Sliced the crap out of my left thumb a couple of months ago, between the first and second set.Thankfully I had some liquid bandage(Superglue)that kept things from getting too messy.
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Gig injuries
- Thread starter rtbassist
- Start date
I've never had an injury at a gig, but I have ripped a bunch of skin off the top of my fingers while loading my 810 into my car. It usually happens when I get someone careless to help me. I had no idea a finger would bleed for over an hour.
A few years ago, I was playing a country club gig. I was changing in the men's bathroom and reached down to the floor to grab my shoes which were right up against the wall. The floor tile was cut to fit the size of the bathroom up against that particular wall. As I reached out to get my shoes, I cut the tip of my left ring finger about half an inch on the sharp edge of the cut tile.
A couple of bandaids later, I was playing. But as I continued to play, the laceration kept opening up, and I had blood all over the fretboard. Between sets I grabbed some duct tape... good ol' duct tape... and I got through the rest of the night.
A couple of bandaids later, I was playing. But as I continued to play, the laceration kept opening up, and I had blood all over the fretboard. Between sets I grabbed some duct tape... good ol' duct tape... and I got through the rest of the night.
Back in '08 I was playing with a band in Minneapolis, we were playing a show at Station 4. My guitarist wanted me to be more active on stage because he thought I was to stationary. We started the show with him and I standing on the drum riser, and then jumping off at the sustained low E that started our first song. I felt a pain but didn't stop. I played with a pick at that point, and the adrenaline kept me going. I didn't notice until 3/4 way through the show that I had blood everywhere.
These pictures were taken shortly after the show.
These pictures were taken shortly after the show.
i dropped a 4x10 cab on my foot on a New Years Eve gig. I was wearing sandals at the time. Luckily it was post gig. I had to drive a couple of hundred km home tho'. My big toe looked like a burst sausage. There are some photos round here somewhere. I'll go dig 'em out.
A friend of mine broke nearly all the bones in his right foot and collapsed his arch when an SVT cab fell and the top edge of it hit him directly on the top of his foot.
I auditioned for a country band. When I got home and was unloading my rig, I dropped dead of Sudden Cardiac Arrest... after 4 minutes of no pulse and heartbeat, my wife gave me CPR and the police shocked my heart back to life. After 8 days in the hospital 4 in a coma, I went back to meet the band because I couldn't remember ever playing with them.
Mic to the eye. Drunken fan(guitarists brother and all of our friend) not planned. I was pissed, and he heard about it from everyone after the show. He ended up in tears and promised to never jump on stage again. He didn't know the freaking words to the song either.
I got a black eye. Sucked!
m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=rLgO4Lc_890
I got a black eye. Sucked!
m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=rLgO4Lc_890
while loading out I face planted into a freight elevator full of gear that wasn't level with the floor. The stem of my glasses folded in at the hinge and embedded itself in my temple as I was knocked unconscious. The guitarist saw an opportunity to remove the rod of plastic and metal lodged in my skull. I blame the shrooms and free Lonestar. I was driven home in a violent blackout by said guitarist to the "welcoming" arms of my wife. Caked blood, confusion, and intermittent laughter. Heh. I pieced it all together much later with the help of my mates. If anyone from Totimoshi is lurking abouts, they'll remember. I believe we played well and that's what counts.
Two injury stories:
1982:
Fever chills sweating no energy
laying a gig at Rutgers main campus Student Union or whatever they call it. It was their end of winter semester blowout dance party. I was actually making it my last gig with this band due to long drive time for practices and too much drama between the kybrd player and his girlfriend -our lead vocalist. Which never sat comfortably with me...imagine doing Genesis Asia, the Cars, Styx Queen, ELP, Yes, assorted top 40 with a female vocalist ? it just didn't work for me.
Back to the gig,
It is amazing how all that sickness dissappears once you start playing live !
We were in top form. Audience took a while to warm up to us but when we hit the top 40 stuff halfway into our 1st set the joint was jumpin ! For whatever reason I was playin hard that night even though I'm runnin a well powered triamp'd system. 1st set ends and my fingers are sore.
2nd set we are crankin, dance floor hoppin . I look at my buddy who tagged along to help with load in / outs. His face was in shock he was staring at my right hand. I looked down and my fingers and strings/pups etc totally covered in blood.
My tips on my picking hand were shredded beyond pain- the adrenaline of the gig covered all that.
Finished out 2nd set I grabbed a towel and tried to apply adhesive tape on my fingertips.Now in a state of shock over how I will finish out the evening , Though I never used a pick I tried a few, anything keep playing, tape flying off, drops of blood splatter all over ( good thing my bass was black and so were my stage clothes !)
