The very first time I saw a rocker slam his guitar on the stage floor and break it into a zillion pieces, I thought to myself "What an Ahole!" If you're not good enough to entertain a crowd with your musical skills, you really don't belong on stage. But what the Hell do I know?

Gary

I hate the destruction of musical instruments. There are so many players who would love to have them. The worst case I have heard of recently was Tarantino making the movie "The Hateful Eight". The Martin guitar museum loaned him a 145 year old Martin acoustic guitar that was priceless. There was a scene where Kurt Russel smashes the guitar so Martin also gave him copies of the guitar to smash. Tarantino being the jerk he is didn't call cut before the smashing to have the guitar changed for one of the copies and allowed Russell to simply smash the priceless antique. It was reported that Tarantino smirked as it happened. What an a****** He allowed it to happen for the shock value and publicity. I will never watch one of his movies. Martin now refuse to loan their museum guitars to Hollywood sets now.

I forgot about that story of the Martin. Unforgivable ! I was always taught to take care of my possessions so that just hits me the wrong way.

I have always felt that you should care more about someone else's property than you do your own ...

I totally agree with the stupidity of "trashing" musical instruments and mics on purpose.

Jerry Lee Lewis. One evening about 50 years ago, the scene was a restaurant with upstairs bar in Hot Springs, Arkansas. As I recall, racing season was in full swing and Jerry Lee Lewis was performing at a nightly gig at the bar upstairs. My wife and I were entering the foyer of the place and had just followed our friends to the escalator. About halfway, shots rang out from upstairs and Jerry Lee came running down the stainless steel sides of the escalator at full tilt, quickly followed by a hail of gunfire from a jealous husband. Naturally, we ducked and dodged as best we could and it was amazing that nobody in the place was hit or injured in the pandemonium.

That sure gave us plenty to remember and be grateful for whenever someone would bring up that event.

Dave Rice

I read that on his Russian tour, Billy Joel flipped his Yamaha Piano over at the end of the show, (it broke) and offered to leave it for them as a souvenir. They told him to take his trash home. I think it's hanging from the ceiling of the Hard Rock Cafe in NY now.
There's nothing cool about trashing gear. Nothing makes me more crazy than spoiled, entitled, show biz folks, using the platform of entertainment to showcase their own personal agendas, or insecurities that have nothing to do with show biz. This is MY craft. MY art, and I resent anyone diminishing it's validity.

I've had my personal mics and guitars abused intentionally many times. Recently, it's drunks at a country club grabbing my mic (sometimes when I'm using it), making their stupid announcement and then tossing it.

I went in last week, and a drunken member had pried open my case and was beating on an acoustic Parker guitar. Since it costs $75,000.00 to join, with dues of about $25,000.00, they think they'll just replace the damaged goods, not realizing that it is the personal attachment that makes a lot of difference. I now have a sign that tells people not to touch any equipment.

That won't stop it (these folks thing they're invincible)but may help.

Russ

P.S. I told the moron last week that if it happened again, I'd give him a guitatrectomy.

Many times establishments have told me I could leave my equipment in the back room---"It will be Safe".

I never leave it behind. I always take my equipment with me, where I know it will be safe.

Well meaning individuals offer to help carry my equipment. I let them carry the mic stands, music stands etc. The expensive stuff is always handle by only me.

Better safe than sorry.

Jerryghr

I learned my lesson 30 years ago about leaving gear on the job. It was the American Legion in Havre de Grace, Maryland, where I played every Friday night and was scheduled for a crab feat party the following day. I came in to see a pitcher of beer sitting atop the keyboard on the cloth cover. I picked up the pitcher and threw it in the trash can next to the bar and gave a look to the barmaid that would have dropped most folks in their tracks. I never again left gear on the job.

Russ, you need an inexpensive cattle fence zapper surrounding your gear - 50,000-volts really gets someone's attention. Seriously, I would not perform at a place where folks with that mentality congregate. Sounds as if the only thing they care about is themselves, and the world is filled with individuals of that caliber. There are lots and lots of nicer places to perform.

Good luck,

Gary

Years ago with the band in NY were playing monthly dances for a particular group ... one night one of the members comes up to us and says he has a friend who wants to sing ... the guy comes on stage and intros himself as "Lightning Larry" - I still don't know why - then he grabbed our most expensive mic and did a couple of 'Little Richard' songs and during the last one, swung the mic around by the wire, letting more wire out with each revolution ... one of the guys grabbed it just before it was going to slam into the floor ... the following week we went out ant bought the cheapest mic we could find for any future 'guest singers' ... BTW way - "Lightning Larry" only struck us ONCE !!! ...