Most of the audience doesn't stick around too long in the cold, so it's usually just a matter of dressing warm enough to endure the gig and having a paid practice. Most places usually have a good budget for their holiday music hire(s), so we have that going for us, too. However, the most fun, of course, is seeing & hearing the fingers even though you can't feel 'em :) Merry Christmas
Played a corporate gig for an outdoor hockey tournament in Feb 2020 just before lockdown. The “stage” was a shipping container-like thing with one long side open. We had to clear snow out before setting up. Temp was about -20C ( -5F). It felt even colder in that metal can than outside. Even with a couple of heaters it was c-c-cold. Guitar strings get mighty cold. A pair of fabric gloves with the fingers cut off work well. Those little hand warmer packs help as well. One in each pocket. Our playing time was noon to 5 pm. We ran out of songs and repeated our set, which was ok because different people were cycling through all day. Frequent breaks indoors to warm up. Free food and drinks all day. Still one of my favorite memories with the band.
My coldest gig, last March Knoxville marathon, they had a band every mile. We were at mile 20. 35 degrees at start time. I dressed for it and was able to keep my hands from freezing, but man my bass felt like a 10 pound chunk of ice, lol. Rock on Brad!! Have a great day and thanks for the great videos
Did exactly one of these in central Texas just a couple weeks back. Maynard Ferguson kind of band with highly complex charts playing in small town square after their Christmas parade. Covered but open pavilion, low 50's, north wind at 15mph with light (misty) rain. Unfortunately I was on the north (rain-ward) side so was toweling off my guitar after every song. Kinda-sorta could do basic rhythm but no fine motor control over fingers. And yes, you are exactly right about the horns going way-the-other-way out of tune in that weather. Playing a nylon string guitar over standards backing tracks in wineries is a better life.
I've been as cold in Florida as in NY. When your on the water commercial fishing it's 40 degrees your wet the wind is blowing. Makes it bout 5 degrees depending on wind chill and it eats right through you. And I have been as hot in NY as Florida also. 95 in the sun no wind and humidity gets really high in the summer up here in the foot of the adirondacks. All the blacktop and stuff.. My body dislikes either excess of heat or lack of lol. Had what stroke twice now I get it really easily.
Your cold gig stories made me chuckle, smirk and sigh a bit. I can definitely relate to everything you said, including the tuning and the cold fingers! And you got that right,, about the winter blues. Living up north,in the ND ,Minn area,, for many years, I've had my share Winter cold freezing gigs. Even springtime can be brutal at times,for Playin the outdoor gigs,, with regards to playing indoor Winter gigs,, when it's brutally cold, sometimes 40 below zero with the wind chills, and we had/have to unload your band equipment and set up and then later at 1:00 a.m. at the of the end gig ,,have to load everything back up and then when you get home unload again. I'd like to say that you get used to it after living up north all these years, but you really don't get used to it ,,,it's like a slap in the face every time..🥶😅 stay warm Brad and Merry Christmas!🎄🐦
Floridian here, so cold events have been very few, but even mild cold and dryness can put cracks on the fingers. I always have Polysporin or Neosporin nearby as well as moisturizing lotion for those times. Fingers are fragile!
I remember seeing the Goo Goo Dolls on TV playing on a stage at the end of a ski run race or snowboarding. I was like,no way. I did see Eddie Money, America, John Denver in like 94 play in the winter downtown outdoors Salt Lake City for free. That was a trip.
This video hits home as yesterday. I played a gig in Ottawa Canada at a Christmas market on an outdoor stage. It was between -15 and -20°C, so about.-4 to 0 Fahrenheit.. there was a single heater on one side of the stage where I was playing, and my wife (thankfully singing, not playing a guitar) was to my left with no direct heat from the heater. The heater was acting up for the entire gig and during the finger style ballad it went out about 1/3 of the way through this song. Ouch. We took a small break after this song for the staff to reignite the heater because without it, it was just too painful to play. It was a duo gig, so everything was on me in terms of the instrumental side of things. The first year we did this gig about three years ago I learned the horrors of playing an acoustic guitar in the cold. I had thought that heater would be more sufficient. My acoustic developed a crack in the back because of this gig. Yesterday I was playing a Strat and I laughed in my head as the pitch of the guitar went up and down collectively through the entirety of one of our final songs when the heater was just barely working. Brutal. … my wife and I make a living doing the Music thing full-time so in a sense the gig is worth it as it’s festival scale pay, but the cold, man oh man, the cold yesterday, especially was insane.. One things for sure, if they ask us to come back again next year, I’m going to put in a request for a fully heated stage front. In Canada, where we are crazy enough to play outdoor stages from time to time in the winter, this is a thing that most of the big festivals do and I know this Christmas market gets government grants to put on the concert series.
