Members Sgt. Rock Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 I feel like I'm going to have to pretty soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 Many times. Just last week I had a bum knee. I was supposed to be on crutches but I thought it might freak the owners out. Had to play four days straight in a variety of jobs - it was hard to focus on Tylenol 3's. I've also played with penicillin induced hepatitus (drug reaction), had a fever of 102 or 103. Let's see, then there was the time when I was on crutches up in Whistler ski resort, or on the road and discovered I had mono, or the time I played three gigs in one day (I never do that) with a torn arm ligament.... okay, cue the violins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 20, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 20, 2011 hung over, yes...injured? yes...infectiously ill? No... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 I have played sick, definitely. There are only three reasons I'd cancel a gig because of being sick - if I had diarrhea, if I couldn't stop puking, or if my voice was totally gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 Not for a long time, but I HAVE played gigs while violently ill. But I always subscribed to that old showbiz adage that "The show must go on!" That said, I have luckily never been in a position to crap or puke on stage, but I DO remember a gig where I completely lost my voice the day before. I (and the band) was prepared to go full-on "Satriani" and I would just play all the songs as melodic instrumental rockers, but I made enough of a recovery an hour beforehand to do a decent job singing that night, so problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 Flu, cold or symptoms such as runny nose, lots of coughs etc. NO. Has it ever happened? Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted September 20, 2011 Members Share Posted September 20, 2011 Worst time for me was about 2-1/2 years ago, when I got T-boned by a drunk gal driving while talking on her cell phone...pretty stove-up and my back and left leg were in agony, but I had a 3-nighter to do. A couple days later, the hair-line fracture in my leg gave out and now I have a steel-pin in my leg...tons-o-fun at the airport! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chip Stewart Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 Yes. I've never cancelled a gig. Honey and hot tea have saved my voice on many occasions. Definitely a go to remedy when feeling ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members donkey 12 Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 I have played sick, definitely. There are only three reasons I'd cancel a gig because of being sick - if I had diarrhea, if I couldn't stop puking, or if my voice was totally gone. Diarrhea is no big deal, just wear diapers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chemikool Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 I certainly try not to, and haven't had to in a long, long time. Luckily I take much better care of myself now than I used to, so hopefully this will never be an issue. A few years ago I got sick the day before a gig and called a buddy to fill-in for me. I would probably do that again if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 i usually lose my voice for about 2 weeks. it is usually during the busy season. i play more instrumentals now, so i can get thru the gig. i also have my main songs lowered to 4-5 notes down so i can still sing those tunes no matter how bad my voice is. food poisoning has happened to me a few times over the past 20+ years. when i feel like i'll be sick on stage, i excuse myself and put on some music. i've had physical injuries that happened to me. i deal with it. even with vertigo (had it for 6 months) pinched nerve in neck (lost feeling in my fretting hand for 10 months)dislocated ring finger on fretting handeven had a squirrel bite on index finger (i HAD a pet squirrel) had to get several stitches and a splint on that finger. it was tough to play guitar and piano, but i did the best i could. never cancelled a gig. i just deal with it and grit it out. currently, i've got an irritated nerve pinched in the ball of my foot. cant stand on it for very long. i sit as much as i can, but i cant sit while setting up and tearing down. i'm going in tomorrow morning for a cortizone shot in my foot. should be fun. i'll be ready to gig this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockerdiva Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 I have played sick, definitely. There are only three reasons I'd cancel a gig because of being sick - if I had diarrhea, if I couldn't stop puking, or if my voice was totally gone. Me too. Fortunately I don't get sick too often. But I have played with some pretty bad colds. I'm proud of my work ethic though. I have played 4,000+ gigs over 25+ years, I have missed a gig twice, due to laryngitus, as I could not squeak out a sound or note. Actually I forgot, I might be lying. There were two or three other gigs I missed after childbirth. But those clubs were on notice that if I went into labor, that was the deal. Came back to work 2 weeks after giving birth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockerdiva Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 I realize I am lucky in that I have never been violently ill when I had a gig scheduled. Certainly not meaning to offend any of you who might have HAD to cancel. People do get sick. It happens. I have been lucky, but I am proud that I don't take cancelling lightly, too. I have definitely played on some days where I would probably have been better off in bed. But I did my best! I did cancel a few other gigs once, now that I am thinking back but this one was pretty ... excuseable. If you break 14 bones in a horrible car accident, I figure you can cancel a few dates, right? (Awful but true ... I guess I'm lucky to be alive) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 Yes I have played when ill but this was when I played in a cover rock band and only played guitar and sang backup vocals. This has not happened to me yet as a solo act. I have only been playing as a solo act for a short time and have not done many gigs as one either. I did perform in an acoustic blues duo for a few years but don't recall doing any gigs while being sick. Maybe a cold but nothing worse. That being said...One time in the band we were playing one of the local rock clubs, I had a case of strep throat and it felt like I was going to gag and puke everytime I tried to sing harmony. At another band gig I had a rather high fever and diarreah and had to run to the bathroom in between sets. Thank god for Imodium.... I am sure I have played ill other times but it's been many years and my old memory is not so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 Headcold/upper respiratory crud sick? Sure. Been a while, but I'll med up and get through it. 102 fever, severe flu sick. No. Fortunately, that one has never kept me from a gig. I did miss 5 months of gigging in 2007 due to losing my voice. It was GERD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 21, 2011 Members Share Posted September 21, 2011 This past winter I played a gig sick. I felt fine going to the gig, other than my voice felt a little "off" doing my warmups in the car. So, I stopped at a grocery store and picked up a box of lemon hot tea to sip on while I was playing. As the gig progressed, I just felt worse and worse. Just kind of out of it, and coughing like crazy during songs. I got home and sure enough, I was running a fever! Can't believe they hired me back after that performance. I played another gig a few weeks later with a head cold. Not my best performance, but I got through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted September 22, 2011 Members Share Posted September 22, 2011 its funny, when you think you were off that night, be it singing or playing, those are the nights you get the most compliments or get hired back for another gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted September 27, 2011 Members Share Posted September 27, 2011 I've played more than a few gigs with colds and flu, and they're no fun at all, especially with a raging fever, free-flowing sinuses, and a hideous voice. I've only cancelled one gig in 30+ years because of illness -- I was just too sick to get out of bed. And I was back on stage the very next night. The worst nights were gigs I played: 1) while a kidney stone was trying to make its way out of my body; 2) the six weeks it took my cracked ribs to heal after a fall off of a bicycle. It's just no fun singing or humping gear in excruciating pain. Back in the old days, when I was young, an older entertainer told me that we musicians never call in sick. Calling in dead was the only legitimate excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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