The Steel Guitar Forum

Has anyone ever had an drunken bar patron fall and break their instrument? What did you do? Send a bill to the bar owner? How bad was yours damaged?

It happened to me. This guy had his head shaved except for a one inch square, which had a three foot long dread braid sprouting from it. He was doing some kind of solo dancing, some kind of LSD ballet /Kung Fu drunken spinning and hopping like a whirling dervish. He crashed into my steel, dislodged the pedal bar, and caused the end plates to separate from the body where the screws attached. I was screwed. If was a dark dive bar, and I couldn't really assess the damage quickly. The guy disappeared, and the bar refused to accept any responsibility. They said "it's between you and the drunk guy"
I knew I wasn't going to get anything out of them. I fixed it the best I could, and sold it at a loss. It's allways creeped me out when there is minimal protection between me and the crowd, but I'm not sure if I could totally avoid it. Aside from dive bars, you might be playing a high dollar function, like a wedding or whatever, with no bandstand. It can happen in the blink of an eye. To say I'll never play a certain type of gig again would be very limiting, unrealistic in this market.
The fact that we can't move, once set up, puts us at risk.

Bronson Bergeson wrote:Has anyone ever had an drunken bar patron fall and break their instrument? What did you do? Send a bill to the bar owner? How bad was yours damaged?

Where did this happen, Bronson? It almost happened to me years and years ago at a rough biker bar we used to play at quite regularly. Fortunately I saw the guy coming out of the corner of my eye, and was barely able to scoot clear while dragging my old push-pull along with me. Took a glancing shot, but those 85-pound Emmonses are tough. From that point on, whenever we played that joint, I played 6-string lap steel and left the D-10 at home. The guys in the band were not thrilled, but they understood.

Buddy Charlton once told me that after they had finished a job once, they were standing in a line with Ernest while he signed autographs. This rather large lady was standing in front of Buddy's guitar which he was standing behind when she got tired of standing and began to sit on top of his guitar. Well, he said some choice words to her and said Ernest told him later, Bud, I can't blame you but perhaps you should have choosen a better way of saying it.

I just paid my instrument insurance which covers damage . I have been in plenty of situations where my steel is in danger from drunk morons. Sometimes they are in the band. I punched out an annoying drunk singer on stage one time when he wouldn't stop his rock star bash into the steel player routine. It was a big show too. The crowd loved it and thought it was part of the show. The steel bar makes an impressive equalizer as it turns out.

I am pretty sensitive about people bumping into my steel or trying to move it for me.

Years ago in New Bern, North Carolina, I played a New Years bash for a friend fronting his new band. I drank a bit back then. Ordered a rum and coke, the barmaid got jostled by a dancer and poured it right on top of my steel. Wiped it up and finished the night. Guess I was to lit to care.

Many years ago when I had a S-10 ZB custom, it came to break time and the Bass player came to talk to me with his cigarette in his mouth. A lump of hot ash fell onto the lovely stained finish and burnt the lacquer.I have a short fuse and used a few choice words I never even knew existed. But in the end it was an accident, and I just let it go. Some players actually like their steels to look beat up. I remember Jeff Newman saying in an article once that he likes "funky" steels that show they've been used. I saw a youtube clip on Robert Randolph showing off all his toys on stage. His Fessendon looked really beat up

Micky "scars" Byrne

Well once I got drunk and smashed myself into MY steel. Didn't hurt the steel, but I broke a nail. Ouch!

Had a knee-walking drunk lead singer from another local band barge his way onto the our stage and grab a mic. As he bobbed, weaved and maniacally danced in front of me, I sensed danger and readied myself.

He lost his balance an started to slowly fall backward into my steel. I stood up, applied my shoulder into his back and pushed him forward just past vertical.

Like a hewn tree, he continued to fall forward and finally off the 4' stage, crashing to the floor below. All 3 of our amp reverbs emitted a simultaneous shot gun like crack when he bounced off the dance floor. I never looked down and didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

About 3 weeks later I saw him on-stage with his band wearing a short arm cast

i dont know how it was back in the 'old days' - but i find more and more, as bars cut out live music, when they DO have a band, you are set up in some corner on the floor right next to the bathroom hallway - which is where the drunks congregate. luckily i have only witnessed a girl vomit on the guitar players strat, which i found amusing...and ironic. being the steel player you usually crammed into the tightest spot, but at least have a line of front defense.

i dont miss the bar/club scene one bit.

Makes me feel lucky. My only collision was a drunk couple capsized on the dance floor into the pedal rods of my steel. Her head bent 5, 6 and 7.

Years ago, they used to have a little portable 'steel porch' at Ginny's Little Longhorn in Austin. It was a small platform raised up about the width of a 2 x 4 off the floor and it had a reinforced rail in front.

The old Ginny's had the stage on the floor in the back and the dancers occasionally danced into the steel. I think Ricky Davis may have had it built back when he was still with Dale Watson, or maybe Don Pawlak later. Not sure, but it stayed around there for a long time, chained up to the fence out by the chicken coop.

