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anyone ever have a spinal tap moment?
- Thread starter mikethecannibal
- Start date
Playing an outdoor festie gig - at night, freezing cold, the stage was a load of pallets pushed together... I tripped on the slats of the pallets, knocked into the guitarist who trod on his lead and pulled his 4x12 & head on top of him, the drummer laughed so much he hit himself in the eye with his sticks, leaving him unable to play. A bunch of crusties then started "jamming" with our gear, we got annoyed, had a brief pagga and got back on stage just in time for the rozzers to turn up, bust the festie and impound our gear.
My band was once on the same bill as a puppet show. Fortunately we got top billing. We still spent most of the night joking about it.
When ST came out, the keyboard player from my old prog band and I went to see it. We nearly pissed ourselves laughing so hard. People were staring. We were sure that they had seen our old band and lifted a few things, particularly Stonehenge. We used to do a really theatrical set with costumes and props and looking back on it, we really were a bunch of dorks.
I have also been lost backstage shouting "Hello Cleveland" a couple times.
I have also been lost backstage shouting "Hello Cleveland" a couple times.
A few times come to mind, Once I was playing in a Country band and the Lead Guitarist and I jumped over the monitors and on to the dance floor. Hitting the end of our 25 ft cords we pulled both our amps off the chairs and onto their faces on the stage. Man that made some noise!
A second time was when I jumped off the stage onto the dance floor and didn't quite make it to the floor. Well, I did but my guitar only made part way, It was a 6 foot hight stage. I finished the song with the headstock pointing at the ground and the body about head height and the Lead Guitarist laughing his ass off. I think he did an extra lead just for me. The next day was when I invested in my first wireless.
Last one, In the 80's I learned that you do NOT slide across the hard wood dance floor on your knees in nylon parachute paints. I still have the scars.
A second time was when I jumped off the stage onto the dance floor and didn't quite make it to the floor. Well, I did but my guitar only made part way, It was a 6 foot hight stage. I finished the song with the headstock pointing at the ground and the body about head height and the Lead Guitarist laughing his ass off. I think he did an extra lead just for me. The next day was when I invested in my first wireless.
Last one, In the 80's I learned that you do NOT slide across the hard wood dance floor on your knees in nylon parachute paints. I still have the scars.
Ha, I just remember one!
My cover band was called "Skinny and the Platelickers" (yeah... I didn't pick it). We played typical classic rock, a lot of hard rock type stuff. We got a gig opening for a bluegrass band, really stripped down acoustic stuff. We got the gig because people ALWAYS assumed we played bluegrass from our overly hokey name. So we of course open with some Judas Priest. We got some crazy looks. I really wish we could have opened with "Sex Farm."
My cover band was called "Skinny and the Platelickers" (yeah... I didn't pick it). We played typical classic rock, a lot of hard rock type stuff. We got a gig opening for a bluegrass band, really stripped down acoustic stuff. We got the gig because people ALWAYS assumed we played bluegrass from our overly hokey name. So we of course open with some Judas Priest. We got some crazy looks. I really wish we could have opened with "Sex Farm."
Several years ago, my band followed a band that used a bubble machine, and they used it way too much. By the time we went on, the stage was covered in soap. We spent the entire set slipping and sliding around, trying
(in vain) not to bust our keisters.
The audience seemed to enjoy it though.
...and many times when grasping for material during gigs , I'll say something like "...it's a festival crowd, let's do a free-form jazz exploration."
(in vain) not to bust our keisters.
The audience seemed to enjoy it though.
...and many times when grasping for material during gigs , I'll say something like "...it's a festival crowd, let's do a free-form jazz exploration."
A couple of years back we were debuting a song in a venue which wasn't blessed with the finest onstage sound. This song begins with a fast riff on the guitar, with bass and drums stabbing after a couple of bars. Of course, we could hardly make out what the guitar was doing and had to guess where we were, and the whole thing collapsed about 20 seconds in.
So we all have a bit of an embarrassed laugh, friendly crowd's with us so we try it again. Unsurprisingly, it collapses around the same mark.
But instead of just shrugging it off and doing another song, our guitarist loses it spectacularly and boots his Marshall stack and chucks his Les Paul to the floor with an audible scream of despair.
The venue falls silent, all eyes on us, for what seems like an eternity. Then, completely deadpan and calm, the drummer looks over to him and says, 'What d'you do that for?'. Nearly pissed myself but for the embarrassment. Guitarist sheepishly resumes his duties and we continue.
After the gig, our singer tells him that he made us look a bunch of pricks, so he abandons us and swans off into the night. He's a tortured artist and it's our fault we don't understand him.
So we all have a bit of an embarrassed laugh, friendly crowd's with us so we try it again. Unsurprisingly, it collapses around the same mark.
But instead of just shrugging it off and doing another song, our guitarist loses it spectacularly and boots his Marshall stack and chucks his Les Paul to the floor with an audible scream of despair.
The venue falls silent, all eyes on us, for what seems like an eternity. Then, completely deadpan and calm, the drummer looks over to him and says, 'What d'you do that for?'. Nearly pissed myself but for the embarrassment. Guitarist sheepishly resumes his duties and we continue.
After the gig, our singer tells him that he made us look a bunch of pricks, so he abandons us and swans off into the night. He's a tortured artist and it's our fault we don't understand him.
We've had a Spinal Tap-like run on drummers. None of them died, but we've had a few just lose contact (disinterested, moved out of area, family problems, etc). We've been together for about seven years, and I think we've had about six drummers officially, and had one come back for a second run (actually on thin ice and might have to get booted this time).
Yes, we have lol. We played the taste of chaos here n melbourne, australia, and we got lost back stage at vodofone arena lol. Luckily it wasnt before we went on ha ha.
Yeah. Every time our vocalists are working out harmonies, I start singing "Well since my baby left me..."
One time my band played Sunset Station in San Antonio '00 or '01. The sound guys there were total pricks and could care less about this local punk band. We were a 3 piece. But for some reason there were 4 mics/micstands on the stage. I sang lead, and in punk fashion tended to move around on stage a bit. A couple of times when I'd go back to the mic to sing, I'd be at the wrong mic that wasn't on. So I'd run to the next one and start singing. I think the sound guys might have noticed and switched mics to help me out. So the next time I'd run around and back to sing, I'd end up at the wrong mic again.
Then my guitar player's cable craps out and he walks backstage in the middle of the song leaving me singing bass/drums-capella. Horrible. We played 8 songs, maybe a 20 minute set. We cut it short because the band after us was friends of ours and it was their last show. The club wanted the show to be done by 12 so we didn't have much time. At the end of our set I went to the mic and said "I just wanna say this gig sucked and so does this f****ng club, so don't anybody come back here!" The club said they wouldn't pay us, but that's after my guitarist already had gone to claim our $21 bucks.
Then my guitar player's cable craps out and he walks backstage in the middle of the song leaving me singing bass/drums-capella. Horrible. We played 8 songs, maybe a 20 minute set. We cut it short because the band after us was friends of ours and it was their last show. The club wanted the show to be done by 12 so we didn't have much time. At the end of our set I went to the mic and said "I just wanna say this gig sucked and so does this f****ng club, so don't anybody come back here!" The club said they wouldn't pay us, but that's after my guitarist already had gone to claim our $21 bucks.
