Stage Diving -
Is The Risk Worth The Rush?
Written by Jasmine D. Giles Photos by Clint Burton
What is Stage Diving, you ask? Ehem...well… Stage Diving – by my personal definition–is when a person becomes so overwhelmed and inspired by the musical beats and rhythms coursing through their veins, that the soul is compelled to take over ones own rationale at a concert. This person then gets up on stage, launches him/herself into to crowd and relies on the power of compassion that a crowd of strangers will catch them. In layman terms, it’s like catching the Holy Ghost at a concert!
The act of stage diving has been going on for decades. Before some of us were even thought about being born, artists such as Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison were taking the plunge and risking injury to themselves and their makeshift safety net fans for the opportunity to go beyond the greatness they already possessed to obtain human contact. Other music artists such as Fred Durst from rock group, Limp Bizkit, to hip hop artist, Method Man dove into the abyss of uncertainty within a concert audience.
What goes through the mind of the person about to jump? Maybe it’s “Oh f#*k!” Maybe it’s just “Now I’ll know how a flying squirrel feels!” There seems to be a moment of slight obliviousness to the scenarios of either, A: you’re going to seriously injure yourself and possibly die, or B: the people you land on will be seriously injured or die. Whatever they may be thinking, it sure doesn’t put a screeching halt on the execution of the leap. One of the most the epic Stage Dives would have to go to the 68-ft drop by lead vocalist of the rock band Boy Hits Car, Cregg Rondell, in 2005 at K-Rockathon 10 in Weedsport, NY. On the website, Syracuse.com, Rondell had been quoted saying:
"I was stuck, and the whole crowd was chanting 'Jump, jump, jump!' Looking back, it seems my choices were to wait for the fire department and a long enough ladder, or charge it."
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