most unprofessional thing i've ever witness or been part of was when during a sound check for a gig the lead singer was, in his mind joking around, screeming into the mike "White Power!" and he kept doing it. I was so appaled I packed up my equipment and told every one in the band that if he didn't get booted i was leavig the band. They choose to boot his ass. but i think that i could have handled it better. like having a private conversation with everyne instead of flipping out.
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Most Unprofessional Thing You've Done at a Show
- Thread starter Haysoochreesto
- Start date
unprofessional? Not sure but I did pick up a hi- hat and stand and chuck it at the drummer once. He wouldn't stop playing this stupid little hi- hat fill in a particular song and after a while it made me a little nuts. Ahhh, youth!
I would have done the same.
at a club where I run sound (but had off that night) I guess the band made a racist comment into the mic and all the black people (like half the crowd at that point) got up and left... If I was running sound that night I probably would have simply turned them off... or at least their monitors
One that sticks out: I was playing my first gig with a local Maiden/Priest/Ozzy cover band - 1 set of each so it was a relatively long night. We were playing at a dive bar and I was 17 at this point lol. That didn't stop me from getting absolutely trashed - for the first little while my buddies and the other guys in the band were buying me drinks, they found it pretty funny that a 17 year old was getting so wasted at a bar gig without them knowing. The best part is my mom showed up to witness the carnage around the 2nd set, by which point I was starting to black out. I was informed later that in the 3rd set (I think it was Maiden at that point), I was using my wireless and running around the parking lot while playing, not missing a note lol. The band was a little pissed at me for getting so drunk, but impressed that my playing didn't suffer at all! We're still friends and do shows together occasionally, and can share a laugh over that insane night. Looking back, I'm surprised my parents actually supported me through all that.
There have been a few others, but with age and maturity they've been getting a bit less frequent
There have been a few others, but with age and maturity they've been getting a bit less frequent
Farting on stage isn't unprofessional .... it's a Competitive Sport !!!
True. Our singer likes to walk over to my side of the stage during the guitar solo and sneak one out and walk away. He gets a big laugh from my facial expression when the smell hits me.
Very right. In one of talent contests our band showed up, I was playing rhythm guitar and singing. In the song before, I had to play in drop-D tune. When next song started, I found out that I'm out of tune, stopped playing and told the Jury we are giving up this song. Shame on me. Our guitarist still remembers that and tells me I should have just continued playing, just not strumming the sixth string. It was only the Jury that would really hear that something was wrong... I'm still ashamed.
I used to play a little bass in college (before taking it up properly in uni) and there was one time we'd been asked to play some social or something at college. We'd decided on 'sing-along' songs people would know well and ones that were easy for me.
Anyway, I'd been to a party the night before (college had regular parties) and all I'll say is that I got horribly drunk, forgot I was playing bass at this thing the next day and imbibed some other substances too (not good).
Result? I sounded like 7 types of crap. Kept missing notes out (not the important ones though!), couldn't stand up straight all gig and generally sounded like crap.
Anyway, I'd been to a party the night before (college had regular parties) and all I'll say is that I got horribly drunk, forgot I was playing bass at this thing the next day and imbibed some other substances too (not good).
Result? I sounded like 7 types of crap. Kept missing notes out (not the important ones though!), couldn't stand up straight all gig and generally sounded like crap.
Many years ago my band was booked to headline a small festival in the middle of nowhere and our band came the day before we had to play to party a bit. After the conserts ended we walked back to where we stayed about 5 in the morning, this was in the north of Norway and the midnight sun was up me and the drummer started a drinking contest. I won at 10 in the morning. When I woke up I had the worst hangover ever in my mind the only thing that could fix the hangover was alcohol, and lots of it. When it was time for the gig I chould bearly stand, but luckily I played better than you would expect... During the 4th song I felt a sharp pain in my back. The drummer was holding me at my feet with a drumstick, I was falling backwards into his kit. Can not remember the rest of the gig, but we got managed to save the show, but it was not my fault. The singer was wery pissed at us, I Can understand him. This was in 1998, we still play together but after this insident the drummer and I are only allowed to have 3 beers before a show
Cheers
Tore
Cheers
Tore
i used to have a weekly gig & i played the first set & my buddy played set 2 so i could get some rest since it was mid week. one week i got absolutley hammered (i never do that) & i just looked at my buddy & he heard me & i just handed over the bass 3/4 the way through the set. the only time that will ever happen.
but i did save face when i stepped in for a hammered guitarst from a spin off band a few weeks later
but i did save face when i stepped in for a hammered guitarst from a spin off band a few weeks later
About 30 years ago I was in a rock band. We were booked at a club called Chi Chi's on Catalina Island off the coast of L.A. It was a multi-night engagement, and it was not practical for bands to commute daily from the mainland, so the club also had a scummy apartment for the bands to stay in. One day Steve the drummer and I went over to the club in the early afternoon and began to drink a delicious drink they called the Naked Lady. It came in a souvenir glass with bas-relief naked ladies on the side. We drained quite a few and became seriously impaired. Finally realising that we needed to get our drunk butts out of there, we somehow staggered back to the apartment and passed out.
Unfortunately, we hadn't left early enough to sober up before gig time. The other band members woke us up, but they left without making sure we came with them. We eventually exited the apartment, staggered into the club, still quite trashed, a few minutes after start time, were greeted with withering glares from the rest of the band... and the only other thing I remember from that night is Steve dropping both his sticks about 2 seconds into the first song.
I think it's safe to say we sucked that night. I don't recommend that afternoon drinkin' thing on gig day...
I still have a box of Naked Lady glasses in the attic...
