What I bring with me....

Some of you are young and impressionable and may think what I do is possibly cool and you may want to run around and do cool lighting gigs too.

I must be busy, there is like at least three months between my posts... oh well.

My wife was out of town and I needed something to do so I organized my tool bag and gig case.

I take my tool bag to everywhere. It usually sits in my car when not in use... waiting for its next time to be useful.
Tools are sometimes hard to find at church so it usually stays close by when I am working on a project...
There is at least a 90% chance what I am going to need is in my bag - it makes me feel a bit more confident walking into a room.

Here are a few snazzy pictures:



And its beloved contents:



Yeah, mind blowing, I know!

The List:
>Hammer
>Long philips head screwdriver (great for reaching into Martin 518's
>Klein 10-in-1 screwdriver (if you don't have any tools, start with this one)
>SAE and Metric hex keys (a must if you are going to work on movers)
>Random box cutter thing
>Flash drive (with a few pdfs and show files)
>Locking pliers
>Diagonal pliers
>Needle Nose Pliers
>Linesman pliers
>Wire cutter/stripper
>electric tape
>white board tape
>Crescent wrench with safety (you better show up with this)
>5 pin to 3 pin dmx turnaround
>3 pin to 5 pin dmx turnaround
>Gerber multi tool
>Mini Mag
>(sharpies)
>Grease pen (for writing on gel)
(not pictured but here in spirit)
>Multi-Meter
>Polarity Checker (not pictured)

Thoughts on multi tools:

I will have my little Gerber multi tool on me at all times... that is how nerdy I am. On a show, its nice to have one on you...You maybe on a ladder or away from your bag and need something right there to make the party happen. Whether you buy a Gerber or a Leatherman its up to you, its a great product. Both companies guarantee their multi tools for life. I've sent mine in on more than one occasion with a broken plier and a broken knife. I got a new one in the mail a week later. I have always used Gerbers. I've lost 2 Gerbers in 7 years, which is pretty good I think. I dont feel bad losing a Gerber that I spent $30 on ebay as opposed to a $80 Leatherman Wave I bought new. Gerber's knives always seem kind of dull, Leathermans always seem to rigid. I once owned one of those cool "the pliers pop out with a flick of the wrist" versions of the Gerber... I didn't like it and sold it to a friend. The one I currently own is an older version of the Gerber Evo model.

I really miss my Legend 800, it is missing in action.... Christmas is coming up.

Whatever you decide in a multi tool make sure it at least has these:
>Pliers
>Flat head
>some form of good philips head that wont strip.
>a tweaker (great for older DMX switches)
>knife
>saw... (seriously, this has come in handy on more than one occasion)

Everything else is just icing on the cake...

So yeah.... Next blog I will talk about my super awesome gig case...