My coldest gig, last March, Knoxville marathon, 35 degree at start. I managed to stay warm and keep my hands from freezing. But man my bass felt like a 10 pound chunk of ice, lol. Rock on Brad, have a great day and thanks for the great videos
That’s my krytonite,I never use Gibsons in the cold ,the best that worked for me was any bolt on with a good rock hard maple neck with no finish on it.Its the closest I find to help with tuning issues,stretching them out in the cold before the gig can help also ,I can’t play with gloves on so I have hand warmers between songs,but I don’t worry about this any more ,I just pass on the gig😂
Totally agree Brad, the weather always has it's say regarding playing conditions and tuning. Don't get me started into epic concerts with horrible conditions. We all , who have survived it, have some epic stories to tell ! 'The encyclopedia of epic gigs' !
Life hack: don’t eat when playing a cold gig. Your blood with rush to your stomach to help digest the food via vessels etc. and you get colder. Old wives tale but I adhere to it.
You can wiggle your fingers rapidly at normal temperatures. I would go surfing in January in CA, & within 60 seconds, you couldnt wiggle your fingers fast no matter how hard you try. I too have super dry skin, cracking & bleeding in the winter. The only benefit of this condition is you develope really good callouses on your fingertips, but "hangnails" hurt pretty good.
Ok, just a short story, once I played (electric guitar, for real!) at a wedding in a barn, and the electricity had no earth connection+ the earth on my amp was UN-plugged (how?), so basically, it was an open circuit and everytime I would touch the strings, I was electrocuted ! The other guys on the band, while plying asked me, 'why don't you play the usual parts?' I told them what I just described, and played only the lead themes, no more . They wouldn't believe me so I touched them and they too were electrocuted...The day I played real electrified guitar ! Oh, I forgot to mention that it was thundering outside ! Take care Stay Warm!
Ugh...and equally annoying and dreadful....the 98° summer gig...especially if loading your own gear. The neck turns to glue and tuning goes all to hell. Makes me wonder why I do it sometimes! I had no idea about the horns! Very insightful!
Coldest gig 2 weeks ago. Christmas market 1 set 45 minutes. Event called for covered stage & portable heaters. Nope 🙄open stage -7C (19F) & a slight wind. Guitar neck was like holding an ice cube ( not the rapper either ..) Low B string was impossible to fret. No back line either shlepped gear in and out .. PA support only. Took off winter parka couldn’t guitar strap to go over it, played in flannel shirt t-shirt neck bandana, elf hat & lined pants..never again.. was not only us on the stage at various time slots , choirs presenters etc. Really not impressed with the event planning. We took it bassed ( see what I did there 😉) on heat & covered stage.. 🥶
Brrr!! That story reminds of a gig we played on New Year’s eve 2003, I’m in Raleigh NC and we had a cold snap that night it got down in the low teens and I remember my fingers trying to freeze to my bass strings, we ended up doing 3 45 minute sets and when we finished, there was no rolling up cords they got tossed in the trailer and the drummer didn’t even break down his kit, everything just got stuck in the trailer as is! It felt like it took two days before I got feeling back in my fingers and toes. Needless to say we didn’t take any more outside gigs in the winter after that.
I've played a new year's eve gig in Canada back in the day. Opened up for Ian Crichton from the Canadian Band Saga. Progressive rock. I know what your talking about. Stiff fingers
My dogs name is Skynyrd! Valdosta, Ga. here. I feel ya! Just finished a run to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, De moines, and Omaha. I know kinda bassakwards but the rooms were glad to have the work. Talk about quick smoke breaks!!
