"A Charlie Foxtrot of Biblical Proportions"

Ron Plichta · #1 10-30-2011, 08:37 AM

My band was booked to perform at the Marine Corps Marathon this morning. The organizer sent us our location (mile marker 2), course access passes and instructions for start time, etc. We had to be at our spot no later than 6:00 am and ready for the race to start at 8:00 am. We also had to provide our own power and a friend loaned me his 5k generator.

I spent yesterday picking up the generator, loading up the band equipment in my trailer and hit the sack early since I planned to wake up at 4 am to head out. Guitarist met me at my house at 5:00 am and we drove over to pick up the drummer and head for our site.

We got to the site before 6:00 and noticed that the driveway was a little damp (remember, we got that storm that rolled through the East Coast yesterday). Guitarist found a drier spot about a block down the road, but it was a residential area. And there a policeman sitting there in his cruiser.

We talked with the officer for a while and realized that there was a noise ordnance in effect until 10:00. He confirmed with his supervisors and the organizer that there were no variance permits procured and so we were located in front of a hotel at mile marker 4.

We drove down to the hotel and talked with the officers there. The only space available was a grassy spot and it was on hotel property. We couldn't get permission from the hotel to set up and wet grass was a non-starter. By this time, it's 7:15 am and there's no way to be set up and ready by the start of the race.

So the guitarist, drummer and I have been negotiating for over an hour with law enforcement (all good guys and tried to be as helpful as they could) and the organizer and it was apparent the gig wasn't going to happen. Well it was then that our singer managed to arrive at the course (she lived nearby) and said there was a spot elsewhere. Problem was the roads were closing.

From there, it went REALLY downhill. Singer went into a tirade and was demanding that we get a police escort to the finish line and set up. Huh? First, the cops couldn't leave their assigned posts and there was already entertainment at the finish line. That explanation wasn't satisfactory and the singer went into full meltdown mode. She called the organizer and was throwing a fit when I got on the phone and explained what we tried to do. The organizer was super apologetic and understood that we were leaving. Singer was having none of it. The tirade continued. Finally, the guitarist told her, "Turn around and face the crowd, preacher. The choir gets it".

That was the end of it. I'd had enough and was heading back to my vehicle and the singer stormed off with the demand that she "needs to perform" and we need to get some gigs booked. Guess she forgot that we've been around the block a few times and know what we have to do.

So guitarist, drummer and I left. I dropped the drummer off at his house and his wife came to ask what happened as we were unloading the drums. He walked up to her and said "It was a Charlie Foxtrot of Biblical proportions." Once he told her the story, the wife asked if the singer had kids (she doesn't and she's single). That's all that needed to be said.

Guitarist and I headed out for breakfast to cool off when he checked his Blackberry and found an e-mail to him only asking for his phone number. I'm waiting to hear the fallout of that....

HereIGoAgain · #2 10-30-2011, 10:27 AM

If she had kids, would the tirade have been more acceptable?

Sorry about your ordeal. I hope your next one goes better.

timber22 · #3 10-30-2011, 11:24 AM

Wow, that sucks. It sounds like it could have been a pretty cool gig that got ruined first by poor planning on the part of the organizers, and then really ruined by a spoiled brat band member.
A lot of work wasted on your part.
I hope you have better luck on the next one.

anderbass · #4 10-30-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Plichta

We got to the site before 6:00 and noticed that the driveway was a little damp (remember, we got that storm that rolled through the East Coast yesterday).

Your experience is a good lesson for anyone preforming outdoor gigs. Sounds like if you'd simply had a few inexpensive tarps to lay down on the ground you could have saved your gig and a whole lot of frustration.

Ron Plichta · #5 10-30-2011, 02:59 PM

We brought rubber mats in anticipation of moisture. I forgot to mention that our original location was in front of an apartment complex and so we still had potential noise issues.

Ron Plichta · #6 11-04-2011, 08:05 AM

I received an apologetic e-mail from the organizer and sent a reply stating what happened that morning. At least she'll have that bit of information for her after-action report and work on it next year. We were offered a spot in next year's marathon, too.

We still haven't heard from the singer.......

Muttleybass · #7 11-04-2011, 08:31 AM

oooooo... such drama!

Sux, man. I feel for ya.

It's not that the tirade would have been acceptable if she had kids, it's that it most likely would not have happened. Having kids means tirades and tantrums by the parent make things a whole lot worse. You learn to be a lot more patient.

BassNeo · #8 11-04-2011, 09:24 AM

What's important is that the organizer didn't judge the rest of you based on your mentally unstable singer. You have the gig for next year, now you have a year to find a better vocalist.

Ron Plichta · #9 11-04-2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muttleybass

oooooo... such drama!

Sux, man. I feel for ya.

