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I forgot my bass.

D.A.R.K.

D.A.R.K.

Supporting Member
Aug 20, 2003
5,752
3,629
Virginia
www.dougkallmeyer.com
#1
Last night I had a gig in dc. A turn-tablist buddy of mine and I have a project that revolves around old vinyl breaks records, he does his thing with the beats and I get to play heavy grooves all night.
My buddy is not technically minded, the whole world of gigs and gear is fairly new to him- I still have to help him hook up anything outside of his turn tables (we also bring some electronics and dub things out).
I've been gigging since '82.
So we are loading up for the show, and I keep going over the necessary pieces in my head- we need some powered speakers for this one, the mixer, a reverb unit, a delay, turn tables, vinyl case, cables, we need some keyboard stands to set up on etc... etc...
I want to make sure my buddy doesn't forget any of his stuff, and that we have all the pa gear.
We drive to the gig, open up to load in and I immediately realize my bass is still in baltimore :hmm:.
I felt the shame, and had to write this.
One good thing, an ipad is capable of making some great bass keyboard sounds, so i'm better on the touch screen keys today.
Only time in 30 years i've ever forgotten my bass!
How could I?
Still feeling the shame...
 
#2
Sucks for sure, but don't let it get you down.

One time our rhythm guitarist totally spaced off not only his guitar, but his amp and pedal board as well. And the gig was a 90-mile drive one-way so running back home to get his gear wasn't an option. Thankfully our lead guitarist always rolls with enough gear for three guys (literally), so we were still able to do the gig but the rhythm guitarist felt awful silly about it.
 
#4
Closest I ever came to that was a couple weeks ago, we were playing back to back gigs at two separate venues. We were expected to tear down from the first gig, load our gear, get over to the second venue (15 miles away) and be up and running there... all within 45 minutes. Well everything went smoothly until I unpacked at the second venue and realized I had left my strap at the other place.

Thankfully I was able to scam a spare strap off a bandmate or I would have been doing our high-energy variety show sitting on a stool. :hmm:
 
#5
Ah, I've been close before.

I landed an unbelievably well paying corporate gig (1-song for a Pharm corp... $1500 each man) They wanted us to rehearse on the 2 days prior to the show and then meet early for the gig.

I had been leaving my AM STD P-bass in the Hotel conf room where we were setup. I felt safe because I was locking the SKB/Fender molded hard case... Well it snowed the day of the show and I swapped cars (and keys) with my lady. I failed to realize until I got there that I had no key for my case.

I was told I wouldn't be paid if I couldn't play.

Just an FYI to all of you with the newer Fender/SKB cases: The small flat tool on a Gerber multi-tool will open the TSA approved locks.

Got the bass out, got paid, used the money to buy my lady's wedding ring.
 
#7
This happened to me a few weeks ago, loaded up everyone else's stuff.... I live outside of NYC, gig is in Philidelphia, about 2 hour drive +/- . 45minutes into the drive I realized what I have done, I left my bass inside the house and loaded everything except..

Freaking!...trying figure who I can call along the way to get a bass and then it came to me.... Guitar Center is on the way to Philly. I dialed it up on my GPS and bought a bass, did the gig. Cleaned it up when I got home, removed finger prints, put on fresh set of strings and returned the next day at my local GC. Very, very fortunate that worked out.
 
#8
I get paranoid about forgetting stuff sometimes. It's a scary thought!

My drummer once forgot his bass drum pedal, thankfully our BL lived right around the corner and had one at his house. The very next gig, the drummer forgot his tom mount. He made it work without it, kind of.
 
#9
We played an outdoor festival about a month ago. Drummer had to come separately to the gig from work (2 1/2 hour drive one way) so we loaded all his gear into the band trailer without him. He gets there, starts setting up his kit and says "did you guys know there's a hole in my hardware bag"? Turns out the inside rod from his high-hat stand had somehow poked through this (canvas) bag, fallen out and was long gone.

Thankfully he was able to use another drummer's high-hat stand for the gig... but if it had been a typical show where we're the only act the whole night, we would have been screwed.

