Karaoke Forums

It finally happened! I made it 4 years without any incidents of anyone spilling anything on my equipment. I am usually very quick to derail drunks who are getting too close to my equipment with drinks in their hands.

But tonight, one got through. The extremely drunk lady (a regular) was singing and at the end of her song as she is handing me the mic with one hand, she lifts her other hand carrying her drink right over my desk and spills the whole thing directly on my laptop and dj controller! If looks could kill, she would have been dead a thousand times over!!!! I ran to the bar and grabbed some towels, came back and started wiping my laptop and dj gear off while filler music was still playing.

To my surprise, I was able to wipe all the liquids off and keep on with the show. I was lucky. The liquids did not shut down my system.

For the rest of the night, I was in EXTREME CAUTION mode towards my gear. If you got even 3 feet within my vicinity with a drink in your hand, I was giving you the evil eye!

Had it happen a few years back, someone wasn't even really near my stuff, but tripped & her beer went flying and hit my mixer. Channels started dying 1 by one, I was able to limp by the rest of the night playing music in the 2 remaining channels, but singing was over. I brought it in to have it serviced, paid for it out of pocket & she did actually pay for it even though I did not ask her to, accidents DO happen.

Also had a host accidently spill his soda into another mixer YEARS ago, that prompted a new rule for when running equipment that all liquids needed to be on the table off to the side of all equipment (smokes too).

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Yes, I am soooooo thankful that she didn't spill it on my mixer. That would have killed the show, I'm sure. I saw that happen to another kj here in town. Boy was his pissed off!!! I don't blame him.

I just feel really lucky right now.

Most of the shows i go to have a rule that all drinks including pop or whatever must remain at your table, NO exceptions. and this is enforced in a very firm, but friendly manner.


-James

Glad you got through with no immediate melt downs.
I suggest you get in the devices as quickly as possible. Get the keyboard out of the laptop and get as much out of the case as you can. It's usually only a few screws to get the keyboard out. Issues can sometimes take a while with these kinds of things. You might want to consider replacing the keyboard. Many times, replacements can be purchased for $10 or so and it could mean the different between a set of keys suddenly going out during a show. Open the strip connections and make sure you don't have any gunk in them. Make sure all moisture is completely out before putting it back together.

As for the controller, you might want to get it looked at if you don't feel comfortable looking at it yourself.

I never used a true computer for my shows. I had a firm rule no liquids at the stage, fortunately I played in California so smoking was never a problem, that was all done outside or in a special room. They would ask why no drinks, I told them the amp put out 500 watts per channel and I didn't want them to get a perm with their song. That was enough, again consistency on the rules. You let one person come up with a drink they all will do it.

Once when I first started hosting I went to other shows to see how other hosts conducted themselves. They had a KJ at the bowling alley with a pretty rowdy crowd. He had so he said 30,000.00 dollars worth of equipment going. Some guy had two pitchers of beer in his hands and came up to the work area for some reason and fell depositing the contents into the equipment, needless to say that was the end of the show.

No liquids on stage, ever. That's just asking for trouble. Drunks don't think and "I'm sorry" is not accepted as payment at Guitar Center.

I agree no drinks as that can cause damage, but smoking is fine. That doesn't have an effect on the equipment. I like to have a fag when I am on stage singing so I can have a puff or two in instrumental breaks.

I did a neighborhood party last Sunday and it was outdoors in our community park. It was warm and sunny so I set up in the shade. Well I didn't get any drinks spilled on my equipment but I did have a "present" left on my keyboard by a feathered friend. Fortunately it was a small present.

Even with rules about no drinks near the equipment, drunks will do their best to get through. I have them come up and lean over my table to talk to me with a beer in their hand and I tell them they need to step back and they always say, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. I play in a band so I know about this stuff," all the while their drink is tipping farther and farther......

I have been thinking I need those plexiglass sneeze guards they have at buffets to put over my table. I have my table set up perpendicular to the crowd so if anyone wants to talk to me they can just slip in at the side behind the table but they make a big detour to the front so they can lean over my mixer. But so far, knock on wood, the only incident was when a fight erupted on stage several years ago and beers were flying. We threw ourselves over everything and held on.

Gee L&L sounds like the country bar The Blues Brothers Band played at in the first movie. The stage had a chicken coupe wire fence in front of it to keep the bottles from hitting the band, the broken glass and beer still was getting through.

I can totally relate to everything you just said here. I have mine set up the same way as you but I don't understand the need for people to stand in front of my table and try to lean over my equipment to talk to me. Last night, another lady leaned in so far that she practically closed my laptop with her leaning. So many times I have to motion them or just plain grab them and drag them to the side away from the equipment. One lady came to the side and then held her drink over my laptop while she was talking to me and I quickly but very carefully grabbed her arm and moved her glass away from my equipment and she got offended saying, "Oh don't worry. I am not going to spill anything on your equipment. I know how expensive it is. I'm not stupid!"

Yeah? Well if you're not stupid, then you should know that accidents do happen and by you trying to hold your drink over my gear, you are greatly increasing the chances of an accident happening. Okay, rant over.

Sometimes I wonder if all of this leaning is so innocent? Seems to me if someone wanted to get their foot in the door having a girlfriend or just a friend take out you laptop, could be a ploy. I guess I have an evil mind.

Never been a problem where I've gone, if someone starts going near the host, the staff will just escort them back to there table.

One host that is now retired used to do it himself, didn't even wait for them to get to the equipment, he would just walk up to them and say 'you either need to leave that drink at your table, or leave the bar, you're choice"

-James

I know that many of you have said things in the past regarding what you would do IF this ever happened to you. This question goes out to those of you that this has happened to, AND damage actually did occur to your equipment... What have you done? Did you attempt to collect payment from the person who did the damage (being drunk is not an excuse to avoid paying for damages caused), or did you make the Venue pay for the damages, or did you bite the bullet and pay for it yourself?

I don't allow liquids or smokes on stage either, however accidents do happen. Again, the one that got my mixer was no where even near it.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

If a drunk damaged my equipment, I would knock him on the ground. Then I would take a chair and smash it over his head. And finally, while he lay unconscious on the ground, I would set him on fire. That'll show 'em.

_________________
Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

What is the drunk was an overweight female?

I know you were trying to be humorous (thus the emoticon), but I didn't ask what if? I asked if it actually happened and what did you do? I really am curious about if it actually happened to anyone, and what actions they took to recoop financially.

wait...are you my ex-wife?

for the drinks over the gear, i move their arm away, they say "i wont spill it" i tell them i am not worried about that, i am worried about the drunk that will bump into you and spill it for you.
that makes them feel decent that i think they are sober and not worried about them.

_________________
Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens