hey ev'rybody,

Just asking what was your worst gig conditions you've had as a bass player?

Mine is a gig I still do... great learning experience, you get paid a respectable amount for doing jazz and its a stable gig (we are sure to play two nights a week)...

It's in a train for tourists. The space we play in is ruffly 3 to 5 square meters (don't know how much its in feet, i'd say about 9 to 16). We are a trio, a drummer, who actually plays only a snare drum sitting on my amp, a guitarist, and me, the bassist. The guitar player and I are plugged in my amp, a cheap practice amp about 30 watts and we have a power pack so we can plug ourselves in. We play about 2 to 3 tounes per half-wagon and we do about 4 to 5 wagons per night, above all, the wagon is moving and is wobbly so we are practically more thinking about our balance than our playing. Plus, it can get really hot in there...

I think i'll remember that gig for ever... but it's fun and challenging... so when you play with a whole drum with a better amp an everything else you're better since you played on the train... We actually called ourself: the portable trio.

-Peace

JT

Playing music I don't like, With people I don't like. :(

Life's just too short for that.

I've played our town's Christmas tree lighting 3 or 4 times- it's always the 1st Tuesday night after Thanksgiving, & although it's northern Cali, it's always freezing. Once it was so moist that it kind of detuned the hand drums & congas. we were a bit concerned abour 'wet' amps, etc, but we all survived.

the portable trio haha, i like it!

i guess worst conditions for me are when its a tiny tiny area to play in, we normally play smaller stages, but once or twice weve had to play somewhere thats just a tiny corner, gah! no room to move at all.

I played at a snowboard festival once, outdoors at the base of the half pipe. Nevermind loading in via snow cat.... there's just no way to warm your fingers up enough to actually play smoothly.

played a very rich kid's 16th birthday party at her folk's mansion outside in September. By the time the sun went down, a dew was settling on everything, including us, our guitars and amps. and they left us almost no light, so we played mostly in the dark. And the kids? they watched briefly, then went off 100 yards away to a bonfire that Daddy set up...

Shucker's Oyster Bar in Wake Forest, NC. You set up on a covered screened porch. There is no heat in the winter and no A/C in the summer. Bring your own fan and hope you do not get noise through your system.

A couple years ago a friend had asked our band to play some at a peace rally they had set up....only myself, the keyboard player, and drummer could make it...we set up and its outside in November (In NY...maybe 40deg) I couldn't feel my fingers after 2 songs...it was not fun....however we sounded good...it was a shame only 15 people came...

One time there was a dead, stinking rodent under the stage.
I also have played in the cold with numb fingers. No fun.

Soundchecked at a festival on a stage with a inflateable roof....it didnt stay inflated,I kid you not,we carried on playing thou,it must looked cool,que awful puns about bringing the house down...

The acoustic duo playing before us warned us the monitors were poping on the bass notes of there acoustic guitars!

I was playing in a dub D&B band,I hit my 1st note and they popped then remained in distorted buzz mode.

The some strange woman with obvious mental issues clumbered up onthe stage and stared at our drummer.

Played ok thou,good festival!

We played an annual private party 4 years running that started at midnight and went to 4 AM, outdoors. Dance floor was plywood screwed together, as was the "stage". Level? No thanks, we're in the Santa Cruz mountains, and had to dig out spots for our amps so they wouldn't tumble. That being said, the pay was always good and prompt, as were the food and ladies!:hyper:

worst gig conditions? kinda like the half-pipe story there...except the annual santa claus parade. 2.5 hrs in the freezing cold...30w amp trying to play over the generator that was powering it...

not fun times...i couldn't feel my feet OR my fingers...

Playing music I don't like, With people I don't like. :(

Life's just too short for that.
+1

People with no ambition to improve their chops... people with gear that is very poorly maintained and never seem do anything about it.. playing with other musicians that are a bit resentful of my dedication and hide it rarely poorly.

try fitting a 6 piece band (including drumset) onto a stage thats about 5 feet by 10 feet. Our drummer is up agains a brick wall playing with his right elbow up in the air because there isn't room to fit it behind him

then keep in mind it was summer in texas (about 104 degrees) in the late afternoon and we're all in suits (because we all thought it would be an inside gig)

....and it was at a church

BUT, it was a battle of the bands and we won, the judges were happy to see a band that could play in more than one key

....oh, highschool

I once played a Funk/R&B gig dedicating a new State Rest Area. There was only a busload of non-english speaking German Tourist! All I could hear in my mind was. "Welcome to our New Roadside Crapper, please enjoy your Dump! (fanfare into K&G "Celebrate")-True Story!

