• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

On-stage injuries?

bassman1185

bassman1185

Sep 30, 2000
4,248
44
40
Des Moines, IA, USA
www.facebook.com
#1
What have you done to yourself or your bandmates?

I'm usually pretty safe myself, but I tend to beat the crap out of my bandmates. I play in a hardcore band, and we all rock out pretty hard, but I usually one-up everyone, despite being the least athletic member of the band.

At one gig, I had my back to the crowd while holding the bass neck out from my body. At one point, I simultaniously stepped back, spun around AND spun my bass back.

Straight into my lead singer's face.

Ok, it was actually his hand, but it would have been his face had he not been holding the mic right up to his mouth.I knocked him back a couple of feet, but he stayed standing and we kept on with the song. He had a pretty good imprint of the back of my headstock on his hand, but nothing was broken. My G tuning peg is still bent.

What havoc have the rest of you wreaked?
 
#3
We used to do an annual outdoor gig that got pretty big (well, big for a neighborhood party - upwards of 500 people) and we played on a stage that the keyboard player/leader built. Nice stage - well constructed, multiple platforms for all musicians and amps, a really cool stage! But there were 2x4 supports on the ground off to the side of my platform and I had the unfortunate occasion to jump down there - not looking - barefooted - and turned my ankle completely under - early in the second set of a 4-set night. Ouch... ouch... ouch...

My ankle swelled up like a grapefruit - but I finished the show - hopping. Spent the next 4 weeks in a stiff brace and crutches.

I am rock and roll.

BUT - I actually mean "butt" - a drummer friend of mine used to play in a hard-core (hard-core in the early 90's was a little different then hard-core today...) but a hard-core, punk/funk outfit called 'the T.H.U.G.S' aka Treacherous Human Underdogs Going Social - and was playing on a similar, ho-made drum riser - it bounced enough to slowly, but surely move his throne close enough to the back edge until - yep - he took a backward plunge right off.

Butt - and I do mean 'butt' - it doesn't end there - he landed - arse-first on a wine glass whose goblet promtly shattered into bits and the stem punctured his cheek quite deeply - yikes!!!

So my friend was outta commission for a while now - a bit tough to play all that double-bass, thrashing drum stuff with a wounded bum, huh? - So a bunch of other local metal/core/punk bands got together and put on a "Benefit for Leon's Butt" show to raise some bucks to help pay his bills. They were a scary lookin' bunch but boy were their hearts good!
 
#8
A long time ago in a redneck bar far, far, away, my ancient band "Valhalla" was doing a gig at "Cowboy's Night Life" (picture "Bob's Country Bunker" from the Blues Brothers movie without the chicken wire).
We were mainly a Zep-tribute/remake band, but we did a lot of classic rock and heavy-ish songs from the period like STP, Soundgarden, and Candlebox. This style went over quite well there, surprisingly.
Well, we didn't know it, but the band's power was ungrounded. The lip-zapping mics should have been a clue, I guess...
Our lead player is ripping a long lead (Starnglehold, I'm pretty sure), and the rhythm player is happily holding it down with the drummer and me. Sounding great.
There came a point in the song where we all did a big, loud, divebombing slide before the end of the solo. Rhthmm guy motions for lead screecher to do the slide on his guitar with a beer bottle or "something".
Singer chooses "something". The mic.
Sparks shoot up from the mic and strings like Goldberg's entrance pyro. All our power died. The rest of the club stayed lit (in more ways than one), as we were on a different circuit.
The guitar player stiffened like a statue and fell straight back to the floor on the side of the stage, which was about a foot up.
He ain't moving. Fortunately, his wife was an EMT. She roused him, but he was worthless to play, of course, power not withstanding.
Aftermath - we refused to play anymore until a dedicated, grounded line was installed with enough power for the whole band and PA. We were quite popular there, so they did it before the next weekend's shows.
Our three-month run as unofficial house band there is ridden with stories like this, but this was the most memorable.
Except that one time when the narc cops showed up...
 