As a sax player he’s telling the absolutely correct. It becomes really impossible. Now days there is heat on stage but it still doesn’t really work. There is only so much you can do to tune a horn. It’s limited.
I got tendonitis way back in the '80s, from playing an outdoor gig in a blizzard on the shores of Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. Personally, I was okay at the time (fingerless gloves), but when I woke up the next day, I thiought that I had somehow broken my arm during the night.
Yup...been there,done that. I don't book outdoor shows here in Texas from December through February. However one time in 2020 I broke my rule because it was during the pandemic and I needed money. A guy asks me if I can play a New Year's eve party on his ranch. He says there is a fire pit and heaters. I thought about it....maybe we'll luck out with the weather and there are the heaters too so I accepted the gig needing the cash. We arrive and the fire pit was probably 30 ft away from where we play so no heat source from that. The heater set up next to me did work but was at head level and if you step a foot away from it you feel nothing and it doesn't reach my hands at all. That night it was 34f...almost freezing. It was the gig from Hell....my fingers were so stiff. I had to modify my playing because my dry skin from lack of sweat could easily get cut by the strings if I slide into a note...I had to land on top of every note to be safe. And I'm a Blues player who bends string a lot! We played 3 sets of one hour. The people enjoyed it and were very nice but that was brutal....I earned every penny I made that night.
That was a great story and very well told. I remember seeing Trick Pony in concert at a summer carnival festival in Michigan roughly around 1994ish. We enjoyed the performance. Do you recall the approximate year/years you were with that band? I can imagine playing a guitar in cold temps would be like doing dentistry in a walk-in cooler.
Yeah brad its rough to play guitar when its cold. Only happened a few times. But the strings get cold its twice as bad. I cut the fingers back so i could still play.
Playing in the cold is difficult but playing in the heat is deadly this last 4th of July we had gigs booked every day of these 4th week and it was 120 plus on stage it was harder than any situation I’ve ever dealt with
@badbrad oh for sure good to always tighten them up before lax the machine heads and not use too heavy of strings and hope to God your fingers don't fall off
This tow truck driver for 25 yrs says, if your hands Crack and bleed, cover them in Bagbalm, and put on latex gloves before bed. Nothing robs moisture like pulling people out of slushy, frozen mud.
We get the Indian summer, Easter snap, blackberry Winter, people and things lasting bout as long as a June Frost, and my late father had a story about himself and his brother in Sarah, Mississippi In the 1930s as boys #2 was done on a limb over a creek somehow,so right after Christmas they both had to go at night,they got one gift from Santa apiece so they Are on the limb and a splash happened, brother asked Dad was that you? Dad said naw, brother said "da*n, there goes my Mickey mouse watch."
Funeral people know one thing, maybe two, but I discovered some cemeteries are the coldest places on earth and your story reminded me r of the long cemetery goodbyes,where reunions take place, blazing heat and glacial temps regardless, finally you have to proceed with closing grave, since, you know,our lives revolved only around that.and usually it's not even family,and dumb antiquated rules set by your boss, don't do nothing til all are gone,one i didn't follow in winter days with daylight fading .
Luckily no gigs outside here. However no fun loading in or out in the freezing cold. I always hate when I roll into my house about 2:30am. I have about wound down from the gig. Nice and warm in the car sleepy and tired then I have to get back out and unload the car in about 28 degrees and the cold 🥶 wind blowing. At that time I am not in a good mood.
Did one before the Bengals football game in cincinnati on Dec 1st, outside 20 degrees,most hellish gig ever.Couldnt feel my hands kept dropping pick.coudnt move my hands. Terrible arthritis.
20's here in Massachusetts 🌲
Ouch!
Hit that like button and stay warm everybody!
Yes Thank you!!
