I had a cymbal fall over, cut a patch cord to the guitarist mid solo. A friend jumped up to give him a new cable. Tripped up and fell on a trombone player who smashed his trombone into the trumpet next to him. One cymbal, two instruments broken in 6 seconds...oof.
A similar thing happened to my old band. Luckily it wasn't a trainwreck because it was the absolute last note of the night. The drummer hit a loud crash and the symbol stand toppled towards the front of the stage and sliced a cable which caused a pretty spectacular (but harmless) pyrotechnic spark. It was an awesome finale and all we had to do is replace a cable before the next gig.
Was setting up a PA for a college disco when I was setting a top tweeter on one of the stacks. On the instructions of the stage manager, I moved the top tweeter over a little too far, which then fell off the stack along with the mid range onto the stage (temporary raised staging) which hadn't been properly locked yet - it collapsed, which pulled the DJ station with it (they'd been tied together already) along with a few thousand 45's (yes, long time ago) and pulling down the connected light system, which took the remainder of the PA stacks, the lights, and any and all equipment with them. Fun times.
Ha Ha...Been there! I haven't played a wedding gig since 2000, but man, did this story bring back some hilariously similar memories! You know, there's a famous musician joke about it: A cover band is playing in a club, and a girl who likes to sing with the band asks if she could sit in with them. She wants to sing "Misty" (it's an old joke). So, the bandleader turns upstage and says, "OK, listen-up. We're gonna play 'Misty' in Ab... But only for 3 bars. On bar 4 we modulate up a half step to A for about 2 bars. But watch for my cue to take it DOWN a whole step. Probably hang there a couple of bars, maybe... then back to Ab. Play the turnaround in 5/4. When we take the repeat, play the top of verse 2 in 3/4 and..." At this point, the wannabee singer panics and interrupts the bandleader, "Wait, wait a sec! I don't know how to sing 'Misty' like that!" And the bandleader says, "Yeah, ya do. That's exactly how ya sang it with us last week."
The girl sings "Danny Boy" and the Groom breaks out in a sobbing cry" The Bride turns to him and says "I didn't know you were Irish." Between sobs he says "I'm not.(sob) I'm a musician.(waaah).
I wish there was some kind of recording of that beautiful beautiful trainwreck, I need that quadratonal rendition in my life. I want that intentionally performed and named "can you feel the cringe tonight"
Chuck shulder he’s playing a melodic line that was used by so many jazz musicians in the past that it became known simply as “the lick” and now it’s essentially a jazz meme.
I had a really rough practice tonight with my band. Felt pretty bad, but this vid cheered me up. 5:30 was great, and hearing "If a few minutes of cringe are the worst thing that happen in your job, then you've honestly got a pretty sweet gig" made me feel happy with what I've got.
My worst trainweck was when i was playing drums at a gig using another bands kit (that they set up). The first song begins and i'm playing their hi-hat thinking "huh, this hi-hat sounds like it's from toy drum kit", and then when we reached the chorus, i hit the high crash, and to my horror, it made nothing but a bell sound. We go through the whole set with me being completely dumbfounded by whatever's going on with this kit, and right as the last song starts, it hit me: whoever set up the kit mixed up a hi-hat with the high crash. It was already too late to change it. Astoundingly, no one seemed to notice, and i'm still told that it was a great set.
You just can't non verbally communicate really abstract thoughts like "well Elton pitches up but this girl is pitched down but wait is she going to pitch up at the end?"
As a person who has played with a lot of different singers in church settings. I understand starting in one key and then finding what key the singer is in before we hit the first chorus.
Pentecostal churches. I was late teens. An elderly black lady wanted to sing a dedication. So I gave her an intro. She started in another key, so I vamped down to her key and she followed, so I tried again and she followed again. And in the end I just did anything I could. Oh and her rhythm/ timing was a struggle to follow. And she eventually cane to a finish. She was very happy, thanked me. And I went for a very strong coffee. And got a lot of back slapping for giving it a try.
I play bass in a Pentecostal church and I can relate very hard to this. Hearing elderly women sing in their own world really just comes with the territory, but it's made even more difficult by the fact that the piano player isn't the most experienced when it comes to proper accompaniment. It's almost solely up to rhythm section to hold anything together, but at least I play with an excellent drummer that can catch all those skipped beats!
I once recorded a live gig where a singer sung a Bruno Mars sung perfectly, one semi-tone above the backing track... All I had to do was pitch shift the backing track up a semitone in post and it sounded great. Not so great for the audience who witnessed it live though haha
*Instead of reaching the very end of the song, the bridesmaid, trapped in her own world, separated from any key signature, started the first verse again.* Oh yea you could totally get a real horror movie out this story. The possibilities are endless.
