Last night on the Grammys, fun performed their hit "Carry On" in the early part of the awards show, electrifying the crowd when, halfway through the song, simulated rain fell on the set as Nate Ruess amped up his performance. But that rain wasn't comprised of simulated water, so how did fun. avoid electrocuting themselves in front of a live music hall and national T.V. audience?
Stories about singers, and occasionally guitarists getting electrocuted during a performance are not as popular as bizarre deaths involving vomit or a ham sandwich, but they're out there.
"Les" Harvey of the 70s band (and at one time opener for Led Zeppelin) Stone the Crows, died on stage in 1972 when he touched a badly grounded microphone with wet hands. Ace Frehley of KISS almost died in 1976 during a performance in Florida, when he touched a metal rail, closing the electrical circuit with his guitar. John Jeremiah Sullivan unsettlingly opened an essay in his 2011 book Pulphead talking about the electrocution of his brother on stage.
After knowing those cases, watch the fun. performance and try not to get nervous.
Still, they survived, thanks to technological innovations and good stage electricians. Most of the electrocutions that happen due to short-circuited musical or public address equipment happen due to an improper electrical setup and common sense safety. Microphones, sound systems, and amps all have that third-prong grounding line that has to be part of setting up the system.
Microphones and guitars are always connected to the ground line, and if that line isn't actually used ("earth-grounded") freak short-circuits happen when the current finds a better ground, like a metal rail or a pool of baptismal water.
Rock stars aren't the only ones in danger: occasionally, pastors are electrocuted while performing baptisms on stage with a mic. But how to be safe when you water is integral to your performance, like with baptisms and Fun?
Here's where the technological innovation comes in. From Behind the Mixer, a website dedicated to providing resources to churches on how to use their audio equipment: Of their five pieces of advice for safe baptisms (number one is to yell), three involve wireless mics.
These, you may have noticed in the Grammys clip, are what fun used in their performance, along with wireless transmitters for their guitars. Wireless mics can't kill you if short-circuited because they usually run on 9V batteries. Ever buzzed your tongue by licking both connectors on a 9V? That's a short-circuit. In addition, the mics had foam covers to help avoid even the barest shock, and the piano player played a piano - one of those old-fashioned instruments where the only danger associated with it is getting your knuckles slammed.