stupid things club owners say

deste · #1 12-17-2011, 07:52 PM

What can you answer when club owners (or managers, or anything similar) say stupid things about you or your music?
Tell your stories.

The other night I had a gig with a blues band (not a wonderful context, but it's a chance more to play with my organ player) in a somewhat elegant bar, run by a guy that's as intelligent as nice (like a piece of crap). Usually a play mostly my two J's, so this time, being that a simple and unimportant bar gig, I decided to carry with me two other basses: my '99 Dano Longhorn and my old Ibanez fretless for the "unplugged" set. The owner notices two cases, and I explain him that is due to musical reasons.
Doing the soundcheck, I test the fretless first, just few notes, then the Dano (great sound, 'tis pity is short scale...) for the most of the time.
Between the first and second set, the owner takes a look: with a disgusted face, he says "what's that thing? it's horrible, the sound stinks! no you MUST play the other bass, had a sound very deeper and rounder". I tried to explain him that the "deeper, rounder" sound he liked so much came from the Horrible Thing, but he didn't believe me: i had to take the fretless and show him the jacoesque, midrangy, bridge-only sound I DIDN'T use.
He still was'nt convinced.
Thanks God the bar was crowded and he quit annoying us.
Why is people so victim of stupid prejudices?

What happened to you?

Bochafish · #2 12-17-2011, 08:21 PM

Had an owner kick us out after our first set. His simple explanation, "you just don't cover Floyd dude." We had played breathe-time in the first set.

lowfreq33 · #3 12-17-2011, 08:23 PM

"I'm giving you guys $500 less than the contract says because we had a slow week."

Lee H · #4 12-17-2011, 08:29 PM

a bar I work at has found a way around stupid stuff like that..

I am the bouncer, but also a go between for the bar owner and all bands. I also help with sound checks. I know how the room will change as it fills up, so I can give advise on the sound.

It has worked out so well that I get asked to do security for a lot of events, because the bands like having me there

**Thor** · #5 12-17-2011, 08:31 PM

Stop playing right now as this girl just put money in the jukebox and she really wanted hear her song ...(GAGA, Katy Perry, whatever).. so I'm turning the jukebox on.

Mmm, okay. we are only 3 songs in. Regular here, eh?

Yeah, she just came in, she's at the pool table.

Your wife's sister maybe?

Something like that...

Left after the second set, and three or four stops.

The story is slightly embellished, but basically true.

fourstringdrums · #6 12-17-2011, 08:33 PM

Played a bar once where after the night was over the owner raved about us and how people liked us and he wanted to have us back. We didn't have our own crowd there but it was packed, and they got into it.

When it came time to re-book, he kept dodging me. Finally he says "I don't think I'm going to have you back. I lost a lot of money on you and I don't think anyone liked you". It's important to note that he kept dropping the cover at the door until eventually he wasn't charging anything. He was relying on beer sales and it didn't work out for him, so he blamed us.

This owner also booked my friend's band and neglected to tell the band, to the point where he advertised them and the night came and went with their name on the sign outside, and they had no idea.

So maybe he didn't say anything stupid, but he still was lol

Morkolo · #7 12-17-2011, 08:48 PM

The dumbest thing I ever heard a club owner say was I'm not paying you to an old friend of mine that passed away the other year. There was about 4 bands on good terms back then and we stuck together like flies back then. If one band played we would all come out to support them... the smug look on the club owner changed pretty quick when he saw 20+ guys pissed at him over not paying. The good old days.

Birdland11 · #8 12-18-2011, 04:46 AM

"Alright guys, lets keep the volume real low"

groove pump · #9 12-19-2011, 06:20 AM

"Leave me a demo and I'll call you."

RustyAxe · #10 12-19-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groove pump

"Leave me a demo and I'll call you."

That's stupid? How so?

slaps76 · #11 12-19-2011, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdland11

"Alright guys, lets keep the volume real low"

Ha, one bar we play at regularly offered us a weekly Thursday gig. It's always packed on the weekends, but he was trying to build up his Thursdays. We played a few, but with it always being slow, they'd constantly tell us to turn down early in the night....don't think they quite understood the drummer doensn't have a volume knob.

TDSLaBassiste · #12 12-19-2011, 09:35 AM

"I said $100 because I thought we'd have more people. Here's $30."

fourstringdrums · #13 12-19-2011, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slaps76

....don't think they quite understood the drummer doensn't have a volume knob.

Yes they do. It's called good control which unfortunately a lot of drummers don't have.

