Protect the Stage!

On November 23, 2014, Agustin Briolini, the lead singer of a band called Krebs, was on stage in Argentina and committed a deadly act—he grabbed a microphone. It was an ordinary mic, except that there was enough contact voltage, possibly between his guitar strings and the microphone, that the simple act of touching the mic allowed deadly current to flow through his body. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Unfortunately, this is a scenario that is too often repeated. You don’t have to look too hard to find stories and videos online of singers being badly shocked or electrocuted, like Nolberto Alkalá (http://youtu.be/QqTiIeyRYdU), Frankie Palmeri of Emmure (http://youtu.be/DU8lDvI2RuE), or Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory (http://bit.ly/CG-shocked). And that’s just in the last two years, and it doesn’t include countless backline techs who have horror stories to tell about their shock experiences.

What if there was a device that could fit in the palm of your hand, cost less than a good microphone cable, and was quick and easy to install, that prevent these types of accidents? Would you, as a trained live event professional, use it?