I'm sick. Fantastic

[Ant Illington]

I think most of us here have played in his condition. I did last year, with a pretty high fever. If he loads up on asprin or Tylenol, he'll be fine - and happy he did the gig. He'll have a war story. I'd suggest having a talk with him. For his sake, not even yours or the rest of the band's.

And if he still decides not to, then you guys can still have lots of fun, AND learn that you can get along just fine. Nobody is going to miss the second guitar except the people on stage and 2 geek musicians that show up at the show. Unless of course he's the only good looking guy in the band .

Funny, last night I went to see the band for which I sub (extremely rarely- only when he has another gig with a pet project of his) and the bassist said "you know, I was just thinking the other day what would happen if I got really sick last minute, like Im puking or shaking so bad that I physically couldn't play, could you just step in and play all this?" This is 25 years into this gig of his. LMFAO. He's just contemplating this now? He IS super chill. As they used a sub only one time besides me, this implies to me that he's never been so sick that he had to miss a gig in 25 years and they easily gig 100 shows a year. He's either really healthy, really tough or just defied the odds. Now I want to ask him for the details. I'm guessing that he's had to tough it out.

By the way, the answer to his question of whether or not I could play all the stuff last minute was "no way." Oh, there's a new thread topic, I won't derail further here.

 

[BassBrass]

Alright, I get that the male ego is at stake in this thread, and you're all trying to out macho each other enumerating your medical maladays that you've "toughed out", but there comes a point where trying to do your job and go out in public is just plain irresponsible. I'm not talking about a common cold or even a mild flu or sprained muscle, those are minor. But when you're bedridden with illness, to the point where you can't be trusted to stand for more than 5 minutes without experiencing vertigo and falling over, or you're still recovering from a major surgery that WILL have lifelong consequences if you don't follow post op guidelines correctly, you're putting both your life and the well being of all those around you at stake. One little gig is not important enough to warrant the transfer of debilitating illness: think of all the circumstances in which somebody could potentially become immunocompromised, whether they realize it or not. Millions of people die from preventable illness every year, do you want to be the one to give it to them? And is one gig worth the risk of permanently damaging your wrists, or your spine, or your knees for the rest of your life?

If you're really in that bad of shape, please stay home.

That said, OP, if your guitarist is staying home because he's got a sinus infection, then he's a weenie.

I love how this starts but if you have a cold or "mild flu"(?) which is influenza and kills thousands every year and killed millions worldwide in the 20s, STaY AWAY FROM PEOPLE. The body-packed, humid rock club is exactly what a virus needs to spread widely. How one person reacts to a particular virus varies, what may be mild for the "carrier" could be a 3 month ordeal for someone else. BUT if you have a broken leg, sprain, bloody bandaged head wound, were hanged that morning, Please do play in public it makes a better show.