Would you cancel if sick?

mward69 · #1 09-28-2007, 11:59 AM

I got REAMED my my singer/band leader for calling a canceling my due to being sick last Friday.
SO here is the deal....Left work Thursday due to running a fever, Thurs. night/Friday morning I was puking...running fever, felt like a##. I call him Friday around noon, now keep in mind he can call their old bass player ANYTIME since he don't work and was kicked out for me.....
So would any of you guys feel bad for doing this.....I am starting to see the singers TRUE colors.....lets just say there is a reason that he's been through 4 bass players, 3 guitar players and 3 drummers. it's all about him....now granted he's a GREAT singer {I posted the website with sound clips on here} But that really rubbed me the wrong way...it's was more like "you have to suck it up and make me sound like a god" type attitude.
I have NEVER bailed out on a gig, in fact, HE stormed off stage a few months ago when the guitar player got TRASHED and butchered several songs. Just stormed off, and The drummer and myself did a bass/drum jam for about 20 min. till he calmed down....but to get my butt chewed worse that my wife ever has done because I was sick just pissed me off to the point I'm thinking about shopping myself out to other bands.....I mean...we're a bar band {pretty good one} but none the less....we're NOT a pro band.....grrr....getting pissed typing about it.....lol

bassbrock · #2 09-28-2007, 12:08 PM

So were you completely incapable of playing?

jomahu · #3 09-28-2007, 12:12 PM

well depends on what kinda sick. anything gastrointestinal = no gig.
anything else, i can deal with....just not with a good mood.
might be TMI, but lemme tell you....gigging with PMS or cramps is HELL!!!!!!!!

sounds like a weird deal you're in. if it pays and delivers, then cool. but if supposed to be a fun experience....it don't sound fun.

slackdaddy · #4 09-28-2007, 12:18 PM

Sounds like you were pretty bad off. Also, there ia s good chance that had you played the gig it is just as likely that he would have called to bitch you out for giving him whatever illness you had.

CapnSev · #5 09-28-2007, 12:19 PM

I used to say no, I won't cancel unless I am going to yak or poop all over the stage, but since I started doing vocals I say sick=cancel usually.

agreatheight · #6 09-28-2007, 12:22 PM

If you are sick and cannot play, then you are sick and cannot play. If you are sick and can play, then you are sick and can play. It's the players call for sure.

**Thor** · #7 09-28-2007, 12:30 PM

If it was the same flu/body aches I had early last week,
I would have cancelled for sure especially since he has
a sub available.

I just wanted to crawl in a hole and pull the blanket in after
me. And I never get sick, but this last bug felled me like
I was hit with a sledge.

If you weren't capable of playing, stand up for yourself and
tell HIM to suck it up.

Phalex · #8 09-28-2007, 12:46 PM

Vocalists have the right to cancel because of upper respiratory illness. The rest of the band, not so much.

I had a guitar player with an inner ear infection once that couldn't stand up on stage during the gig. He sat on a stool the whole night. (He fell off the stool twice) He actually gave a very impressive performance. I had to sing backups last weekend with no voice, and I've played gigs after taking enough immodium to stop up ten men.

If you are getting paid to do a job, you really should make every effort to make your commitment happen. At the very least, you should take care of getting a replacement band to take your place. Just calling in sick close to the show date is very bad form.

I just read the last paragraph of the OP and that changes things quite a bit. The bass player is no bodies b*^#$!

mward69 · #9 09-28-2007, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thor

If it was the same flu/body aches I had early last week,
I would have cancelled for sure especially since he has
a sub available.

I just wanted to crawl in a hole and pull the blanket in after
me. And I never get sick, but this last bug felled me like
I was hit with a sledge.

If you weren't capable of playing, stand up for yourself and
tell HIM to suck it up.

Thats EXACTLY how I felt....Fever, aches..shakes, cold sweats....
I stayed in bed a few days. And like I said, they have a backup guy....wasn't like the gig went bad since I wasn't there. in fact that Friday they played to bar stools and staff since it stormed like hell that night. What REALLY got me ruffled was I was going to play the gig that SAt. night but the singer was like no, I have the backup guy so "enjoy" the weekend off {very sarcastic} I had a "diva" moment and told him I am the bass player and was willing to come sit of a bar stool and play.....this really is butting of heads that has brewed for a few months....
It's kinda like meeting a girl, at 1st the sparks are flying...but after a while, you see the "true" person and you start nagging at each other till it blows up into a huge fight....
I was not in shape to play Friday night, felt like I could "cope" Sat. night just wouldn't be all over the stage type thing.....
I don't know...

McHack · #10 09-28-2007, 12:51 PM

I'd have to be pretty much incapacitated, for me to cancel a gig. Apparently, the OP has no understanding that if you cancel a gig, its' likely your band will never get invited back... Unless you cant control whats coming out of either end, thats just a no no.

If you commit to a gig, & bail... I guarantee they'll be auditioning for your replacement soon.

driver800 · #11 09-28-2007, 12:52 PM

Personally, I play unless I am physically unable to do so or unless playing puts my health at serious risk.

If you're getting paid, you're a pro band. The bar owner certainly considers you at least somewhat professional or he would not stake an evenings revenues on you. One of the aspects of the entertainment business; "The show must go on", even if it's for only 10 people. At least, that's how I look at it.

If one of my bandmates were sick and couldn't do a gig, I'd just want to know that they couldn't physically do it. If that were the case, we'd do whatever was necessary to get through the gig. "it is what it is". If they just simply felt bad and didn't want to be bothered, that's not honoring the obligations to the rest of the band, the venue and the crowd.

