Squirrely Musicians

[skeelsd]

seems i've had a run of dealing with nutjobs lately. i'm knee deep into this project and looks like spring before i'm sprung. glamourous business this is...carry on.

[Dave Heim]

seems i've had a run of dealing with nutjobs lately. i'm knee deep into this project and looks like spring before i'm sprung. glamourous business this is...carry on.

Good luck.  I haven't had to deal with many nutjobs.  But I do cross paths with my fair share of whackadoos, wingnuts, and dipschitz. 

Care to elaborate?

[skeelsd]

last three gigs:

live gig-band leader steroid user. likes to look buff on stage. brain-fried crazy eyed. fortunate for me one and done.

session(s)-bass player apparently forgets to take meds on occassion for bi-polar disorder. one should never forget medication when suffering from this malady.

current-band leader brilliant, mental. substance abuse. locked in until record is done. gave him my word i would complete the project. awesome talent. a lot like bi-polar experience (see above). this one is my fault. i was warned. had some local heavies involved that promised to keep said behavior in check. they quit.

next gig drum room

[Jim Martin (cavanman)]

Gigs with the mentally unbalanced seem agonizing at the time you are doing them.

But take good notes as the stories you can tell at parties will pay off. LOL!  ;D

I'm only half joking. The majority of players I know have great stories about maniacs or just bizarre circumstances.

Last good one I heard on New Year's Day:

Couple'a buddies of mine, percussionist and drummer and both great players, did a gig together here in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theater for a Greek singer. It was a total lip-sync gig.

NO LIVE PLAYING.

They had a REHEARSAL for the gig (remember ....NO LIVE PLAYING...only faking it while canned stuff played).

After the gig the singer was very pleased with the band. He said that this band sounded better than any band he'd used on the tour.

They hadn't played a note.

They cashed their checks and were able to have 'best story' at the party.

See? Keep your sanity and their will be bennies'  8)

Jim

[Chip Donaho]

Cavanman, now that has to be one of the weirdest gigs I've hear of....  ;D  I've played many gigs over the years where there's been a few singers or players who have escaped from the nuthouse. I must admit, that's got to be a 1st on the list.  :o

[chilledbongo]

actually, being bipolar can be a help to being a great musician. it's the manic side that fuels the creativity. of course, they also tend to be arseholes as human beings. 8)
some famed bipolar musicians:
Ludwig van Beethoven, composer
Alohe Jean Burke, musician, vocalist
Rosemary Clooney, singer
DMX Earl Simmons, rapper and actor
Ray Davies
Lenny Dee
Gaetano Donizetti, opera singer
Peter Gabriel
Jimi Hendrix
Kristen Hersh (Throwing Muses)
Phyllis Hyman
Jack Irons
Daniel Johnston
Otto Klemperer, musician, conductor
Oscar Levant, pianist, composer, television
Phil Ochs, musician, political activist, poet
John Ogden, composer, musician
Jaco Pastorius
Charley Pride
Mac Rebennack (Dr. John)
Jeannie C. Riley
Alys Robi, vocalist in Canada
Axl Rose
Nick Traina
Del Shannon
Phil Spector, musician and producer
Sting, Gordon Sumner, musician, composer
Tom Waits, musician, composer
Brian Wilson, musician, composer, arranger
Townes Van Zandt, musician, composer

[Mark Counts]

OZZY had some issues too.
I am just Nutz and proud of it.  My band says the I am too intense and I say that if it wasn't for that intensity, we would never get out of the basement.

Modify: Last night my Worship Leader told me I was really intense.  I told him that I was sorry.  He said NO, it is a very good characteristic to be intense as a drummer. Outside the music world, most would say that it is NUTZ!! Therefore, I just go with it.
                          Nutty

[Anthony Manning-Franklin]

For a while my band had a cellist who was kinda nuts....

When I first introduced her to my band members as a potential member we were at a party, she'd had a few to drink and started making out with our then-singer's knee. We thought she'd be fun to have around haha, and she was. However on one occasion at a party she nearly mistook me for a toilet. Well, she did, I was just lucky my girlfriend at the time woke up to drag her off me milliseconds from disaster. It wasn't just when she was drunk, it's hard to explain, she was just really intense. All the time. But that's more of a fun story haha. Turned out she was a pretty awesome singer too, but confidence issues got the best of her and she quit.

[skinbeatergreg]

I'm only bi-polar half the time.
:-\

[Dave Heim]

I'm only bi-polar half the time.
:-\

My psychiatrist says I have multiple personalities.  But we don't believe him.

