Your Thoughts On This

jastacey · #1 05-03-2010, 09:10 AM

Here's the background ... I somewhat put everyone in touch with one another ( 2- guitarists, drummer, Me-bassist, and a vocalist/frontman ) and everyone seemed to be on the same page musically ( Blues/ Bluesrock ) ..... everyone is a very good player ...well after a few months ( about 6 ) ... seems to hit a plateau .... I did warn everone about the vocalist having substance abuse issues and everyone seems to like to do hits off the pipe and drink a few ( 2-6 beers, each person ) .... me, I drink about 1 beer per hour, but I've really had to tone down on my drinking, as I really can't afford a DWI, and my job does drug testing, so I can't be around the pot smoking ...so the guys go outside to do the so called partying or do it before the rehearsal ..... anyways rehearsals had become a, let's get Sh**tfaced get together , I asked them to try to put that drinking/potsmoking aside for a few hours, and do some playing with a clear head ... I really don't care what folks do on there own time, but when I'm spending $80.00 per month on studio rent, I'd like to kinda work and work things out so there is a quality product, anyways after what it seems to be talking to a brick wall... I just got tired of spending money on rehearsal rent ...and basicly told them to find another bass player ..... well those guys got another player and staring giging thier 23 songs ... after a few months ... I get a call to fill-in .... as the current bassist had a conflicting dates ( hey .... I'll take $ 75.00-$100 per gig !!! ) ... then the comments are " man I like your playing/sound, etc." .... being cautious, and observant ... the vocalist is sh*tfaced, and kills 3 songs with the lyrics from those songs but says " man I had it covered/made it work" ...seems some things just don't change .... well, I collected my money and moved on ... them a month or two, I get a call to fill-in and it's the same thing ( but I'll take the money ) .... well around X-mas I get a call to do a fill-in .... and things are just the same ... however ... they want me back...rejoin the band ... after I quit ...they are still playing the same 23 songs ... I told them I'll think about it .. ( but, they seem to get paying gigs !!! ) as I've got another band that I play in .... well they want me to do some free gigs ( I just don't like to do free gigs...as there always a cost, and I like to have my costs covered and if it's a legitimate charity, I'd like to get a tax donation receipt, or have a tip jar, so everyone can get some gas $$$ ) ... well ... this one free gig is a local radio show, and at my insistence, I urged every one to go to MY Practice space and go over the songs that we'll play on the radio ...shure enough the vocalist took something and after 2 hours ...he's f**ked-up .... well we do the radio show and he seems to be O.K., and I get a copy of the show for my resume ... then they start hounding me to do this benift, and I said NO ... I don't do free shows without something in return .... after a promise of covering my transportation, dinner and water ... I relented, said O.K. ....well they came and got me ,but no food ,no water ... and to top it off ... someone knocked my bass down ... thankfully, it hit someones leg and broke the fall, so I'm pissed ... and moan and groan about some careless idiot screwing with my stuff ... they basicly said " we'll get someone else" and that will solve the problem of someone screwing with your stuff .... so my thinking is after a few months, the so called new bassist will figure out the crap this band does and will most likely move on ... me I'm finally done with them .... but they are going to call for a fill-in gig ...... ( Hey ... I like the money, and they seem to get paying gigs ...yes, even at the same places ) ... but I'm just tired of the bullsh*t ... so, should I just ignore the call ... or just tell them that they are a bunch of ******* and find some one else .......

bassteban · #2 05-03-2010, 09:11 AM

WTL;MRL(WAAAY too long, might read later).

countrybass007 · #3 05-03-2010, 09:13 AM

To quote Hound Dog Taylor, "it has to be fun."

HailCorduroy · #4 05-03-2010, 09:31 AM

They sound like douchebags and you made the right decision.

Paragraph breaks are your friends

progrmr · #5 05-03-2010, 09:34 AM

Just let that whole situation go - you'll find a better situation without all the drama.

ChrisB2 · #6 05-03-2010, 10:21 AM

Major high speed head-on train collision. No survivors.

Haysoochreesto · #7 05-03-2010, 10:27 AM

I read as much of it as I could... I was in a similar but not as extreme situation and what I did was send out an email to everyone suggesting that no one gets a beer until there's only an hour left of practice time. They kind of grumbled about it and said that wasn't necessary. BUT, it worked. The drinking throughout practice business stopped and we were much more productive. Once in a while someone would drink 'til drunk but rarely.

And now that practice is at my house, no one drinks. I didn't explicitly lay down the law but after the first couple of rehearsals when a couple of them asked if I had any beer and I said no, they got the picture. I told them they can bring their own but I sure as hell ain't buying it for them.

A few beers at practice is cool with me, but when it turns into a weekly screw-off situation it sucks.

