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Worst injury received while playing bass

#61
I thought it was a rule: If you played in a band for years, you earned your unwelcomed tinitest. I always thought it would be the drum side but, nope, guitar side. Anyway, we were loading out after a 4 hour club gig in Detroit. It was January, cold, and 2:30 in the morning. I was pushing a load on casters out to the bus under a covered walkway. Then someone "not in the band" said: "let me give you a hand".

He caught me completely off guard and down I went. I heard it snap before I really felt it. It was a broken right wrist. Wonderful! Here came the calvary to help me be broken. The whole band finished load out, got in the bus and went to the hospital. That was a show in itself! The ER Doc wanted to cast it. I asked him for a good brace instead and I'd see my doctor Monday.

We had a one week layover before heading to Chicago. So, we headed back to west Michigan. My drummer was like a mother hen. I iced the hell out of it for the week, never went to my doctor, and played the following weekends gig. It wasn't my best effort but, it went OK. The following gig went much better. I know I would have cut any cast off as soon as I could. I think the doc knew it to.
 
#62
Free Bassing said:
I played in a band called The Fonzarelli's when I was younger, it was a dumb pop punk band.

We were playing a show at a small bar in Chicago, called the prodigal sun bar.

While we were playing the singer of the band decided to do his cool spin the guitar around punk move, which made me run for the far end of the stage. What I didn't know was that the stage ended and the next band's drums were sitting there.

I fell right on the hi-hat stand and it went up the skin on my back, I even finished the performance

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Bleeding down your back, I bet that added some punk street-cred during that performance.
 
#64
Didn't happen to me, but our drummer was using an older throne that was essentially plywood sitting on top of the center pole with some padding on it. Well, over time that center pole ate its way through the plywood and popped through the seat almost turning the drummer into a human popsicle. He avoided it, but man. No cheap drum thrones for me.
 
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#65
JazznFunk said:
I have hyperacusis for those types of very specific midrange frequencies too. My hearing is great overall across the board since I've worn plugs in some form or other since I started playing music - and at most shows - but certain things are just painful without earplugs.
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I don't have pain with hyperacusis, but I do react to speaking voices that are too loud. And I get distortion with certain frequencies. And cymbals and other high frequencies can really annoy my ears. Cymbals sound awful unless I have earplugs in. I wear earplugs without fail for rehearsals, gigs, and attending concerts. Like you, my hearing is great.
 
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#71
Sprained a ligament in my middle finger (fretting hand) while recording without a break for 5 hours straight. Sounds minor, but it was a 2 year sentence to heal properly- no practicing, very little playing. Will be clear in September to get back at real wood shedding, it has felt normal for a little over a month now. Upside, I've gotten quite good at one handed synth bass.
 
#74
In my late 20s I managed security at a cool bar/music venue in my hometown.

One night while gigging - one of my bouncers mistakenly let in a gigantic problem drunk while was band from our venue.

While finishing my set I saw him being his usual problem self and knew he'd have to leave.

My bouncer and I talked to him on the break and walked him out.

Being a gigantic dumb drunk, he decided to start a fight outside. It ended with me putting him to sleep on the sidewalk and suffering NASTY beard burn in my forearm from choking him out.

It was gross.

The drunk later went through recovery and works again Target now. He is still huge and has a thick beard.

I am older and no longer engaged in violence in any process capacities - but I do watch "Roadhouse" at least once a year when suffering from a bout if nostalgia.

RIP Patrick Swayze.
 
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#75
In 2012 I spent the summer in Europe with no access to a bass (though I did buy a bouzouki to scratch my musical itch). The day after I returned stateside my band had a gig. I knew the music so lack of recent rehearsal was no problem but, because I hadn't touched a bass in months, my right hand had no calluses and that gig destroyed my fingertips. I powered through and played the whole show:
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