The gig ends -our best one ever. I nearly collapse from it all my buddy loads my gear in my Plymouth Suburban wagon and captains the boat home. Took a week to recover.
NEXT : as posted in "Worst gig ever" thread..
You can't make this s**t up !
1987 Was guitar/ bass tech for the Plasmatics, Yep, you know em well: Wendy O and Co. As they rehearsed for the upcoming tour, Rod the manager and Wendy's man, came up to me and said .
"Hey Stu when we hit the cities You need to hunt down some cheap junk guitars so Wendy can cut them up onstage."
I said 'Sure i know her deal' and it would give me a reason to get away for an hour from the monotony of load in set up etc.
We did the first show Wendy cranked up the chainsaw and shredded the guitar to bits Crowd goes nuts etc etc.
Next gig Wendy & Rod come up to me and says We got a great idea. I was all ears:
During song "x" and "y" you set the coffin up on end onstage. We have been draggin this coffin around and now i know why !
Then you get into a doctors white lab coat wearing a black executioners mask and hold the guitar while standing inside the coffin .
I am wondering what will come out of Wendy's mouth next cause this is getting bizarre enough. She continues:
'I'll throw the lid open, you step out and hand me the guitar and stand there while I cut it up '
"Okay " was all I could manage, hey I'm getting paid right ?!
That night the chosen song comes up and I get into the gag and step out. The crowd is going berserk Wendy cranks up the chain saw -FOR REAL !- thrashin about the stage she takes the guitar and puts it into the stand and grinds the saw thru all the strings bridge wood etc.
I must add that at the same time this is all happening the lead guitarist is in a wheelchair onstage with a old electrode strap cap on his head and a sign on the chair saying "Lobotomy Patient" shredding leads like no tomorrow wheeling back and forth with his feet! Wendy was good at talking people into doing crazy things !
Back to the sacrifice: Band is blazin away at full speed and high volume, I am standing with my arms folded and next thing ya know i feel pieces of guitar shrapnel hitting my legs, Yikes ! then I see the lead guitarist is bleeding from his arm and he's still playing ! Wendy throws the chainsaw right past him to floor: ITS" STILL RUNNING ! I hold my own, Song ends we retreat behind the amps for a moment
Wendy tells the crowd "we' re gonna take a short break". In shock we indulge in homemade road triage.
Before we know it, we're back into gig mode and continue / finish the show.
Afterwards me and the guitarist have a chat with Rod as Wendy was hounded by local press etc. He understood our concerns and injuries and said he'd talk to her and maybe tone it down a notch.
We were like "Yeah it got pretty dangerous out there !"
Next night was slightly better not so much chain saw swinging and i had removed the bridge and just screwed a few strings on the sacrificial axe.
BUT THEN :
Me and the Rhythm guitarist had gotten pretty good at tossin back and forth for 'on the fly' guitar changes onstage.but then me jumping off the side of the drum riser to catch a badly thrown guitar during a quik axe change in mid song Twist my ankle turns black and blue all over and here comes load out UGH!
Needless to say after numerous nightmares and the end of the first leg of the schedule,
I left the tour. Only time I ever left a band or tech gig !
1982:
Fever chills sweating no energy
laying a gig at Rutgers main campus Student Union or whatever they call it. It was their end of winter semester blowout dance party. I was actually making it my last gig with this band due to long drive time for practices and too much drama between the kybrd player and his girlfriend -our lead vocalist. Which never sat comfortably with me...imagine doing Genesis Asia, the Cars, Styx Queen, ELP, Yes, assorted top 40 with a female vocalist ? it just didn't work for me.Back to the gig,
It is amazing how all that sickness dissappears once you start playing live !
We were in top form. Audience took a while to warm up to us but when we hit the top 40 stuff halfway into our 1st set the joint was jumpin ! For whatever reason I was playin hard that night even though I'm runnin a well powered triamp'd system. 1st set ends and my fingers are sore.
2nd set we are crankin, dance floor hoppin . I look at my buddy who tagged along to help with load in / outs. His face was in shock he was staring at my right hand. I looked down and my fingers and strings/pups etc totally covered in blood.
My tips on my picking hand were shredded beyond pain- the adrenaline of the gig covered all that.
Finished out 2nd set I grabbed a towel and tried to apply adhesive tape on my fingertips.Now in a state of shock over how I will finish out the evening , Though I never used a pick I tried a few, anything keep playing, tape flying off, drops of blood splatter all over ( good thing my bass was black and so were my stage clothes !)
The gig ends -our best one ever. I nearly collapse from it all my buddy loads my gear in my Plymouth Suburban wagon and captains the boat home. Took a week to recover.
NEXT : as posted in "Worst gig ever" thread..
