Our MOST Embarrassing Gig DISASTERS w/ Tim Pierce

Turning up for a gig and there's no kick drum pedal, so a 12 year old audience member literally runs home to bring you his, and it's... a toy. Turning up for a gig and there's no lights, so a couple of good ol boys point their trucks at you and flip on the brights in your face. Breaking a bass strap and there's not one cm of gaffer's tape in the house, so you do the gig on one knee. Backing up a "legacy" artist from the 60's who comes up 5 mins before curtain to tell you to play the drum intro different, and as he walks away his son comes up to tell you dad was wrong it goes like this, and then the MD comes up and says no they're both wrong, it goes like this. So you ignore all 3 of them and play it the same way you were already doing it, and afterwards, they all think you did what they said!

I remember seeing a band in England called the Notting Hillbillies, fronted by one Mark Knopfler. After one guitar change, Mark went to play the intro but couldn't get anything out of it. He twiddled the knobs, tapped a couple of pedals then went to check the amp. Still nothing. Just as he was was about to give up and change the guitar, fellow bandmate, Brendan Croker said, "Mark, it might play if you plug it in". Mark di looked rather sheepish. Even the guitar greats can make mistakes

I was playing bass with a major Nashville act in one of the big rooms in Las Vegas. Started strutting across the stage during a tempo to pose with the lead player. I somehow caught my boot tip in the snake that was halfway taped down, lost my balance and went down. I didn't have straplocks so my bass fell off, made a hellacious sound and slid into the monitor console. In a last ditch effort to save myself, I grabbed the lead players belt while he's playing a solo and pulled him down on top of me. The band ground to a halt and I had to help him up and walk over to retrieve the bass. By far the most humiliating moment I've ever had and I've had a bunch of them. 😊

Rick, you should do an entire series dedicated to this topic with various artists! Hilarious!

I've had many, but one that still haunts me is the time I got to sit in with my favorite band. They were a power trio and had 2-3 hits, esp on local radio. The guy who played lead guitar and sang lead vocals is my musical hero to this day. He'd asked me to bring my guitar and perform their signature hit in the first set of a big gig near my home. I was absolutely THRILLED!! The song started with just guitar, hitting a massive open G chord. So I got ready, nervous but excited, looked at the bass player and drummer and then slammed down on that big overdriven G chord......and when I did my G-string broke, immediately sending the guitar badly out of tune!! I had nowhere to go from there. The opening calls for 3 more big power chords before the band kicked in. I stopped playing, then the band stopped. I unplugged my guitar and left the stage - embarrassed and demoralized.

I had a restaurant full of customers in Cornwall on a country estate, forty odd people, tickets sold, food included with a Jazz trio, all paying customers. The band just started and the lights and power went off. We had to borrow a petrol generator from the local farmer, who just happened to be in the audience. So we managed to get power for the two amps, luckily the bass was a stand up, turned into a fantastic evening, by candlelight.

My most embarrassing story about a gig is that we missed it. Everyone in the band was sure that we were booked for Saturday. Until the promoter ringed through on Friday night and asked desperately where the hell we are. That was a very expensive experience.

My favorite gig disaster story for me is a dance we played for many many years ago. We won a battle of the bands contest to play a high school spring dance. They moved the venue and the place we ended up at, we were on the same level with the dancers. About half way through the second set, we were rocking out pretty good, and one of the female dancers started twirling around and getting closer and closer to the band area. On her last revolution, she collided with my boom stand and drove the mic into my mouth. So I am bleeding onto my keyboard and in quite a bit of pain. I finished the song and told my guitar player "I think I need to take a quick beak". Without hesitation, his response was "Be a trouper and finish the set"! I did, on break I cleaned up the keys and we finished the gig with my sore, now swollen lip and still bleeding a little. The school was so impressed, they asked us back for their graduation party. I have had many more disasters in the years that followed, but this one is still my fave.

Rick’s laughing face during the story is priceless.

ricks laugh makes these story’s even better

The way Tim talks and tells an anecdote is like the way he plays guitar. Precise, measured, thinking ahead, controlled and brilliant. My brain is not really any of those things, but at least I can appreciate his amazing talents.

Aaron Neville was thinking, I'm taking that guitar and shove it where there ain't no sunshine.

My most embarrassing gig was our first, it builds character. The venue promised a PA that was non existent...it went downhill from there. PS I had to race down dirt roads driven by a great old friend Cassie to the (2nd) guitarists house that we had just kicked out of the band to ask if we could use his PA. Yep, that happened.

The two superstars of YouTube! When are we getting the Tim and Rick show?

Isn't it the best how Rick just cracks up before, during and after Tim is telling his stories?? So contagious, thank you!!

Spinal Tap-ish moment: I was in a band around '78-'83 that played rock and roll and new wave covers in bars, but our original goal was to promote our progressive rock originals. Our agent booked a "showcase" for us at a local catering hall. We were under the impression that there would be talent scouts there to see our set and sets of other bands. It turned out it was actually for couples who were looking to book a wedding band, but we didn't know that. So all these other bands were playing "Fame" and "I've Had the Time of My Life..." etc. We got up there and I remember playing "My Sharona," but then we went in to our 8- part magnum instrumental prog opus "Onto the Shore" which had all these disjointed tempo and time signature changes and dissonances all over the place. The couples at the tables were horrified, because who the hell would want that garbage at their WEDDING reception? (Present company excepted perhaps...) But we were completely clueless. Didn't get great feedback from the agent the next day either as I recall...

"There was nothing to see except smoke. LOL that is absolutely hilarious. Rick: "Did stonehenge come down?" Oh man...that was good.

I was at a Steely Dan live show when Donald Fagen literally forgot the words to Kid Charlemagne and just blanked out for the entire first verse; he got it back and went on. Even the greats make mistakes, but WAY fewer than the rest of us.

All Rick had to say was "We arrived to do a gig and the regular sound guy was out sick, so we had this substitute sound guy..." I began laughing hysterically at that precise point! - Former Sound Guy

Tim's a great storyteller as well as a great musician. I could listen to him tell stories for hours.