Unfortunately, we hadn't left early enough to sober up before gig time. The other band members woke us up, but they left without making sure we came with them. We eventually exited the apartment, staggered into the club, still quite trashed, a few minutes after start time, were greeted with withering glares from the rest of the band... and the only other thing I remember from that night is Steve dropping both his sticks about 2 seconds into the first song.
I think it's safe to say we sucked that night. I don't recommend that afternoon drinkin' thing on gig day...
I still have a box of Naked Lady glasses in the attic...
Forgot to bring my electric bass to a gig. I remembered the upright though!!!!
But thank god there was another bassist there that let me use his bass (or so i thought). I forgot to check out his bass before running on stage and didnt notice that it was fretless (lined and dotted) until the song had started. Safe to say i missed more than my fair share of notes.
That was my first time playing fretless btw.
So i had 2 good ones packed into one show!!!!
But thank god there was another bassist there that let me use his bass (or so i thought). I forgot to check out his bass before running on stage and didnt notice that it was fretless (lined and dotted) until the song had started. Safe to say i missed more than my fair share of notes.
That was my first time playing fretless btw.
So i had 2 good ones packed into one show!!!!
I guess this counts even though it was at a party, but I kinda beat up an audience member.
We were third to play a huge out of control BBQ/house party. I don't know how we ended up there, I loved party gigs but it was not our kind of crowd, all drunken frat boys. We played punky blusey stuff, think Mudhoney meets Kyuss. It was a super hot humid day with fights breaking out and the first two bands were terrible. Stopping several songs cause they kept getting lost, 15 minute out of tune renditions of the Beastie Boys "Fight for Your Right", AC/DC covers that somehow had only one riff and no chorus, really bad stuff. We'd been doin our thing for a few years with a small following and had 45 originals, which all this is to say most of us weren't into this party anymore before we even started playing.
We start playing and its going well enough...then I got pelted with raw ground beef. I saw the dude rear back with another handful, I took off my bass and dropped it face first against the cab, walked down the steps into the crowd and got in his face. Words were briefly exchanged, there was some shoving, and...I lost it. I kicked him in the nuts and double fist sledgehammered in the back, asked if any one else wants to throw stuff and stomped back up the stairs. To their credit the band never missed a beat even with my amp squealing feedback. I got back on stage, shut off my rig and waited for the song to end. I told them what happened and my brother (the drummer) got on the mic and I cant repeat what he said according to forum rules governing cursing. That was the last song of the night, we just started packing up with or without the rest of the band. We did 25 minutes out of 2+ hours.
I'm not proud, its kinda embarrassing in hindsight, but I'm not completely ashamed. I never would've done that at a club gig, but this was different. Granted 4 out of the 6 of us in the band were kinda wimpy stoner nerds and looked like easy targets, but my brother and I, however, were not. We grew up cutting our teeth in the pits of the thrash metal and hardcore/skinhead scenes for years in Boston and Providence, so when some dumb kid from the 'burbs pelted me, my bass, and my speakers with raw ground beef...well... Honestly, they're lucky they didn't get my brother with the raw meat, he's the one with the temper and was rockin his newly acquired '77 rosewood Sonor kit that night, the dude woulda ended up with something broken.
We were third to play a huge out of control BBQ/house party. I don't know how we ended up there, I loved party gigs but it was not our kind of crowd, all drunken frat boys. We played punky blusey stuff, think Mudhoney meets Kyuss. It was a super hot humid day with fights breaking out and the first two bands were terrible. Stopping several songs cause they kept getting lost, 15 minute out of tune renditions of the Beastie Boys "Fight for Your Right", AC/DC covers that somehow had only one riff and no chorus, really bad stuff. We'd been doin our thing for a few years with a small following and had 45 originals, which all this is to say most of us weren't into this party anymore before we even started playing.
We start playing and its going well enough...then I got pelted with raw ground beef. I saw the dude rear back with another handful, I took off my bass and dropped it face first against the cab, walked down the steps into the crowd and got in his face. Words were briefly exchanged, there was some shoving, and...I lost it. I kicked him in the nuts and double fist sledgehammered in the back, asked if any one else wants to throw stuff and stomped back up the stairs. To their credit the band never missed a beat even with my amp squealing feedback. I got back on stage, shut off my rig and waited for the song to end. I told them what happened and my brother (the drummer) got on the mic and I cant repeat what he said according to forum rules governing cursing. That was the last song of the night, we just started packing up with or without the rest of the band. We did 25 minutes out of 2+ hours.
I'm not proud, its kinda embarrassing in hindsight, but I'm not completely ashamed. I never would've done that at a club gig, but this was different. Granted 4 out of the 6 of us in the band were kinda wimpy stoner nerds and looked like easy targets, but my brother and I, however, were not. We grew up cutting our teeth in the pits of the thrash metal and hardcore/skinhead scenes for years in Boston and Providence, so when some dumb kid from the 'burbs pelted me, my bass, and my speakers with raw ground beef...well... Honestly, they're lucky they didn't get my brother with the raw meat, he's the one with the temper and was rockin his newly acquired '77 rosewood Sonor kit that night, the dude woulda ended up with something broken.
I feel for you.
I made a similar mistake for an audition when I was at uni.
Basically I'd had an essay deadline the same day as a uni band audition. Now I'd been pushed for time and had spent most of the night finishing my essay, before walking 3miles home (too early for a bus), grabbing a shower and then heading to lectures as normal. I got a single hour's sleep that day.
Long story short, I went into my dorm room, grabbed the first bass I could find, grabbed my gear bag (cables and tuners and the like) and my uni bag and went. Shame I didn't check WHICH bass I'd gotten. It was my Shergold. The fretless Shergold I hadn't had the greatest amount of practice with.
I sounded bloody awful to put it politely. Huge amounts of buzzing, dropped notes and issues with the PA and my bass' toggle switch. I didn't get into the band.
