If You Think it's Easy Read This

[Offshore Angler]

As some here know, the band I was playing for experienced tragedy recently when the lead singer passed away unexpectedly. Because of contractual obligations, we have to do a show without him this evening. We have a stand-in for him and we decided that we would make it a great show in his honor.

In the meantime, I've been playing with a regional band who the leader singer is a great friend and honestly, the band is pretty hot. Since my calendar had opened up he was booking solid 2 shows a week. Friday night we did and outdoor show and I could tell he was struggling. He just seemed "off" and during the break I made sure he was hydrated and asked if he was OK. We managed to get through the show and we all told him if he needed to cancel Saturday's show no problem. He insisted he was OK and he wanted to do the show. Last night during the first half of the show it was readily apparently something was wrong. Bad wrong. I stopped the show and asked him how he was doing and he basically said that after the show he may need to go to urgent care. I won't elaborate on the symptoms but yes, something was clearly going on.

I told him "No, you're going to the hospital right now". There was a hospital about 5 minutes away and we had him driven there while we tore down. Very early this morning I got the news that he had a serious brain issue that wasn't a stroke and I'll leave it at that. They had transferred him to a bigger city hospital where a neurosurgeon was waiting. At this point I have no update on his condition.

Here's the thing about being a working guitarist. Today I'll earn my money by compartmentalizing, putting all this away for a while and go out and do a good show. This is the reality of "Life on the road." If you have a band and a crew, there's a good chance that at any time someone in your troupe is dealing with stuff. I guess that's why they call in "banding together."

Chuck

 

[Tubes 'n Wood]

A band becomes family... prayers for all involved.

 

[dwagar]

I hope your show goes okay tonight, it's hard to keep going when you're dealing with loss.

 

[LeonC]

Good friend of mine had a stroke at a gig earlier this year. Fortunately, 1) he was playing in a town with a decent hospital, 2) they got him off to the hospital immediately and 3) the paramedics knew how to deal with this and got him started with blood thinners, etc. straightaway. It's now several months later and he's back gigging again, having regained about 90% of his abilities. He feels like he'll be able to get a bit more back still, though maybe not 100%.

He's one of the *really* lucky ones...while he was in the hospital the doctors did a lot more testing and told him that there was very clear evidence that he had had several strokes previously--they could see the damage. I reminded him that over the last year or two, he had told me about a couple "spells" in which he had a terrible migraine and one "spell" in which he was all of sudden forgetting lyrics and parts to songs he'd been playing for 20+ years.

So sometimes, the issues don't make themselves all that clear in super-obvious way. You really have to be your own advocate and be honest with yourself.

Best of luck to your friends/associates @Offshore Angler, hope they're able to pull through. Getting old ain't for sissies...

 

[Bob Womack]

I told him "No, you're going to the hospital right now".

Chuck

You, sir, are the best kind of friend/associate. You knew when to put everything else aside and save your friend's life. Bravo!

Bob