NYE Gig Cancelled on 2 Days Notice

[pointbass]

We got a call last night at 7:30 from the place we are (were ) booked at for NYE .... cancelling the gig with 2 days notice! I had previously talked a little bit about this particular NYE gig in this thread starting at post #17, so I won't go into full details again here ..... Suffice it to say that this is very strange and on the surface a disaster, but here's some facts:

We were given a deposit when we went into contract and received 50% of our fee for the night. (Just a lesson kiddies, always have a contract ), Our charge for NYE was $4000, so we have $2K in our pockets. Five piece band, $400 a head is ours to keep.

The venue (a new place in Long Branch at the Jersey Shore) is smallish, maximum capacity for NYE would be ~ 130 people. They were charging $135 a person for the complete evening, including food, open bar all night, tax and tips for the staff. We (the band) had 45 reservations from our following confirmed, with maybe another 15 or so still outstanding. The venue had 3 (yup, you read that right ... 3) reservations confirmed. In order to "break even" the venue needed 85, and obviously they were no where near that head count.

The owner asked for his deposit back and we politely declined to do so. Should he try any legal action, my band partner is an attorney and a CPA .... we won't lose that suit if it comes to pass. The venue clearly failed to promote the event, and while we had no legal obligation for ANY promotion, we provided, minimally, 1/3rd of the reservations for the evening.

We are not kids (by a long shot ) and have been an established band in this area for over 15 years. I have been playing for pay for well over 45 years and this is the first time I've had a NYE gig cancelled on me. Professionally, we're embarrassed and we have been hustling since last night to ensure that our contacts get informed about the last minute cancellation (luckily we did all of the reservation booking for our people through our band and didn't have them go directly to the venue) ....

Right after getting the call about the cancellation, my partner was at a local watering hole that we hang at regularly which is right down the street from the venue that cancelled us. They really don't do music on any kind of regular basis, but when they heard of our situation they immediately offered us their place for NYE . It's a win situation for them ... guaranteed 45+ people at a minimum, we gave them the band for $1K (which brings us back to our usual $3K NYE charge .... the cancelled venue overpaid us to get us to play there this year, see the older thread for more details if interested), and as of this thread post we have (fortunately) made contact with almost every one of our people about the venue switch. We will have all contacts made by mid-day today ....

The other bonus is that the new joint won't be charging a cover or anything special .... just order from the menu, pay for your drinks, have a good time ....

We were apprehensive about this whole deal in the first place as I talked about in the initial thread referenced above, but we took a shot and it bit us in the butt. It looks like all will work out in the long run, but it sure was stressful for a while there ...... Always have a contract and always pay attention to the business details. We could have been royally screwed and lost a bunch of loyal followers if we didn't have our bases covered .......

[T-MOST]

Well, it looks like you guys made an easy 2 grand and stille were able to hustle up another NYE gig in addition. Happy New Year!

[deekay911]

Why not pocket the $400 each and have a well-earned NYE off (maybe the first in a while?)

[dmusic148]

Venue #1 should have known it might be hard to sell itself @ 130 a head. Fail on their part. Meanwhile I don't have a gig at all this year, so, good for you.

[pointbass]

Originally Posted by deekay911

Why not pocket the $400 each and have a well-earned NYE off (maybe the first in a while?)

Believe me, I'd love to do just that .... haven't had a NYE off in many years. The problem is that NYE is more than just a gig event for us .....

Our followers/groupies/peeps/whatever reserve a large block of rooms at a hotel every year. After the gig is over the partying continues at the hotel and goes on until daylight. The whole evening is dependent upon us playing the gig then moving this rather large group of people to the hotel ... it's been like this for several years and we'd definitely ruffle some feathers if we were to squash this long-planned evening on such short notice ....

[synaesthesia]

You had the foresight to take a deposit as a guarantee against cancellation, so it happened and you are free to do what you want on NYE and you have the deposit.

Consider the charitable act: Pass it forward and offer to gig somewhere for free. You might even be able play all the tunes you want and play as many flashy bass solos as you want.

