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Most embarrassing moment as a musician?


RABid

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This is proof that the common rule "Never stop, no matter what!" is an overgeneralization.

Well, in any other situation *except* a classical concert, we probably would have jammed a bit until settling on some common ground. But not only is this impossible in a classical piece - especially if you have just started it! - but we were both reading the music, so at least one of us would have had to search frantically for the right part... :freak:

 

Incidentally, this reminds me of still another instance, when I was performing a Mozart sonata (for solo piano this time) at an outdoor place with the music in front of me when - you guessed it - heavy wind threw the book far away from the piano. In that case, I improvised a little transition trying to land in some place I could remember, and went with memory from there... luckily, I was able to finish the piece. But it was scary.

 

 

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Last year I started using some big layered voices (wind,strings, horns) in the church band. Some older church members didn't know where all the sound was comming from and complained to the paster about using "canned" music. So he put me right up front. First Sunday up front the head usher walks on stage after the first song and tells me my fly is open. Oh ya I've done the transpose thing too. ~BOB
I'm practicing so that people can maybe go "wow" at an imaginary gig I'll never play. -Nadroj
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Having gigged for about 30 years, I've had more than few embarrassing moments. Here's one.

 

I was playing bass with a jazz-funk band, and we had a gig at one of the classier jazz clubs in the area. It was a kind of unusual gig for us, we normally played more at the rock venues, but we were able to book this show. I had a bass solo feature on one tune. For some reason, I was particularly inspired that night, and got way into the solo, bent my head down and closed my eyes and just played, it was one of those rare moments when it felt like the music just flowed through me. Opened my eyes towards the end of my solo, and realized I had this 3-foot string of drool hanging out of my mouth. And, of course, the lights were all on me at the time. The band made a lot of jokes about using me to test if the stage was level after that.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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I screwed up the wedding march. That was the first and last time. I've played many receptions but no more ceremonies. I was about 16 years old, it was a wedding that my dad was working as a photographer. He volunteered me to play the organ. I did some homework, trying to come up with a dumbed-down version. Then I get to the church and it's a pump organ. That pushed me over the edge.
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Playing Division Ave High School in Levittown, NY - it was 1978. The set begin's with Toto's "Hold The Line" and I'm banging out the opening chords. Then the PA blows. Audience are high-schoolers and they're laughing. The soundman, resets the PA fuses and we begin again.

 

I start re-playing the opening chords and the PA blows a second time. Now the high school audience grows impatient. Someone yells "Freebird."

 

Someone else yells, "He looks like Freebird." Everyone laughs.

 

Dressed a bit too flowery that night. Guess I had it coming.

 

http://www.coscia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Freebird.jpg

Steve Coscia

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Many years back I was in a band that opened for a headliner at the Kentucky State Fair. We didn't get to have a sound check and was doing a relatively short set.

Had a Rhodes, SK-30 and Micromoog but was only using the Moog for an 'explosion' at the end of our last song. (We were going to end our set big!)

I played the whole set wondering how loud the Moog was going to be, knowing that if it wasn't loud enough it would suck.

I cranked it up, played it at the end of the set and it was OVERWHELMINGLY LOUD, splattering the sound system. Not the finish I was looking for.

Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator
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So far my only transposer mishap was leaving a keyboard transposed at the end of a set at a blues jam. I noticed at the beginning of the next set there was some confusion, which I quickly fixed for the next player. Oops!

 

Something went wrong mid-song with the keyboard I had borrowed - all the MIDI info was being sent 2 semitones lower than the actual notes depressed. Was a bit odd since the base sounds on the keyboard weren't transposed, so I finished the gig without using my modules.

Gear feeds the soul.
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Did a summer outdoor gig at Six Flags amusement park. Lot's of bands in and out all day, shared stage, lot's of shared gear, etc.

 

The keyboard was sitting in direct sunlight and there was no sound check. I walk on stage to do our set, look at the keyboard and the LED display is black due to the intense heat and sunlight.

 

I start scrolling through sounds as we play our first song, hoping to find something that sounds like a piano, ep or organ. It was pretty funny as I'm dialing through these sounds while the song is going and hearing all these weird synth sounds, effects, etc.

 

Finally found a somewhat percussive synth sound (kind of piano-like) and played it for the rest of the set.

Kurzweil Forte, Yamaha Motif ES7, Muse Receptor 2 Pro Max, Neo Ventilator
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Someone else yells, "He looks like Freebird." Everyone laughs.

 

Dressed a bit too flowery that night. Guess I had it coming.

 

http://www.coscia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Freebird.jpg

 

Channeling your inner Gregg Rolie ;)

 

 

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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Remembered another one:

 

Had just started using MIDI in my setup to control an EMU Vintage Keys Pro in the rack. Apparently I sent the wrong patch change info to it.

 

Imagine my surprise when hit the first couple notes of "Imagine" and out comes some kind of orchestra horn section. yeah, that was awesome.