@@AlexFBauer Who, me? LOL no it wasn't me, but I feel bad for her. I hope, for her sake, that she's truly tone deaf so that she didn't have to share in the band's pain. 😅
LoL! For real! I can do it, but I’m a trained contralto. Last time I sang it at a cabaret, I actually sang it in D major, I wasn’t aware the movie version was in Eb.
Adam: "Fortunately there's another melody that sounds similar" *melody starts playing* Me: Wait, that sounds kinda familiar, Oh, oh no, is he, O H N O it's the L I C K
@@illford If you're familiar with musical notes: D E F G E C D Otherwise: The lick is basically a jazz meme, as it is played many times in jazz music. This video explains it well. Heads up: it's basically *just* *_T H Y L I C C_* Video: th-cam.com/video/krDxhnaKD7Q/w-d-xo.html
Here's a tip to recognize which version of the song should be played. The lyrics for both versions are actually different. The Lion King version starts with: I can see what's happening/What/And they don't have a clue/Who/They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line/Our trio's down to two/Oh Elton John's version: There's a calm surrender/To the rush of day/When the heat of a rolling wave/Can be turned away "Most of the ballads, I know all the words to." - Keith Jarrett, interviewed by Ethan Iverson
That's why I'm making electronic garage noise punk. At on gig, I spilled my beer on my hardwares (big beginner mistake, I admit it). But it goes "P-P-PP-PPPVVVVVVVVV-PVVVVV" and that was indeed noisy and garage ! Everybody laughed and my gear came out of there unspoiled and intact. That was a good trainwreck, afterall.
Damn, your friend made a pretty profound statement. In a musical environment, you can mess up something pretty awful and, even in the absolute worst case scenario, maybe a few people get hurt, and deaths are exceedingly rare. In a lot of other cases, like a lot, people can die, maybe even dozens or hundreds. Having a safe environment to fail in is something a lot of people don't have, so might as well enjoy it!
Not sure I see your point Saber.... Most ice cream scooping related accidents occur in a "safe environment", also there is people who work with pens and paper - normally no deaths there... You've got dog walkers, hairdressers, cashiers at grocery store... many, many, many work environments other than just "musical environments" are pretty safe you know - perhaps one of the safest is to be a TH-camr :)
Thanks for (another) great video, Adam! A bandmate shared this with me shortly after my 'personal best' musical train wreck at a wedding, and it helped pull me back from the brink. Bottom line: no one was hurt, everyone got home safely!
it's Adam Neely's "My Worst Trainwreck" video, but everytime Adam says "trainwreck", a random pitch shifted copy of the audio is added on top. someone please
About 15 years ago I caused a musical train wreck due to the using of my desktop PC as a VST I live rig. We were on a very bouncy stage. I could see my PC bouncing back and forth to the rhythm of the music. And then... Digital Screech at the most ear piercing pitch possible emanating from my rig. I went to unplug the rig and drop back to the internal sounds on my Korg M1. I tripped and fell right on my right hand. Luckily I didn't break anything. But with my injured hand in the cheesy M1 sounds I cringed for the remainder of the gig.
That clip from Community had me spewing at my dinner table. Now I think I need to watch that show again.... Good Stuff, Adam! Funny story that was very well told.
I’ve had a older Japanese gentleman come up to me and ask me to play “Fry Me To The Moon” in “J minor”. I assumed he meant G minor but when he started to sing, he suddenly turned to me and asked me to “play 3 octaves lower.” I modulated over to E minor and he was so happy afterwards that he tipped me ¥10,000 (about $100). It sometimes pays to keep your cool!
Hysterical!!! I used to feel stupid and have anxiety spike when things like this happen, but after 10 years of things happening, I'm getting a slight bit better at not completely acting a fool...haha! It's tough to just ride the wave and not make a bigger mistake. Thanks for sharing!
This is by far my favourite video by you. Don't know how you've managed to turn a quadratonal rendition of a classic into a life lesson but i'm all for it lol
My worst musical trainwreck? Has to be one of these two: • I had written and composed a song which I was performing at my school's last event of the year. I thought I knew the lyrics by heart, so I didn't bother to take them with me to the performance. Sure enough, standing there on stage I went completely blank, so my accompaniment went to vamp... as the lyrics come back to mind and I start. We ended up half a verse out from each other. • I was performing in an end-of-year concert organized by one of my music teachers, and halfway through a demanding piece-and for the very first time-I completely lost track of where I was, had to have her stop and back up.