[NY Frank]

ba dum - psshhh

[Louis Russell]

My psychiatrist says ........

Anyone who goes to a shrink should have their head examined!   ;D

[Mark Counts]

Anyone who goes to a shrink should have their head examined!   ;D

Yea, Most shrinks need their head examined :-\.
                        Nutty

[Dave Heim]

OK, I didn't mean to derail the thread. . .   :-\

[Louis Russell]

OK, I didn't mean to derail the thread. . .   :-\

Which one of you is talking now?   ;D

[Dave Heim]

I played with, rehearsed with, endured a jam band a couple of summers ago.  The guy who "ran" the thing is a pro sports photographer/ex-hippie and pretty well off financially.  He had a wing of his house set up for jamming.  Nice stuff: full drum set, PA, recording gear, quality keyboards, gutiars, bass guitars, all sorts of amps - including the obligatory Marshall stack - mint condition Hammond B3. . .

Problem is the guy couldn't play (called himself a "rhythm keyboardist"), couldn't read (music), had the personality of a catcher's mitt, and the attention span of a gnat.  He learned everything by rote and took copious notes, which were always missing at the next get-together.  So, he had to learn all over again.  And when he got frustrated or bored or tired, he would just get up and walk out - leaving the rest of us there alone.  We'd notice he was missing only because the band suddenly sounded better and we would find him on the patio or in the [built-in] pool or hot tub.

Beautiful home.  Nice set up.  Nice gear.

The only good thing to come from it was meeting the bass player, George, who quit the same time I did.  George and I now perform with James Curley and Radio Fade (www.myspace.com/jamesfcurley).

[Dave Heim]

Which one of you is talking now?   ;D

Sybil

[Chip Donaho]

Now if I just knew what bi-polar means, just maybe I would know where I stood in this thread.   :-\

[Louis Russell]

Now if I just knew what bi-polar means

From high to low. From mania to depression. From recklessness to listlessness. These are the extremes associated with bipolar disorder, a mental illness characterized by mood instability that can be serious and disabling. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic-depression or manic-depressive illness — manic behavior is one extreme of this disorder, and depression is the other.

The deep mood swings of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months, causing great disturbances in the lives of those affected.

[Chip Donaho]

That explains when people say to me, "Your Nuts!"   ;D

[skeelsd]

causing great disturbances in the lives of those affected.

that'd be the case. knowing full well that ya'll have had some of the same experiences helps, but I hate it when the gig becomes a chore. i had a good run before hand, so i guess i was due...

[Steve Phelps (Shoeless)]

My sister suffers from depression. She's what you call uni-polar. She dips way down into depression and never quit makes it back up to "normal". Its taken years but she finally has her meds dialed in just right and is probably the most productive she's ever been. She's also a very talented singer/songwriter/gutarist. For a while we were involved in a project together. It was sort of just a Friday night get together with the two of us and 2 other former bandmates from years ago. She constantly called and cancelled coming to practice, at the time we were frustrated but understood. I don't think it was a priority for any of us to really turn this into a band, but its frustrating to make plans and have someone blow it off. Jokingly, we wrote a song about the disfunctions of our project. I tracked down the lyrics and here is the section about her:

Last Friday night we meant to play
But the singer felt too ill
She had to go to therapy
And she may be there still

She's a good sport about all of it :)

[Chip Donaho]

The deep mood swings of bipolar disorder may last for weeks or months,

Or years....Causing great depression after they read the stuff these people write.   ;D

[Mark Counts]

I honestly believe that our society has put labels on any quirk in ones personality.  It is so easy to take a pill. 100 years ago we had the same type of humanoids on this earth. They didn't have access to all these drugs. Some how they survived and the crime rate was nothing like it is now. As musicians, we tend to use more of one side of the brain than most.  Any creative personality is not really wire the same as everyone else.  This is what makes us so unique. Not necessarily Squirrely. Do we need a pill or is this all just part of our personalities? What is normal anyway ;D?
Not me, I like being a bit different and not exactly like the perfect mold that society says we have to be.  It is OK to be a little Nutz ;)!!! To the original poster, did you ever think that maybe the stuff that is pissing you off is not the real problem.  Maybe the problem is that you let everything piss you off??  Think about it!!
                                        Nutty
                       

[skeelsd]

who said i was pissed off? i didn't. as for the real problem, didn't know you were there.  do i have problems with individuals who use "artistry" to constantly excuse their irresponsible behaviors, especially if it affects other people? yep.

[Dave Heim]

who said i was pissed off? i didn't. as for the real problem, didn't know you were there.  

