Brenton Trott Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 I did a gig a couple of weeks ago, it was on a balcony, set up late afternoon in the hot Australian sun. After I had the kit set up, I was setting up the PA (being and engineer as well) and I heard the rattle of snares. I investigated and discovered that my snare had pivoted fully down (as in the head was at 90 degrees to the floor). I thought, that's unusual as I never adjust this particular adjustment, but I thought maybe someone had touched it during load in. Never mind, I sat down readjusted the angle, tightened it and hung my stick bag back on it and walked away. A few minutes later it happened again. This time I pulled it apart and discovered that it was not interlocking grooves as I had suspected all these years (I have had it over 10 years) but was actually two smooth metal surfaces with a layer of black rubbery type goo (like Blue Tack) in between, which had been heating up in the sun. Anyone seen this before?.......I just couldn't get it tight enough. Anyway, during soundcheck I discovered that it was not going to hold the weight of my stick bag, so I had a quick think and decided "well hey, I haven't dropped a stick during a gig in as long as I can remember so I'll just leave it on the floor"..............can anyone see anything wrong with this thinking? Lesson #1: Always remember Murphy's Law. You guessed it, about a third of the way through the first song I threw a stick, went for the bag between my legs and in sheer horror realised it was about 3 feet away from me on the floor. The abundance of sticks in it just laughing at me. Well I had to stop playing to reach over far enough to grab one, continued and dropped another later, this time when I stopped to grab one the rest of the band all stopped as well and pretended it was the end of the song. Well I quickly put the bag on the floor tom and of course never dropped another one all night. In fact it was an excellent gig. Needless to say, the next morning I drilled a whole through that sucker and put a pin through it!!!! Brenton Anyone else got any horror stories? Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 >I thought, that's unusual as I never adjust this particular adjustment, but I thought maybe someone had touched it during load in. Never mind, I sat down readjusted the angle, tightened it and hung my stick bag back on it and walked away.< Hey, Brenton: What brand of snare stand are you using? There are many manufacturers that use this reverse pressure method to hold angle adjustments because it provides much more delicate adjustments than the old school ratchet method. I am not sure what "Blue Tack" is? Perhaps an Australian product? I have produced my own stick holder that is made with a 6" diameter black PVC pipe cut to the perfect link that is mounted between my legs from the drum throne. Perhaps I will write and post an article on how I made this product. Anyway ... I will post *MY* horror story shortly! Thanks for the post. DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Trott Posted April 4, 2001 Author Share Posted April 4, 2001 "What brand of snare stand are you using? There are many manufacturers that use this reverse pressure method to hold angle adjustments because it provides much more delicate adjustments than the old school ratchet method." I can't remember, I'm at work at the moment, I'll have a look tonight and let you know tomorrow. Apart from this heat related issue, I have no complaints, it's solid as a rock. "I am not sure what "Blue Tack" is? Perhaps an Australian product?" Yeah I was worried about that example, it is like a plyable kind of sticky playdough used to put pictures on the wall. It's supposed to be non destructive to paint (it is in the short term). You no doubt have the same thing under a different name. (If not, get back to me and you and I will work out a distribution deal. It's a big seller.) "I have produced my own stick holder that is made with a 6" diameter black PVC pipe cut to the perfect link that is mounted between my legs from the drum throne. Perhaps I will write and post an article on how I made this product." I would be very interested in that "Anyway ... I will post *MY* horror story shortly!" Excellent, I've got a few more up my sleeve. Cheers Brenton Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Trott Posted April 5, 2001 Author Share Posted April 5, 2001 It's a Tama snare stand, black, couldn't find any other markings on it. Brenton Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted April 5, 2001 Share Posted April 5, 2001 Originally posted by Brenton Trott: It's a Tama snare stand, black, couldn't find any other markings on it. Brenton That *is* odd. Most of these stands contain a black nylon based plastic sleeve to provide the reverse torque resistance. Yours must be some early model that has a black rubber of some like substance. It is odd as well that the heat would have melted it. Is it possible that it was hotter than you thought? Interesting! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Trott Posted April 5, 2001 Author Share Posted April 5, 2001 Originally posted by djarrett: That *is* odd. Most of these stands contain a black nylon based plastic sleeve to provide the reverse torque resistance. Yours must be some early model that has a black rubber of some like substance. It is odd as well that the heat would have melted it. Is it possible that it was hotter than you thought? Interesting! DJ Well it was the late afternoon sun about 5.30-6.30 late summer and the sun was directly on it. Come to think about it, it was also in the back of the car for and hour or two beforehand. that would have contributed to it. I have played outside in the warmth before so it may also be something to do with it's age. I reckon I got it (second hand) in about 86-7, so maybe the rubber has lost some of it's properties, after all it gets pretty damn hot under lights pumping away in crowded venues. Cheers Brenton Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcamletearthlink.net Posted April 5, 2001 Share Posted April 5, 2001 Brenton: Same thing happend to me man, same stand. Its an old Tama Titan i believe. Black rubber gromet-like