You can't make this s**t up !
1987 Was guitar/ bass tech for the Plasmatics, Yep, you know em well: Wendy O and Co. As they rehearsed for the upcoming tour, Rod the manager and Wendy's man, came up to me and said .
"Hey Stu when we hit the cities You need to hunt down some cheap junk guitars so Wendy can cut them up onstage."
I said 'Sure i know her deal' and it would give me a reason to get away for an hour from the monotony of load in set up etc.
We did the first show Wendy cranked up the chainsaw and shredded the guitar to bits Crowd goes nuts etc etc.
Next gig Wendy & Rod come up to me and says We got a great idea. I was all ears:
During song "x" and "y" you set the coffin up on end onstage. We have been draggin this coffin around and now i know why !
Then you get into a doctors white lab coat wearing a black executioners mask and hold the guitar while standing inside the coffin .
I am wondering what will come out of Wendy's mouth next cause this is getting bizarre enough. She continues:
'I'll throw the lid open, you step out and hand me the guitar and stand there while I cut it up '
"Okay " was all I could manage, hey I'm getting paid right ?!
That night the chosen song comes up and I get into the gag and step out. The crowd is going berserk Wendy cranks up the chain saw -FOR REAL !- thrashin about the stage she takes the guitar and puts it into the stand and grinds the saw thru all the strings bridge wood etc.
I must add that at the same time this is all happening the lead guitarist is in a wheelchair onstage with a old electrode strap cap on his head and a sign on the chair saying "Lobotomy Patient" shredding leads like no tomorrow wheeling back and forth with his feet! Wendy was good at talking people into doing crazy things !
Back to the sacrifice: Band is blazin away at full speed and high volume, I am standing with my arms folded and next thing ya know i feel pieces of guitar shrapnel hitting my legs, Yikes ! then I see the lead guitarist is bleeding from his arm and he's still playing ! Wendy throws the chainsaw right past him to floor: ITS" STILL RUNNING ! I hold my own, Song ends we retreat behind the amps for a moment
Wendy tells the crowd "we' re gonna take a short break". In shock we indulge in homemade road triage.
Before we know it, we're back into gig mode and continue / finish the show.
Afterwards me and the guitarist have a chat with Rod as Wendy was hounded by local press etc. He understood our concerns and injuries and said he'd talk to her and maybe tone it down a notch.
We were like "Yeah it got pretty dangerous out there !"
Next night was slightly better not so much chain saw swinging and i had removed the bridge and just screwed a few strings on the sacrificial axe.
BUT THEN :
Me and the Rhythm guitarist had gotten pretty good at tossin back and forth for 'on the fly' guitar changes onstage.but then me jumping off the side of the drum riser to catch a badly thrown guitar during a quik axe change in mid song Twist my ankle turns black and blue all over and here comes load out UGH!
Needless to say after numerous nightmares and the end of the first leg of the schedule,
I left the tour. Only time I ever left a band or tech gig !
Wasn't me, but during my first show with a death/grind band called Narwhal the vocalist was swinging the mic around and released at the wrong time, clocking the guitar player right in the face. At the same show, one of the more rowdy people involved in the mosh pit came out with a broken rib after jumping on the vocalist's back and being tossed off into the crowd. Playing metal is fun. 
I got two quick stories...
1) I was playing rhythm guitar in a punk band. During rehearsal, I took a backwards flying leap at the drum kit and cut my back open from the base of my neck to the base of my spine.
2) I put together a solo-artist show one night. Brought the PA & everything. During the initial soundcheck after setting up the PA, I somehow managed to electrocute myself. Hair standing on end and everything.
1) I was playing rhythm guitar in a punk band. During rehearsal, I took a backwards flying leap at the drum kit and cut my back open from the base of my neck to the base of my spine.
2) I put together a solo-artist show one night. Brought the PA & everything. During the initial soundcheck after setting up the PA, I somehow managed to electrocute myself. Hair standing on end and everything.
Let's see.....
Ripped a fingernail off once
Bloody knuckles (sometimes I play chords using my knuckles for a muted chug)
Jumped off a riser, landed funny and scraped up my knee and elbow
Cut hands on drummers cymbals when I got too close on the riser
I really need to take better care of my hands.......
Ripped a fingernail off once
Bloody knuckles (sometimes I play chords using my knuckles for a muted chug)
Jumped off a riser, landed funny and scraped up my knee and elbow
Cut hands on drummers cymbals when I got too close on the riser
I really need to take better care of my hands.......
My guitar player tends to use jazz picks. We play some pretty heavy hard rock. He's come away from 4 or 5 shows with his index finger sliced open from the nail bed all the way top the first knuckle.