Should he have reacted the way he did? Probably not, especially if there was someone who could competently fill-in. Ultimately, you're the only one that knows if you were well enough to play. If you weren't and you told him so, he doesn't trust you enough to believe what you say. That's probably a bigger problem.

**Eric Perry** · #12 09-28-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McHack

I'd have to be pretty much incapacitated, for me to cancel a gig...

I totally agree. I have never ditched a show due to illness. I have played propped up on a stool with a horrible case of the flu before, to the point that the second the set was over, I needed to (literally) go vomit.

I'd have to be quite literally unable to play for me to miss a show. IMO, it reeks of unprofessionalism.

Intune · #13 09-28-2007, 01:17 PM

I would have called the old bassist myself & made sure that he could do it that night before calling His Royal Voiceless to let him know I'm out but it's covered. How much do you want to bet everything comes to a screeching halt when Golden Throat gets a sore throat or laryngitis? But that, somehow, will be O.K... Could you imagine his face if you told him the gig was gonna be covered by another singer? Blasphemy!

agreatheight nailed it. Players call.

I'd wait 'till the next practice & tell him and the whole band that you were just sick before but now you are sick AND tired of his B.S. Let him know that you are not a child and DEFINITELY not his child so don't even THINK of trying to ever treat you like one again!

How's that? Now you're back to a level playing field with primadonna. Or whatever they call a male singer PIA.

If you get fired you can stand tall.

pointbass · #14 09-28-2007, 01:18 PM

I have had to short-notice cancel two gigs during my career. The first date was in 1976 when I was hospitalized for a severe case of mono (taken to the hospital by ambulance after I collapsed on the street) and in 2004 when I was again taken to the hospital for an emergency gall bladder removal.

Other than that I have showed up for the job .... sometimes puking, or other bodily emmissions, sometimes having to sit the entire gig 'cause I couldn't stand, twice with broken fingers, and many, many times when I was just "routine" sick. For me, a gig is a commitment that I feel I have to keep and even my sickened self is better than a cancellation.

But in fairness to the OP, if a suitable sub is available, I don't see what the big deal is .....

mward69 · #15 09-28-2007, 01:18 PM

Wow, interesting responses. I guess to each his own. I was in bad shape that night...all I wanted to do was lay in bed and not move.
I only get sick 1 maybe 2 times a yr. And when it happens, it's usually bad for a few days. I remember one of the things he told me during the a## chewing was..."all you have to do is play bass, I'm the one singing" Thats all...just play bass.....geezz. It's ok if a singer can't do a gig because the vocals are shot from being sick, but we are expected to get up and "just play bass" I am a very physical player.....all over the stage, lots of funk....the rock stuff I am ripping the strings hard..I just get into it. I really don't think I could load my rig, drive and unload my rig AND the band PA {huge pa} and play that night. Maybe I am blowing this out of the water. Maybe I'm a p&$$% when I get sick

**Marcus Willett** · #16 09-28-2007, 01:24 PM

Back when I was at Legends in Concert, being sick was really not an option. The generally policy within the band was:

"If you are physically able to make the call, then you can make the gig. If you are so far gone, you can't make the gig it'll be someone else calling to say that."

Kinda harsh, but there it is...

QORC · #17 09-28-2007, 01:38 PM

it's never happened to me, but there are some illnesses where playing would be impossible. I mean, if you've got the "galloping screamers", how is that gonna work?

But this is all beside the point. If your singer treats you like this frequently, why on earth are you in this band?

CrashClint · #18 09-28-2007, 01:42 PM

I had an emergency operation for crohn's disease back in 1999. I spent 5 days in the hospital where they cut an ten inch incision and removed three feet of my large intestines. After 5 days my HMO said it was time for me to go home. I had to play three days later, I was in bad shape coming down off of all the pain medicine. Every time I tried to stand up, the vertigo was so bad I had to lay back down. My wife called my Doctor and he prescribed me some super strong motion sickness medicine. I played 3 days later sitting in a chair with a barf bucket at my side.

You best believe, if there was someone I could have called to filled-in for me, I would have done it!!!!

If our lead singer would have said anything to me or treated me bad, I would have sent him to the proctologist with a jazz bass up his butt.

Craig Garfinkel · #19 09-28-2007, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Willett

"If you are physically able to make the call, then you can make the gig. If you are so far gone, you can't make the gig it'll be someone else calling to say that."

Kinda harsh, but there it is...

Gotta agree here. My own "rule" is if you don't require hospitalization, you do the gig. Exceptions can be made if there is either a suitable (meaning can handle the gig to the full acceptance of band members, leader, and audience) sub available (rare) or the gig can be done without you (rarer still).

Even if you're not technically a pro band, any musician in any band should strive to maintain a professional set of values and standards. I don't mean to get on the case of the OP, and this does not preclude the possible fact that the singer may indeed be an egotistical jerk, but regardless "the show must go on."

mward69 · #20 09-28-2007, 01:59 PM

Yeah I agree with the fact we must present ourselves in a pro manner. But like I said, there was a backup {actually 2} one is the old bass player, whom I am friends with even thought they kicked him out for me {drug issues} and the 2nd is a pro keyboard player they {we} use on some gig's if we can afford him and he's not out gigging himself. The "other" bass player didn't want the gig because the singer offered him lower pay which is BS, he should have got MY pay...$100 night. They got the Keyboard player to sit in the weekend, and from what I hear, other than a dead night Friday....the gig went well.
See you guys have to understand, I was sick...canceled 1 night, was willing to play Sat. night....not good enough. But yet we have a guitar player who is the singers room-mate, that drinks and has butchered MANY songs after drinking heavy. Thats ok...to sound bad during a gig due to drinking.....but me getting sick...?