Train wrecks on stage are a actually an opportunity in the making. I was playing a gig once, and all of a sudden literally half of the drummers kit fell off the drum riser and our one poor roadie and I (still trying to play the song, as was the drummer) were trying to literally push that falling half of the drum kit back into place. I turned around after and had a good laugh along with the audience. I'll never forget that gig because of that, lols..... *When comedy strikes, just flow with it. ^-^*
Thank you for this type of video. Your description of the event had me feeling like I was there...and laughing. The epilogue about the larger lesson to be learned is an important one. Not just for music either.
I watched a drunk patron spill an entire beer on a violin at a bar. When the fiddle player came back, she picked it up as they were rolling into their first song and the whole thing was a mess. She put it down and just sang with the guitar player and only when she tried to tune the thing before the next song, did she hear the liquid sloshing inside and lost her shit.
I was recently at a jam where a guy got up and absolutely sung his heart out, modulating to parts unknown every bar or so; heck, even within a bar. The house band trumpet player mercifully started quietly playing the melody, and that immediately got the singer on track…well, sort of, anyway, as close as he was ever going to get. I thought it was a brilliant move on the trumpeter’s part! And in your case, I’d bet it was apparent to all that the singer was in her own musical universe, so no shame on you and the band. Thx for the great video.
Hearing this tale of musical misery and woe has brought much joy into my life, and reminded me of all the musical disasters that I can remember being part of, and in one or two cases, probably caused. My musical abilities are absolutely nowhere near yours, but it is reassuring to hear that train wrecks can happen to the best musicians, as well as the worst.
Without checking, yes, I could remember if Elton John modulates, and as far as I recall, yes. There's a key change up 1 tone. I haven't fact-checked myself, but I'm pretty sure. Edit: And, having watched the rest of the video, sounds like I was right about the Lion King version and not the original!
See I thought there wasn't, but I almost always listen to Elton's stand-alone version. The key change in the film version always catches me off guard because I forget about it.
@@bryanchandler3486 I can't remember now Bryan, that was 2 years ago, but pretty much anything I try to play along to sounds awful. It keeps me amused.
It all goes back to why being a live performer requires bravery, and why most of us really appreciate those folks out there who bring us live music. Thanks!
This story gave me all the feels. Joy, grief, insane laughter, tears of sorrow. I can't believe I made it through the video because I am highliy susceptible to "Fremdscham" but your message of hope at the end was an adequate reward.
This is the first time anyone has talked about this. I always (in the past) forced the first chord/melody note on the audience/singer. But my mother (Ida) was a pianist who everyone said "knew every song from the year dot" - one time in a pensioners club the singers would start and the paid (accomplished) pianist would struggle nervously to play in the key with criticism resulting. He willingly allowed my mum to play - she would get the song key by hitting a couple of chord intervals and away she went - vamping with the left and hitting the occasional melody note - the pianist was shocked and asked me how she does it - I realised that day just how natural a musician she was - I asked her and she just said 'the right notes are there to be found'. It all came back as you were describing ( in a very entertaning way -as it should be) I have still not heard or seen, even on-line, anyone as naturally gifted as Ida was. Thanks Adam.
Legendary singing performance by that lady. It was so bad that it managed to throw off 4 professional musicians into different keys
I was actually surprised they didn't try playing LOUDER to suggest to HER who is the one singing WRONG how to do it right.
Underrated
3 proffesional musicians
@@Varod737 Actually she may have even thrown off the drummer's rhythm too...
@@seanspartan2023 managed to throw off 4 musicians *into different keys*
"there's no way out" ahHAhAhAHHA oh my god what I would give to hear this
Hello there.
Omg dodie fancy seeing you here
... Do you know Dodie?
Yeah the real tragedy here is that no one in the audience uploaded this to YT.
from this bad place ...
Trainreck? Quadratonal modulations are SPICYYY
I guess the groom got four renditions of the song in one. That bride is a keeper xD
Is that Cirno?
@@Rov-Nihil 5 with the scale the bridesmaid was playing
@Andy Zhu Jazzy ? Avant-garde, rather
Androvsky *bridesmaid
The drummer couldn’t tell anything was wrong the whole time
It's a simple life but a good one, too.
He knew there wasn't a way out of it all along.
When the finally comes he's just sitting like mom come pick me up I'm scared
i think anyone can tell when a song is going to shit hahah
Yeah, it probably never sounded as good to the drummer.