Most of the audience doesn't stick around too long in the cold, so it's usually just a matter of dressing warm enough to endure the gig and having a paid practice. Most places usually have a good budget for their holiday music hire(s), so we have that going for us, too. However, the most fun, of course, is seeing & hearing the fingers even though you can't feel 'em :) Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Played a corporate gig for an outdoor hockey tournament in Feb 2020 just before lockdown. The “stage” was a shipping container-like thing with one long side open. We had to clear snow out before setting up. Temp was about -20C ( -5F). It felt even colder in that metal can than outside. Even with a couple of heaters it was c-c-cold. Guitar strings get mighty cold. A pair of fabric gloves with the fingers cut off work well. Those little hand warmer packs help as well. One in each pocket. Our playing time was noon to 5 pm. We ran out of songs and repeated our set, which was ok because different people were cycling through all day.
Frequent breaks indoors to warm up. Free food and drinks all day. Still one of my favorite memories with the band.
Wow pretty epic.
My coldest gig, last March Knoxville marathon, they had a band every mile. We were at mile 20. 35 degrees at start time. I dressed for it and was able to keep my hands from freezing, but man my bass felt like a 10 pound chunk of ice, lol. Rock on Brad!! Have a great day and thanks for the great videos
@@FredOaks-m7x Wow I bet that was cold! Thanks Fred...will do!
Did exactly one of these in central Texas just a couple weeks back. Maynard Ferguson kind of band with highly complex charts playing in small town square after their Christmas parade. Covered but open pavilion, low 50's, north wind at 15mph with light (misty) rain. Unfortunately I was on the north (rain-ward) side so was toweling off my guitar after every song. Kinda-sorta could do basic rhythm but no fine motor control over fingers. And yes, you are exactly right about the horns going way-the-other-way out of tune in that weather. Playing a nylon string guitar over standards backing tracks in wineries is a better life.
Winery gig sounds alot more fun for sure bro.....
Its brutal keeping your guitar in tune.
Yes even sometimes in normal conditions.
@badbrad A good setup and properly stretching new strings helps! Oh guitar tech!!! 😆 🤣 😂
@@guitardude1981 sure but weather can knock it out no matter what
5 degrees right now
Too Cold brother!
I've been as cold in Florida as in NY.
When your on the water commercial fishing it's 40 degrees your wet the wind is blowing.
Makes it bout 5 degrees depending on wind chill and it eats right through you.
And I have been as hot in NY as Florida also.
95 in the sun no wind and humidity gets really high in the summer up here in the foot of the adirondacks. All the blacktop and stuff..
My body dislikes either excess of heat or lack of lol.
Had what stroke twice now I get it really easily.
duuude good pro tip on bringing hand salve, especially in the cold months
Yeah man...that's a must!
Your cold gig stories made me chuckle, smirk and sigh a bit. I can definitely relate to everything you said, including the tuning and the cold fingers!
And you got that right,, about the winter blues.
Living up north,in the ND ,Minn area,, for many years, I've had my share
Winter cold freezing gigs. Even springtime can be brutal at times,for
Playin the outdoor gigs,, with regards to playing indoor Winter gigs,, when it's brutally cold, sometimes 40 below zero with the wind chills, and we had/have to unload your band equipment and set up and then later at 1:00 a.m. at the of the end gig ,,have to load everything back up and then when you get home unload again. I'd like to say that you get used to it after living up north all these years, but you really don't get used to it ,,,it's like a slap in the face every time..🥶😅 stay warm Brad and Merry Christmas!🎄🐦
Yeah the loading and unloading in the cold sucks!
Yeah you know it 👍and not to mention in the ice and snow... What we don't do to perform huh?l🥶😁@@badbrad
@@jayheinz4624 it's crazy
@@badbrad No Schmidt!! 😅
Floridian here, so cold events have been very few, but even mild cold and dryness can put cracks on the fingers. I always have Polysporin or Neosporin nearby as well as moisturizing lotion for those times. Fingers are fragile!
Yes indeed!
Bag balm works real good found at dairies for cow utters
some like "silicone glove' from avon
Outdoors
Played a few shows in Nashville this past week and this Florida boy was not ready for that weather.
Man you know it!