ErnieD · #8 05-04-2010, 01:48 AM

I can't speak to the partying too hard at pratice, cause we're older cats in a TX blues band. We do drink beer at our practice and at gigs but its not an issue for anyone, as in we don't get fallin down drunk or high. But hey back in the day, I was in those bands. We "wasted" alot practice time but it was pretty damn fun, at that time. Santana & J. Geils covers are so much more fun to jam when your loaded.

Buy I can reply to the play for pay gigs. When my blues band had some downtime this year I got a call for sit in gigs. This older than me cat does a 50's show, then some 70's-80's stuff. He pays me $80-$90 bucks a gig, the bars throw in a few free beers, its usually a Friday gig and I'm used to giggin most weekends, so I do em. Aint sh*t on TV Friday nites.

I actually like playing bass to some of the tunes he does. I know all his songs from playing em years ago and dont get a chance to play em anymore. Its a 3-4 pc band and he books these little neighborhood bars. I bring out a 210 cab with one of my micro amps, mic n stand for backup vox, easy load in/out, small PA, small stages med size bars.

I have a fun time jammin those tunes and when its a 4 pc I get to see a sax-playing buddy there, so its all good. Its just that the old cat doesn't have the greatest voice anymore and his guitarplaying can outright suck. But these bars are almost empty, its mostly fun for me, we get a few beers and paid some decent bucks for a small bar gig.

But recently he called me to do a gig near my subdivision NE of Houston at a biker bar that I've gigged at before with much better bands. I was quite surprised he scored that gig cause they go for more hard rock-classic rock music there. I dont think they knew who they'd hired.

Well, I had to tell him NO. I felt too many people know me around here, I know alot cats that ride to that bar on weekends and I just didn't want to chance being seen in that band. So I told him I was not available anymore, esp when he said he planned to try to book there regularly, Yeow-Ming!

Really?

Some of you may say I suck with such an attitude. But man, last gig he was playing all kinda wrong chords/horrible leads/singing flat, etc. I did those other couple gigs in (NW Houston) knowing noone I know would see me. But I play in some pretty damn good bands and just couldn't let myself be seen in this fairly lousy band.

My point to the OP was that we take way too many gigs just for the money but I guess I wont anymore. Sorry for the long-@ss reply, at least I used paragraphs. Besides my TX blues band has been booked most every weekend now, I'da had to quit any pickup gigs anyway.

So, Onward and Upward..I say. Oh, I heard from the sax-dude later they had a horrible gig that nite....whew, I dojjed a bullet me thinks.

Jim Campbell · #9 05-04-2010, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jastacey

Here's the background ... I somewhat put everyone in touch with one another ( 2- guitarists, drummer, Me-bassist, and a vocalist/frontman ) and everyone seemed to be on the same page musically ( Blues/ Bluesrock ) ..... everyone is a very good player ...well after a few months ( about 6 ) ... seems to hit a plateau .... I did warn everone about the vocalist having substance abuse issues and everyone seems to like to do hits off the pipe and drink a few ( 2-6 beers, each person ) .... me, I drink about 1 beer per hour, but I've really had to tone down on my drinking, as I really can't afford a DWI, and my job does drug testing, so I can't be around the pot smoking ...so the guys go outside to do the so called partying or do it before the rehearsal ..... anyways rehearsals had become a, let's get Sh**tfaced get together , I asked them to try to put that drinking/potsmoking aside for a few hours, and do some playing with a clear head ... I really don't care what folks do on there own time, but when I'm spending $80.00 per month on studio rent, I'd like to kinda work and work things out so there is a quality product, anyways after what it seems to be talking to a brick wall... I just got tired of spending money on rehearsal rent ...and basicly told them to find another bass player ..... well those guys got another player and staring giging thier 23 songs ... after a few months ... I get a call to fill-in .... as the current bassist had a conflicting dates ( hey .... I'll take $ 75.00-$100 per gig !!! ) ... then the comments are " man I like your playing/sound, etc." .... being cautious, and observant ... the vocalist is sh*tfaced, and kills 3 songs with the lyrics from those songs but says " man I had it covered/made it work" ...seems some things just don't change .... well, I collected my money and moved on ... them a month or two, I get a call to fill-in and it's the same thing ( but I'll take the money ) .... well around X-mas I get a call to do a fill-in .... and things are just the same ... however ... they want me back...rejoin the band ... after I quit ...they are still playing the same 23 songs ... I told them I'll think about it .. ( but, they seem to get paying gigs !!! ) as I've got another band that I play in .... well they want me to do some free gigs ( I just don't like to do free gigs...as there always a cost, and I like to have my costs covered and if it's a legitimate charity, I'd like to get a tax donation receipt, or have a tip jar, so everyone can get some gas $$$ ) ... well ... this one free gig is a local radio show, and at my insistence, I urged every one to go to MY Practice space and go over the songs that we'll play on the radio ...shure enough the vocalist took something and after 2 hours ...he's f**ked-up .... well we do the radio show and he seems to be O.K., and I get a copy of the show for my resume ... then they start hounding me to do this benift, and I said NO ... I don't do free shows without something in return .... after a promise of covering my transportation, dinner and water ... I relented, said O.K. ....well they came and got me ,but no food ,no water ... and to top it off ... someone knocked my bass down ... thankfully, it hit someones leg and broke the fall, so I'm pissed ... and moan and groan about some careless idiot screwing with my stuff ... they basicly said " we'll get someone else" and that will solve the problem of someone screwing with your stuff .... so my thinking is after a few months, the so called new bassist will figure out the crap this band does and will most likely move on ... me I'm finally done with them .... but they are going to call for a fill-in gig ...... ( Hey ... I like the money, and they seem to get paying gigs ...yes, even at the same places ) ... but I'm just tired of the bullsh*t ... so, should I just ignore the call ... or just tell them that they are a bunch of ******* and find some one else .......