112 degrees
Outdoors, on concrete
No shade
No audience
Free gig for promotion

I will say it again....I played a gig celebrating an OUTHOUSE!!

I will say it again....I played a gig celebrating an OUTHOUSE!!
He he he!! I caught the 2nd time around. Thats amazing that some agency would do that at all.. PLUS hire a band to celebrate a new roadside rest stop.. hilarious!!! :smug:

It was complete with hotdogs and baloons and a photo op for some state officials who read the dedication plaque and even cut a ribbon and then some! They even polled people as they came from the toilet to ask them how they liked the rest rooms! Our manager was trying to get us listed with the tourist council. When they put out the little travel tips pamphlets, there we were listed with our picture in front of the fancy john!

One time I had to play the roof of this one place. There was supposed to be a bunch of people and it was catered and all that. Anyway the entire band disappeared as we were unloading, so I was stuck unloading everything pretty much myself, including my Ampeg 8x10 that I had to lug up stairs... luckally some of the guys who worked at the bar helped out. It was early June, and HOT, and.... well nobody showed becuase the Dallas Mavericks were in game 7 of some round of the playoffs that night.

Playing at English Rugby Clubs - whilst being damn good fun - is nigh-on impossible

It is very difficult to concentrate on what you are doing with a load of p!ssed-up rugby boys, some of which are b*llock naked, others having a competition to see how many cocktail sticks they can stick in their faces (then lighting them), others insisting you play 'American Pie' or - in the words of one charming gentleman - 'I'll smash you into liquid' and looking like he really means it. All the while the girl's rugby team are attempting to dance seductively in front of you and their fly-half is trying to take your bass off you halfway through 'Higher Ground'

Good fun though

Playing music I don't like, With people I don't like. :(

Life's just too short for that.

This is very true. The bad gigs I played were still good in some ways. The "worst" was in a dive of a bar. There was a "X" taped on the floor in front of me. I wondered what this was for. I later found out when I stepped on it and my feet went through the stage.

During the gig we found out the only way to the second story pool room was a staircase to stage left, so there was traffic accross the stage!

That said, that gig in 2004 was my first live perfonace since 1987, the bar was packed with friends and family, and we got a lot of offeres to play at other bars as a result!

In the early 1980s, I played in an Oompapa band during Octoberfest. Great money but I had to play this horrid music and wear lederhosen.

Finally, if you don't like the people you are performing music with, the sooner you get out the better.

Played in a band called the Dean Martins. Our debut gig have "older" patrons that wanted to see Dean Martin. We played Ramones type music. We soon changed our name.

For me it was playing at a prison in Colorado

- It took longer to load-in and load-out than it did to play. No load-in was as time consuming as this, since they had to inspect EVERYTHING that went in, as well as EVERYTHING that went out.

- Couldn't bring in chewing gum, since it is used to jam locks and hide stuff.

- I forgot my cigs in the car, and it was too much hassle to get them. I couldn't bum one from one of the inmates since we weren't allowed to take or give anything to them. Luckily one of the guards helped me get my fix.

- It was eerie to see the "prison b1tches". I thought that kinda stuff was just for the movies.

- Our cute lead singer couldn't wear her usual little black dress, so I didn't get to enjoy her nice legs.

- The vibe was just plain wierd.

- And it was hot as hell outside.

hey ev'rybody,

Just asking what was your worst gig conditions you've had as a bass player?

Mine is a gig I still do... great learning experience, you get paid a respectable amount for doing jazz and its a stable gig (we are sure to play two nights a week)...

It's in a train for tourists. The space we play in is ruffly 3 to 5 square meters (don't know how much its in feet, i'd say about 9 to 16). We are a trio, a drummer, who actually plays only a snare drum sitting on my amp, a guitarist, and me, the bassist. The guitar player and I are plugged in my amp, a cheap practice amp about 30 watts and we have a power pack so we can plug ourselves in. We play about 2 to 3 tounes per half-wagon and we do about 4 to 5 wagons per night, above all, the wagon is moving and is wobbly so we are practically more thinking about our balance than our playing. Plus, it can get really hot in there...

I think i'll remember that gig for ever... but it's fun and challenging... so when you play with a whole drum with a better amp an everything else you're better since you played on the train... We actually called ourself: the portable trio.