If you needed it, you got one of the bartenders to give you the key so you could go unlock it and bring it in. I used it a few times..

Found a pic... nice!! That looks like Don. Every bar should have one..

Unfortunately, in New Orleans, the majority of jobs are in bar rooms. Yes, we have great festivals and private functions, but the bands need to play the bar rooms as well. You likely won't get the following if your not out working live music venues. Some are fine, with nice high bandstands, many are not.
In this market, the revenue which pays your rent, is generated by alcohol sales. That comes with some risk. I try to minimize it, but it's there. In the places where the crowd gets too close, it is a real distraction.

I have had many people bump into and fall over my steel thru the years but the one that really sticks out was a lady that someone threw up on the stage and she came straight over the top of me and my steel. This was back when I sat on a step stool with ladder rungs on it. Somehow my legs were both caught up in the rungs and bent back under me with the weight of this lady and my steel on top. With everyone laughing hysterically and inebriated it took some time to get me free. I was completely locked up and could not move to either side to escape. I always am on guard now ready to push anyone back that is close to me. Playing Senior Citizen dances is as bad as a bar full of drunks, believe me.

Bronson, I would say your best bet of recovering damages would be small claims court. A little hassle, but worth the education and the few hours you would spend in court. If your like me,it took many more hours than that earning a wage to buy your steel.Did you get the offenders name? Could the bar owner get it? I would say getting the bar owner to replace it would be a long shot,unless he is an incredibly understanding, or if he was afraid of being held responsible for serving a falling down drunk, which he probably is not.
I have no doubt you would win in small claims court. Whether you would ever see the money who knows? Maybe the drunk would be willing to follow the law and do right thing when sober. Or he might decide to pay down the road if he wants to clean up his credit.

Bob Hoffnar wrote:I just paid my instrument insurance which covers damage.

The steel bar makes an impressive equalizer as it turns out.

Please tell us more about this Bob. What does insurance run? Does it cover theft?
Way to go with the steel fist Bob!!!

Don, I use Heritage insurance for my gear. They are pretty helpful so far. I haven't filed a claim yet though.

The jumping singer developed a sudden charley horse in his upper right leg rendering him unable to continue annoying me. He finished the show limping around the other side of the stage. He knew he was being a dick so we ended up laughing about it after the concert.

Bob Hoffnar wrote:The steel bar makes an impressive equalizer as it turns out.

Indeed. I am 5'5", 120 lbs on my biggest day.
Steel bar has come in handy as a potential self-dedense weapon. Never been in a fight, so who knows.

But have been thankful to have the bar. You're pretty vulnerable when stuck behind the steel. When some of those "gigs as war" situations come up, things can get weird...

j

I was playing at the Red Lion Inn in Kelso, WA, when an seriously overweight (and seriously drunk) woman crashed into my steel. Since I was playing non-pedal (D8 Fender Stringmaster), it collapsed the front legs, but no other damage. They bounced her, and the rest of the gig went much better.

One time I was playing in a Pentecostal church, when one of the good sisters got in the spirit and FELL over the guardrail on my guitar. It didn't hurt THE guitar, mainly because I kept her from putting all her weight on the guitar.
Another time this happened to me,, while PLAYING in a dive and old gal got on the bandstand and was attempting to sing,, she almost sat on my guitar while stumbling back. I managed to catch her by the cheeks of her butt, you might say it was ass lifting experience.

Willie Sims

1. Always watch out
2. Double on guitar.
Just make sure its a Telecaster!

Clete, you stole my line.

I have definitely used a Telecaster like a cattle prod to keep pesky drunk audience or band members away from me. It does not hurt that I'm 6'4", 200 lb, have a long reach, and am a positively mean SOB when you start messing around with my guitars.

Heritage insurance seems to be highly regarded. Plan on an annual cost of about $100 for $10k of gear. Approximately.

I too have encountered the irresponsible morons that seem to migrate to the steel in order to do their 'thing'. I once left in the middle of the dance and went home. I took it to the AFM and they rules in my favor.

BUT..........what has irritated me most is when one's wife stacks an entire load of folded laundry atop the strings. Gee's.........

I learned early on how and WHEN to grab the back legs and be ready to stand up to a crouch while pushing the legs forward. Even then, all bets are off if it's 700# of cowboy + heifer fallin' on you.

I played in a bar in Whitman AZ back in the day for a Halloween party. First set this portly gal was pretty well gone. She slipped came towards my steel, an old MSA Uni Tank, and got her head lodged between the 3rd and 4th pedal rods. There she was like a cow in the barn except she couldn't get up and just kept going backwards. My steel was going with her as I sat there on my seat. Some patrons finaly got her to settle down and dislodged her head from the steel. They asked us back a couple weeks after Halloween, the people looked even scarier in their civies. MSA was unscathed.