I had a cymbal fall over, cut a patch cord to the guitarist mid solo. A friend jumped up to give him a new cable. Tripped up and fell on a trombone player who smashed his trombone into the trumpet next to him.
One cymbal, two instruments broken in 6 seconds...oof.
Now, THAT'S a trainwreck.
A similar thing happened to my old band. Luckily it wasn't a trainwreck because it was the absolute last note of the night. The drummer hit a loud crash and the symbol stand toppled towards the front of the stage and sliced a cable which caused a pretty spectacular (but harmless) pyrotechnic spark. It was an awesome finale and all we had to do is replace a cable before the next gig.
Was setting up a PA for a college disco when I was setting a top tweeter on one of the stacks. On the instructions of the stage manager, I moved the top tweeter over a little too far, which then fell off the stack along with the mid range onto the stage (temporary raised staging) which hadn't been properly locked yet - it collapsed, which pulled the DJ station with it (they'd been tied together already) along with a few thousand 45's (yes, long time ago) and pulling down the connected light system, which took the remainder of the PA stacks, the lights, and any and all equipment with them.
Fun times.
I once spilled a 2 liter of dr pepper, freaked out and turned to look for paper towels and knocked over and spilled a 4 foot bong.
@@ThatsDickedUp you win
4:30 Star Spangled Banner but its Giant Steps
Lmao!
I support this movement to make the Star Spangled Giant Steps the new national anthem of the United States.
Ha! I bet the pianist will be will become one of the most accomplished improvisers ever.
What an underrated comment
*_oh my god_*
This is so sad. Alexa play "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" in 4 different keys...
Bob Schröder hahaha 😀😀😀😀😀 that good
Also I’m the 800th! 💪🏼
Alexa: "reported"
Alexa Keyes
Ha Ha...Been there! I haven't played a wedding gig since 2000, but man, did this story bring back some hilariously similar memories!
You know, there's a famous musician joke about it: A cover band is playing in a club, and a girl who likes to sing with the band asks if she could sit in with them. She wants to sing "Misty" (it's an old joke). So, the bandleader turns upstage and says, "OK, listen-up. We're gonna play 'Misty' in Ab... But only for 3 bars. On bar 4 we modulate up a half step to A for about 2 bars. But watch for my cue to take it DOWN a whole step. Probably hang there a couple of bars, maybe... then back to Ab. Play the turnaround in 5/4. When we take the repeat, play the top of verse 2 in 3/4 and..." At this point, the wannabee singer panics and interrupts the bandleader, "Wait, wait a sec! I don't know how to sing 'Misty' like that!" And the bandleader says, "Yeah, ya do. That's exactly how ya sang it with us last week."
A band went into a bar - a quadruplet
Damn that burns
Oh my god that’s just... hilarious
The girl sings "Danny Boy" and the Groom breaks out in a sobbing cry"
The Bride turns to him and says "I didn't know you were Irish."
Between sobs he says "I'm not.(sob) I'm a musician.(waaah).
"White people love uptown funk." Adam has always been a classy memer
j b I mean, he’s right.
Michelle Pfieffer! (I's white.)
I mean everyone loves uptown funk
Uptown funk is a universal language - Adam Neely
i dont get it
By the time you got to "quadratonal" I was cry-laughing so hard that no sound was coming out and I couldn't breathe.
Thanks. I needed that.
same here!!!
The moment he said four different keys I busted into laughter
Same x'D
I did too, man it's 3:42 AM...
Me too
CAAAAAN YOU FEEEEL THE LIIIIICC TONIIIGHT
Really, some of these (s)hit songs deserve the treatment they get by overenthusiastic non-singers.
*Can you licc the love tonight ?
damn, beat me to it.
Hahahahahahajahajajja
👅 😜😉🌃
4 simultaneous keys = peak jazz
DanThomasMusic along with 4 simultaneous time signatures
AGGGHHHHHHH SO JAZZY
Well, if there were two songs with this experience, it's legit. As you know: "Repetition legitimises".
Good thing Elton John showed up to the wedding to save the day and play it himself
Yeah, he tends to do that sometimes.
I wish there was some kind of recording of that beautiful beautiful trainwreck, I need that quadratonal rendition in my life.
I want that intentionally performed and named "can you feel the cringe tonight"
I like that
Yeah, definitely! That's a super good idea 😂
Can't oblige fully, but remaining on the (deliberate) trainwreck at a wedding, here you go: th-cam.com/video/8dOthGfFRmE/w-d-xo.html
dlevi67 gg
Gold star comment 😄👍
2:50 is the jazz equivalent of getting rick rolled. You could have ended the video there 😂
Explain I’m new to this jazz thing
Chuck shulder he’s playing a melodic line that was used by so many jazz musicians in the past that it became known simply as “the lick” and now it’s essentially a jazz meme.