He has since bought a hard-shell case for his hardware.
 
#11
We once had a gig at a company outing on an island. The ferry goes every full hour, and returns every half hour. We needed to trek back to mainland to get one cable without which the PA would have been dead silent... Fortunately there was plenty for the audience to booze on...
 
#13
I often get in the driver's seat before I have to go back for earplugs. Only had to go home for a bass once though.

The mind boggles at Jaywa's rhythm guitarist leaving the whole shooting match at home.

"Hair gell, check, sunglasses, check, pants, check....right, good to go!" ????
 
#14
My band did a regular gig at a venue across town where we would set up in the afternoon, then go home while the venue had its dinner service. We would come back in time for 10PM start.
The guitarist lived around the corner from me, so we would sometimes take turns in driving each other to the gig, saving petrol, and giving the other guy a chance to have a few drinks.

One gig night, as 10PM was approaching, and the rest of the band were wondering where I was, the guitarist realises he forgot to pick me up.

Forgetting your Bass is one thing, forgetting your Bass Player is something only a Guitarist could do.
 
#15
I did a gig at a wedding once, and the rhythm guitarist forgot his strap.

Rather than sit down to play (we were a high energy metal band), he fashioned a strap out of a short piece of speaker wire!! He made it through the gig, but had a sore shoulder for weeks after!!
 
#16
I got half way to a gig an hour away from my place and realized I left the bass head home. Luckily I had time to go back and get it. Yours is a funny story and hey, you improvised!!!
 
#18
xgator4u said:
Check List

Make one, listing everything you need to load up.

USE it.
Click to expand...

But what if you lose your checklist?

:smug:

Asking only cause I've been there.

Seriously though, that's a great idea and in fact I now keep my list through an app on my phone. And not just for my music gear but stage clothes, toiletries, etc... basically any time I hit the road for a gig I'm checking that list on my phone and physically putting my hands on every item to make sure it's all there.
 
#19
D.A.R.K. said:
Last night I had a gig in dc. A turn-tablist buddy of mine and I have a project that revolves around old vinyl breaks records, he does his thing with the beats and I get to play heavy grooves all night.
My buddy is not technically minded, the whole world of gigs and gear is fairly new to him- I still have to help him hook up anything outside of his turn tables (we also bring some electronics and dub things out).
I've been gigging since '82.
So we are loading up for the show, and I keep going over the necessary pieces in my head- we need some powered speakers for this one, the mixer, a reverb unit, a delay, turn tables, vinyl case, cables, we need some keyboard stands to set up on etc... etc...
I want to make sure my buddy doesn't forget any of his stuff, and that we have all the pa gear.
We drive to the gig, open up to load in and I immediately realize my bass is still in baltimore :hmm:.
I felt the shame, and had to write this.
One good thing, an ipad is capable of making some great bass keyboard sounds, so i'm better on the touch screen keys today.
Only time in 30 years i've ever forgotten my bass!
How could I?
Still feeling the shame...
Click to expand...

It happens. There's been a few times where I've certainly had to quickly stop by my house just before we go on. I remember one out of town gig for me real clearly where I had to borrow the opening band's bass. I felt crazy stupid, but lucked out since the other bassist was a cool guy.

It doesn't happen to me for the rest of the times since I tend to overpack and have backups of everything incase I get to the gig and something breaks. However, if I forget one bass, there's a very good chance that I'll forget to bring the other one or two also.
 
#20
Last week i did a bass and drums session where I brought all the recording gear, and had to set it up and monitor too, with limited time availability and in the middle of nowhere, retail store location-wise. So what was the one and only thing I forgot? The mains cord to my GK bass head. (we found a crappy hartke B-10 combo laying about)

I believe Frank Zappa as a 12 year old did his very first gig as a drummer. Set down at the dum set to start the show, ready to count in 1-2-3-4 for the 1st tune and - wait - right, the drum sticks. Left them at home.

Yes it happens. To the best of us.
 

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