Gig issue
 

So this Saturday I'll be playing a pickup gig for about four hours. It got scheduled a month ago, pending my decision to be included. It is all material that I am not familiar with: country (old and new) and Hawaiian hits. I agreed to it under the condition that I be given a song list to prepare by.

After three weeks of asking I cancel because I'm not getting the simple list I ask for. Suddenly it's apologies galore and I get the list the next day. It's late, but I play ball and spend all of Saturday cramming for this gig. LOTS of study. Yesterday (Sunday) I get together with the BL and her husband who plays lead guitar just to go over a couple of minor issues and tighten up the more complex material. And what do we learn from this?.....

...that there's not one single song that's played like the recorded versions. I wasted all of my Saturday for nothing. The excuse?... "I'm just so used to Bass Player X who has worked with me for ten years."

Upon leaving the husband drops a list of another 20+ songs on my desk to familiarize myself with. I told them that I had a busy week ahead and would be doing some work travelling -which is why I needed the list a month ago- and that I will be spending the gig doing exactly what I despise doing : chasing chords. I am not responsible for any wrong notes, missed changes or trainwrecks, and will be backing out of any songs that I can't immediately grasp.

There is NOTHING that I despise more in life and business than procrastination. Now a gih that sounded like fun is going to be miserable for me. Don't ever let this happen to you.

Don't do it if it's that bad. They dicked you around, you owe them nothing.

Yeah, another vote for bailing. Too much flakiness to be worth it if I were in your shoes.

If I hire a sub or new player they get the song list before we shake hands. You can't expect someone to commit to a gig when they don't even know what the material is.

I wouldn't do it either.

Funny, I've had a somewhat similar situation with a band I've done some fill-in gigs with over the last few years. Ask & ask & ask for song list & end up getting it the week of the gig. Luckily, I tell them when they 1st ask me to do a gig, I won't do it without some sort of rehearsal 1st. This at least forces them to give the list before then.
It totally annoys me when this happens, but I manage to get my homework done for the gig. So, whenever one of my bands has a fill-in, I give the fill-in the song list the day they agree to do the gig.

Sounds like a challenge. Get paid up front.

I would totally be all for bailing except for two things: 1- it's a small island and I don't need to be docked any rep points, and 2- I do what I say I'm gonna do regardless of anyone else's issues.

Guess you'll have to bare through and make the best of it then. Hoping it goes as smoothly as possible for you.

I can understand why you want to do it. I think I'd do it too. But I'd explain to the entire band that I would not repeat this experience again without proper preparation. And I would decide what proper preparation is.

But you gave your word for this one. Now you know what to look out for in the future.

Good luck!

It only takes one or two of these experiences to teach you to ask specific and pointed questions to a band leader before taking a pickup gig.

Ain't that the truth... I was all set to take a sub gig last weekend until I found out I'd have to drive 3 hours to Louisville... On my own dime. Turned out the guy lived in Kentucky but was trying to get players out of Nashville. I'd have burned every cent I made on gas.

Isn't "I get the set list x-amount of time before the gig" in the standard T's+C's for a sub bass-for-hire?

If they are that disorganized, you may end up being the best prepared player on the bandstand.

The best part is, they won't even do the stuff on the list anyway...run away...

Definitely get paid up front.

FTR I have played with them a couple of times in a open mic sortof scenario. They thought I was awesome because i could pick up what they were layin down quick. I'm flattered and all, but that's not how I want to play an entire gig. I really think that they just assumed I'd fall in on everything, and were a little stunned when I asked that very question.

But maybe it WILL be okay. Maybe we'll just be sonic wallpaper to a large gathering and nobody will even care what we sound like so long as we're making sounds.

Turn the bass frequencies up and the mids down and don't noodle much. This way, when you flub, it's less noticeable. :eek: It will still be a thump.

That actually sounds like good advice.

I had a smililar situation in which I learned a bunch of new songs and at the actual gig they skipped many of the songs that I spent the most time preparing. Not to mention the whole "we don't play it like the actual recording" routine. When my band has a sub, which is rare, I offer a recording of all 3 or our sets and a set list in advance. Not that hard or expensive anymore for someone to stick a small MP3 recording device at a practice or a gig so that they can provide something for a potential sub to learn from. If anyone should get a bad rep it should be the band, I wouldn't do it if you think you will be stressed at all.