Ice vs. tuba...ugh

[Jobey Wilson]

Oh my goodness, just had to share this recent experience:

Yesterday, I park my car and am walking down a small hill to the last concert of the Vermont Symphony Pops Tour in Rutland, VT...tubas on back, tux in hand. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground...hit a patch of ice, tuba nails the sidewalk, tux flies into a puddle of water.

I'm scurrying backstage towards the dressing rooms, completely sweating bullets and freaking out. I tell a couple guys what just happened as I'm beginning to open my gig bag...needless to say, the dressing room is silent as i pull my beautiful Gronitz PCK out of the bag. Inspecting, searching, looking, looking...NOT ONE DENT!!!!! Oh My Goodness!!!!! How are the valves?? Play a few notes, everything's fine, and actually, something feels a little better; the fall might have actually knocked a little tension out.

I was introducing one of the pieces on the tour, so I actually shared the story with the audience. i told them, "It actually feels a little better now, so I and the VSO would like to thank the city of Rutland for not clearing their sidewalks!" The audience cracked-up.

Whew....jobey

[Tubaryan12]

The real questions is what brand of bag?

[roughrider]

Two years ago I was leaving the building where our community Christmas concert had just been held. Wearing concert dress including shoes, I slipped on a patch of ice and ended up airborne. My feet were at least six feet in the air and my head the opposite. I ended up landing on the pavement of the parking island I was walking across. My King bass was in its gig bag and it ended up landing on top of my chest and legs. I banged my head and neck against the pavement as I landed. I was able to get up and make it home. Injuries lasted from that fall stayed with me until the end of our concert season in the spring. It has made me much more careful on ice. Oh, and by the way, absolutely no damage to the bass at all. Not suprising considering where it landed. Take care out there you northern tubenetters!

[tubafatness]

Might be time for some of these.....

http://www.amazon.com/Yaktrax-Traction- ... 608&sr=8-1

Aaron H.

[Bob Kolada]

I once fell up some stairs onto my (then still rather new) bass trombone in it's case. Nothing worse than perhaps a mild scuffing of the case happened, but I don't ever plan on getting a trombone gig bag now!

[Jobey Wilson]

Yak tracks...pretty funny! Horn was in a Cronkhite gig bag; most surprising...not too much padding on these. As i was falling I jerked my body to the side so I hit the sidewalk before the horn, but the horn whacked the sidewalk pretty hard...still in shock & counting my blessings!! I've come quite close to doing this many times (New England weather..ugh), but have been quite fortunate. Actually, the worst part was the fact that my tux was soaked in ice-water...little chilly when I put my britches on!!! Haa!!! Woke me up for the concert! Luckily, it dried before I spoke; that was on the 2nd half. When I first put it on, some guys said it looked like I pissed myself when I fell...haaaaaa...glad we sit in the back!

[pierre]

I think the Cronkite bags may offer more protection than meets the eye. Last year as I was leaving a gig at the National Cathedral in DC, I decided to check my email on my phone as I was walking down the long stone stairway. Not the best idea I ever had, as I didn't quite make it to the bottom as intended. Luckily I only sprained my left ankle and right wrist and incurred a few colorful bruises. But despite hearing a thud as my Gnageyphone hit the ground, there was no damage at all to my horn.

[imperialbari]

Glad you and the PCK survived well.

Did the fall also remove tensions from your own body?

And then I don’t remember hearing how your B&S F tuba recovered from its travel accident some years ago. I still remember older Triton sound tracks, where the horn, trombone, and tuba blended extremely well without loosing character.

The Yaktrax may, in your special context, have an all-year purpose. I mean: keeping Shelagh from breaking your noses.

Klaus

[Bob Kolada]

Damn Klaus, why are you so afraid of her? She lives like 2000 miles away from you!

[imperialbari]

Have you read an older report on her from their Europe trip? But then she obviously performs with a couple of really big guys.

But I like the three lower brass in Triton. And I also like their extended group in the Tomasi recording, where I guess Shelagh is on top of the horn section. There Jobey sounds bigger than the B&S would allow for, so I guess that one is played on the PCK.

Klaus

[glangfur]

Chuckle.

Seriously, I was there - not for the fall itself, but for the aftermath. The drive home after the gig was no picnic either.

And Shelagh is not to be messed with.

[MileMarkerZero]

Damn Klaus, why are you so afraid of her? She lives like 2000 miles away from you!

I'd be afraid of someone whose name closely resembled this, too...

[peter birch]

my experience is that whenever ice and brass instrument meet...the ice always wins

[Chriss2760]

Yeah, been there Buddy. I also slipped on ice and fell on my Yamaha YBB-621S last winter. Not on my way to/from a gig but actually moving from one spot on the street to another while playing, so no gig bag or case. I had the horn on it's sling and went over backwards. (We're a tourist town and our tuba quartet plays on the streets throughout the year.) The bell hit first and made a very loud clang when it did. My head hit next (and also made a very loud clang, if my "friends" are to be believed.) When the tweety-birds finally stopped circling my head and I checked out my horn it was unscathed. Quite a testament to the strength of the bell. I don't think they can probably market a tuba's ability to withstand serious structural assaults because, obviously, no one thinks it will happen to them. But if it does and your horn comes through without a scratch, you'll be pleased and surprised.
On a related note: My Miraphone 186 turned up with a serious crease in the bell the morning after a very sedate evening performance last Saturday. I have no idea how it happened, although I've used a gig bag with this horn for the past 13 years and have picked up a few dings that wouldn't have happened with a case.
Go figure.

[Rick Denney]

On a related note: My Miraphone 186 turned up with a serious crease in the bell the morning after a very sedate evening performance last Saturday. I have no idea how it happened...

Bell rims are very strong when force is applied laterally on the bell rim, and very weak when the force is applied to the rim along the length of the bell. In a gig bag, it is quite easy to clip the edge of the bell on a door opening, and it doesn't take much to crease the bell when that happens.

Rick "ask me how I know" Denney