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Post new topic Bad Moment How About Yours
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Author Topic:  Bad Moment How About Yours
Ernest Cawby


From:
Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 15 Sep 2006 10:04 pm    
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We were playing a dance at Bodifords pool in Crenshaw county in Al. every Sat nite Ramer string Band. Things went well most of the time no trouble.
One night it happened, at one of the tables a man said a bad word, his neighbor turned around and said don't talk like there is a lady at our table, the man said back she is no lade to be here. Well 8 on one side 7 on the other they went at it. we played louder and faster, beer botles flying, one hit the 4x4 right next to me, I was playing bare footed, laid down my steel went to the back window and thru it. Out front the door was 4 feet next to the pool,ground lever, back of building was 8 ft above gtound, the brave lead guitar player landed on top of me. This brave lad always said if a fight broke out he would stop it. A fun evening was had by all.
What was your worst adventure???

ernie
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Mike Perlowin


From:
Los Angeles CA
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 2:22 am    
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I once broke my 3rd string.

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Warning: I have a Telecaster and I'm not afraid to use it.
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My web site

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Fred Thompson


From:
Zephyrhills, FL
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 3:08 am    
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Well, one time I was playing with the Florida Steel guitar club, and some guy playing an old Sho-Bud, sitting next to me got me in trouble........Hi Ernie....
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Fred Thompson


From:
Zephyrhills, FL
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 3:11 am    
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Oh, funny thing though, he was playing barefoot.What a coincidence!!
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Ernest Cawby


From:
Lake City, Florida, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 4:49 am    
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Fred when are you comming back down I miss you. We could get into trouble again if Jack would let us sit together.

ernie
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Fred Thompson


From:
Zephyrhills, FL
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 4:59 am    
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If all goes as planned, I'll see you at the November jam. Miss you too....Fred
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Pete Young


From:
Quebec, Canada
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 5:27 am    
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I had two I can remember well . The first was my second week playing clubs and we were working, a real dive. There was an old drunk who grabed a beer bottle and thru it at the stage. The singer grabed it in mid air and thru it back at the guy and hit him on the head. Opened his face like a can opener. I thought what am I getting into. This is music
The other time we were doing a TV show on the cable network. The base player was singing Almost Persuaded in A, and when it came to the slide up I went one fret past, and the singer broke up and could not sing. The band made the change thinking we were taking it a step up. I had to think fast and do a turn around to get him back in the song in Bb The base player and I could not look at each other for the rest of the show with out breaking up about it. Its not what you want to do on TV LOL
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Barry Blackwood


Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 6:07 am    
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Are you kidding? I was playing at a fight one night, when a nightclub broke out ....
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Dick Wood


From:
Springtown Texas, USA
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 6:08 am    
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Two things come to mind.

An off duty cop was in the restroom at the club showing some guy his quick draw ability when the gun goes off blowing a hole in the urinal and hits a guy in a wheelchair out in the club.

Last year we were playing in Dallas and this 50 something year old guy walks in orders a beer and fell over dead as a door nail.

In both cases the clubs lost about 80 percent of their crowds.

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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.
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Les Anderson


From:
The Great White North
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 9:14 am    
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Trying playing a gig with a drummer who cannot keep up with the rhythm. If you think confusion reigns with that scenario then imagine the vocalist stopping in the middle of the song and hollering out loud to the drummer to “shut the F*** up or pack it up”.

It’s amazing how silent an entire room full of 250 people can fall silent almost instantly.


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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)


[This message was edited by Les Anderson on 16 September 2006 at 10:15 AM.]

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Greg Booth


From:
Anchorage, AK, USA
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 2:08 pm    
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I was playing at the Pines Club in Anchorage, Ak, spending my break playing Asteroids which I often did to keep my mind and reflexes active. I hear this commotion coming from the dance floor and figured it was just some brawl, nothing worth looking up from my game. Out of the corner of my eye I see something unusual, I look up and it's a thick cloud of smoke coming towards me. I think holy crap, the place is on fire, I better get my instruments and get out of here, so I run into the cloud which turns out to be tear gas! Some disgruntled GI who had been 86'ed (banned) came back and tossed a cannister in the back door. Closed the club for a week, all the open liquor had to be tossed, I could still feel it in the air over a month later. Ouch!
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Bob Martin


From:
Madison Tn
Post  Posted 16 Sep 2006 10:58 pm    
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At an after hours club in Sacramento a fight broke out behind the stage out in the parking lot and we heard a gun being fired so we jumped off stage and ran out the front door. Evidently a drug deal had gone south.

Well anyway that morning around 10:00 am we were packing up to go home the gig was over and I noticed a small knick or bump on the back side of my amp and after getting a better look outside in the light it had been shot with a 22 slug.

I was going to dig it out but one of the guys said just leave it there it'll be a good conversation piece. Well I did and I've told this story at least 2000 plus times over the years and showed the amp to everyone that I could get interested into looking at it :-)

In 1990 it burned up in a fire in a little dive in northern TN and the clubs insurance gave me 65.00 bucks lol. Shoot the story was worth more than that and now I don't have any proof of how I almost got shot that night so you guys will just have to take my word on it Smile.

Bob
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Howard Tate


From:
Leesville, Louisiana, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2006 9:08 am    
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Last night a cricket hit me in the eye during my ride on some ballad. ouch!!!