It's not that the tirade would have been acceptable if she had kids, it's that it most likely would not have happened. Having kids means tirades and tantrums by the parent make things a whole lot worse. You learn to be a lot more patient.

I think that's the point the drummer's wife was trying to make. As a parent (and I have two teenagers), you learn to pick your battles.

I sent a reply to the organizer and copied the band. The guitarist concurred with what I said and I'm sure the drummer will once he gets time to check his e-mails. Still no word from the singer.

totallyfrozen · #10 11-04-2011, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anderbass

Your experience is a good lesson for anyone preforming outdoor gigs. Sounds like if you'd simply had a few inexpensive tarps to lay down on the ground you could have saved your gig and a whole lot of frustration.

I was going to suggest that until I read your post.

With my sympathy, it sounds like it came down to being too much time spent "negotiating" and trying to get "exceptions" made and not enough time spent just doing what the band was hired to do...set up and play. 2 40-foot tarps which cost about $15 or less each probably would have solved it. Probably could have run down to Wal-Mart and picked up the tarp in the amount of time that was spent trying to get permission to set up somewhere else.

My condolensces to the OP. Sounds like you have my sister singing for your band.

salcott · #11 11-04-2011, 04:18 PM

A tarp is not insulation. Playing on damp surfaces can be hazardous.

totallyfrozen · #12 11-04-2011, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Plichta

...We still haven't heard from the singer.......

Sounds like she's become a liability to the mission. You may have to replace her.

Adapt and overcome!

Ron Plichta · #13 11-04-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totallyfrozen

I was going to suggest that until I read your post.

With my sympathy, it sounds like it came down to being too much time spent "negotiating" and trying to get "exceptions" made and not enough time spent just doing what the band was hired to do...set up and play. 2 40-foot tarps which cost about $15 or less each probably would have solved it. Probably could have run down to Wal-Mart and picked up the tarp in the amount of time that was spent trying to get permission to set up somewhere else.

My condolensces to the OP. Sounds like you have my sister singing for your band.

The moisture wasn't the big issue - it was the noise ordinance. That's why all the negotiations were taking place.

HereIGoAgain · #14 11-04-2011, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Plichta

The moisture wasn't the big issue - it was the noise ordinance. That's why all the negotiations were taking place.

That is something that the event coordinator/promoter/whoever booked you should have addressed. It's not the bands' repsonsibilities to ensure compliance at the last minute.

**toddj1s** · #15 11-04-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Plichta

I think that's the point the drummer's wife was trying to make. As a parent (and I have two teenagers), you learn to pick your battles.

Oooh, so true. Five kids here (two teens, another on the cusp), and the thought of getting home early from a gig sounds like a blessing UNLESS I had no life otherwise. The "need" to perform??? Please...that's pathetic.

Ron Plichta · #16 11-05-2011, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

That is something that the event coordinator/promoter/whoever booked you should have addressed. It's not the bands' repsonsibilities to ensure compliance at the last minute.

Agreed, but we were trying to salvage the gig since we were already there. The organizer is including the issue in her notes for next year.

Dan Knowlton · #17 11-05-2011, 09:23 AM

Sounds more like a vocal-tard of Biblical proportions! Find another vocalist yet?

Law enforcement were just doing their jobs...

Dan K.

Ron Plichta · #18 11-08-2011, 07:19 AM

We finally heard back from the singer regarding the apology e-mail and our response. She said she was frustrated that we "initiated" the noise waiver issue with the police. Well she wasn't there to see the inital conversation with the officer that led up to it. And I guess she would have preferred that we pull all the gear out of the trailer, set up and then get shut down. Her echoing the organizer's comment that noise was never an issue in the past doesn't mean that we'd get away with it this time.

Then she went on again about how "she" needed to perform and we should look for 90 minute shows, etc. We don't need a 40+song list right now in her mind. Okay....

All of that made me think that I'm done. The band was first formed almost 4 years ago and was intact until last April. We were a cast of "characters" who had known each other for years and looked forward to Friday night rehearsals since it was a chance to blow off steam from the work week and share a few yucks. All of that is gone and having a diva at the mic isn't making this fun.

It looks like rest of us are going to pull out of the project and end the current name so that we have memories of the fun it used to be. We'll eventually start something else down the road minus the singer.

marijn van gils · #19 11-08-2011, 08:02 AM

Why don't you just fire the singer and continue having fun with the rest while looking for a replacement? Sounds much more simple and less depressing to me.

Ron Plichta · #20 11-08-2011, 08:12 AM

This is our second replacement singer since May. We're frankly tired of auditioning. I'm also a little tired of dealing with venues and situations like this gig. I tried to make another go of it with this lineup, but I think this gig was the last straw for the guitarist and me.

The tentative plan is just fold up the name, relax for a while, jam in the basement Friday nights and see what happens from there. We'll probably do something else later under a new name and song list once the urge to gig returns.