I remember seeing the Goo Goo Dolls on TV playing on a stage at the end of a ski run race or snowboarding. I was like,no way. I did see Eddie Money, America, John Denver in like 94 play in the winter downtown outdoors Salt Lake City for free. That was a trip.
Wow!
This video hits home as yesterday. I played a gig in Ottawa Canada at a Christmas market on an outdoor stage. It was between -15 and -20°C, so about.-4 to 0 Fahrenheit.. there was a single heater on one side of the stage where I was playing, and my wife (thankfully singing, not playing a guitar) was to my left with no direct heat from the heater. The heater was acting up for the entire gig and during the finger style ballad it went out about 1/3 of the way through this song. Ouch. We took a small break after this song for the staff to reignite the heater because without it, it was just too painful to play. It was a duo gig, so everything was on me in terms of the instrumental side of things. The first year we did this gig about three years ago I learned the horrors of playing an acoustic guitar in the cold. I had thought that heater would be more sufficient. My acoustic developed a crack in the back because of this gig. Yesterday I was playing a Strat and I laughed in my head as the pitch of the guitar went up and down collectively through the entirety of one of our final songs when the heater was just barely working. Brutal. … my wife and I make a living doing the Music thing full-time so in a sense the gig is worth it as it’s festival scale pay, but the cold, man oh man, the cold yesterday, especially was insane.. One things for sure, if they ask us to come back again next year, I’m going to put in a request for a fully heated stage front. In Canada, where we are crazy enough to play outdoor stages from time to time in the winter, this is a thing that most of the big festivals do and I know this Christmas market gets government grants to put on the concert series.
OH man......that is BRUTAL! I salute you for being a trooper. That is tough!
Great story now I see why there’s so many Canadians down here in Palm Springs. Our hands are warm.
My coldest gig, last March, Knoxville marathon, 35 degree at start. I managed to stay warm and keep my hands from freezing. But man my bass felt like a 10 pound chunk of ice, lol. Rock on Brad, have a great day and thanks for the great videos
That sounds rough!
That’s my krytonite,I never use Gibsons in the cold ,the best that worked for me was any bolt on with a good rock hard maple neck with no finish on it.Its the closest I find to help with tuning issues,stretching them out in the cold before the gig can help also ,I can’t play with gloves on so I have hand warmers between songs,but I don’t worry about this any more ,I just pass on the gig😂
Man I hear ya on the pass part....loud and clear.
100% agree I work at Rockingham race track as a firefighter and when it’s cold and the wind is blowing, the circle effect of the track makes it brutal
That sounds familiar
Totally agree Brad, the weather always has it's say regarding playing conditions and tuning. Don't get me started into epic concerts with horrible conditions. We all , who have survived it, have some epic stories to tell ! 'The encyclopedia of epic gigs' !
So true Pedro.
Love the story! Never had to deal with the cold, summer heat, yes, but not cold. Keep them coming man......
Thanks! Will do!
Bad Brad! Merry Christmas, Brother..
Merry Christmas Mickey!
Life hack: don’t eat when playing a cold gig. Your blood with rush to your stomach to help digest the food via vessels etc. and you get colder. Old wives tale but I adhere to it.
Ahhh that is good to know.
You can wiggle your fingers rapidly at normal temperatures. I would go surfing in January in CA, & within 60 seconds, you couldnt wiggle your fingers fast no matter how hard you try. I too have super dry skin, cracking & bleeding in the winter. The only benefit of this condition is you develope really good callouses on your fingertips, but "hangnails" hurt pretty good.
Yeah the cold does a number on your fingers!
I did a gig yesterday in a warm room with a fireplace but it was 24 degrees out and my guitar took several songs to stabilize.
Oh yes...that is another thing......
Ok, just a short story, once I played (electric guitar, for real!) at a wedding in a barn, and the electricity had no earth connection+ the earth on my amp was UN-plugged (how?), so basically, it was an open circuit and everytime I would touch the strings, I was electrocuted ! The other guys on the band, while plying asked me, 'why don't you play the usual parts?' I told them what I just described, and played only the lead themes, no more . They wouldn't believe me so I touched them and they too were electrocuted...The day I played real electrified guitar ! Oh, I forgot to mention that it was thundering outside ! Take care Stay Warm!
Oh man! Absolutely hate being shocked.....the things we do to play....oy.
Haha! I do the same thing when taking my little dog out.
Me to!
Ugh...and equally annoying and dreadful....the 98° summer gig...especially if loading your own gear.
The neck turns to glue and tuning goes all to hell.
Makes me wonder why I do it sometimes! I had no idea about the horns! Very insightful!
HEAT is a whole 'other subject......tough as well.
Exactly! Even at night here in Arizona, any outdoor gig during the summer can be brutal.
@@disiostudio1559 Oh man.
Coldest gig 2 weeks ago. Christmas market 1 set 45 minutes. Event called for covered stage & portable heaters. Nope 🙄open stage -7C (19F) & a slight wind. Guitar neck was like holding an ice cube ( not the rapper either ..) Low B string was impossible to fret. No back line either shlepped gear in and out .. PA support only. Took off winter parka couldn’t guitar strap to go over it, played in flannel shirt t-shirt neck bandana, elf hat & lined pants..never again.. was not only us on the stage at various time slots , choirs presenters etc. Really not impressed with the event planning. We took it bassed ( see what I did there 😉) on heat & covered stage.. 🥶
Alot of times they will say it's heated....but it's really not.
Great gig story and practical tips - Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it.
I hear you man it was cold this last Saturday in Wis. I feel ya.
Wisconsin is brutally cold
This one hits home!
We can all relate.
Brrr!! That story reminds of a gig we played on New Year’s eve 2003, I’m in Raleigh NC and we had a cold snap that night it got down in the low teens and I remember my fingers trying to freeze to my bass strings, we ended up doing 3 45 minute sets and when we finished, there was no rolling up cords they got tossed in the trailer and the drummer didn’t even break down his kit, everything just got stuck in the trailer as is! It felt like it took two days before I got feeling back in my fingers and toes. Needless to say we didn’t take any more outside gigs in the winter after that.
Man that is brutal.
My hands would be cracked and bleeding from the dryness of the cold when I was doing commercial electrical work in winter 🥶
That’s gotta be a brutal combination of elements.
Your hands become callused after a while it doesn’t bother you, but I’ve been out of the game too long, my hands are soft again
I've played a new year's eve gig in Canada back in the day. Opened up for Ian Crichton from the Canadian Band Saga. Progressive rock. I know what your talking about. Stiff fingers
Oh man that sounds rough!
My dogs name is Skynyrd! Valdosta, Ga. here. I feel ya! Just finished a run to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, De moines, and Omaha. I know kinda bassakwards but the rooms were glad to have the work. Talk about quick smoke breaks!!
Oh ya!!!
Ice cold ❄️
Stone Cold
Can’t really make splices with the wires when you have gloves on I have a hard time finding gloves that fit my ape hands
Yes, I know exactly what you mean!
As a sax player he’s telling the absolutely correct. It becomes really impossible. Now days there is heat on stage but it still doesn’t really work. There is only so much you can do to tune a horn. It’s limited.
Man you know it!
Not to mention the ever-present threat of snowballs.
Oh man
5 or 10°? It was 8° in Massachusetts yesterday. JFC, hats off to you for enduring that.
Brutal
⛄🍸⛄❤
brrrrr
It’s -15 here in northern Canada it’s brrrrrrr
Wow that is brutal
I got tendonitis way back in the '80s, from playing an outdoor gig in a blizzard on the shores of Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. Personally, I was okay at the time (fingerless gloves), but when I woke up the next day, I thiought that I had somehow broken my arm during the night.
Oh man that is tough.
Yup...been there,done that. I don't book outdoor shows here in Texas from December through February. However one time in 2020 I broke my rule because it was during the pandemic and I needed money. A guy asks me if I can play a New Year's eve party on his ranch. He says there is a fire pit and heaters. I thought about it....maybe we'll luck out with the weather and there are the heaters too so I accepted the gig needing the cash. We arrive and the fire pit was probably 30 ft away from where we play so no heat source from that. The heater set up next to me did work but was at head level and if you step a foot away from it you feel nothing and it doesn't reach my hands at all. That night it was 34f...almost freezing. It was the gig from Hell....my fingers were so stiff. I had to modify my playing because my dry skin from lack of sweat could easily get cut by the strings if I slide into a note...I had to land on top of every note to be safe. And I'm a Blues player who bends string a lot! We played 3 sets of one hour. The people enjoyed it and were very nice but that was brutal....I earned every penny I made that night.
