“Another Nightmare Gig from Hell: Musicians Tales of Wonder
and Woe” is a new collection by writer/publicist/promoter and former performer Tammy Brackett and
musician/graphic designer Nick Zelinger that logs the sometimes horrific,
sometimes amusing stories touring musicians (and others in the industry) experienced on the road and on
stage.
Several of these stories have Charlotte connections. One of the best (or
worst as it were) is Simplified guitarist Chris Sheridan’s recounting of the
night The Press Box was robbed at gun point while the band was playing on
stage. Another finds the Spongetones’ Steve Stoekel having a hilariously bad
day at a small town festival gig that pushes him further and further over the
edge as the day progresses. Knowing Stoekel, who seems like the nicest guy, makes it even funnier.
Other Carolina storytellers include Charlotte guitarist
Donnie Christianson, Asheville funk outfit Yo Mama’s Big Fat
Booty Band, and Charleston’s Sol Driven Train.
There are also stories from artists I’ve never
heard of and some of those are real gems. There’s one about a disc jockey who
hangs up on Robert Plant, another from a sound engineer who worked a Christmas
gig where the entire room, including the performer, got sick which may actually be the worst gig I can imagine. Brackett’s own tale rings with familiarity whether you’re in a band or not.
Some of my favorite stories come from unknowns because those
are the musicians that really have it rough - not the artists that
can afford handlers and limos and dictate details. It’s the cover bands, bands
touring endlessly in smelly vans eating cheese sandwiches, or the
singer-songwriter peddling cds by asking people listen to it on headphones on
the street, that often have the best stories. Mark Stevens’ story about his
former band Toast being invited to open for Styx at a corn festival in rural
Colorado may be my favorite because there’s no rock star pretentiousness in his
anxiety-ridden lead-up to the actual gig.
The authors are already collecting submissions for a second
edition of “Nightmare Gig.” If you’d like to check out volume one or submit a traumatic excerpt from your own tour diary go to www.nightmaregig.com.
Posts
Courtney -
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posting. Tammy and I really went after the road warriors in this first volume. The working-class cover bands who struggle to get paid, and have no roadies or even agents to "iron out" the wrinkles of the nightmares. I was super-pleased to connect with so many Carolina bands, too. The real treat for me was visiting their web sites and listening the new music in many cases.
We're working on Volume 2 and hoping to see some success (a % of profits are ear-marked for Save the Music Foundation).
Cheers,
Nick Zelinger
co-author
Courtney!
ReplyDeleteThank you! We really appreciate you taking a look at Nightmare Gig and writing about it as only you can do. The sacrifice of musicians to simply get to and play shows is phenomenal. Musicians are dedicated, hard working, gifted humans. Nick and I hope this collection of tales is not only funny but also inspiring. The world would indeed be a sad place if not for music and those who make it.
Thank you again!