I was informed in February by my music teacher that there was a person asking about musicians to play at a nearby waterfront festival, so she told the person about our quintet. She'd given the person the number of our guitar player to negotiate something out.

The deal was "paid, a couple hours" at the time. Decent enough, since the gig is almost 5 months away. I let this go and let our guitarist take care of the situation. A couple months pass and we find out the person we had been dealing was fired, and some new lady is now organizing the music. She does not return our guitar player's phone calls.

...sketch, ne? Well, she continued this practice until apparently today. That's right, guys -- the gig's a week and a half away, from my conversation with the guitarist. Guess what's new with her? Apparently they have no budget for entertainment.

Let's weigh in...

Sax player won't do it (he lives almost an hour away from the gig and it's unpaid) so our quintet is now a quartet
Instantly, our amount of ready material is cut down dramatically.
Three members of our "quartet" have jobs, and it's a nightmare trying to get together for a practice so we can't actually get the full two hours of material ready for this.
I'll have to take it off work, which means I'm instantly out $50.
The guitarist still committed the band to play without consulting anyone else (this isn't the first time he's done this for an unpaid gig -- flashback to this past Friday.)

This is partially a vent, so I'll make this a legitimate question...

Is there actually a way I can say "no" strong enough for him to actually understand how incredibly inappropriate and stupid this is? We've been jerked around and treated with tremendous disrespect by these people, and now they expect us to play for two hours for free? He claims it's "publicity," but we've been playing out for a year now, and he's milked that card too many times -- not to mention, I actually consider us pretty decent, and have some pride in our "product." You don't see people giving out quality merchandise on the street, and I don't think we should be giving out our quality work for free.

...
Is there actually a way I can say "no" strong enough for him to actually understand how incredibly inappropriate and stupid this is?...

Probably not. They already undervalue what you do. Just tell them "I'm sorry, we're professionals, and we can't afford to work for free."

It sounds to me like the only one who agreed to play for free was the guitar player. So, tell him he's got a 2 hour solo set to fill....

If he continues to book for free, that's what people are going to come to expect from your band.

Maybe your guitar player let himself be talked into playing for free by a corporate goon, and then pulls the publicity BS in order to avoid losing face. In that case, a little talk with him would be appropriate: let him know that he made a mistake, but that it's okay if he doesn't do it again and if he calls the festival to tell them to **** themselves.

Man, my blood pressure increased significantly when I read your post! :mad: :mad: :mad: What's wrong with people?

Let him know that you can't make it for that bread and he should call a sub.

Politely tell him you won't work(?) for free and not to expect you on the stand....if that's your inclination. This topic has been visited before and resulted in some pretty heateddiscussions. Ultimately, the final solution is whether you want to play the gig or not for free. There's no harm in bowing out if you feel strongly against doing it, particularly if the guitarist didn't discuss it with you. Good luck.

Aaron,

Next time you get one of these "exposure" gig "opportunities" tell whomever that wants your services "For Free" that you'll gladly oblige them at your next practice. Then give them directions. And tell them to bring their own eats.

That exposure dosen't help too much when you stop to get gas at $3.00 a gallon. And if they say they'll feed you, tell them you have food at home.

I'm glad you are getting some of this advice here, from folks who've already been "used" in this manner. You're young, and there's no need in you taking some of this same abuse. Stand up for yourselves, be respectful to those folks who may want you to play "for free" and seek out the paying gigs. Being rude to those who will "use" you, will help you in no way. Actually, they may be enlightened.

Do your homework. Figure in travel time, practice time, instrument investment, gas, food, the list goes on. You can get some of your investment back.

Let us know what you do. We're all curious about your potential guitar player's response.

Next time a promoter/agent says "This is good exposure." Tell them "People die of exposure."

Well, since the sax player DID end up playing (he has as much of an issue with unpaid gigs as I do) and in the interest of NOT being bitched at all summer, I played the gig.

In any case, everything as far as contact with them, organization of the event, etc., was a NIGHTMARE leading up to it. We didn't even know if we were going to have a PA until we got there. Anyway, it turns out there was, in fact, a PA, we DID get paid in the end, and the audience was very appreciative. We had an old guy calling out standards for us to play -- which is totally our bag -- but he kept calling out ones we don't know...Stardust, Rhapsody in Blue, etc. etc. Fortunately, when he whispered to our sax player yet another request for Summertime, we were actually able to play it.

As a general side note, at a practice on Thursday morning, we all got to hear our guitar player on the phone with the woman organizing. It was the same kind of disgusting, pandering, spineless crap I hear whenever he talks to his girlfriend. He will no longer be negotiating our gigs.

EDIT: Also, FWIW, the husband of the woman who was organizing this was the DJ for between acts (we played after a banjo player of some sort, I guess) and watched us play the entire time, talked to us before, during the break, and after, etc. etc. and was a totally cool guy. I really liked him -- real nice guy, knew enough about jazz to appreciate the act. Also, we got a reccomendation from him for what might be a regular (paid) gig at a local restaurant that I've been negotiating recently.