[pointbass]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Venue #1 should have known it might be hard to sell itself @ 130 a head. Fail on their part. Meanwhile I don't have a gig at all this year, so, good for you.

I agree, and we discussed that with them at great length when this was first set up. It just sounds bad on the surface, but in reality most local places are in the $70 a head range + taxes + tips + drinks. Have a few cocktails and you're close to that $135 mark. Problem is that some people don't drink a lot and that skews the cost ....

[AlembicPlayer]

another winner!!!
man I like these threads, very refreshing.

use the paper, it is your friend!
I try to tell anyone who will listen, use a performance agreement!


well done!
from a former jersey boy
is the stone pony still there?

[pointbass]

Originally Posted by synaesthesia

Consider the charitable act: Pass it forward and offer to gig somewhere for free.

Actually, the entire band pay for the evening is donated to a very close friend whose wife is in Stage 4 breast CA

[AlembicPlayer]

Originally Posted by synaesthesia

You had the foresight to take a deposit as a guarantee against cancellation, so it happened and you are free to do what you want on NYE and you have the deposit.

Consider the charitable act: Pass it forward and offer to gig somewhere for free. You might even be able play all the tunes you want and play as many flashy bass solos as you want.

foresight?
it's regular business practice.
paying it forward?
pay what forward, good business?

I wouldn't take this advise, after all the work done to establish your band as a credible business. It would be a dis-service to you and your mates. especially on the best paying night in this biz.

[mrpackerguy]

Very smart and congrats. Around these parts, very few clubs will advance a deposit or even work from contracts. When we were playing clubs, the best thing was to get in there, do a good job and get to know the owner. Absent a contract, seemed like the best way to assure payment and get treated well.

We're pretty much only playing weddings and corporate stuff these days. Still not requiring a deposit, but always working off contracts.

[pointbass]

We've been hanging around a long time and we run our band as a business. Contracts are a way of life for us, even with our very best/most loyal venues. It's hard enough to make money in this local area without taking even bigger risks by flying by the seat of our pants.

We bailed out of a big problem here because we are fortunate enough to have many years of bad mistakes & failures as our musical life lessons. We got ourselves into this situation with a bad decision, though, so yet another lesson has been learned ......

[Bass Viking]

Originally Posted by pointbass

It looks like all will work out in the long run, but it sure was stressful for a while there ...... Always have a contract and always pay attention to the business details. We could have been royally screwed and lost a bunch of loyal followers if we didn't have our bases covered .......

Yes, a stressful Christmas... just what you don't want! Glad it all worked out though. It's a business and you guys obviously have business smarts.

[scottice]

Happy New Year indeed. Have a great time!

Oh, and kudos to you and the band for the donation towards the lady with breast cancer!

[bongomania]

Wow, well, sorry they bailed but good for you for having your professional butts covered, and for making lemonade of the situation! Sounds like you'll have a better NYE anyway.

Side note- when I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be a post by bahamabass. If you've been following his/her posts you know what I mean. Otherwise, never mind, it's just silliness.

[pointbass]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Wow, well, sorry they bailed but good for you for having your professional butts covered, and for making lemonade of the situation! Sounds like you'll have a better NYE anyway.

Side note- when I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be a post by bahamabass. If you've been following his/her posts you know what I mean. Otherwise, never mind, it's just silliness.

As far as covering our butts, we just got lucky ... we made some bad initial decisions on this one. It could have been a disaster ...


And yup, bahamabass is a bit trippy at times

[baba]

Nice work Ed! Be sure to post a post gig update of how the show went.

[paganjack]

well played, sir.

and well paid, sir.

haha. the contract sounds like a lifesaver. glad to hear things worked out for you!

[pin_head_47]

Good deal with the contract. My uncle played cover bands for years and always warned me to use one. Did he actually expect to get a deposit back? Doesn't that kind of eliminate the purpose? Anyways, looks like you came out just fine... have fun at the new gig.

[bassman314]

That's awesome! It'll be funny if the club decides to pursue some form of legal action for the deposit.