Anyone ever shoot your keyboardist at a gig?

[Rich Terry]

HEY, Ain't that PHALEX?

Elton John's last tour.

 

[xgator4u]

Elton John's last tour.

:***:

 

[NWB]

 

[Rich Terry]

 

[delta7fred]

Anyone ever shoot your keyboardist at a gig?

No (we don't carry in the UK) but there are a couple I wish I could have.

One who consistently walked all over my bass lines, the other was a borderline alcoholic who I fired, despite our guitarist's protestations, after he showed up to a Saturday afternoon gig still drunk from Friday night.

On balance though I have played with more good keyboard players than bad ones.

 

[wmhill]

I can't afford that much ammo! seven of em in the last year. And that's not counting the guy from Minneapolis (we're in upstate NY) who answered our CL add.... he was ready to start ASAP, he would use our keys (he didn't have any) - all he needed was a one way plane ticket out here. BANG...BANG...BANG!!!!!

 

[mellowinman]

Since I run sound in the band, I would just eq out his low end, anyway.

 

[Stick_Player]

if you have never played with a keyboard player that plays too much with his left hand you don't know the pure misery you are missing. I look over and both hands are below middle C!

I always just stop playing. The keyboardist is usually the last to notice. And always clueless.

 

[mapleglo]

Back in the 70's, my keyboard player shot me once. Now he's a bass player.

 

[Nvr2old]

Mine wanted to play along with me on Seven Nation Army with a synth bass patch. Ummmm, No! Take the solo during Jump, Seven Nation is mine.

Bingo! I could almost handle the fact that he feels the need to join the opening of every damn song, and not stop, but in three sets I only get two good chances to [try to] shine, Wild Nights (Me'Shell Ndegeocello version) and the Stones Miss You. I spend 70% of my practice on those two songs to try not to embarrass myself, and no matter how many times I tell him to lay back in the opening and NOT play over me... BANG BANG BANG!

I'm not good enough to play those two well when all I can hear is whatever the hell he's doing, and all I can think of is how I explain myself to a jury.

 

[hintz]

I've only had the pleasure of playing with a few who'd stay outta my space, most I tell over and over not to, and I swear its like a bad habit for them, they just have to sit on low sustained drone notes forever, effectively killing whatever groove is happening, all in the name of "filling out the room"

a great/ horrible example: I played in a cover band journey's "don't stop believing", and the keyboardist insisted on doubling the bassline during the intro, unfortunately he could never nail the syncopation during said line, I even transcribed it for him, tried cueing him, I even told him let me do it since that's my job anyways, but nothing worked, so our soundguy would just turn me down in the mix saying how muddy it got, and keys are important for that song, we'd play it as a closer with my bass nonexistent, what a way to end the night!!

unfortunately I still deal with this in my current gig, but I just deal with it by not caring or investing myself too much in any band situation, consequently I also mistrust most keyboardist and soundguys since they always seem to be attached at the hip. Either way, when I go back to playing original music, I will NOT ever play with another keyboardist, lifes too short to be miserable, especially doing something you love

so yeah, I've wanted to shoot the keyboardist more times than I can count

 

[hover]

No, but I worked with a drummer that would rifle a stick at your back if you missed a cue or hit the feel weird (which rarely if ever translated as such to the crowd, only to him)...and I warned him not to ever do it to me. What he did instead once was whack the headstock of my bass with the stick. I didn't even miss a cue. HE hit the kick bad. Like I'm supposed to anticipate his oopsie.

So, havin warned him prior, and not enjoying any undue and unwarranted damage to my bass, took a cymbal off his stand in the middle of a song (no wingnuts) and stood on it for the remainder of the song, then placed it back on the stand, and whispered to him "reconsider anything you're thinking about doing or I'll park the bass upside your head".

We don't work together anymore. I realize that's not the spirit of this thread, but felt like sharing since it seemed like a gripe thread.

 

[hintz]

No, but I worked with a drummer that would rifle a stick at your back if you missed a cue or hit the feel weird (which rarely if ever translated as such to the crowd, only to him)...and I warned him not to ever do it to me. What he did instead once was whack the headstock of my bass with the stick. I didn't even miss a cue. HE hit the kick bad. Like I'm supposed to anticipate his oopsie.

So, havin warned him prior, and not enjoying any undue and unwarranted damage to my bass, took a cymbal off his stand in the middle of a song (no wingnuts) and stood on it for the remainder of the song, then placed it back on the stand, and whispered to him "reconsider anything you're thinking about doing or I'll park the bass upside your head".

We don't work together anymore. I realize that's not the spirit of this thread, but felt like sharing since it seemed like a gripe thread.

more power to ya for standing up for yourself, that is bs on that drummers end!!!

 

[artdrtr]

I prefer a slow painful death for our lead guitarist who plays in the wrong key, too loud, and too stubborn to learn song structures rather watches me or listens and compensate only after he's hitting the wrong notes...

 

[Salicete]

What or who is this key-board thing/person of which/whom you speak?

 

[morgansterne]

I went from playing bass in a cover band to playing keys in that band. so I have a weird perspective.

rules for keyboard players in a rock band should be
1) no more than 61 keys.
2) leave the left hand out unless it's a keys break, guitar lead, or left hand chord with right hand melody

If I try to play both hands all night, I'll make more mistakes anyway.

I spend shocking amounts of time at a gig playing nothing at all, so it sounds really big when I do come in.

 

[Bim1959]

I play alot of different instruments - bass, guitar, keyboards, drums (if I have to). I've dealt with alot of different people trying to tell me how to play the left hand when I play keyboards that it isnt funny. Haven't gotten into any fistfights about it (although it's come close). Yes I know not to play bass lines when there's a regular bassist involved unless I know exactly how he plays his part. All I ask is don't be a dick about it and let me play what needs to be played.

Is that so hard?

 

[PimasterPearson]

No, but I've considered smacking our lead guitarist upside the head when he can't stop noodling during rehearsals.

 

[Bim1959]

And yes, my piano has 88 keys. Doesnt mean I have to play them all.....
I tried playing 63 key note keyboards as pianos. No way in hell will I go thru that again.

 

[davy4575]

I played keys before bass. its actually why I turned to playing bass. smallest book ive read? cool keyboardists in rock bands. Seriously though, I was usually laying my bass tracks myself. I did a lot of syncopated rhythms akin to god lives underwater, just not sequenced. The way I got around frequency cancellation, particuarily in the low end was to build the voices in the keys (Roland D-50 and D -70) in a frequency specific area(s) so as to not step on the low end of the drums and the bass. Also, most keyboard amps and pa's suck for keys. I played mine live through a Roland JC120. Great amp, true stereo and dosnt throw out too much bass. Throw on a little distortion and verb on it, makes for a cool sound.