I'm not a moderator here, but this thread seems to have gone from a discussion of squirrley musicians to a discussion of medical issues - some very personal (and I'm sure I helped with that - my apologies). 

Can we get back to the squirrley musician posts?

[skeelsd]

yea, i'm not interested either. i am very sympathetic to folk struggling with mental illness. but the "artist" card gets played a little too much for my comfort, especially of late.

[Mark Counts]

yea, i'm not interested either. i am very sympathetic to folk struggling with mental illness. but the "artist" card gets played a little too much for my comfort, especially of late.

Sorry if I got under your skin but there is always two sides. It is hard for me not to look at things medically when my father was a doctor. My point is this, some of the things that bother you about people bothers most of us.  As musicians, we have all delt with people being late, drunk, stoned, unable to show up, don't call you to let you know what is going on. This stuff is pretty normal and most don't put up with it forever. Just remember that people do what they want to do and we have no control over that.
                                 Nutty

[skeelsd]

...people being late, drunk, stoned, unable to show up, don't call you to let you know what is going on. This stuff is pretty normal

this is not normal stuff (i'm dealing with)...back to the thread!

[Mark Counts]

last three gigs:

live gig-band leader steroid user. likes to look buff on stage. brain-fried crazy eyed. fortunate for me one and done.

session(s)-bass player apparently forgets to take meds on occassion for bi-polar disorder. one should never forget medication when suffering from this malady.

current-band leader brilliant, mental. substance abuse. locked in until record is done. gave him my word i would complete the project. awesome talent. a lot like bi-polar experience (see above). this one is my fault. i was warned. had some local heavies involved that promised to keep said behavior in check. they quit.

next gig drum room

I think I was pretty much on topic here. By the way, I like your Web site. Your guitar player is a big old fellow. Wouldn't want to piss him off.  Good luck with your project.
                                Nutty

[skeelsd]

oops... ::)

thanks Nutty

[Todd Knapp]

As musicians, we tend to use more of one side of the brain than most. 
                       

In fact, music is what is sometimes called a "global activity". That is, it calls on the functions of a great number of the brain's centres on both sides of the brain. Musicians will often score right down the middle on so-called "hemispheric specialisation" tests. Not to mention that the rigid Right Brain = Creative/Left Brain = Logical dichotomy has been broken down somewhat since it was first proposed...

This is a little bit of a hobby horse of mine...

[Mark Counts]

In fact, music is what is sometimes called a "global activity". That is, it calls on the functions of a great number of the brain's centres on both sides of the brain. Musicians will often score right down the middle on so-called "hemispheric specialisation" tests. Not to mention that the rigid Right Brain = Creative/Left Brain = Logical dichotomy has been broken down somewhat since it was first proposed...

This is a little bit of a hobby horse of mine...

Exactly boomka,
Sounds like you spent some time with your hobby?  I spent some time Majoring in  Radiography back in the mid 80's and Psychology classes were required. I am sure they have learn more since I studied it but you seem to pretty much repeat what I learned. I think that it makes artistic/creative/musicians a bit different, and they can even be a little squirrley at times ;).
                   Nutty

[Anthony Manning-Franklin]

Am I the only person that feels a bit left out by being one of the few musicians that seems pretty much completely normal and relatively emotionally sound? Haha, maybe not left out, but something along those lines...

It's like, maybe this is why there's a lack of emotional intensity in my performance (musically not visually) etc.

Ehh... :-\

[Dave Heim]

Am I the only person that feels a bit left out by being one of the few musicians that seems pretty much completely normal and relatively emotionally sound? Haha, maybe not left out, but something along those lines...

It's like, maybe this is why there's a lack of emotional intensity in my performance (musically not visually) etc.

Ehh... :-\

I don't know that all the squirrley guys I've worked with are emotionally ailing in any way.  Some of them are just disorganized, or burned out, or spacey, or irresponsible.  Yet they manage to forge on.

[Paicey]

Ive met squirrely people from all walks of life but with musicians it just seems to come with the territory. At my age, 41, its something that i have less willingness to deal with. When i was 23 i called them eccentric, now i call them immature, irresponsible, self centered, GUITAR! players ;).

[Mark Counts]

When i was 23 i called them eccentric, now i call them immature, irresponsible, self centered, GUITAR! players ;).

Wow, this is Great stuff here. Paicey you are the greatest!! The definition of Squerrely ;D!!!!!!
                      Nutty

[a_read_so_deep]

i consider prog metal snobs squirrely

[Riddim]

While we all have issues, I don't see how talent is an excuse for being a jerk, or behaving irresponsibly.

I try to folks who seem to act as if it is.