Omega-3 does NOT help ....

JamesMCross · Post by **JamesMCross** » 24 Jun 2012 11:34 am

I played an afternoon gig yesterday, 2-6 in Katy, Texas - in the direct sunlight on one of the hottest days yet this year. We were under a couple of fold up tents, but it was still about 200 degrees on my part of the stage.

I take these Omega-3 fish oil pills daily - (why this is exactly I forget) - but since I had to leave the house at 11:30 to make it to the gig in time to get parked, unloaded, and set up for sound check and all I threw my lunchtime supplements into my left shorts pocket, thinking I'd take them whenever I got parked.

But.... I forgot to take them when I got there. I unloaded all my stuff, got all my wires hooked up, ran through a few warm up exercises, fiddled around with my monitor mix, got some bottles of water set up by my amp, then stood up and put my bar into my left pocket and headed back to the car to change my shirt for the show.

When I got to the car I stuck my hand into my pocket to find the fish oil capsule had burst, leaking the stinky oil all over my shorts and my bar. Now I had 15 minutes til show time, no place to wash up, and fish oil on my hand and my bar...! Plus no backup shorts. I wiped the bar off with a cloth, but that just spread the fish oil onto the cloth and onto my other hand..

In a state of near panic, I ran across the pavilion to a restaurant to use their restroom, - it was customers only please - so I ordered a glass of wine and dashed for the men's room, madly scrubbing myself with soapy water and hoping for the best...

I got back to the stage just in time, but I could not get the fish oil smell out of my nostrils while we played 3 1-hour sets in the heat. Everything I touched yesterday now smells like fish oil.. my amp, my monitor mixer, my cell phone, my picks, everything.

I am still soaking my shorts in the wash tub today, and I am afraid to open my pick pouch too...

So I am officially giving up the Omega-3 fish oil supplements, doctor's advice be damned!!! It hasn't done a thing for me.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 24 Jun 2012 12:04 pm

But how do you feel?

Walter Glockler · Post by **Walter Glockler** » 24 Jun 2012 1:50 pm

A British study a while ago came to the conclusion that taking fish oil doesn't do anything.

JamesMCross · Post by **JamesMCross** » 24 Jun 2012 2:12 pm

Well, I've learned that it will stink up my rig pretty good..!! Plus my wife just yelled at me for mixing colors and whites in the washing machine with Clorox...

Mike: I feel better than I have in years, but I'm pretty sure it isn't due to the fish oil!

Lynn Fargo · Post by **Lynn Fargo** » 24 Jun 2012 2:42 pm

Maybe you should have tried washing your bar with the glass of wine you bought.

Well, at least it won't suffer from arthritis or depression.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 24 Jun 2012 2:53 pm

By the way, James, use white vinegar to clean your stuff.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 24 Jun 2012 3:19 pm

Worse than that, how do you explain that smell to your wife.

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 24 Jun 2012 6:45 pm

I have taken the liberty of reporting your exposure to the Texas Poison Control Center. However, why would anyone in Houston take fish pills instead of eating fish?

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 24 Jun 2012 10:37 pm

It seems to work rather well for fish...

Chris Schlotzhauer · Post by **Chris Schlotzhauer** » 25 Jun 2012 4:54 am

People who make bands play in full sunlight on an uncovered stage when it's 100 deg should be arrested.
And I'm SERIOUS!

Bud Angelotti · Post by **Bud Angelotti** » 25 Jun 2012 6:29 am

James - Thats a good story but I got you beat. I once was setting up, bent down to take the steel out of the case and split my pants. That was back in the 70's so it was almost acceptable behavior.

Kirk Eipper · Post by **Kirk Eipper** » 25 Jun 2012 10:58 am

sounds fishy to me.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 25 Jun 2012 5:49 pm

I find that flax oil is just as good, therapeutically, and it doesn't have the foul odor or cause indigestion, as fish oils sometimes do.