@@tylerbrah4676 I think jazz is when you use a time signature that's not 4/4
I burst out laughing right there. I couldn't believe he had to do it to em like that
I guess we got lick rolled, huh?
3:00 "... soldiered on in atonal ignorance"... also applies to my signing
What are tones in the first place? 😂
It’s what you want your abs to look like
The version the bride was singing is C Suspended-Off-The-Top-Rope 4 with a flat 6
WATCH OUT WATCH OUT!
*the licc*
BAH GAWD THAT'S NEELY'S MUSIC
C hung-drawn-and-quartered full demolished
Thanks Adam. Sometimes it's good to be reminded of that
Were you in the band?
@@luisrocha26 Not THE band, just A band. We played a show with somewhat similar predicaments, and it was good to be reminded that it's not that bad
Luís Cláudio she was the bridesmaid
Took me a while to find a comment that actually talks about the meaning of the video. Let it go, it's not that bad
I absolutely lost it when you perfectly evoked that MOMENT when everyone switched to four keys at the same time. Thank you for sharing!
I had a really rough practice tonight with my band. Felt pretty bad, but this vid cheered me up. 5:30 was great, and hearing "If a few minutes of cringe are the worst thing that happen in your job, then you've honestly got a pretty sweet gig" made me feel happy with what I've got.
I would pay $7 to here this recreated as a midi
I would do it but I'm afraid this much money would spoil me.
Can you feel the *Jazz* tonight
The chords the wedding plays
The band for once can't find their harmony
In all four different keys
This is so sad
Freezepond why are you here
Why
bruh get off my case I'm learning jazz
In your own sweet key
My worst trainweck was when i was playing drums at a gig using another bands kit (that they set up). The first song begins and i'm playing their hi-hat thinking "huh, this hi-hat sounds like it's from toy drum kit", and then when we reached the chorus, i hit the high crash, and to my horror, it made nothing but a bell sound. We go through the whole set with me being completely dumbfounded by whatever's going on with this kit, and right as the last song starts, it hit me: whoever set up the kit mixed up a hi-hat with the high crash. It was already too late to change it. Astoundingly, no one seemed to notice, and i'm still told that it was a great set.
Bro who mixes up the hi hat with the cymbal. Bro that must've been horror like damn.
3:30 I've never winced so hard at the word "harmonize"
2:50
You just got liccrolled
K Jonks I like that term. I better start practicing how to pull a joke like that off to my non-musically inclined friends XD
"When you make a mistake in music, no one gets hurt. No one dies." If I have to play Brown Eyed Girl one more time, that may or may not be true.
This sounds absolutely traumatic. I'm glad to see you've overcome it man
Be strong. Keep on keeping on.
Our prayers are with you!
I saw it coming a mile away, but I still got the uncontrollable giggles at @5:50.
6:29 🤣
aight im prepared
Likewise, 100%
You just can't non verbally communicate really abstract thoughts like "well Elton pitches up but this girl is pitched down but wait is she going to pitch up at the end?"
i just realized i've never been a part of a legitimate trainwreck live. thanks adam, i now have a new reason to stay awake at night.
2:47
"Another melody wich sounds kinda simmilar"
*Starts playing the lick real slow and emotional*
Welp, time to make a full quadratonal track of that beloved Elton John song.
As a person who has played with a lot of different singers in church settings. I understand starting in one key and then finding what key the singer is in before we hit the first chorus.
Donald Fagan did this in the beginning of Gold Teeth II. Just kidding.
also, I would kill to hear this avant garde rendition of Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
it's like, way outside, man
John Coltrane would definitely feel the -lick- love for it.
Pentecostal churches. I was late teens. An elderly black lady wanted to sing a dedication. So I gave her an intro. She started in another key, so I vamped down to her key and she followed, so I tried again and she followed again. And in the end I just did anything I could. Oh and her rhythm/ timing was a struggle to follow. And she eventually cane to a finish. She was very happy, thanked me. And I went for a very strong coffee. And got a lot of back slapping for giving it a try.
I play bass in a Pentecostal church and I can relate very hard to this. Hearing elderly women sing in their own world really just comes with the territory, but it's made even more difficult by the fact that the piano player isn't the most experienced when it comes to proper accompaniment. It's almost solely up to rhythm section to hold anything together, but at least I play with an excellent drummer that can catch all those skipped beats!
Yeah bro as a Jamaican Pentecostal we just change key and everything always work out
I once recorded a live gig where a singer sung a Bruno Mars sung perfectly, one semi-tone above the backing track... All I had to do was pitch shift the backing track up a semitone in post and it sounded great. Not so great for the audience who witnessed it live though haha
The way you manage to sneak the lick into every video is mindbaffling. I love you man.
PROTIP: Make sure the bridesmaid and the band are in the same key
I'm not sure if the groom would agree with you
I'm loving your subtle shrieks in the background. You'd make a wonderful wedding singer Mr. Neely.
I did a similar thing. With Bohemian Rhapsody. Let that sink in. Ok, not four keys at the same time, though. That's next level!!
am i the only person thinking this would make a great ted talk?
"There's no way out..."
Suddenly this story became very Peele-esque
sUs
Jordan? There are a lot of Peeles tbh.
@@notaninstrument7707 Well since it was in the context of a line you would hear in a horror movie... Jordan
*Instead of reaching the very end of the song, the bridesmaid, trapped in her own world, separated from any key signature, started the first verse again.*
Oh yea you could totally get a real horror movie out this story. The possibilities are endless.
When an untrained female vocalist tries to sing in a key selected for a tenor, she's going to have a hard time. 🙃
Found the bridesmaid!
@@AlexFBauer Who, me? LOL no it wasn't me, but I feel bad for her. I hope, for her sake, that she's truly tone deaf so that she didn't have to share in the band's pain. 😅
LoL! For real! I can do it, but I’m a trained contralto. Last time I sang it at a cabaret, I actually sang it in D major, I wasn’t aware the movie version was in Eb.
Adam:
"Fortunately there's another melody that sounds similar"
*melody starts playing*
Me:
Wait, that sounds kinda familiar,
Oh, oh no, is he,
O H N O
it's the L I C K
the sly bastard
What is "The Lick"
@@illford If you're familiar with musical notes: D E F G E C D
Otherwise: The lick is basically a jazz meme, as it is played many times in jazz music. This video explains it well. Heads up: it's basically *just* *_T H Y L I C C_*
Video: th-cam.com/video/krDxhnaKD7Q/w-d-xo.html
That’s the T R I C K
or the tricc
@@annalapanda7676 THANK YOU!
I'm literally laughing out loud. Awesome. I've had that same thing happen. Love chasing the singer.
Off the stage is probably the suppressed desire.
The Quadratonal part made me exert a laugh I’ve never laughed before
This was so funny! Pls do more annecdotel videos from your experiences
Here's a tip to recognize which version of the song should be played. The lyrics for both versions are actually different.
The Lion King version starts with:
I can see what's happening/What/And they don't have a clue/Who/They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line/Our trio's down to two/Oh
Elton John's version:
There's a calm surrender/To the rush of day/When the heat of a rolling wave/Can be turned away
"Most of the ballads, I know all the words to." - Keith Jarrett, interviewed by Ethan Iverson
I love a walking Lion King encyclopedia.
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight", arr. C. Ives
I thought it was C. Ringe
Enjoyed the story and the analogy of comparing life to musical train wrecks.
“Remember, it’s just music, in a musical train wreck nobody gets hurt, everybody goes home”. God, you were so reassuring when you said it!
That's why I'm making electronic garage noise punk. At on gig, I spilled my beer on my hardwares (big beginner mistake, I admit it). But it goes "P-P-PP-PPPVVVVVVVVV-PVVVVV" and that was indeed noisy and garage ! Everybody laughed and my gear came out of there unspoiled and intact. That was a good trainwreck, afterall.
Same reason I'm playing a noise/grindcore set at an upcoming school event: can't fuck it up when it's noise from the start.
Damn, your friend made a pretty profound statement.
In a musical environment, you can mess up something pretty awful and, even in the absolute worst case scenario, maybe a few people get hurt, and deaths are exceedingly rare.
In a lot of other cases, like a lot, people can die, maybe even dozens or hundreds.
Having a safe environment to fail in is something a lot of people don't have, so might as well enjoy it!
Not sure I see your point Saber.... Most ice cream scooping related accidents occur in a "safe environment", also there is people who work with pens and paper - normally no deaths there... You've got dog walkers, hairdressers, cashiers at grocery store... many, many, many work environments other than just "musical environments" are pretty safe you know - perhaps one of the safest is to be a TH-camr :)
NAILED IT!
Right to the cross.
I have to say, you guys were very kind.