#11
We opened for a Nashville act in a really nice venue. During the 2nd from last song, things were heating up. The crowd was into us and I jumped to the drum riser and locked with the drummer. When the keys solo came up, I jumped backwards to the main stage to spin around to the keyboard when I blew my knee out. I completed the move without missing a note and concealing my extreme pain. I had to be assisted out that night and home to 3 days of ice packs.
 
#14
Sad story . this past year in the big city north of me..there was a well known drummer who during a set fell of his throne. I guess he got up then collasped and was rushed to a local hospital where he died from a ruptured aorta valve caused by the fall.:( Very sad and strange...locals had a big concert and benefit for him and his family...very sad.
 
#15
I was mingling in the crowd during a song, and as I came back onto the stage, I tripped on the mic-stand, Singer got a nice Sm58 right in the face; I bruised his cheekbone :hiding:
Song went to crap, I think he was a wee bit delerious; just playing random chords for the next few minutes...
Rest of the gig went OK!

tore a chunk of out my thumb (Grabber bridges are the WORST!!!) and bled everywhere; was so difficult to ppluck, and picks just slide out my fingers!

I gave myself a black eye on a couple occasions - upi#d think I'd learn! - sometimes i jump, and put my head down; then i get a skinny top horn right in the eye from my bass!
 
#16
Oh, I almost forgot about bleeding onstage...

When I started playing with a pick, I wasn't very clean with it, so I ended up running the side of the palm of my hand over the bridge a lot. The problem is that I play a Fender with the stock bridge, so the allen screws stuck up past the tops of the saddles. For the first couple of months of playing with a pick, I would be bleeding a fair ammount after shows. My bass and strings were consistantly splattered with blood for a while.
 
#19
Bass..In...My...Face..
Thats the 4 words taht explain what happened.
I was mucking around at home just playing bass..then outta no where my bass strap like fell off and my bass tunning pegs came right at my head and the G tuning peg hit me straight in the eye.

Blackeye for 2 weeks..not funny...ahah it is..
Cheers, Ben.

(Same thing kinda happened to "Mike Dirnt" from green day. he was playing late and they were halfway through "She" and his bass strap slipped so the tuning pegs flew and hit him in the nose. causing to break his nose! yet he continued to play...now thats inspiration)
 
#20
several months ago my metal band played in a famous college gig over here and well, i tend to jump around and get really really rowdy. well, i decided to jump and hit my back on wall, which i usually do. not hard though. lo and behold, it was a cardboard wall. thank god i didnt fall through since that stage was about 5 feet from the ground. we finished the gig still loud and jumping but i didn't go near that wall again.

so, you'd think i learned my lesson huh?

NOPE!

we had another gig a few weeks later, same band. this time the stage was on the floor. around 20 seconds before our last song ends there's like 30 seconds of very heavy stuff going on where all of us in the band go crazy. i dont know why but i do the metal stance (which i dont normally do) while just throwing my head around non stop and going crazy. well, after that part there's a very very slow darkly melodic part to end the song right after the heavy riffing. as soon as the heavy riffing ends, i stop throwing my head around and i see the huge amps in front of me "dancing". and i'm all like "what the?!?!" and realize what's happening. i TRY to stand still but can't. i end up walking (or dancing, whichever way you wanna look at it) like a drunk staight into the corner (hinge) between a door and a cement wall head first! i fall flat on my back, taking a chunk of the door with me. i didnt stop playing though and thankfully almost everyone in the show thought it was part of it. end of the song, i get up and instead of showing how embarassed i was, i just started screaming all this gibberish and making the \m/ sign. people actually cheered us on and told us how great our set was.

i felt perfectly fine after our set but a few hours later the pain started to settle in from the bruises on my arms and on my head. i also had a sprained right wrist. good thing my bass wasn't scratched up, just a little paint that rubbed on from the door which was easily taken out! but i never heard the end of it from my girlfriend who almost had a heart attack and already told me to be careful during the last gig even though i kept saying that i was fine. at least i know she really cares right? hehe!

i also still get jokes from my bandmates about it now.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back