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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About 20 years ago my friend Homer Simpson got sucked in to be music director for school production of The Wizard of Oz. His kid was a munchkin. He soon realized he was in over his head and he called me. I also soon realized that I was in over my head but, I didn't know any suckers who were any more capable. I did everything. MD, sequencing, sound effects, put up the PA, ran sound. I was surrouuded with tape decks, cd machines, keyboards, mixer, like a six dick monkey with one arm. Cues out the whazoo.

 

The first night was a bit much on the nerves, but it all went off great. The second night I hit the CD with the orchestra tuning to cue the show. The house lights dimmed, the audience hushed up, I hit the spacebar on the computer for the ovature sequence, and got a BSOD instead of the ovature.

 

Reboot was long in those days. Even longer with 1200 peple staring at you. And the director taking a hen turd. The computer came back up, I started from the top, and the show went well. But I was totally shell shocked. I never knew what stage fright was until that night.

 

That was it for me and backing tracks.

 

 

--wmp
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One night heading home thirty years ago I hit a delay on the Mass Pike. There was only one toll booth open to make change. Long line in both directions. There was only one guy working traffic in both directions. So I thought it'd be funny to use that line. I was mortified when he grabbed my $20 with a mechanical claw. So much so that I didn't gripe one bit about getting my change in dimes.

:facepalm:

--wmp
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I was doing a gig about 15 years ago. A Christmas Pantomime (big sellers over this end of the pond). Its 1,000 seater theatre and its packed to the rafters. For some reason the director decided it would be fun to put the band on the stage rather than in the pit. So theres about 9 of us in the band on this moving platform that glides in and out throughout the show. The MD is standing up playing 2 keys on an X stand side-facing the audience while I was on the opposite end facing him. We started one evening gig and the curtain rises and were wheeled out to the edge of the stage. Just as the overture begins the MDs stand, holding two heavy keyboard and some audio equipment completely collapses! Not partially, but a completely train wreck, heavy bang that can be heard over the really loud amplified music. I looked up and the MD stays completely in position and starts playing.air keyboards!! Playing all the riffs with both hands on two non existent keyboards! I guess his logic was that if the audience dont notice him move then maybe they wont notice the lack of instrument? He held this position for the 8 minute overture by which time I had pain in my stomach from being double over laughing.

 

There was another time when I used to work for a company that regularly took its workforce out for a free meal and free booze. They booked the band I played in and although I had warned that band that I was going boozing and didnt really want to play they say it would be fine. Hmmmm. It was a mystery tour night and we started on a bus to the venue with everyone being given a goodie bag of beer. Bad start. We finally arrive and were told its a treasure hunt resulting in the clues being spread over 10-12 bars and we have to drink in each one. I got lost halfway through the night and made it back to the venue where the band were waiting to play. I told em the whole company were smashed and the gig would be running late. Finally we all arrived at the venue and the band started upwithout me as I was so smashed that I was actually enjoying the music and joined everyone dancing on the floor. After several requests from the guitarist I agreed to take my place at the keys. Strangly I played pretty well all things considered, until we closed with "Light My Fire". I managed the opening solo fine and then we got to the guitar break during which all I remember was looking across at the band and the next minute I was staring at the ceiling. I had setup right at the edge of the stage and fallen right off onto the DJ's decks. The guitarist said it was like watching in slow motion but then as soon as I fell off my hand appeared out of nowhere to finish the solo. No injuries to me and no damage to the DJ equipment. I never sobered up so quickly in my life.

 

Yamaha MODX8, Legend Live.
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Someone else yells, "He looks like Freebird." Everyone laughs.

Dressed a bit too flowery that night. Guess I had it coming.

:laugh: I had a shirt like that too! Quite fashionable!
Yup, 10 years earlier! (I say they're still perfectly reasonable stage wear, but my wife disagrees, and she is always right in such matters, of course, so my dashiki is long gone.)

 

One night heading home thirty years ago I hit a delay on the Mass Pike. There was only one toll booth open to make change. Long line in both directions. There was only one guy working traffic in both directions. So I thought it'd be funny to use that line. I was mortified when he grabbed my $20 with a mechanical claw. So much so that I didn't gripe one bit about getting my change in dimes.

:facepalm:

That'll teach you to be funny!
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Haha we've all shared some of the same ones. I've had suddenly collapsed keyboard stands, loud stuck MIDI notes and frozen systems requiring painfully long reboots, exposed song beginnings or sections (where I'd be playing myself) with egregiously wrong sounds, or no sound, or in the wrong key, or worse yet in no key and just wavering horribly sourly out of pitch. Missing the downbeat because you were in the bathroom or outside between sets misbehaving or chatting up a girl somewhere and running in a panic to join the song already in progress, or being AWOL from half the set due to heavy traffic or getting in an accident on the way to the gig. I haven't seen this one in the thread yet but I can't be the only one it's happened to - playing a keytar and the shoulder strap comes suddenly loose from the bolt holding it onto the instrument. Boy this isn't making me sound too reliable but it's over 30+ years, a few gigs have also gone relatively smoothly without any major humiliation, lol.