"Atonal Ignorance" - Beautiful prose
Thanks for (another) great video, Adam! A bandmate shared this with me shortly after my 'personal best' musical train wreck at a wedding, and it helped pull me back from the brink. Bottom line: no one was hurt, everyone got home safely!
7:20 that was so Tom Scott! Love Adam's fluency with both music and words.
it's Adam Neely's "My Worst Trainwreck" video, but everytime Adam says "trainwreck", a random pitch shifted copy of the audio is added on top.
someone please
Every time Adam says "trainwreck," play A Train.
About 15 years ago I caused a musical train wreck due to the using of my desktop PC as a VST I live rig. We were on a very bouncy stage. I could see my PC bouncing back and forth to the rhythm of the music. And then... Digital Screech at the most ear piercing pitch possible emanating from my rig. I went to unplug the rig and drop back to the internal sounds on my Korg M1. I tripped and fell right on my right hand. Luckily I didn't break anything. But with my injured hand in the cheesy M1 sounds I cringed for the remainder of the gig.
When you started playing the lick over the chords of Can You Feel The Love Tonight with a completely straight face, I think I just about died laughing
PRO TIP: Make sure the instruments and vocals are in the SAME KEY
PRO TIP: (insert coin to continue)
I work at a leading coffee chain, and when everything melts down, that's sometimes the only thing that helps:
"It's only coffee."
That clip from Community had me spewing at my dinner table. Now I think I need to watch that show again....
Good Stuff, Adam! Funny story that was very well told.
Can you feel the love tonight.
Answer. No
I’ve had a older Japanese gentleman come up to me and ask me to play “Fry Me To The Moon” in “J minor”. I assumed he meant G minor but when he started to sing, he suddenly turned to me and asked me to “play 3 octaves lower.” I modulated over to E minor and he was so happy afterwards that he tipped me ¥10,000 (about $100). It sometimes pays to keep your cool!
Looks like the script for a Bill Wurtz video
@@loejewis or a Dwight Schrute quote
Hysterical!!! I used to feel stupid and have anxiety spike when things like this happen, but after 10 years of things happening, I'm getting a slight bit better at not completely acting a fool...haha! It's tough to just ride the wave and not make a bigger mistake. Thanks for sharing!
This is by far my favourite video by you. Don't know how you've managed to turn a quadratonal rendition of a classic into a life lesson but i'm all for it lol
My worst musical trainwreck? Has to be one of these two:
• I had written and composed a song which I was performing at my school's last event of the year. I thought I knew the lyrics by heart, so I didn't bother to take them with me to the performance. Sure enough, standing there on stage I went completely blank, so my accompaniment went to vamp... as the lyrics come back to mind and I start. We ended up half a verse out from each other.
• I was performing in an end-of-year concert organized by one of my music teachers, and halfway through a demanding piece-and for the very first time-I completely lost track of where I was, had to have her stop and back up.
“Everything would run smoothly, in our minds, so long as the bridesmaid knew the song.”
*C R A C K*
Train wrecks on stage are a actually an opportunity in the making. I was playing a gig once, and all of a sudden literally half of the drummers kit fell off the drum riser and our one poor roadie and I (still trying to play the song, as was the drummer) were trying to literally push that falling half of the drum kit back into place. I turned around after and had a good laugh along with the audience. I'll never forget that gig because of that, lols..... *When comedy strikes, just flow with it. ^-^*
Don't take it too seriously! Good for you guys for going with the flow.
Thank you for this type of video. Your description of the event had me feeling like I was there...and laughing. The epilogue about the larger lesson to be learned is an important one. Not just for music either.
"But fortunately there is another melody which sounds kind of similar..."
That's the quality content I am here for!
It’s okay. Your band were just ahead of your time. Sometime in the future there’ll be poly-key music
That already exist. I actually think part of the superman theme by John william has the brass section in a differnt key from the strings.
BUTCHERING ELTON JOHN. Okay that sounds unnecessarily gruesome.
Nothing that didn't already happen in Kingsmen
@@lucianodebenedictis6014 Or in 2000's Eminem tracks am i right lads?!
Adam son of Neely, Butcher of Eltons
@@lucianodebenedictis6014 I've been trying to remember the name of that movie series for months now! Thanks dude.
@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 no problem
im in a stand up club at my college and sometimes ppl will purposefully tell bad jokes at meetings just to get used to the feeling of bombing
This was excellent storytelling. Not an ounce of footage of the actual event and yet you had my attention the whole time.
I had my pianist run to the bathroom during a break in a set and come back high as a kite.
