The Worst Gig Of My Life

cassanova · #1 06-18-2002, 03:27 AM

I had a gig tonight at a coffe shop. Im thinkin ok, Ive done gigs before, they usually go off without a hitch. So why would this easy lil gig be any different? Boy was I wrong. I dont even know where to begin.

Lets start here shall we?

I get there and start setting up. I notice our drummer doesnt have his kick drum. I ask about it and he says "oh i didnt feel like bringing that or my hi hats" I've never in my life ever played with a drummer who didnt have a kick drum with him. Especially on a gig. The lack of hi hats didnt bother me for some reason.

Ive only played with these guys one time and that was at the audition I had with them. This normally wouldnt bother me, but it's an all original band. At least when I sit in with cover bands, I know the material or have heard it before so I have some Idea of how the song goes. So I ask the guitar player to tell me the changes before each song. This way I'll know what I can play. Makes sense to me and is a pretty simple harmless and normal request imo. I guess that was too much to ask, cos I didnt get a one from him. So Im fudging up just about every song for a short while. Thank God for my ears, cos they saved me from screwin up the entire song.

We did alot of improv stuff too. Just feedin off each other, so i start to lay down a nice melodic line to the chords that our guitar players doing and once i finally get all his changes down, he decides to mix them all up again. Or play one chord longer like for a bar then play the next for a 1/2 measure. I swear i think his counting totally sucked tonight.

I got so fed up tonight that I gave up trying and just rode the root for the remainder of the night.

and last but not least i only made $2.50 I knew original bands dont make money, but cmon thats ridiculous....never in my friggin life have i made that little.

Its odd, how can an audition go so well and tonight so bad??

AllodoX · #2 06-18-2002, 04:22 AM

$2.50 ?? woah !

a beer costs more than that !

thebug · #3 06-18-2002, 07:07 AM

sounds pretty frustrating to me. But hey that's life for a bassplayer, everyone once in a while has their bad gigs, it still sucks though...Anyway what are you gonna buy for the $2,50?

chris h · #4 06-18-2002, 07:15 AM

where would the world be without bass players?!

gfab333 · #5 06-18-2002, 12:01 PM

Bummer. I don't mind playing freebies or low-pay gigs once in awhile as long as I like the music and the other band members, and there's an appreciative audience.

You can't have everything all the time. Live and learn.

lushfreak · #6 06-18-2002, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cassanova

We did alot of improv stuff too. Just feedin off each other, so i start to lay down a nice melodic line to the chords that our guitar players doing and once i finally get all his changes down, he decides to mix them all up again. Or play one chord longer like for a bar then play the next for a 1/2 measure. I swear i think his counting totally sucked tonight.

I got so fed up tonight that I gave up trying and just rode the root for the remainder of the night.

This sounds like typical guitar player to me. In my band, we TRY to do a lot of improv -- not of us are quite good enough yet to truly pull it off -- but the guitar player doesn't seem to understand that to preserve groove (and the illusion of band unity), he needs to wait for everyone to catch up (and synch up) before moving on. My drummer and I have been lecturing him about it for weeks now, and I think it's finally sinking in.

If these guys play interesting enough music, just be sure to voice your opinion and be patient. Sound like a crappy gig, though, but the kind that should be laughed about later...

cassanova · #7 06-18-2002, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thebug
Anyway what are you gonna buy for the $2,50?

Im gonna use it for a down payment on a Ford Mustang

')

Gabu · #8 06-18-2002, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cassanova

Im gonna use it for a down payment on a Ford Mustang ')

You the man!

I think that would be enough for me as far as that band is concerned.... they have issues.

thebug · #9 06-18-2002, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cassanova

Im gonna use it for a down payment on a Ford Mustang ')

hehehe

Jordan Luff · #10 06-18-2002, 05:10 PM

Bummer, bro. I had one gig (not my youth band) where we actually ended up stopping because everything was so damn chaotic. The singer forgot the words to the songs, so I had to whisper them to her from behind. The guitarist at one point just forgot where he was.

I told them afterwards I need to take a long break. They got the point, hopefully.

cassanova · #11 06-18-2002, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gabu

You the man!

I think that would be enough for me as far as that band is concerned.... they have issues.

Im giving that very serious consideration.

Mike Dimin · #12 06-18-2002, 10:02 PM

I live by the teeter - totter principle. One on side is how much $ I'm making on the other side is how much fun I'm having. There's got to be a balance (that is unless I'm having fun and making a ton of $)

Yesterday I played a freebie for my son's first grade class - a bit of solo bass. One kid asked if I "played for fun" - I responded it is really fun to play but I don't play for fun (I play for funds)

Mike

Jordan Luff · #13 06-19-2002, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Dimin
I live by the teeter - totter principle. One on side is how much $ I'm making on the other side is how much fun I'm having. There's got to be a balance (that is unless I'm having fun and making a ton of $)

Yesterday I played a freebie for my son's first grade class - a bit of solo bass. One kid asked if I "played for fun" - I responded it is really fun to play but I don't play for fun (I play for funds)

Mike

Not to correct you or anything, but if you think about it, place a lot of fun in one "bowl" of a balance, and place a lot of cash in the other bowl. That is good balance is there.

On the other hand, if you think about it, you can't place fun in a bowl, nor a ton of cash.

That is a very good outlook though, and very influential to a young, aspiring player such as myself.

lushfreak · #14 06-19-2002, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Dimin
I responded it is really fun to play but I don't play for fun (I play for funds)

Mike

Nice! I only wish I could say the same -- I'm more in the "it's really fun to play, but I don't play for fun (hey, why DO I play?)" category...

Munjibunga · #15 06-20-2002, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cassanova
I got so fed up tonight that I gave up trying and just rode the root for the remainder of the night.

That's what SHE said.

[butthead]

... hhhhhhhhhhheh hehhehheh hhhhhhhhheheheheh hehhehheh ...

[/butthead]

Christopher · #16 06-20-2002, 12:29 PM

If one person gets out of line, do the Mingus passive-aggresive thing and stop playing. He should get the point. If not, at least you can say that you didn't make any mistakes!

cassanova · #17 06-20-2002, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Christopher
If one person gets out of line, do the Mingus passive-aggresive thing and stop playing. He should get the point. If not, at least you can say that you didn't make any mistakes!

thats more unprofessional than hitting a few bad notes untill i nail the changes imo

Gabu · #18 06-20-2002, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cassanova

thats more unprofessional than hitting a few bad notes untill i nail the changes imo

Yeah, I agree! And it sounds much worse than playing some wrong notes... If I play a note that doesn't sound right, I just pretend it's Jazz and keep rocking!