Guitar Gig
The Music Gig That Almost Made Me Go Insane
My band was performing in Bowen in north Queensland Australia at the Kings Beach Hotel. We were playing in ‘High Voltage,’ tribute band to AC/DC.
We were up to about our 7th song in the set when I noticed our rhythm guitarist had broken a string. About 60 seconds later I myself break a string. No problem, me thinks I will get my spare Gibson SG, be playing again in 45 secs. I look around. No SG- my rhythm player grabbed it for himself, too lazy to change a string on his guitar!!! Ok, so I think I will very quickly change my own string with the help of our stage roadie. Another 20 seconds goes by. Old mate breaks another string on MY spare guitar. The drum and bass extension solos, singer doing a bit of improvisation over the top, no problem until bass player blows his A string. As many of you would know most AC/.DC songs are in A. He switches to the E string 5th fret- not as nice a sound but it's cool enough in an emergency. We are going to be okay I thought until the drummer has broken his snare skin!!!! This can’t be happening!! Just can’t be!! Apollo 13 didn’t have this much coincidental bad luck!!! By now my string is replaced so we have a 3 string bass, one guitar, a singer looking remotely pissed off and looking for a rock to hide under, and a drummer gesticulating widely for help with his snare but the show goes on. Old mate rhythm player is back on deck and the bass player is going to play 3 strings for at least the next 2 songs until, the roadie goes to truck and get the spare bass (not often bass players break strings!!).
Finally the snare skin is replaced all guitars are back working. We start up exactly in the spot where we first lost a string and continue as if nothing happened. Never break the song, just pile on the improv in the middle section because the show must goes on!!! Ironically, the song we were playing was “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be.”
Now I can see everyone with stage experience saying “well they should have changed their string before the gig!’ Truth was we changed our strings every night, bass strings every 6 gigs!!! We all bought our strings from one supplier and we just got a faulty batch.
The moral:
always have spare strings closely accessible, a spare guitar where possible, drummer, at least a spare snare skin or maybe a spare snare drum and also spare kick drum skin and a singer who can remain nonplussed when all hell breaks loose around him!!
Because the show must go on!!
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