I watched a drunk patron spill an entire beer on a violin at a bar. When the fiddle player came back, she picked it up as they were rolling into their first song and the whole thing was a mess. She put it down and just sang with the guitar player and only when she tried to tune the thing before the next song, did she hear the liquid sloshing inside and lost her shit.
@@DriveCarToBar I'd be HOMICIDAL, Omfg.
I just laughed so hard I cried. I think you at least temporarily alleviated if not cured my final-semester existential "AAGH"
PRO TIP: Make sure that voice and instruments are in the same tonality
Only slightly related, but ... Make sure you are PERFECTLY following the tooanality. 😄
- a German
Amazing anecdote and video! This has been one of my favorite watches on your channel so far
What a nightmare! Brilliantly told thank you. You do have the gift of the gab.
I was recently at a jam where a guy got up and absolutely sung his heart out, modulating to parts unknown every bar or so; heck, even within a bar. The house band trumpet player mercifully started quietly playing the melody, and that immediately got the singer on track…well, sort of, anyway, as close as he was ever going to get. I thought it was a brilliant move on the trumpeter’s part!
And in your case, I’d bet it was apparent to all that the singer was in her own musical universe, so no shame on you and the band. Thx for the great video.
This has to be the funniest video I've watched in a long time. 5:50 onwards has me crying
the storytelling of this story is amazing. i busted out laughing at the trainwreck part
MUSIC IS GONE
music machine broke
This is one of the funniest stories I have heard in years....thank you for lighting up a cold May-night!!
Hearing this tale of musical misery and woe has brought much joy into my life, and reminded me of all the musical disasters that I can remember being part of, and in one or two cases, probably caused. My musical abilities are absolutely nowhere near yours, but it is reassuring to hear that train wrecks can happen to the best musicians, as well as the worst.
Nobody gets hurt during a musical train wreck? What about spontaneous combustion while drumming?
Oh my god this was an amazing video. Couldn't help but laugh along when you talked about the final chorus of 4 keys at once. Great vid :)
Just four?! What was the drummer doing? :)
Talking about trainwrecks while taking the train.... that's how brave Adam is. Be like Adam.... or not ;)
Absolutely LOVED when Guiliana turned the trainwreck of the drumset into something chaotic and cool
THANK YOU for your honesty and great retelling of the happenings. That being said, I demand a video!
Without checking, yes, I could remember if Elton John modulates, and as far as I recall, yes. There's a key change up 1 tone. I haven't fact-checked myself, but I'm pretty sure.
Edit: And, having watched the rest of the video, sounds like I was right about the Lion King version and not the original!
wow cool, bro
See I thought there wasn't, but I almost always listen to Elton's stand-alone version. The key change in the film version always catches me off guard because I forget about it.
QUADROTONAL. We truly have hit the greatest timeline.
nice one Adam...coincidentally, I was butchering some Goodbye Yellow Brick Road songs the other night. Thankfully, only my neighbours suffered
hard not to butcher goodbye yellow brick road
Which ones?
@@davidwillis7991 >Sara Bareilles would like to know your location
@@bryanchandler3486 I can't remember now Bryan, that was 2 years ago, but pretty much anything I try to play along to sounds awful. It keeps me amused.
You turned a funny gig story into a life lesson that quite honestly I needed right this freaking second. Thank you Adam
It all goes back to why being a live performer requires bravery, and why most of us really appreciate those folks out there who bring us live music. Thanks!
Imagine some days before this Video went up the brides maid told all her friends: "oh my god i was on Stage with him, everybody subscribe!"
Thank you for sharing this campfire horror story! It made me laugh.
i ask my mum every month for her phone every monday to watch these videos lol. thanks for all the kaartdjin
This story gave me all the feels. Joy, grief, insane laughter, tears of sorrow. I can't believe I made it through the video because I am highliy susceptible to "Fremdscham" but your message of hope at the end was an adequate reward.
This is the first time anyone has talked about this. I always (in the past) forced the first chord/melody note on the audience/singer. But my mother (Ida) was a pianist who everyone said "knew every song from the year dot" - one time in a pensioners club the singers would start and the paid (accomplished) pianist would struggle nervously to play in the key with criticism resulting. He willingly allowed my mum to play - she would get the song key by hitting a couple of chord intervals and away she went - vamping with the left and hitting the occasional melody note - the pianist was shocked and asked me how she does it - I realised that day just how natural a musician she was - I asked her and she just said 'the right notes are there to be found'. It all came back as you were describing ( in a very entertaning way -as it should be) I have still not heard or seen, even on-line, anyone as naturally gifted as Ida was. Thanks Adam.