Handling Humidity

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:22 pm

My band had a great gig last night - we played a rocking club called Looker's in Beardstown, IL, overlooking the river. It was July hot, though.

Problem was, there was no Air Conditioning in the joint. We were booked for 4 sets. After the first set, I was drenched in sweat, and my hands were sticking to my 4003 - bad. Thinking back to some past advice, I applied baby powder to my hands to try to help the moisture situation.

It didn't help. In fact, it felt like I was Fred Bilitnikoff playing with StickUm for the rest of the show. The hand fatigue was no fun. No matter what I did, it just stayed Bad all night. Has anyone else endured this type of situation? Suggestions???

pflash4001 · Post by **pflash4001** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 9:36 pm

I live in south Texas...Hot as hell down here. I think we hit 110 today. We played a festival a week ago. They set up 2 flatbeds as a stage and had them on the OPPOSITE side of the area from the only 2 trees that could have offered any relief. The weather was about the same as today and we had to set up at 4:00 pm. It was hell. You just have to drink lots of water, get used to it and unfortunately, avoid the beer. That will really screw you up when you start pissing out all your water. Oh, and I would say pray for a light breeze, but around here that feels like you are standing in front of a giant hair dryer.

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Sun Jul 10, 2005 11:38 pm

Javi and I are from the same hot little "pueblo" (can you say Devil's Navel?).

I've come to the conclusion that there's only so much you can do if you suffer from sweaty hands. I personally perspire bucketfuls, but fortunately don't have sweaty hands. I would suggest having a towel handy, and maybe some alcohol wipes to help keep your hands clean. My technique usually doesn't place much more than the pad of my thumb up against the back of the neck anyway, so stickiness isn't much of an issue. However, once you get sweat mixed with dust that's blowing around in the breeze, ick!

If things are just way out of control (and I mean WAY out of control, cause this is a drastic fix...), consider changing the finish on the back of the neck to a satin or oil finish. Gloss finished necks are the worst when it comes to stickiness.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:52 am

Just bring some fans, Y'all!! I have 3 that go on stage, one for me, one for lead guitarist and one for drummer. Lead singer doesnt get one.

4003360man · Post by **4003360man** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:32 am

I would suggest going to a sporting goods store and buying a bucketload of cheap sweat bands. Thenm, instead of putting them on your wrist, put them over your palm.

The terrycloth breathes, and you should be able to get through a few songs before they become to wet. Just wipe your hands off on a towel after each song, and slip another sweat band over your palm when the band gets to wet.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 9:54 am

Yeah, towels are good too. Just ask Elvis

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:34 pm

Thanks, guys. Actually, wet wouldn't probably have been so bad - I think the baby powder made it worse. Instead of drying my hands out, it formed some sorta cake. Yuck. Thanks for the ideas, I am definitely bringing a fan if nothing else.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:03 pm

If you've ever seen the episode of Friends with Ross and the leather pants, it might make you think twice about the baby powder

Yeah, I am a big fan of just using fans and towels, no telling what the baby powder or whatever else will do to your instrument.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:15 pm

I always use the long style wrist bands on both wrists and keep a towel hanging from my waist when I'm gigging or even just rehearsing.

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:36 am

I remember playing a outdoor gig in Crockett, Texas a little more than a year and a half ago. It was so hot that day, everyone was miserable. It had to be well over 100 degrees that day, and 130 in the restrooms!!! I was so glad when that was over! There was just no way to keep cool in that kind of heat and humidity, not good for the instruments either.