needleshy
hey there guys i dunno if this has been done yet but here goes.
i have recently become pretty superstitious when it comes to shows and have started a ritual that we have to do before the show or else we don't perform as well as we should. i would love to hear if any of you guys are doing the same or having simmilar experiences regard live performances.
my first superstition regards the dreaded on stage string break, i know that it happens t everyone but it happened to me for the first time a few months ago and it only happened when i mentioned the words "break a string" on the day or evening of the show. it has happened like that for three shows in a row (with virtually brand new strings, a week old) and when i didn't say those evil words it was fine. we played another show on wednesday and i accidently mentioned it to our bassist and 5 min later the guitarist in the openong band broke his D string..... it shut me up once againand really got me thinking about stage voodoo. he reached over picked up his second guitar played 2 songs and broke the G string on that one aswell.
when we were i was luckily able to put my mind to play softer and made it through the gig without a string breakage.
my second ritual that we as a band have adopted is the group hug and best wishes before the performance thing, i have found that if we don't perform this ritual we don't play to the best of our ability and things start going fishy on stage and weird stuff happen like for instnace i might amost trip over a cable or almost fall off the chair at an accoustic show, etc.
please don't tell me that i am the only one............
aubs1
Hahahaha.....NS....it does'nt only happen for bands, but in all sorts of situations, even in sport!!! John McEnroe NEVER walked on the chalk line during breaks in a match, he walked AROUND......if he touched it, he would lose that game!!!!! There are many examples, but I'd rather not bore you, but yes, don't ever use those dreaded words again.....geez, don't dare say: "break a leg" or something, you young guys jump/fly around quite a lot on stage!!! ?
DonovanB
I like to stretch before I play. It helps me focus a little. If I dont stretch and then warm up my hands then I have problems.
dirkv
Now this is s topic that fits with my OCD personality, there are a few things i do:
1. Certain streches on my hands, wrists and forearms
2. All my cables have to look neat, wound up properly (according to my standards)
3. I have to have atleast 5 picks in my guitar case, whether i use them or not is irrelavant
4. I like to turn my master levels on my amp up and down a few times, why id do that, WHO THE KNOWS (its the OCD thing)
5. I dont speak to anyone atleast 15 minutes before i play.
So ja, thats my Stage Rituals. I left out the animal sacrifices cos i have had to stop those, people where complaining about the smell ?
deanBailey
As OCD as I am, I just double check everything the night before. Make sure I (and the band) can play the song correctly. By correctly I mean every note.
I don't believe in superstition, religion or astronomy stories just facts ?. Like if maths can prove that 1+1 = 2 then would you feel you need to do the sum again or not say the answer before doing the sum in case it doesn't equal up? ?
And the facts say that if you break strings live, you're either;
1) playing too hard
2) your saddles on your bridge are too sharp (happens to new guitars)
3) For Kahler bridges they recommend you solder the area behind the saddle that makes contact with the string.
4) you tuned too high on a string.
5) your strings are just old
I've never broken a string in 5 years for any of the reasons except for the latter. In fact I've broken a dead string tuning down.