Oh man, that sounds like a nightmare!
@@badbrad Paying my dues to play the Blues!!
I've seen people cut the bottom 1 inch of the finger tips out of gloves so you can play.
Good idea.
That was a great story and very well told. I remember seeing Trick Pony in concert at a summer carnival festival in Michigan roughly around 1994ish. We enjoyed the performance. Do you recall the approximate year/years you were with that band?
I can imagine playing a guitar in cold temps would be like doing dentistry in a walk-in cooler.
I think I joined that band in 2000 something....
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks
Ace is peeing icicles or “aceiciles” 😂
lol
Yeah brad its rough to play guitar when its cold. Only happened a few times. But the strings get cold its twice as bad. I cut the fingers back so i could still play.
The guitar can feel like an ice sickle
Playing in the cold is difficult but playing in the heat is deadly this last 4th of July we had gigs booked every day of these 4th week and it was 120 plus on stage it was harder than any situation I’ve ever dealt with
wow that is tough!
Make sure you guitars is nice and warm 😅
If they are un acclimated to the cold once you hit the cold they will be completely out of tune instantly.
@badbrad oh for sure good to always tighten them up before lax the machine heads and not use too heavy of strings and hope to God your fingers don't fall off
My guitars go sharp just based on the temp of my apartment. I can only imagine what would happen if I had to do a show out in the cold.
Yeah...the cold makes it tough to stay in tune.
So in the Delta I have seen the last two winters of temps at 0 degrees
For extended days to which i must declare "so much for global warming "
This tow truck driver for 25 yrs says, if your hands Crack and bleed, cover them in Bagbalm, and put on latex gloves before bed. Nothing robs moisture like pulling people out of slushy, frozen mud.
Good advice!!
I’ve done very cold gigs as a young man. The strings become razor wire. Now my band goes into winter dry dock.
Right on!👍🏻
Like the titanic band
We get the Indian summer, Easter snap, blackberry Winter, people and things lasting bout as long as a June Frost, and my late father had a story about himself and his brother in Sarah, Mississippi In the 1930s as boys #2 was done on a limb over a creek somehow,so right after Christmas they both had to go at night,they got one gift from Santa apiece so they Are on the limb and a splash happened, brother asked Dad was that you? Dad said naw, brother said "da*n, there goes my Mickey mouse watch."
Omg
Yeah kinda like I walked uphill ten miles to school and 11 miles uphill back home.
Funeral people know one thing, maybe two, but I discovered some cemeteries are the coldest places on earth and your story reminded me r of the long cemetery goodbyes,where reunions take place, blazing heat and glacial temps regardless, finally you have to proceed with closing grave, since, you know,our lives revolved only
around that.and usually it's not even family,and dumb antiquated rules set by your boss, don't do nothing til all are gone,one i didn't follow in winter days with daylight fading .
Luckily no gigs outside here. However no fun loading in or out in the freezing cold. I always hate when I roll into my house about 2:30am. I have about wound down from the gig. Nice and warm in the car sleepy and tired then I have to get back out and unload the car in about 28 degrees and the cold 🥶 wind blowing. At that time I am not in a good mood.
That sounds rough man!
Did one before the Bengals football game in cincinnati on Dec 1st, outside 20 degrees,most hellish gig ever.Couldnt feel my hands kept dropping pick.coudnt move my hands. Terrible arthritis.
oh man that is tough!
Below 55 forget about it.
Sometimes ya need the money regardless.
The frozen fingers, toes and feet after- affects, :(
Man you know it!
Solution : book indoor gigs.
Sometimes you got to take what's offered.....if you're working for someone else....that's the case.
I'm so hot for her and she's so cold...
Love that song!