When things get broke at a gig....

mcbassdude · #1 09-10-2006, 08:02 PM

What do you all do when something gets damaged at a gig.

I played a gig this past Thursday and in between sets a group of patrons got rowdy and a whole lotta beer got dumped on the guitar players line 6 pedal board. We didn't see who did it and of course nobody saw anything. The place was jam packed and this venue does not have a stage. We play on a patio right up against the crowd.

Well the board stopped working and he was F'd. His rig is a power amp, a cab and the pedal board is basically his preamp and everything else. He couldn't go direct into the amp. I ended up letting him use my ME50B for the last set. Not ideal but we got thru it.

Anyway I felt that the band should all chip in from the gig pay to help fix the board as it could have happened to any of us. He didn't want me to bring it up and was taking it really well considering.

So what do you all do when something like this happens? Is it everyman for himself or does the band all take it in the hindquarters?

The happy ending is he took the board apart that night, cleaned up all the beer and let the unit dry out for a few days and it appears to be working. However if it didn't he'd be out about 4 bills to replace it. Just doesn't seem right for him to have to shoulder it all if it didn't work out.

Thoughts?

jonly · #2 09-10-2006, 08:05 PM

IMO - PA and shared gear problems are a band responsibility. Personal equipment is just that - personal equipment.

Tony G · #3 09-10-2006, 08:05 PM

I think it would be nice for the band to help him out with money earned at the gig. If everybody in the band is cool with it, that is a very honorable thing to do. Sometimes **** happens at gigs like this, and every band should have some sort of back up situation to cover damage or theft.

Spector_Ray · #4 09-10-2006, 08:39 PM

Insurance. But in the meantime, maybe take up a collection from the band and maybe a few close friends of the band.

rllefebv · #5 09-10-2006, 11:09 PM

In my roots/rock band, with four members, we split payment five ways and pay the band as a fifth member... Most of this money is earmarked for recording, though I would assume that in a situation like yours, some kitty money would go towards repair/replace... If it happened to me, I know that these guys would insist on using kitty money, even over my protests...

If something craps on a gig due to neglect, maintenance, or 'Gremlins', (It happens), then I'd expect the owner to deal with it, just like I do when my stuff has issues...

-robert

sloppyjaloppy · #6 09-11-2006, 04:51 AM

every gig we play we put aside 50 bucks, sometimes 100 bucks and split the rest evenly. and if something ever goes wrong we pay for it with that, no matter what it is. and every once in a while when there like a grand or so we just split half of it evenly and so on like that so we always have "insurance" on our gear. kind of a premarital agreement lol.