Audiophage · #14 12-19-2011, 09:39 AM

I think the OP needs to proof read before posting.

devilman666 · #15 12-19-2011, 09:49 AM

We play extreme metal and have played this club that was a astrip joint on one side and a rock club on the other. A dream location for heavy metal bands and mind you they booked natonal tours into this play to about 1k people weekly. After years of playing the owner needed to sell due to his wife getting sick and when the new owner came in he said " we're not doing shows anymore we don't like the people it brings in. " It's a strip joint and you think a crowd of 1k dudes that love metal don't love strippers. What planet are you from . That side of the club has been empty for over two years now . DUHHHHHH

Richland123 · #16 12-19-2011, 10:17 AM

This woman is a manager at a small club near where I live. She used to run another bar close to there that we played at and she booked us there. She was always a bit squirrely to deal with but when she took over the new bar, she wanted to book us as the second band after the grand opening night since we are very well known in the area and have won awards (including best band in the area), play lots of venues in a 13 county area for about 85 gigs a year, and headline all the major festivals around, including one in the town where the club is located for 8 years in a row.

We got to the place and there were two rooms, one with a dining area and one with bar separated by a small hallway. First, we had to wait for almost an hour to wait for people to finish eating because they were sitting in the small area where we were to set up instead of them clearing that area ahead of time. Then, we had to squeeze in and let a walkway open between me and the P.A. for the workers to go in and out of the kitchen. Next, she wanted to know if we could put one of our P.A. cabinets out in the bar area and run a cable through the place. That was not going to happen.

Some of our friends came and sat in the back room and the front bar was packed the whole night. She did little advertising and expected the place to be crowded just like their grand opening night two weeks before. Well, the people there loved our band. At the end of the night, she said she would book us again and the only reason I was willing to play there again was because it was 5 miles from my house. I had to keep chasing her about future bookings always with the same excuse that she would call me back. Finally, I asked her why she did not book us and she said she did not want to book us again because she does not think we are any good. I asked her how can she say that when we play every other bar and event around there and won the best band in the area award THAT YEAR. She said she just does not like our band and we are not any good. Well, that was about 250 gigs ago for us and we are still going strong and her bar is dying.

TNCreature · #17 12-19-2011, 11:16 AM

Many moons ago a band I was in played at a local bar that was trying (they said) to establish their location as a must stop for touring bands.

After we played the owner said that he coulnd't afford to pay us, but to make it up to us he would "pay us back with gigs". (!)

So, do the math; how many non-paying gigs would equal getting paid for the initial gig? We never found out because he closed within 3 months.

Be Bob · #18 12-19-2011, 11:25 AM

Years ago played in a cover band, we played 6 nights a week, 2 to 3 weeks a month, the guy who owned the bar pulled us aside after playing and said, he had a great idea, every week that we played he wanted to change the name of the band on the sign outside, that way people would think that he was having different acts each week, when we asked him what happens when they get inside and realize its the same house band his comment "they will already be drinking and thats the idea sell booze" So you can argue all you want about being an artist, sometimes guys were just glorified liquor salesman, you gotta love it...

bryan gibson · #19 12-19-2011, 01:23 PM

A few years back we played an old run-down Holiday Inn on the outskirts of town (not sure who booked it). Anyway, it was too far out of town to draw the dancer/barhopper crowd, and the only folks there were the bar staff and late restaurant/bar clients. Adding more to the suck-fest was the fact that they were trying to charge $3 a head to see the band. Long story short, about 10 people showed up-due mainly to our mailers, etc. Of course the owner wouldn't pay the quoted amount, because it was a slow evening. "Next time we'll charge $5 per head so you'll make more money!" There was no "next time" obviously.

Lowest End · #20 12-19-2011, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devilman666

We play extreme metal and have played this club that was a astrip joint on one side and a rock club on the other. A dream location for heavy metal bands and mind you they booked natonal tours into this play to about 1k people weekly. After years of playing the owner needed to sell due to his wife getting sick and when the new owner came in he said " we're not doing shows anymore we don't like the people it brings in. " It's a strip joint and you think a crowd of 1k dudes that love metal don't love strippers. What planet are you from . That side of the club has been empty for over two years now . DUHHHHHH

I know this place! I worked there running sound real early in their rock club days (before they got in with New England Concerts).

When the owner's wife got sick (and later passed away) that place changed dramatically. She really ran it, and the owner later hired a management company (which finished killing the business for him) and eventually sold out to a strip club chain.