K.. this is really rare.. but ever show up to a gig and suddenly realize you left a piece of equipment at home? You start in 15 minutes and driving home is not an option because its a 30 minute drive. So put on your McGyver hat and come up with something fast..
This happened twice over about 20 years - and last night was one of them!
The first time I forgot my hihat stand.. so I stuck the cymbals on a cymbal stand and clamped them together. Just used accents in place of open close.
.. and last night, I stripped down my kit to a basic 'one up one down' tom setup.. and left a few cymbals out - including the stand attached to the mounted tom holder.
Get to the gig and NO TOM HOLDER! So what to do..
Solution:
- my floor tom is mounted on a spike/stand, so I used the spike/stand for the side tom. Now what to do about the floor tom???
- I found a plastic milk crate in the bar kitchen and sat the tom on the open end... sounded great - just resting on the rims and the right height. Then needed a way to keep the tom from sliding off. Don't like duct tape, and wire or string not available - so stuck an upright drum stick in each corner of the crate holes.. so it was pinned in place.Then found a door stop to slide underneath to angle it a bit. Problem solved!
Any other goofy McGyverisms you've had to improvise with over the years?
This happened twice over about 20 years - and last night was one of them!
The first time I forgot my hihat stand.. so I stuck the cymbals on a cymbal stand and clamped them together. Just used accents in place of open close.
.. and last night, I stripped down my kit to a basic 'one up one down' tom setup.. and left a few cymbals out - including the stand attached to the mounted tom holder.
Get to the gig and NO TOM HOLDER! So what to do..
Solution:
- my floor tom is mounted on a spike/stand, so I used the spike/stand for the side tom. Now what to do about the floor tom???
- I found a plastic milk crate in the bar kitchen and sat the tom on the open end... sounded great - just resting on the rims and the right height. Then needed a way to keep the tom from sliding off. Don't like duct tape, and wire or string not available - so stuck an upright drum stick in each corner of the crate holes.. so it was pinned in place.Then found a door stop to slide underneath to angle it a bit. Problem solved!
Any other goofy McGyverisms you've had to improvise with over the years?
