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Have you ever stopped playing in the middle of a song?

Honest advice to the OP:
Immediately quit your band and start your solo career. You have no hope of success in a group setting.
Don't consider stand-up comedy either. You might think you're funny, but you aren't.

Alternatively, seek counselling for your mental issues and if you do, I sincerely hope you get better.
Good luck and god bless.

I do perform as a solo act where I enjoy ever bit of it. I definitely don't do that to myself.
As far seeking counselling, you're probably right. Getting a good laugh out of turning my volume down and watching people not know what to do requires medical attention ;)
Take me back to where you think I was trying to say something funny. Or you could go back to your Farmville and find jokes there. Did you see what I did? I make a joke. I just want to know if we get Farmville or not. That's all.

It's funny how people take this so seriously. "I'd fire you." Good. Anything negative you have to say is all up for a good read. This is something that I enjoy doing to get different responses from different shows and I enjoy doing it every now and then whenever a situation comes up that works against me. I enjoy it. I like reading the stories you guys have.
 
I stopped a song ONCE. The guitar player and the bass player were playing it in two different keys, and I didn't know which one to sing in. I don't see how we could've continued. Turned out, the guitar player had his tuner set 1/2 step off, so his guitar was tuned to the wrong pitch.

That's in over 30 years of playing out. ONCE.

You don't stop, unless there is no other choice.
 
Only time I ever did, and the entire band did at the same time, was when a drunk fell on to the stage into the lead singer's guitars. He had his D28 and his SG on stands - the D28 in front of the SG. When the drunk fell, he went right in to the face of the D28 and on to the SG whose neck landed on the drum riser. The neck broke off the SG and the face of the D28 was splintered and caved in. It was one of the weirdest sights and sounds I have ever seen. We all just stopped.
Lucky part was the drunk was a lawyer and a good guy. He apologized and immediatley wrote a check (that cleared) to buy brand new guitars. He bought us all a round of drinks for the unplanned break, too.
 
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I know it's bi-polar and the role of a bass player is a continuous molding of the band and sound but it's funny to watch the crowd get lost, stop feeling the music, stop and actually pay attention to you and the guitarists suddenly start giving you looks.

I do perform as a solo act where I enjoy ever bit of it. I definitely don't do that to myself.
As far seeking counselling, you're probably right. Getting a good laugh out of turning my volume down and watching people not know what to do requires medical attention ;)
Take me back to where you think I was trying to say something funny. Or you could go back to your Farmville and find jokes there. Did you see what I did? I make a joke. I just want to know if we get Farmville or not. That's all.

It's funny how people take this so seriously. "I'd fire you." Good. Anything negative you have to say is all up for a good read. This is something that I enjoy doing to get different responses from different shows and I enjoy doing it every now and then whenever a situation comes up that works against me. I enjoy it. I like reading the stories you guys have.

Yeah... It's less funny than comparing this site to Facebook/Farmville because of the status updates. And I agree with you, that's not all that funny.
 
i quit playing mid-song one time when a large fellow hit the ground hard in front of us. the dance floor was pretty full at the time. the lead singer/guitar player, a doctor, also quit, told me to keep playing and take over singing, and jumped off the stage to tend to the guy. i did as he asked. the guy was back on his feet in a couple of minutes. the band finished the song and took a break.
 
Wow, I'm realizing the blessings of playing with people of similar ages and maturity (40s, 50s), although that's certainly no guarantee of a sane playing situation. That, or perhaps I've unknowingly become more discerning about who I play with.

In the Worship band, I'm at least 15 years older than them. It's kinda weird, I feel kinda like an alien at times and they are a little standoff-ish, but I get it. And I'm not there to socialize or be liked, anyway. So it's no biggie. There's another keyboardist that serves from time to time and he's 8 years older than me (64). He sez the same thing, but it's okay. And you can imagine who everyone comes to for advice on just about everything...:D
 
yeah, that's hysterical alright. Might want to get that ALL out of your system before you get anywhere near the pro end of the pool. You'll end up radioactive. Might want to move to a large metro area where it will take the entire month for the word to get out.
 
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I got a graphic EQ pedal just for those times when I can't hear myself in the mix. The last thing I'm gonna do is just stop playing. I'm much more interested in getting gigs and building relationships with good musicians than playing childish pranks and indulging my narcissism.
 
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