Members guitarsjb Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I'll try and keep this short. We've been down for awhile, looking for a drummer and a vocalist. Finally found a drummer, and he's a good one for sure. Our guitarist was our singer too, then he quit, and came back. So, this time we said, we're looking for a vocalist, we don't want any one band member filling 2 roles (singing/playing). We are an originals band..FYI. 3 band lineup per show. Well, we had a last minute show offer come up at a venue that's always been good to us. The guys said they wanted to play..guitarist would sing, just for this show. Would be nice to get onstage. Took the show. Singer gets strep throat. NOTHING that can be done about that. Even if he didnt' sing, he can't play..he's SICK. Cancel the show. We did find a replacement band for the bar, and they did well, so, ok, no problem. The rest of the band still went to the show and supported the bar and the other bands. Ask for another date..(have new vocalist now, and are up and running), get this coming Friday. Drummer is ILL. I really think he's on the verge of being dead. No {censored}. He's NEVER missed a practice. Some kind of stomach virus is kickin his butt. Can't keep anything down. Been to the ER 3x in the last 4 days. Dude is sick. Show is Friday..he's out of it. I'm guessing we won't make it. Drummer says give him til tomorrow, he might be able to get his butt onstage, do the set (30mins) and crawl off. I already have a band lined up just in case..but still..we will have canceled the SAME venue twice..in a row!! These instances cannot be avoided..but our guys pick really crappy times to be sick. But, I'm sure it will be awhile before they give us another show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Kids now days. In 30 years of playing I have missed 2 jobs. One because I had a broken finger the other I had chicken pox. I would have played with chicken pox but I did not want to infect anyone. I have played with strep throat, pnuemonia, stomache flu, and god knows what else. I played a 6 hour gig where I threw up into a garbage can behind my amp twice and puked some more on every break. I could play a 30 minute set in a coma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crazy88Fingers Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Find a fill-in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nijyo Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Find a fill-in? Get the drummer from the back-up band to fill in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bangers n' Mash Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Meh {censored} happens, people get sick. Id understand if it was a {censored}ty excuse but it sounds pretty reasonable to me. The venue will understand, hopefully haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockerdiva Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Kids now days. In 30 years of playing I have missed 2 jobs. One because I had a broken finger the other I had chicken pox. I would have played with chicken pox but I did not want to infect anyone. I have played with strep throat, pnuemonia, stomache flu, and god knows what else. I played a 6 hour gig where I threw up into a garbage can behind my amp twice and puked some more on every break. I could play a 30 minute set in a coma. Me too, in 23 or so years I have missed only 2 gigs due to illness, (missed 3 when I went into labor early but the club was on notice of that possibility with stand in at the ready). However, strep throat and actual puking sound kind of like valid excuses. Though I'm with you, if it were important enough I'm guessing I'd go to a gig and secretly be puking, especially if I only had to hang in there for 30 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 He ought to be able to suck it up for 30 minutes, or you ought to be able to find a fill in. Find some way to do it. If it is a stomach bug, chances are he will feel a lot better by tomorrow night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I wouldn't say screwed... It sounds as if you have an acceptable replacement band... and that will save your skin with the venue. I've gigged before with a 103 fever... but I'm not carrying the band, I'm contributing. When our singer gets sick (happens 1-2 times a year) we usually cancel. In the past we tried salvaging with guest singers... it turns into a messy situation. People pay a cover to see the band at 100% their best. Cancellations suck, however as long as your making arrangements in the clubs interest your relationship shouldn't be trashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newmaxnew Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Ive never missed a gig due to illness. I did have to takea 6 week break for playing for shoulder surgery but that was planned out ahead of time so no gigs were cancelled. I have played a few where I thought I was going to puke on stage. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doubleR Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I had to cancel out on a gig when I had the flu. I was so sick, with a fever of 102, and weak, I could barely get out of bed--playing a four-hour gig was out of the question. Bottom line--your health is #1 priority. Take care of yourself first. If you're too sick to play, you won't be doing your band any good trying to struggle through a gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moneyfornothing Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I once did a gig with a drummer who came straight from the hospital. He played the gig with his hospital wristbands on. There was never any question whether he was doing the gig or not... Singers can get a pass, because if they cant sing, well they cant sing. But if you can walk, you can play drums...... Plus, using a fill-in drummer can get you through a gig as well. Granted, I was doing covers, and it can be totally different for originals, but I played the better part of 2007 with fill-in drummers, since we never found our own drummer. If the drummer is good, he can play to anything....He has to be good however... Not optimal, but to cancel another gig, i would use a fill in before i did that... Better yet, tell your drummer to buck up and play for 30 minutes..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vrm Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Sorry to hear that man. If you've got another band lined and show up to the show and support, that's all you can do. Hopefully the club owner/promoter will understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarsjb Posted December 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 19, 2008 Update...we're doing the show. He managed to drag himself to practice..we did the set one time, and called it a night. He'll be there tomorrow, and will leave right after we're done. During all of his sickness (he didn't tell us til now) he also was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, so half of his face is numb. It affects his left ear too though, and tonight for the first time he was asking for earplugs and saying nothing sounds right. I really feel for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A Happy Crowd Posted December 19, 2008 Members Share Posted December 19, 2008 Good luck with the show. That really sucks for him. I just looked up Bell's Palsy and it seems treatable, so hopefully this is just a temporary setback for him. George Clooney had Bell's Palsy too, for what it's worth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_people_with_Bell%27s_Palsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted December 19, 2008 Members Share Posted December 19, 2008 Glad to hear your not cancelling. Seems both of us have a bad luck streak. My singer is in the hospital right now gotta sinus infection but he also had a kidney transplant 8 mos ago so he's gotta be watched because of the donor kidney and the meds they feed him for the infection. He still refuses cancel the fat boy gig. Plus following that gig I have another gig lined up at our local club that i already cancel once before because of a flake guitarist quit 2 weeks before the gig. So I know how your feeling. Hopefully the New Year will end the bad luck streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Inazone Posted December 19, 2008 Members Share Posted December 19, 2008 I've played shows when I absolutely should have been home in bed, but always managed to get through it. Our vocalist (growler) is constantly sick with something, usually a chest cold or flu, but we haven't cancelled . . . yet. Finding a fill-in drummer for original metal is virtually impossible on short notice. Short one guitarist or a bassist, maybe we could get by without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarsjb Posted December 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 19, 2008 I just want him to get through the show, then rest up and get better. Our next show isn't til Jan 10th..so he's got some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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