and all that came out was farting noises, the whole orchestra cracked up laughing (bar-stewards). I gave up trumpet not long after that! (I was too sensistive back then, heh!)

I forgot the words to a RAGM song when on stage a couple of years back but after the trumpet incident I no longer give a f*&k anyway (and neither did the crowd).
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Searcher on May 12, 2006, 03:47:51 AM
Ah, school band days.  :lol:  Maybe a good thing I never joined.
Title: funny dangerous...
Post by: Drac on May 12, 2006, 02:51:29 PM
When I was a teenager, I was playing in a punk rock band in California back in '87-

Gigged at a private party- the party was outside on a huge property,  landscaped garden, with a stage area, etc.-seemed ideal.

We went on-I was rockin' out, all over the scene area, thinkin' I was the business...
 in the 2nd number, I jumped up on a PA cabinet, and kept rocking...
the crowd got whipped into a frenzy, ( I like to think it was the music, but think it was the booze & hormones flaring up...) and a fight developed-
I never noticed-The mob came at the speaker I was standing on-
knocked it  over backwards, and I fell forwards-

I landed on dew covered grass, clutching my axe,and was briefly electrocuted-
I landed on my feet ,falling from the cab, bent at the knees, and closed the circuit between the amp & the earth-
 when the current hit me, my legs straightened right out, and I launched maybe 2 meters-Superman style-
until my cable stopped me flying in midair- I endo'ed in a bush- my marshall head was pulled of the top of my stack,  and hit the concrete with a terrible racket, a puff of smoke, and a spark-  and it died.(so I'm told-I was out like a light-saw nothing).

This occurred on the 2nd number, and was the end of the show. I'm sure I looked ridiculous-felt like an idiot-lucky I didn't expire, I guess.
My Marshall head was junked,costing me a small fortune to a teen, anyway ...damaged my guitar, hurt myself, ruined the evening,  cops came, got hassled, too.

Rock and roll!-Worst gig ever.
Drac
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: willo on May 12, 2006, 03:02:17 PM
Drac I was gonna post one of my minor mishaps in here from my school days, but how can anyone possibly top that story??? Great story, sorry to hear about your amp, it's stuff like that that gets me paranoid about my gear!
Title: vicarious worst ever...
Post by: Drac on May 12, 2006, 03:20:32 PM
Saw a metal show at a small club-

opening band went on- bass player kicked his own cable out of his amp in this 1st number-
went on playing the rest of the set, foot on the monitors, slapping the crowds hands, having the time of his life...
Started feeling sorry for him, until I saw he also had a big triangular Plectrum jammed in his strings-apparently never used those top 3 strings anyway-did the whole gig unplugged w/ this plectrum there!
- I was rolling on the ground, crying with laughter-
He changed colors at the end of the set when he noticed the cable end on the floor-plugged it in just in time for the big " we love you" rock n'roll raveup ending!
 Derek Smalls had it easy!
brilliant!
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Searcher on May 12, 2006, 05:55:06 PM
Drac, that story of yours is wild!  Dunno if it's embarrassing, but it's one of the most unusual gig tales I've ever heard.

I've had a gig like that bass player, too.  I can't understand how he could go a whole set and not realise he was unplugged, though.  Weird.  My worst gig was one where we were moved up in the day--it was an all-day concert and we were scheduled to go on around 3pm and they changed it to 10 or 11am.  I didn't have any of my gear, because I only lived a short drive down the road and was gonna bring it with me after lunch.  So I had to borrow gear.  I ended up playing a Firebird instead of my Strat and a different amp and pedals.  Plus the sound guy was a moron and we didn't get any foldback on stage at all.  The lead singer was also the rhythm guitarist and we couldn't hear him at all.  And he sucked at following the drums, so we had to follow him, usually.  So we were all out of time and looked like idiots in front of lots of people and pretty much all of my own friends and family.
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: headtheball on May 12, 2006, 06:52:17 PM
Having to run half a mile to the chinese to pull our twenty stone drummer out of a chicken fried rice and on-stage. Not embarring for me, but it sure was for him.
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Johnny Mac on May 12, 2006, 07:01:09 PM
Drac, that's a great story!  :D
Title: Most Embarrassing Music Moment
Post by: Muttley on May 12, 2006, 07:49:23 PM
Didn't happen on stage, but was the worst gig ever for me:

Literally minutes before going on I was doing final tuning on my axes.  Got to the SG, started to tune... and the low E tuning peg just falls apart in my hand.  I wasn't putting any pressure on it at all, it just disintegrated.

So I was left with just my JEM with it's floating trem and the inability to drop the E to a D, which we used for about half our set (hey, it was the late 90s).  So I was left trying to work out new chord positions on the fly (whilst singing as I was the singer in the band too) and feeling totally stressed out.

To cap it all off our drummer $%&#ed up the intro to our last song and started playing it at half the normal tempo, with the rest of us looking at each other in disbelief, and trying to carry on playing at this ridiculously slow speed until we reached the first chorus, at which point he sped up to the correct tempo.

Not a fun evening at all, and our drummer still gets grief from us to this very day for that episode.  ;)

Muttley