-Peace

JT

Thats so cool man. :)

For me,it was a stage made for 3 piece bands,there were 5 of us,the drumkit was moving all over the place,mostly coming towards me.I had to catch the hi-hat couple of times,it was jumping on the guitarist.:p

Most fun was,when I looked at the drummer,he was holding the kickdrum and hitting only hi-hat with the other hand as the kit was falling apart.:smug:

the last tour that my band did had one date in Philadelphia...
and honestly?
not only were we scared for our lives... but it was the smallest/dirtiest place i think i've ever played in.

it was in a DIY house that held shows in the basement.
i'm six foot two and had to duck for a majority of the show.
there was no stage and the basement couldn't have been more than 12 foot by 10 foot or so with stairs leading down the back... (maybe a hair larger than that... i'm not good at estimating sizes)

the floor was... carpetted, but... beyond it's prime. (it was probably growing things, but i was too flustered to really notice)

add in to that that there were people doing an assortment of drugs upstairs (making us quite uncomfortable) and it was in the middle of a bad part of town. translation: the house next door was abandoned and was being vandalized/robbed while we were there. it was all we could do to get out of there as fast as we possibly could.

now we look back on that and laugh... we've often said that we would play anywhere... but that night certainly tested that... and we'd rather not repeat the experience anytime soon.

[spunj13]

For me it was playing at a prison in Colorado

- It took longer to load-in and load-out than it did to play. No load-in was as time consuming as this, since they had to inspect EVERYTHING that went in, as well as EVERYTHING that went out.

- Couldn't bring in chewing gum, since it is used to jam locks and hide stuff.

- I forgot my cigs in the car, and it was too much hassle to get them. I couldn't bum one from one of the inmates since we weren't allowed to take or give anything to them. Luckily one of the guards helped me get my fix.

- It was eerie to see the "prison b1tches". I thought that kinda stuff was just for the movies.

- Our cute lead singer couldn't wear her usual little black dress, so I didn't get to enjoy her nice legs.

- The vibe was just plain wierd.

- And it was hot as hell outside.

Similar experience playing a federal penn in Sheridan with a church group... I'm 6'2", 300 lbs., bald with a 'stache and soul-patch... Pretty much like half the guys in the joint! At load-in, all our gear went into one room while we went into a small 'pass-through' room, about 6' X 6' with 1" thick glass... We had to stay in there for about 10 minutes while they inspected our gear, checked licenses and stuff... I was really starting to freak out!

-robert

Playing music I don't like, With people I don't like. :(

Life's just too short for that.

That has summed up my feelings about my current band

Luckily im quitting on the 15th July woo!

When I was a kid my cut rate garage band got hired to do a summer concert in a local park. We had the privledge of setting up on top of a sewage treatment unit. The only thing separating us from the bubbling, frothing, smelling nastiness under our feet were a scant few two by fours that comprised the top of the unit. When we would drop a pick we would just nudge it through the spaces of the 2/4's so we would'nt have to bend over and get that smell in our faces.

At the local farmer's market with the high school's big band. We got there and they had set us up a stage that was (literally) about 5'x5'. For a 15-person big band! We ditched that and basically had to set up in the middle of the sidewalk. There were people literally walking through the horn section all during the gig.

The best part: We didn't get paid. That one was basically done as a PR gig and to get the freshmen in the group a little gigging experience before we started taking paying jobs.

My worst gig was at a dive bar, and I plugged in two Ashdown ABM500's. Then my guitarist set up his 2 stacks as well, and then the drummer set up his 2 half stacks.

So ANYWAYS, we've got complete overkill on anything that could come our way soundwise, and I don't know whose idea it was to bring all this gear to a bar (this kind of equipment is usually reserved for gigs that have 100's of people) but we all plug in and everything turns on fine so we're like ok.

I hit an open E string to go an tune it, and I blow a fuse or something and the bar turns completely dark. Oh boy, that was fun.

Dude, I think shutting down a bar with your E string should be a point of pride.

I hit an open E string to go an tune it, and I blow a fuse or something and the bar turns completely dark. Oh boy, that was fun.

That's why Van halen's contract had a clause that people remove all the brown M&Ms in the bowl. Because they used to bring so much gear, the contract had so many technical and weight requirements, the brown M&Ms thing was to make sure whomever was doing the show read the contract. They had one show where all their gear sunk through the arena floor, that would be a horrible gig.