money is the root of all evil (extremely long read...sorry)

[jaaboy]

So my band (2 guitar, bass, drum) gets a gig doing a birthday party and we are promised 50 bucks.

We do the show and they liked us so much the guy who hired us gave us quadruple the amount of money ($200). This is a really big deal to us because we haven't been around much longer than a year and we are all still 17-18, plus we dont have jobs , and this our second paying gig, etc.

So all is well and we have just got done unpacking at our practice space and are just siting there basking in our victory when my guitarist goes
"Alright wheres my money?'
...
now we are all very sarcastic rebellious teenagers so i thought he was kidding but just in case i say
me: What?
Guitarst: Were is my money. (yes that is a period)
Me:whaddya mean Your money?
Guitarist: we were paid 200 dollars, and 50 of that is mine!
Me: are you serious steve?
Guitarist: YES! Give Me My Money!
*he begins to hold out his hand and become very insistent*
Me: Steve we never said we were gonna split the money four ways, we should probably keep it and use it for band money.
Drummer: Yea, when we need to buy something were gonna have to use our own money anyways
Lead Guitarist: Yea we should probably save up for a PA or something
Guitarist(steve): I. DONT. CARE. (he says through grinding teeth) Give Me My Money!
Me: okay steve, were gonna do it like this. Daulton(drummer) do you think we should save the money
Drummer: yea
Me: Mike(Lead Guitar) do you think we should save the money?
Mike (Lead GUitar): Yea dude we should save for a PA or something
*I look at steve and he looks at me because he knows he SOL*
Steve: Thats not fair! 50 of that is mine!
Me: Whats more fair than a democratic vote steve?!
Steve: Well i dont think you should hold it.
Me: Why not?
Steve: Because i dont trust you!
Me: You dont trust me?!!? Are you serious? What do you think im gonna do, go spend it somewhere?
Steve: Yea! I do! One of our parents should hold it!
Me: No! Look steve, i was the only one back there when he paid us. I could have just taken the 150 and said "Hey guys we got paid 50 bucks as promised"
Steve:........Well i still think one of our parents should hold it.
Drummer: My mom could hold it for us
Drummers dad walks down the stairs: HEY! you guys! im gonna tell you a life lesson here so listen up...NEver give money to a woman! Okay?
All except steve: lawlz

then me and steve continue to argue and finnaly the drummer and other guitarist break it up.

Yea, sorry for the long post, i needed to vent. It just sucks that the moment we get our hands on money our band starts to fall apart. It doesnt help that me and the other guitarist dont like steve and want to kick him out. Plus my technique is better and quicker than steves, this doesnt say much of anything but it gives you an idea of how much time he spends with his guitar

[Jonny B]

Just wait until someone gets the hots for someone else's girlfriend.

[Rattman]

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

[ibnzneksrul]

1 - Steve needs to grow up

2 - Drummer's dad is a wise man

[Rick_no7]

eh, money is evil too


I for one favor a barter system

In return for your gigs, you get a cookie.

[ric1312]

The whole community pot thing never works out, should have gave everyone their split IMO.

It's also not really a great I idea to go in on equipment together. The band will break up and people will want money or parts of a pa you need for your new band, and it will end badly.

[bassbully43]

Split the money. You have no jobs and maybe he needs it. You want to have a PA and equipment go get jobs to pay for it like all of us. I dont feel its right to take his pay over bands equipment cuz if you split how will you get the money you put into PA etc back?

Bands need to understand not everyone has the same interests as some of the other members. Maybe this is only something he wants to do for a while and he's not so focused on being in a band and sharing his pay.My band has recording fees coming up. We all agreed to take a gigs pay to take care of it but we all agreed. Maybe he didnt handle this the right way but you should of set this up before you ever took a dime from a gig...its his share and you should give it to him.

My drummer used to be in a band who for 6 years of giging pretty high paying shows never made one dime. All the money was put into a band account for making a CD...a pretty big budget CD for a local band. They never sold hardly a copy gave hundreds away and never made anything back for the return. I would of thrown a fit or walked but the bandleader thought it was cool to have multi track pro CDs made...but for what?

[xlows]

Originally Posted by Rattman

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.

[Depth_Charge]

You're all mates right? You guys got a nice surprise there right? You should celebrate it!!!

Either split the cash and spend it on yourselves, or go put on a huge party with it, charge 5 bucks a head, and split that!! Don't worry about who needs what, just deal with their issue, not getting the money. IMO you all earned your share and "band" money isn't, especially when it's kept at the drummers house for "safe keeping" **

Originally Posted by Rattman

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

I did not know that. This is the one time I actually appreciate the text within the reference. I hate growing up!

Originally Posted by xlows

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.

The love here is having the MONEY to PAY your bill, and being desperate enough to roll someone for it.