things. Used to have 100watt light cans on the floor on either side of me for this one gig i use to do. If those cans were pointed at the snare drum stand, within about 45-minutes to an hour - the stand would turn to jelly. I'd have to angle those cans somewhere else and pour relatively cold water on the stand joint for it to catch. Needless to say i retired that stand after a while.... ajc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Trott Posted April 6, 2001 Author Share Posted April 6, 2001 Yeah ajc, I've done a few gigs like that, I guess I've just been lucky. Anyway I very rarely ever change the tilt so I drilled a whole through it and put a pin in it so it won't be happening again. I'll have to buy a new one sometime. Thanks Brenton Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 A Nightmare incident of a different sort for me. Ever had one of those crazy dreams when you were young ... like you couldn't find your high school locker, or that you forgot to wear shoes to school ... or just anything that bizarre? I was 19 and moved to Florida to march a Top 12 DCI Drum Corps (the now defunct SunCoast Sound out of Tampa Bay) This is a grueling musical sport and extremely competitive. The hours of rehearsal were mind boggling. It was my first real "big" performance which was to be an exhibition before we started tour. We were performing an exhibition in front of some of the best High School Bands in the world that had come to St. Petersburg for a huge marching band festival. You may or may not know, but Drum Corps are revered by High School Band kids and for us to be doing an exhibition was a huge deal. I was (of course) extremely nervous and excited about the event. Got dressed in our uniforms, loaded the drums under the bus for the ride to the field, got on the bus, and the section leader wanted to run a part on the back of the bus seats. Then it hit me! I had left my sticks in my car!!!!! I knew this was not going to go over well, but I had no idea the ribbing and suffering it would cause me! To teach me a lesson the caption head would not let anyone of the other drummers in the Corp lend me a pair. He left it up to me to resolve my dilemma! I now understand why he did this, but I sure did *not* at the time. I had to embarrassingly beg a pair off of a high school kid making up some lame story that I had broke both of mine or something to that effect. Needless to say ... to this day, I have never forgotten my sticks again!! Lesson Learned, Nightmare over! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton Trott Posted April 9, 2001 Author Share Posted April 9, 2001 Nice one Dendy I left my cymbal bag leaning against my practise room wall once. Fortunately my girlfriend just managed to get home and grab it in time. Just! Brenton Cheers Brenton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 More humor than horror. I had been playing drums in the school band for about two years and decided to start working on the drumset. Spent my entire savings on a 1964 Ludwig kit (5pc, Red Sparkle); this was around 1978. Like most beginners, I was more concerned about what "I" looked like than what "I" sounded like when I played the kit. I spent more time trying to add flash to my appearance, rather than my chops. Speaking of "flash" .... I got the crazy idea of trying to set my sticks on fire while playing. Luckily I WAS smart enough to only use rubbing alcohol (and not gasoline or something). The alcohol burns cool and not as hot as other combustible solutions. So I tried it and it worked. The flames where small and blue in color ... not that spectacular ... but it looked neat (so I thought). I wanted more, so I decided to put the rubbing alcohol on my drumheads. As with the sticks, it worked, but didn't last very long. So I decided to put a "little" more than usual on the drumheads. Doing this wouldn't really work on the mounted toms because they were slanted; so I went for it on the floor tom. Dumping about half the bottle onto the floor tom head, I failed to realize, among other things, that there were dipples on the head (original heads) from the previous owner. I lit that baby and ... WOW ... nice big blue flames for me to play my drum solo to. Within seconds the alcohol had burned off ... but continued to burn in those little dipple pits in the drumhead. Needless to say that I burned holes in my floor tom head that day; practically melting the entire drumhead. What an idiot! LOL ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com This message has been edited by Bartman on 05-12-2001 at 01:14 AM Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 That is hilarious! Bart! We should start calling you Pyro! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwirk Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 Originally posted by Bartman: I got the crazy idea of trying to set my sticks on fire while playing. I think Spinal Tap lost a drummer that way. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ~clockwirk~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 Yeah, maybe I'll save that for my final performance; to spontaneously combust on the climatic point of my solo. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif Actually, they lost SEVERAL drummers that way! LOL This message has been edited by Bartman on 05-12-2001 at 01:12 PM Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted May 12, 2001 Share Posted May 12, 2001 I was subbing for this old variety/society band about 15 years ago out at some country club. During one of the breaks, several of the band members came up to me and began tripping all over themselves, complimenting me on my playing and professionalism. As the conversation continued, it turns out they had a horror story from their last gig which involved there last subbing drummer. Not to be negative, but the drummer was an older guy that had played one gig with some famous person, and all he could ever talk about was that gig. He would make it sound like he was much better than he was ... and that he played with this "famous person" a lot more than he did. Anyway, his reputation proceeded him (and he wasn't a very good player), so everyone just let him talk. Knowing all of this makes the story even funnier. The story that was told was this drummer showed up to his last gig with the band (rather late) and proceeded to set up his drums. The band leader counts off a tune and looks back to see the drummer playing with his snare drum sitting across his thighs! What made matters worse ... he wasn't even using drumsticks. In his hands were a pair of old Musser bell mallets! You know, the white, fiberglass shafts with the acrylic ball. LOL The guy didn't own a snare stand or a pair of drumsticks! ROFLMAO I felt bad for the drummer AND THE BAND ... but it IS funny. Why on earth would he agree to sub for a band and not have the basic gear needed to do the job? I have to give him this much ... he was innovative. ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drummer Girl in Ottawa Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 Hi guys! It was my first gig at a club. Afterwards, I found out that the 300 pound cook had a crush on me! That's so gross!!! Drummer Girl in Ottawa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 Hey, Drummer Girl in Ottawa: How are things... A? (LOL!) That is funny ... sure you felt like crawling out of the place. That is a lot of man to love! Let us know more about you in the Inquiring Minds Want to Know thread! Thanks, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popstalin Posted July 2, 2001 Share Posted July 2, 2001 I have 2 short ones: First one we were playing this pretty important gig and in the middle of one song I suddenly forgot how to play drums - I just stopped playing in the middle of this really rockin' part. I couldn't do anything else... everyone in the band laughed it off but boy was I embarrassed! The second one is we were playing an outdoor gig last year and I set up my kit and to my horror, I had forgotten my kick pedal! Fortunately, there was a music store about 10 minutes away and fortunately I had enough money to buy a used kick pedal! When I got home the pedal was right where I left it - attached to my practice kit. Now I use the pedal I bought that day on my practice kit and keep the other stuffed away in my hardware case! ------------------ Jen H. Wondercrush http://www.mp3.com/wondercrush info@wondercrush.com Jen H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaddabout Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 I've got lots of horror stories, but the worst happened about 18 months ago. The guitarist at our church is really good, studied under Joe Pass and everything. We talked jazz a lot. He decided he wanted to start up a quartet, and asked me to be his drummer ... after all, I kept telling him how I *used* to do that for a living. Well, I hadn't done that for a "living" in over 10 years, long ago selling my kit and my dreams for a stable career. Barely even worked on my rudiments. Just played every Sunday and that's it. When the time came for the first practice, I showed up with a crappy borrowed kit ... and in my rush I forgot the drummer's throne! We worked something out with a formal dining chair, but I should've just quit while I had some shred of dignity intact. I was nearly exhausted before the first downbeat. We were playing standards, and I vaguely remembered them in my head, but my limbs just weren't there. The bass player immediately complained. For whatever reason, my brain could only process three licks, and I grew content just to play time (if you could call it that) through the drum breaks at the bridge. If it wasn't bad enough I was stinking up the joint, these guys proved to be *really* good players, and not just a bunch of old lounge lizards. Worked our way into All Blues, and I became so frozen with fear, I forgot how to swing in 6/8; the bass player kept shouting "It's in 6/8!" and I kept shouting "I know!" but I had know way of proving it! After that disaster, I apologized for being such a poor drummer, and immediately promised I would get my friend (who *currently* did this for a living) to play. Gigs were already lined up based on the guitarists local notoriety. They thanked me (patronized me, really) for my professionalism, and wished me luck as I attempted to work my way back into shape. Needless to say, I don't go around telling people what I used to do anymore. My first drum teacher used to tell me if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. It sounded stupid at the time, but I believe him now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 Ahh yes.... the forgotten throne, the forgotten kick pedal. I've been there. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif My very first major gig at a club with a new band. I was so excited. I brought one snare drum with no replacement head. Murphy's Law prevailed and I broke the head four songs into the gig. We had to stop (keep in mind this is our debut gig) and I had to take the 14" pinstripe (they were big in the day!) off the rack tom and use it on my snare. Everything stopped for a half hour. It was miserable, me up there on the corner of the stage changing heads... Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I have a new story for all of you guys. This past weekend, I did two killer dates with Teresa Wade. She is a soulful, grooving singer that borders on Country. We were doing a festival in Charlotte and one in Atlanta. The kind of gig I enjoy ... the Prevost Motor Coach, star treatment ... the whole nine yards. I left knowing that there was a possibility of my having a problem. See, ... I have a history of kidney stones (8 in total now), and I had been having a backache. I suffered with this backache during the entire weekend. I returned to Nashville only to head directly to the Emergency Room! Yesterday (Wednesday Sept 5th 2001) I had to undergo surgery to remove the stone! Talk about walking a fine line. If that stone attack had intensified the day before, ... I would have been stuck in some unknown hospital with an unknown doctor! Yikes! Anyway, that is why I have been away for a few days ... in case you were wondering! Thanks, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 Get well DJ! Good to see you're in high spirits. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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