Rich Forman

Yamaha MOXF8, Korg Kronos 2-61, Roland Fantom X7, Ferrofish B4000+ organ module, Roland VR-09, EV ZLX12P, K&M Spider Pro stand,

Yamaha S80, Korg Trinity Plus

 

 

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I walked up on stage, and as I take my spot behind my keyboard (I play standing up), the bass player tells me "psst - your fly is open". As stealthily as possible (i.e., without really looking to draw attention, I do my fly up while behind my keyboard). Then we play set 1. Right after set one, I turn to the side and need to look down to step over a monitor to get out of my nook. That's when I notice that I have a good few inches of my shirt sticking out of my fly!!!

 

I sure hope my keyboard covered that up.

I'm just saying', everyone that confuses correlation with causation eventually ends up dead.
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Back in the '80s, we got booked into the Playboy Club in Los Angeles by a guy we privately referred to as "Tony the C"; small time gangster who took a fancy to our music. We're all in our early 20s, one or two of us may have even been illegal.

 

We come in, setup, play the first set. The whole place is filled with rich dudes in tuxedos, and girls in their classic bunny outfits. And we are these (mostly) innocent, broke, wide-eyed kids, clearly and obviously *way* out of their element.

 

So we're sitting at a table together, on our break, and we're staring at the drinks/appetizer menus, trying to decide if we can even afford to order a snack in this place. Up walks one of the bunnies who's waiting tables, looks the seven of us up an down with disdain, and asks in her best sarcastic "who-let-the-hicks-in?" tone of voice, "You boys want to order something?"

 

We're all afraid to even speak to her, but finally our sax player goes for it; looks up sheepishly over his thick specs, hands the menu to her and says, "Thank you, I'll just have a Diet Coke."

 

To which the bunny responds, "This ain't Coco's, honey." Turns tail (pun intended), and exits.

 

 

(For those who don't get the reference, "Coco's" is a chain of cheap diners in the West, not unlike the ubiquitous "Denny's" or "IHOP"...)

 

 

 

 

 

Legend '70s Compact, Jupiter-Xm, Studiologic Numa X 73

 

 

 

 

 

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I was a student at Ole Miss in 1973. Although I was in premed, I could play jazz piano, so I tried out and was accepted as the piano player for the Ole Miss Jazz band. I had never played in a stage band underneath the leadership of a band director, even in high school. the band leader , a great music professor, recruited me for the band after hearing me play, and up till that point , was very nice to me, and was helping me get used to playing with the band. But, one day he called for us to play a jazz piece at a very uptempo pace, much more than we really could all play it. i didn't realize at the time that he was just trying to get us used to playing faster, and had no intention of making us play this piece live in front of people. At the end of the song, i voiced out rather loudly, "that was way too fast". suddenly you could hear a pin drop. the professor looked at me and said "what did you say?" I knew by then I had really screwed up, but was in it. He proceeded to skull drag me for about ten minutes, about how I had no right to question his leadership, authority, etc, that he almost was going to kick me out, etc

all of this in front of the whole band. I have never been more embarrassed in my life.After the session was over, he called me over, and explained why players just can't do that kind of stuff, and we straightened it all out, but that remains the worst ten minutes of my musical life.

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I remember getting raked over the coals as a kid in military and concert bands for noodling at rehearsal. I learned quickly after getting blasted once by the conductor. It did however become fun when newbies were screwing around between numbers, and the rest of us would just sit waiting for the sh*t to hit the fan! To this day, it drives me crazy when guys do that at gigs. :taz:

"I  cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long"

Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues

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Moon Zero, those are both funny tales! The Turbo Jammies, damn yes that is embarrassing! :)

Rich Forman

Yamaha MOXF8, Korg Kronos 2-61, Roland Fantom X7, Ferrofish B4000+ organ module, Roland VR-09, EV ZLX12P, K&M Spider Pro stand,

Yamaha S80, Korg Trinity Plus

 

 

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Two come to mind:

 

1. In college, I tried my hands at jazz and played in a combo for a semester or two. We performed in the student cafeteria, and the bass player kept looking at me funny. I swore I was playing the right chords, but something was wrong. It wasn't until after the 3rd song that I realize the person who used the digital piano before me had left the transpose on -1.

 

2. Playing a club last year we put on a jazz-ish number that I didn't think I was nearly ready enough to perform, but went along with it. In walks one of the city's most experienced and talented keyboard/piano players, and he plops down and watches me play. I derailed completely after the first chord I played, and felt terrible. He was magnanimous, but I really wanted to tell the band to play something I could do well, just to make up for it and prove that I can play something right.

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