Money in and of itself is nothing more than printed paper and punched coin.

** My wife and I used to buy charity boxes of chocolates and keep the money in the bag. More than once, we dipped into it when necessary, just because it was there. THEN we had to tell people, next week. Understanding as they were, they're not stupid as to why we couldn't give them what we raised, and the balance in chocolates.

[jive1]

If he agreed to give his share of the money towards the band fund prior to the gig, then he shouldn't gripe.

If he didn't agree to it, then it's not right for you guys to assume what he's supposed to do with his money. You can ask him to contribute to the band fund, but it is his right to say no. You took his money without letting him make his decision regarding it.

Next time, if you're gonna do the band fund, agree to it prior to the gig. If I were in any band that pulled that, I'd be out the door pronto. I have no problem feeding the band kitty, but I want the right to make the decision. It's my money, and I'll make the decisions on what to do with it. Don't make decisions for me after I've done the work to earn it. I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?

[J_Ck]

The band I'm currently and we're the same age group as you guys. We do the whole band account thing, but that's something we decided together to do since day one. We used our "band" money for a PA, a couple of cheaps cabs for our guitarists, and now we're currently saving it to get a little studio time and everything's working great for us.

If you guys are really serious about this and really want to put your money to use for a PA and stuff then it sounds like you need to talk to your guitarist. Kind of like the other guys said he may not be as serious, and if this is true you guys don't want to waste alot of time with someone who isn't in it for the same reasons.

I say you talk to him, find out how serious he is, if he feels the same then he'll unerstand, if not, give him his $50 and find someone else...

I guess this really only works if you guys are really serious, if you're not, then most of my post probably wouldn't work...lol...

Just my take on the matter...

[Rattman]

Originally Posted by xlows

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.

Not "necessarily" what? I think you better re-read my post.. as I was not stating an opinion at all. But I do see your point of course.

[JansenW]

Originally Posted by jive1

If he agreed to give his share of the money towards the band fund prior to the gig, then he shouldn't gripe.

If he didn't agree to it, then it's not right for you guys to assume what he's supposed to do with his money. You can ask him to contribute to the band fund, but it is his right to say no. You took his money without letting him make his decision regarding it.

Next time, if you're gonna do the band fund, agree to it prior to the gig. If I were in any band that pulled that, I'd be out the door pronto. I have no problem feeding the band kitty, but I want the right to make the decision. It's my money, and I'll make the decisions on what to do with it. Don't make decisions for me after I've done the work to earn it. I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?

A big +1

Go by what was agreed going into the gig. I'd say give him the money if he expected it. If he agreed to contribute and then changed his mind after the gig, then it's another story.

He could have changed his mind because he really needs the money. It's an opportunity to help a band mate in need.

Decide what to do with the money before your next gig.

[73jbass]

The lack of money is the root of all evil! How the money was to be split,if at all,was something that should have been worked out before the gig.

[Ravens]

Dont split the money!

You guys made that money as a team, and that makes it totally okay to have a vote about what to do with it. If the guitarist had been on stage doing sweeps for an hour i dont think he would have any money!

I dont think that it is a good idea to buy gear with community pool money, but there are loads of other costs that is going to need money, especially if you are starting out. A good demo recording can cost loads, you might need to hire a van, you might get important gigs that doesnt pay, and you (sadly) are going to get stiffed at some point.

Community pool works! Just lay down the rules first, and if the geetard dont get it, boot him. There is almost an unlimited supply of guitarists, and few of them are idiots.

Originally Posted by jive1

I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?

A better analogy would be that you demand to get your taxes back bacause you dont think you ar going to use any schools or hospitals.
When you think about it, this is a micro sized version of the classic battle between common good and special interests

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Rattman

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

I don't think he got it wrong at all - that story was exactly about the love of money, souring their friendships!

[SUNNyday r.]

Money....is the the root of all evil today!!!!

ha! ha! ha!,
Pink Floyd

[QORC]

Such a minor amount of money to quibble over, but if you're 17, $50 is a lot.

That being said, I hate to take his side, BUT $50 of it IS his money.

If you're going to do a band fund (and by the way, at $200 a gig, you're going to be saving for a long time to buy a decent PA and board), you need to AGREE TO THIS IN ADVANCE. To do otherwise is not fair if you are all equal members of the band.

plus, I've seen too many cases when someone kept a "band fund" and could not account for all the money later on.

[shawn-o]

Why not split it 5 ways? each member gets a cut and some gets put into the band fund. ie) 40 bucks each and 40 into the band "pot".

Your still getting some cash- but can slowly start to put things away.

[tycobb73]

Give him his money. Our drummer owns the PA and if it needs to be fixed he pays for it. If he didn't already have it I'd expect the lead singer who plays no instrument to buy it. Either way, at the end of the night, our money is split.