Getting too busy
 

Playing with a local originals band right now, and I'm looking at our schedule and shaking my head. Not certain what to do. I can't actually use my sick days at work for actually being sick anymore. Every single sick day I have is being used for various gig dates. And I'm getting pressured to book beyond what I can get off without pulling strings and tempting fate.

We're getting good dates, things are taking off a bit. After the one show a month routine for the past few months, it's nice to see an April line-up with 8 nights in it (couple private parties, couple local shows, and a short tour).

But, I'm really tempting fate to use more sick days than I have. I don't think my work will mind, they like me and I'm not essential for day-to-day operations, but I'm running a risk there.

I don't want to quit the band. It's a one-of-a-kind opportunity to play exactly the sort of music I want to play with a band that is as hot as it can get locally. But, I'm getting nervous about it screwing up my day job. I don't really know what to do here. Probably talk with the rest of the band about the limitations of my schedule right now (my schedule changes in a few months and I'll be able to get any important dates off) at our practice Wednesday.

Any advice. I just don't want to lose the job or the band.

Do the other members have 'normal' day jobs? if so then a quick talk about you're schedule problems should be pretty easy to sort it all out. If they're working musicians, then they may not fully understand (I know this happens to me a bit, as I'm a full time student with a part time job and some of the working musicians I have gigs with don't fully get why I cant just say I can't make it whenever I have a gig) but it should be pretty easy to explain.
Does your work know you're in a working band? do you think it would be possible to talk to them about having a certain amount of time free for that? I don't know but if you're not essential day in day out like you say then it might be worth a shot.

please be honest there is nothing more annoying than people using excuses to avoid work. no matter day job or musical work.
man up and tell both your band and your boss what situation you're in. first your band, as suggested, if that is not enough to solve that problem then talk to your employer.
don't tell people you are sick when in fact you aren't.

At my job, if I used a sick day and wasn't actually sick and they found out, I would be fired. Too many people abuse the sick leave policy. That is what vacation days are for.

You said your work schedule opens up in a couple months. If your band can't cut you some slack until then, regardless of how "Hot" they are, they may not be the right band for you. Unless it's going to pay your bills you need to worry about not losing your job, period.

I agree with that. Start by honestly explaining your situation to the band. If the other members also have day jobs, they may also want to prioritize the gig schedule. Pick the ones that pay the least, or are farthest away, or whatever, and stop doing those. Maybe you can get a sub bass player once in a while, at least until your work schedule becomes more flexible.

If there's even a question in your mind you should make the day job your priority.

How much are you being paid for each of these dates you are playing? (let me take a wild guess, $0 you are doing them mainly to promote the band, maybe, or all the money goes so you can record your third album on your own dime? )
IF by some miracle you are the one original band who makes enough money to quit your job, go for it!

Do you have a professional career or is it merely a job, because you can always find job a really good working band is tough to find.

Blue

I agree, I forgot to ask if he's making any money from these gigs.

Blue

Time to quit the job, and become a full-time rock star*


















*Do not actually follow this advice

I used to work at a very large company where if you used a certain number of sick days with a period of say 6 months without a doctor's excuse, you were put on warning and if you continued to do so, it was cause for termination.

Being a supervisor and following company dictated policy, I had to put people on warning a few times even though I knew they were actually sick. However, some people were not sick. Sick day abuse was not tolerated there.

I never took a sick day there but I had vacation days to use if I wanted to do something.

My company uses a PTO bank that rolls together sick and vacation. It is not overly generous but the policy makes sense and of course they remind me why I continue to go there every couple of weeks :D

I guess one other question I have to ask is why take a day off every time you play ? I gig at least once a week in the winter, in the summer it's 2 to 3. I get in my 8, load and go...

PTO makes a lot of sense. The distinction between sick and vacation pay was just an accounting gimmick anyway.

I'd offer a couple of suggestions to the OP. First is to start turning down the gigs at the low end of the pay scale, now that you don't need them any more. You might even draw more at your higher paying gigs if your band wasn't competing with itself.

Second thing is to streamline your gear and setup, to reduce the total time commitment per gig.

Can you afford to take a day off without pay?
If so, then see if your work would be down with that. Then you are being up front, keeping your sick days and making the gigs.

If you can't, the question is, what would you regret losing the most?
If you have a family and kids, I would say it would be the job as bass players are responsible people. If you are single and no debts, can you survive with money made by band alone and maybe a part time job? Would your work let you have half days?

I would hate for you to have to quit your band, but also, don't lose your job over it. There usually can be a compromise.

I'm kind of in the same spot, but luckily for me I do the booking for our band. Although, I never have taken a sick day to play a show. I know that wouldnt go over well with work. Someone would find out. I just make sure when I use vacation days I make them count on big shows. Even though vaca days are limited. I wish I could just take a day off with out pay. I know my boss isnt a fan of the band because everytime I talk to him he brings up "how's being a rockstar?" sarcasticly.

I see a few options and the correct one depends upon your goals and the willingness of your employer to work with you.

Get dock days approved. This option shows your employer that you are being completely honest with them. Most employers will penalize you at review time for dock days, but if you make arrangement before you might be able to avoid that.

Become an independent contractor. This means you are your own boss and your current employer is your client. Of course you'll have to pay health insurance and such, but your employer might go for it as they won't have to pay all those addition costs. Negociate a rate at least 1/4 higher than your current rate. This is a good option if you foresee transitioning to music full-time.

Whatever you do, don't continue on your current path. Using sick days for when no sick is unethical plus using all your sick days will hurt your reviews. Eventually, your current bahvior will get you fired.

Also, many employers use attendance as a criteria for annual employee reviews and poor attendance or sick day abuse can negatively affect performance reviews, salary increases, and promotions.

My job offers a PTO bank of sick days and vacation days. It's actually pretty generous, but can wear thin with a few here and a few there. I wouldn't dare take a day off for music without advance notice, especially since I make it a point to bring my schedule to the light of my supervisor and can arrange for my duties to be covered for that day. I've taken two days of PTO in the last six months for music, both for ful day recording sessions. I may end up taking a day or two each week for 3-6 weeks in the summer to get weekend touring in. For the most part, if I have a show, I work the early shift (7-3:30), load and go as others have said.

For the out of town gigs, how far out of town are they? Can you catch up with the band after work if it's on a Friday and just work early that day or leave early with approval? If not, try requesting unpaid time off for those days or PTO if you have it available and need the consistent paycheck. If the schedule is in place 4-8 weeks in advance, you shouldn't have any issue with a reasonable employer making arrangements. If you are in a position where you're not essential to daily operation but they won't offer any leeway on things like that, maybe it's time to float your resume around a bit.

FWIW my current job is an unpaid internship. And I'm completely redundant there. I do a regular employee's job while he watches and tries to keep me from killing the customers. So I don't really have any flexibility with my schedule, but also nobody cares if I'm 'sick'.

Anyways, I talked to my band about it and they seemed pretty cool with working around my schedule. Got one problem day removed.

As an unpaid intern, if you hope to transition into a paid role with this particular company, keep a careful eye on your sick time and look into the possibilities of catching up with the band as mentioned before.

That said, as an unpaid intern, your job is not to fulfill the duties of a paid employee. You are meant to be learning how things work in your desired field and exposed to a wide array of the day to day. Your employer could actually be stripped of the privilege to staff unpaid interns if it were found out that your duties were identical to a paid employee.

Internships are not meant to provide companies with free labor and companies have been sanctioned by the labor board for replacing paid labor with unpaid interns.

Sorry for the rant, labor and education reform are some pet causes of mine.