How best to explain to the banjo player...

[cgarges]

[cgarges]

[BenjaminWells]

First of all, I can't thank everyone enough for the great wisdom. This is a great community.

Banjo player left the new toy at home and played wonderfully.

So, the gig went off like this: the day before the show I received word that the other warm-up band had a "scheduling conflict" and wouldn't be playing, so could we double our set time from 25 to 45 minutes. "Yes of course" was our reply. When we arrived, it was snowing sideways... full-on blizzard conditions, with a mobile stage set up at the base of Peak 8 at Breckenridge. During our sound check, the wind shifted and the snow started coming right in on us. About the third time I had to wipe the snow from the top of my Martin, the stage manager called it and we went inside.

We passed the two hours in the green room jamming and listening to the production crew deal with the possibility that Cornmeal might not make it due to the storm. At one point someone asked how much material we have. That's when I realized we were in for something epic.

So, we play our first song, which went well. But our fingers were frozen and our instruments were out of tune already. And, our fiddle player's 100 year old fiddle was getting wet. Someone passed out hand warmers. After two full minutes of finger thawing and tuning, which felt like an eternity, we started our second song. And the snow kept coming, harder and harder. After the second song, the chief engineer let us know that Cornmeal was not going to make it, and could we play two 45 minute sets? "Hell yes, no problem!" was our reply. By that time it had become personal between us and the weather, and we weren't going to give up.

So we played, thawed, tuned and played some more... and some how made it through an epic gig. Hell, we even did an encore! And, I think the experience brought the band closer together. The sound system was incredible, and it was our first time playing with an engineer mixing us FOH and a separate engineer mixing our monitors. We could all hear each other between the gusts of wind... what's a few frozen eyebrows?
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The Pine Beatles: http://PineBeatles.com
Solo: http://www.BenjaminWells.net/

[Snarl 12/8]

[Snarl 12/8]

That's a good time to have the simplest signal chain possible. Congratulations. Sounds like something you'll all remember forever.
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Carl Keil

[dgrieser]

Wow, that sounds like an incredible gig--I can't play when my fingers get cold. Congrats for carrying on under those circumstances and glad the banjo player listened to reason.

I played a gig at festival where the wind was so strong it kept popping the elastic tiedowns (short loop bungies with the big plastic ball) off the awning covering the stage. You'd hear this pop and a tiedown would go flying and smack into the back or side of the stage. We never got hit by one but it was a bit nerve-wracking.
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Hillbilly Chamber Music
http://hillbillychambermusic.bandcamp.com

[dwlb]

Sounds like an amazing experience. I haven't had the high winds and snow thing, but I did play a gig on a boat on Lake Michigan once and a huge thunderstorm whipped up. That was loads of fun.
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"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."

"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." – Brian Eno

All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/

[BenjaminWells]

To follow up, I have posted pictures and recordings from the experience on our bandcamp page here:
http://pinebeatles.com
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The Pine Beatles: http://PineBeatles.com
Solo: http://www.BenjaminWells.net/

[lyman]

whoa. crazy gig story! any time you play after that will seem like a walk in the park.

[Gentleman Jim]

Yeah, from now on whenever someone complains about a situation not being perfect you'll be able to pull out this story to show how badass you are.

I've probably been involved with something like 2000-2500 shows, and I've been a part of some stupid, crazy, and ill-advised nonsense. But I can't think of anything that comes close to playing a 100 year old violin in a windy snowstorm on a mountain.

YOU WIN!

[BenjaminWells]

Here is a photo gallery that tells the story pretty well:

http://dianasabreen.photoshelter.com/gallery/Pine-Beatles-at-Breckenridge-Spring-Fever/G0000AxPWqnL9uPo/
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The Pine Beatles: http://PineBeatles.com
Solo: http://www.BenjaminWells.net/

[Gentleman Jim]

Spring Fever? More like pneumonia, frostbite, and hypothermia.

I'd hate to see your Winter Wonderland concert.

[BenjaminWells]

Ha! "Spring" in the Rockies!
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The Pine Beatles: http://PineBeatles.com
Solo: http://www.BenjaminWells.net/

[Brewer]

Kick him out!

Once a banjo player insists on being heard, there's no other solution.


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Almost everything you need to know about life is on the Internet; everything else you can find in a Yes song.

[brahimplaysbass]

If your inter-band emails are that heated you need to find a new band.
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www.abepollack.com

[wesley.wittich]