Anyone Have Issues With Under 21 Band Members

[merritt stone]

Let them know ahead of time and it'll be fine, or don't tell them (but if you don't, MAKE SURE he doesn't have his age exposed (trying to drink, getting drunk, etc). This is coming from an a guy in a band whose members are all under 21. Policies are all over the place though. We've been in places where we were escorted on and off the premises, asked to leave if the bar gets busy, and we've also been given free drinking passes. I'm from the northeast, so these are PA, NJ, NYC venues.

[bassgod0dmw]

Around here it depends. Most places you'd be fine, especially if they walked in with confidence.

Other places will card every single person that walks through the door. Sometimes the band is an exception, sometimes it's not.

FWIW, I was 14 when I started gigging in bars and I never had a single problem.

[two fingers]

I started playing out at FIFTEEN years old in a band comprised of mostly 30somethings. In some of the bars we played at the manager would wait at the side of the stage and escort me to the back door or parking lot after a set was done. I had to wait outside until we started back up. That was fine in the summer. But in the winter it would take me a couple of songs to get my hands warmed back up. I started using my situation to get into girls' cars to warm up so it all worked out in the end. Ah.... the 80's. Good times.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by JonnyAngle

If you keep it on the DL, you shouldn't have any trouble. If you say, "Hey, Bar Owner, is it OK if we bring our 19yo singer?" Then they will say no.

+1

You said that she's a "she" and not a "he?" Just have her go in at the same time as the rest of you (so a door man doesn't ask questions). Also, I suggest that she doesn't order alcohol. She'll probably get carded. Otherwise, it's probably fine. If the bar tender asks, just be truthful and say she won't drink anything. That always worked for us when we played with a 19 year old guitarist.

We never had problems with anyone except the one bar owner who knew him personally. We had to put him in an adjacent video arcade that had a door next to the stage, and leave the door open. During breaks, he could only stay in the arcade or leave out the 'front' of the arcade, which actually just led to the back parking lot. Weird and it kind of sucked when we played that bar for the guitarist, but it worked.