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Howard
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Larry Jamieson


From:
Walton, NY USA
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2006 9:11 am    
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I had the same thing happen as Dick Wood. We played for a retirement dinner for the NY State Elec. and Gas Company at the Andes Hotel. After dinner, and older gentleman got up to speak, got out a sentence or two, and fell over dead, like a stone. Sure put a damper on the rest of the evening. People waited around a while to see what was going to happen, but there was no more music or dancing that night... Larry J.
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chris ivey


From:
california (deceased)
Post  Posted 21 Sep 2006 2:23 pm    
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bob....you never told me about the gunshot deal.....are you sure it really happened?? in sacramento of all places?? (could it have been lloyd hickey's countryland?) i remember jj jones (bass player) told me of gunshots behind wong's palace or somewhere in rancho cordova....not to mention a dead body in the entrance hall to country comfort that people just walked around for a couple of hours....

[This message was edited by chris ivey on 21 September 2006 at 03:25 PM.]

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Ken Williams


From:
Arkansas
Post  Posted 21 Sep 2006 4:34 pm    
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I was playing a local club that I had worked at for years. I was set up on a riser near the back wall. About midway through the first set, I hear a pop that sounded like it came from under the drummer's riser. A few seconds later I heard another pop just behind me. On the second pop behind me, I could see dust-like particle settling down on me. I turned around and saw two holes in the wall. I got up and alerted the piano player, who owned the club. The song shut down. The police were called and they did a search. They said judging from the size of the holes, it looked like a 9 mm. From the angle of the hole, one of those bullets couldn't have missed me over a few inches. Up until then, it had never crossed my mind about anyone shooting through the wall of the club. A few months later, I found a slug in DJ booth. I still have it. I guess we played Proud Mary one too many times.

Ken

[This message was edited by Ken Williams on 21 September 2006 at 05:36 PM.]

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Roger Edgington


From:
San Antonio, Texas USA
Post  Posted 22 Sep 2006 12:58 pm    
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Had a guy drop dead doing the "Cotton Eyed Joe" one night.It ended a real nice dance. At least he went out dancing at about 80.

We also ran out of beer one night.
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Bob Martin


From:
Madison Tn
Post  Posted 22 Sep 2006 8:40 pm    
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Hey Chris, Spilly was playing drums and Billy Franklin was playing guitar singing too I think there were a few others there too. I just couldn't imagine anyone firing a gun in the parking lot at Lloyds either LOL!

Spilly went back in the office and was all upset and told Lloyd and Lloyd asked did anyone get shot or killed and Spilly said no so Lloyd said get your ass back on the stage before we lose our crowd LOL!!

Now that's what Spilly said I never heard Lloyd say that but I can just hear him saying that!! He was a character. I never knew there was a dead body in the entrance way of the country comfort and folks just walked around it hee hee thats funny. I wonder who was tending bar Baby Dee??

Bob
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Gene H. Brown

 

From:
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
Post  Posted 22 Sep 2006 9:07 pm    
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I watched a small Phillipino man get killed right about 20 feet from the Bandstand in the Frontier Bar in Ketchikan, Alaska in 1964 and I will never forget it, I was about 21 years old and it scared the living hell out of me.
Gene

------------------
If You Keep Pickin That Thing, It'll Never Heal!
;)


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Brint Hannay

 

From:
Maryland, USA
Post  Posted 22 Sep 2006 9:57 pm    
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I was playing in a "country variety" band on New Year's Eve at a Holiday Inn. About 11 PM we were playing Wooly Bully and an older man keeled over on the packed dance floor. We stopped playing, everybody fell silent, the EMTs came in and attempted resuscitation. No success. They took him out on a gurney and there we are, about 11:30 on New Year's Eve, big party, whee! , right? The band were all looking at eachother aghast--What are we supposed to do now?--when the drummer says "You know what the worst thing about this is?" We shook our heads numbly. "The last thing that guy ever heard was us playing Wooly Bully!" We laughed till it hurt, and managed to start playing and get the party going in time for midnight.

[This message was edited by Brint Hannay on 22 September 2006 at 11:00 PM.]

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chris ivey


From:
california (deceased)
Post  Posted 23 Sep 2006 5:50 pm    
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yeah big b...what's really funny is we're probably the only ones still alive out of those people...that's scary far out...
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Jim Cohen


From:
Philadelphia, PA
Post  Posted 23 Sep 2006 6:12 pm    
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In the late 70's I played gigs with a country rock band ("Whitehorse") at Chuck Berry's private club next to his home in Wentzville, MO, where fights, actually brawls with flying bottles, upturned tables, etc just like in the westerns, would often break out during the evening (I guess we had that effect on people!) One evening a guy ran thru the brawl with a rifle, chasing after someone, and Chuck Berry appeared, chasing him through the crowd and brandishing a pistol in the air. The band packed up and left rather quickly. It took about an hour to get back out the gates of his property to the road. We couldn't figure out why the lane of cars was moving so slowly. When we got to the gate, we found out why: because the guy with the rifle was standing at the gate stopping every car and looking for someone in each car! Um... we said, "We're with the band", and he let us go! Whew!

That's the only time I ever saw Chuck Berry there, by the way.
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Klaus Caprani


From:
Copenhagen, Denmark
Post  Posted 24 Sep 2006 11:12 pm    
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I can't come up with anything topping someone getting killed at my gig.

Never the less. Worst moment on stage must probably have been as I kicked/pushed a violent, intrusive WOMAN off the stage (was playing the bass - No hands free), and got corrected publicly by the guitarist for treating the audience badly.

I saved my part of that discussion for afterwards OFF the stage, and didn't play with that band for too long after that.

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Klaus Caprani

MCI RangeXpander S-10 3x4
www.klauscaprani.com


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Bob Martin


From:
Madison Tn
Post  Posted 25 Sep 2006 6:39 am    
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Ain't that the truth heck Chris you ought to know if I was going to make a big story up I'd make sure all the cast and characters were dead so they couldn't squeal on me :-)

Bob
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