YMMV

Steve Allison · Post by **Steve Allison** » 26 Jun 2012 5:12 am

You did order WHITE WINE with the fish?

Brian Hunter · Post by **Brian Hunter** » 26 Jun 2012 5:50 am

YOU WEAR SHORTS ON STAGE???

Kirk Eipper · Post by **Kirk Eipper** » 26 Jun 2012 7:42 am

Brian Hunter wrote:YOU WEAR SHORTS ON STAGE???

This could be.........ahem, problematic?

Brian Hunter · Post by **Brian Hunter** » 26 Jun 2012 8:29 am

Yes. Shorts are not to be worn on stage. It's a live music performance not a bbq.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 26 Jun 2012 8:33 am

Brian Hunter wrote:Yes. Shorts are not to be worn on stage. It's a live music performance not a bbq.

Not unless there are black socks and sandals involved--then, they must be worn!

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 26 Jun 2012 11:22 am

You might know that any story you post no matter how outrageous is going to be out done by someone.
I was playing my usual lake gig real close to the water when the stage collapsed and my PSG slide off into the lake but it was still dangling under water by the cord still plugged into the amp on shore.
It took me a hour to pull the Steel by the cord out of the lake and then I discovered why. I had caught a 112lb catfish.
If it had been my D-10 “Sho-Bud” instead of my little “Stage One” I would have caught a big fish.
Sometimes folks just don’t show up with the right equipment.
That’s what she said!

Disclaimer: This can't be collaborated by witnesses and I may have embellished the story at every opportunity.

Mark Dershaw · Post by **Mark Dershaw** » 26 Jun 2012 11:22 am

Maybe it is a BBQ. I played a gig in the direct sun in August with my 75 Gibson Heritage. Well, at some point there had been a repair on the moustache bridge and the sun caused the glue to release. That next week I went and purchased a 350.00 Ovation for stage use.

JamesMCross · Post by **JamesMCross** » 26 Jun 2012 5:47 pm

Well, it was not a bbq per se, although there was some bbq being served...

At least I wore clean tennis shoes and some reasonably clean socks!

For this particular engagement we agreed ahead of time with our sponsors that we would be dressed very casually due to the oppressive heat, the outdoor venue, and the time of day. So I wore a new pair of shorts and a nice black hawaiian shirt with guitars on it. My shirt was soaked clear through with sweat within 5 minutes of starting though..

My shorts were new, it was the first time I'd worn them. Then I got fish oil in the pocket, and then I ruined them in the washing machine trying to get the damn fish oil out with bleach.

So I guess you're right... shorts are not the proper attire for playing..! $:\$

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 28 Jun 2012 11:52 am

It always amazes me when outdoor events (festivals, bbq's, chile cook-offs, etc.) will, on the hottest days of the year, put the stage (or, as I remember from Texas, semi-trailers) in the blazing sunlight and expect the band to sit there sweltering and play music, while the audience sits in shaded tents or under umbrellas. I think it would be less disrespectful if they just hired a monkey or a dog to do tricks. The same goes for winter when the musicians have to play outside.

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 28 Jun 2012 2:14 pm

After Bass fishing all day, I used Bounce dryer sheets to get the fishy smell off my hands...

Put some in your guitar case and that'll keep your stuff smelling fresh too.

Wipe anything ( bar, handles, picks, etc) that got fishy with them and you'll be a lot happier.

Stuart Legg · Post by **Stuart Legg** » 29 Jun 2012 9:40 am

Bo has learned to dress for the occasion when playing at the lakes on a hot day

Uffe Edefuhr · Post by **Uffe Edefuhr** » 29 Jun 2012 10:03 am

Where is your steel guitar Bo???????????? Lol....
I once played a gig in middle of Sweden in March out in a ski slope, it was 12,2 degrees Farenheit/-11 degrees Celsius. When the light came on it suddenly was around +25 degrees Celsius/77 degrees Farenheit. Have a guess how my steel guitar was responding to that temeratur change? I did not wear shorts either.
Uffe