Has anybody ever played a gig or an audition while sick?

[Water Music]

I just came back from a youth brass ensemble audition, and I have a bad cold, which kind of stunted my breathing. So I'm taking my audition, I can't keep the low notes steady and can't play some passages properly, but I did pretty well. After the audition, the Tuba playing judge gave me a few tips on how to get low notes to sound, so they never took the hint of me being sick after I coughed during every single break.

[Chuck(G)]

In one of the back issues of The Instrumentalist, there's an interview with the Canadian Brass. One of the guys remembered playing a gig with Daellenbach running a fever of 104...

[Dean E]

I was trying to stifle a cough at a spot with a ppp G major chord, but coughed straight into the mouthpiece. Lesson learned--stay away from mouthpieces and microphones when you're going to cough.

[MartyNeilan]

Well, I played a few months with this peanut-sized thing in my mouth, including a recital and some pro gigs. Periodically it would swell up to the size of a grape and I would just lance it and drain fluid.

The oral surgeon told me there was a good chance nerves going to my lips would be cut when it was removed. Fortunately, everything went well and all I have to remember it is a tiny knot of scartissue in its old home. Thank God.

[windshieldbug]

Has anybody ever played a gig or an audition while sick?

Welcome to the world of professional music.

"Suck it up!"

My stories would bore you, as I'm sure most would. But that's the reality of the beast. And we love it...

[tubajoe]

the show must go on...

[Tom Mason]

I have passed one kidney stone in life so far, and it was a two day event that covered the day that I had a job with Chris Vadala as he soloed with a local jazz big band.

I had a recording session while I was in grad school. Had a three place bridge and root canal placed in the afternoon before the session.


Tom Mason

[BVD Press]

The day before Easter a few years back, I got food poisoning. It was coming out both ends and a lot. Trying to find someone to cover you the day of an Easter gig is impossible. I was up all night, dehydrated and a lots of pain. I got a big jug of gatorade and drank it slowly at the gig. The playing wasn't the hard part. Just sitting there and doing nothing during the service was difficult. At least I could breath and take in lots of air!

[Daryl Fletcher]

[tubatooter1940]

Had a new years eve gig at a local bar for double money. Four piece band.
I had a toothache-lower jaw, big one at the left end. If one of us doesn't play-nobody gets to work so I load up on Anacin,sing and play trumpet for 5 hours. The swelling and pain kept getting worse so I added more Anacin and washed them down with bourbon. Around midnight, I hit a high C and the side of my gum blew out. What a relief! The rest of the evening was almost fun.

[NickJones]

back in 1986 I had a ruptured appendix , had my audition for my county band a week after leaving hospital after my operation , felt terrible but got on the course and led the section for a few years.

[chronolith]

During my college auditions I was bogged down with allergies in a big way. Mouth breathing only, sinus pressure, you know the drill. Worst was that my throat started closing up big time. I actually thought I was going to suffocate, let alone play well. Luckily my mother gave me advil or some kind of pain reliever, opened me right up. Graduated from music school four years later.

Similar to what others have said, I had a xmas gig that I was committed to and could not get a replacement. 103 worth of flu. Friend of mine told me to start sipping champagne slowly over the course of the day. I felt good enough after that to play in the evening(and I don't mean tipsy), just relieved and fever down. After the gig I thanked him for the advice most graciously, but then he told me what the trade off was and I wasn't quite as thankful after that. The next day (xmas day) I had the WORST HEADACHE of my entire life! It was terrible, but in restrospect I got the show done and me and the rest of my group got paid.

[corbasse]

In short: yes.
Although normally, I get ill the day after something important.

I remember a concert series with the orchestra of the Conservatory of Amsterdam. There was a particulary nasty and fast-striking stomach flue going through the country, and on the last concert more than 1/4 of the orchestra was suddeny ill. There were strategically placed plastic bags all over the stage of the Concertgebouw. I only threw up in the tram on the way to the concert. (over the soloist's suitcase...) Played before the break and felt the hall swaying and growing dim with every long note and anything above mf. I was lucky that after the break the 1st horn had a bumper, and they agreed the bumper could play 3rd horn and the 1st horn did the concert on her own. By the time I got home my temperature was well over 40 degrees C (do your own maths... )

Of all the wind and brass only one player didn't show up. (Let's not talk about the strings)
Not surprisingly that player never got anywhere as a professional musician. (although I saw him recently on tv. Apparently he's in politics........)[/list]

[Rick Denney]

Who hasn't?

Adrenalin is wonderful stuff. It doesn't last, but it will often get you through a gig.

I've been sick with something about every four or five weeks since October. There was a salmonella infection. Then the southern California flu (same place where I picked up the salmonella). Then severe flu during the Army conference, complete with high fever. And I'm still plugged up from a cold or flu that I've had for 8 days now.

I played a concert at the end of the salmonella episode, when I was weak and dehydrated. I played a Christmas concert with the SC flu. I played in the reading sessions at the Army Conference (foolish, you say? no argument), and I'm headed for rehearsal tonight. The only time I have a problem during an actual performance is when the symptom is diahrrea, which is not to be denied. But after the gig, the bed had better be close.

Rick "ready for this winter to be over" Denney

[sloan]

Yes, I've played a gig while sick.

The concert was on Wednesday, and I had a 101F fever. so, I played.

On Saturday, I was scheduled to play another concert, but this one required a 45 minute drive and my temp was 102F.

so, I cabbed to the ER, and was admitted.

The next day, I "coded".

about a week later, I woke up. [with many morphine-induced dream memories!]

Eventually, all the tubes and needles were disconnected, and I was sent home....a month later I was able to start playing again, after being cleared by the lung specialist.

Listen to your body.

[Tabor]

Pneumonia last year for an extended period of time. It was tough. I was the lone tuba for the concert band and a quintet in the same concert.

I actually fell down when I tried to stand up during a rehearsal for the concert. I just couldn't get a deep breath. For the concert, I took out the old tuba stand, re-evaluated some of my dynamics, phrasing and so on, and made it through without any real problems.

[imperialbari]

The railway band of Korsør plays a New Years concert the second Sunday of January every year at a social center for the elderly.

In 2000 my 19 years older section mate, Ove, and I both were down with high fever flu. I said: I’m the younger and stronger one, I will do the job.

Since then I have had around 50 pneumonias. And I don’t play for real any more.

My love for music hardly can be disputed.

Still my toughly learned experience says: If you are sick, then stay in your bed. No matter how bad a musician you are, a worse substitute can be bought for money.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

[LoyalTubist]

I did one audition 24 hours after proctology surgery and got the position. If you really put your mind to something, and forget what's hurting you, you can do anything.