just tell them you have as prior commitment....you have no obligation to them as a hired gun....

mkrtu9 · #10 05-04-2010, 10:21 AM

I would take a simple flat fee every time they want a fill in and call you. Come up with a nice round figure (on the high end) and they can make up their minds if it is suitable to pay. Might solve your problem, money is worth it and if they don't call then oh well. But I wouldn't get into a permanent situation with them.

Stingray5 · #11 05-04-2010, 10:37 AM

My eyes crossed up and I got a headache by about the 4th line.

I'd recommend more paragraphs and less dots.

Steve · #12 05-04-2010, 01:24 PM

Welcome to the world of hired guns. Keep it about the money. Do the job right. Get paid. No ticky, no laundry. Tell them to keep their freebies and their drama. Learn to say no.

The more you say no to the bad, the more time on your calender available for the good

Tylerrr51 · #13 05-04-2010, 01:38 PM

Forget them, soon enough they are going to stop getting paying gigs because they will put the substance abuse issues in front of the music they play.

JohnMCA72 · #14 05-04-2010, 02:06 PM

Raise your price.

Yerf Dog · #15 05-04-2010, 02:14 PM

ErnieD · #16 05-05-2010, 01:27 AM

got a call from a band I quit last December asking me to do a gig this month with them. It is/was a very good band, great energy, cool music, good following, great frontman. But the frontman/lead singer was always a jerk-diva and kept quitting and returning over stupid stuff all last year.

He quit once more in December '09, long enough for us to miss out on all the holiday gigs we were promised by clubs/fans. We tried so hard to replace him, even auditioned female singers, tho we woulda had to learn a crapload of new songs for any of them. The band was stagnant, we took a break from the auditions and from rehearsing after not finding a good replacement and decided to try again after first of new year.

While this is all going on, I got offered the gig with the TX blues band I mentioned above, so I took it, they had quite a few gigs booked. They are a very good band, female lead, very well known in the Houston area and she can belt out a tune.

Well of course the singer came back to that other band in late December saying he booked a NY's eve gig. He called to let me know. I was pissed, cause I commited to another NY's eve gig already, thinking that band was on hold til 2010. Then they were pissed at me for commiting with someone else. Hey, I waited around with them, tried many new singers, nothing happened. So I feel I gave them a fair shot to regroup. I told them I was quite happy with the new blues band now but if they ever got stuck out on a gig, they could call me.

They have gigged many times since then with a new bassist. So I dont know what happened that they called me today. I didn't ask, didn't really care. I did tell them back then, they could call me if they got stuck out. So they called today, so I guess the hard feelings have passed, we'll see. Besides, this band plays alot of Motown/Soul/R&B/70's Funk and I got a '08 Am St P-5 recently.

I'd always played either my Cirrus, 55-02 or JoBo5 with that soul band but I really want to try those Motown/soul tunes with my P-5. Just rehearsing here at home on PC thru headphones, the P5 (w/Chromes) really nails the sound for those tunes. Should be fun, looking forward to the gig, just hope no drama occurs but if it does I'm only there for the one nite. I can just go back to the blues band, at least I think I will.

Is that wrong?

waidonchasaisew · #17 05-05-2010, 02:27 AM

haha, well, if I were you, I would use those "fill in gigs" to make a couple extra bucks, but never practice or do anything else with them. I would just focus on finding a new band (i recall reading you already have another band, good for you!) and just working with them. Potheads, druggies, alcoholics (no offense to you though as you can seem to think with a clear mind) are not what I like to deal with (then again, I am still in a high school band).