Does anyone wear glasses when playing live? Thoughts on subject?

Dingwall

I wear glasses and have this issue. I used to wear contact lenses 'live' but I have recently developed an allergy problem and I can't really wear lenses anymore. So I gig in glasses but not really happy with this! Especially at 'hot' gigs where the glasses gradually slip down your nose and by the end of the rocking solo you have played you end up looking like some 'grandad' in his reading glasses before bed!!

Do I try 'glasses ties' , getting prescription sunglasses and pretending i'm 'cool', playing 'blind' , giving up 'live' music.....

Anyway anyone with similar problems? Solutions?

AlanRatcliffe

What makes you most comfortable? I'd say play blind unless you have to read (and then - in a rock show at least - the glasses are the least of your issues).

If it's the image thing, you could get a monocle for live performance ? Like Martin Barre in the video for heavy horses...

Vick

Same trouble. I just play blind.
Sunglases on stage? no.

Bob-Dubery

Can you play without glasses? If you need to sneak a look at the neck, or see the numbers on your stomp boxes or read the display on an electronic tuner then maybe there's a problem.

Sunglasses can work on stage - they may help to create an air of mystery, and they certainly didn't hurt Roy Orbison's career, no render Slash uncool. But why would they slip more or less than your prescription glasses?

Maybe there's some kind of pads that you can stick under the bits that grip your nose. Ask your optician.

flatfourfan

I knew a guy who had the same issue and initially he used a rubber band to tie each arm to one another. He later got a proper one from spec savers, can't really see it when he's wearing it.

He used to cicle headbang and it wouldn't budge.........

Jayhell

I had the same problem, but then I got Laser Eye Surgery. I got to throw away the coke bottle bottoms I wore since I was 8 and now I rock harder than ever because I can actually see when performing. It is a super expensive option, but worth it! Not just for playing, but everyday is a lot better. Not worrying about where they are or loosing/breaking them in a mosh pit.

Keira-WitherKay

? yeah i wear bi focals , and wear em on stage , but i'm almost 50 and play jazz , and when you reach that stage no one cares about guitarists wearing glasses or the drummer needing a zimmerframe ,

anyway theres no choice i need to sight read charts at some gigs and that means glasses

anyway artists like elvis costello looked way cool in glasses even john lennon and madelaine pierot

make it part of your image

Squonk

Goggles, get some prescription goggles like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. Will stay on even with somersaults

Jack-Flash-Jr

These guys are EXPLODING at the moment... Alabama Shakes...

Vid:

=

Some live pics:

costafonix

Dingwall wrote: I wear glasses and have this issue. I used to wear contact lenses 'live' but I have recently developed an allergy problem and I can't really wear lenses anymore. So I gig in glasses but not really happy with this! Especially at 'hot' gigs where the glasses gradually slip down your nose and by the end of the rocking solo you have played you end up looking like some 'grandad' in his reading glasses before bed!!

Do I try 'glasses ties' , getting prescription sunglasses and pretending i'm 'cool', playing 'blind' , giving up 'live' music.....

Anyway anyone with similar problems? Solutions?

I'm experiencing exactly the same 'problem' right now, my eyes have just rejected contact lenses,,,feels like I have sandpaper under my eyelids,,,
I hate wearing glasses, I'm not comfortable wearing them and they just get in the way,,,
Glasses are cool to wear at work though because people tend to take you more seriously ?
So at this stage, I'm considering the laser option,,,,which means I'll have to sell off some guitars/amps to pay for it as the medical aid won't... but judging by anyone that has had the laser treatment they have never looked back

singemonkey

Glasses can totally be a major addition to your look. But then, like everything you wear on stage, they shouldn't be the first thing you grab. Think about a look that'll work for you. Do not have them tied on in a way that'll make you look even less of a performer and more like some dude who happened to wander onto stage and pick up a guitar.

I wear contacts and that works great for me (meticulous with contact lens hygiene. I know lots of people who have got infections by wearing them over night, or storing them in water and crazy stuff). But my glasses are wire frame glasses from the 1940s or so. Why I say this is that the earpieces have little loops. There's no slipping going to happen there - also because the frames are so light.

Speak to your optometrist about frames that make a statement (I'd go with black framed, Buddy Holly type glasses myself) and that won't slip. He or she will have some ideas, I'm sure.

Bob Dylan, I noticed only recently, wore prescription rayban sunglasses to seem like he was just too hip to ever take his shades off, when in fact he was probably blind as a bat without them.

Sebber

I'm short-sighted, I've worn glasses since I was about 13. While I do alternate between contact lenses and wearing my glasses (largely depending on whether I can be bothered to put the contact lenses in in the morning), but playing gigs doesn't factor into whether or not I wear my glasses. I don't have a problem with them staying on when I play with my glasses on, it's more a problem where if it's hot they can get splattered with my head-sweat.

Here's a pic of me drenching my glasses with bodily fluids at a gig on Friday night... I know the pic looks pretty blurry, but I've been told I look pretty blurry in the flesh too so that's normal.

Dingwall

Thanks for all the replies people, makes me realise that at least I am not alone in my struggle and this makes me feel better! I forgot to mention that I also use IEMs and so already have wires running up my back and coming over my ears so I reckon that maybe I need to try and find a thin transparent tie and take it from there. I also now appreciate that my glasses are part of my overall makeup and personality and that I shouldn't be ashamed of this! So cheers chaps!

Mr-M

I have pretty much the same problem as Dingwall with my glasses slipping off my nose while playing. I tend to keep the glasses on for potentially more restrained playing situations, whereas I'll go without them for gigs where I'm likely to be jumping around a bit more. I've accidentally flung them off many a time in the past, so I try to avoid that now. Thankfully they've usually survived OK.

Jayhell wrote: I had the same problem, but then I got Laser Eye Surgery. I got to throw away the coke bottle bottoms I wore since I was 8 and now I rock harder than ever because I can actually see when performing. It is a super expensive option, but worth it! Not just for playing, but everyday is a lot better. Not worrying about where they are or loosing/breaking them in a mosh pit.

Hey Jayhell, just wondering how much of a super expensive option laser eye surgery is? Do you maybe have a ballpark figure you wouldn't mind sharing? Please and thanks.

aja

Squonk wrote: Goggles, get some prescription goggles like Hugh Grant in Notting Hill. Will stay on even with somersaults

haha! ?

Notting Hill (1999): Glasses - Video

studmissile

Buddy wore glasses all the time. And he's still a cool rocking daddy o. What a beautiful songwriter!

=

guitarboy2828

Personally, I think you need one of these:

Highway-Chile

Just put some superglue on the nose pads. Problem solved. Make sure to wash all the oils off your nose area though, or the glue might not stick.

8) ?

Dingwall

Keep the hits coming!!

singemonkey

The other Elvis: