Hey guys,
Hope this is the right place for this, I'm brand new here.
CLIFF'S NOTES: Manager tells us to stop playing halfway through our set because we're too loud and incapable (mediocre drummer) of turning down, then refuses to pay us, not even prorated.
So we get an email from a bar downtown wanting us to play a 4 hour set on a Friday from 9:30 to 1:30 and agrees to pay us $350 (plus a $100 bar tab). We set up our gear and he tells us we can start as late as 10 if we want when the bar starts picking up.
A few songs in he comes over and tells us that the bartenders can't hear patrons ordering drinks and that we need to turn down. So we all turn down and bring down the horn section and vocals on the mixer and continue with the set. A few songs later he comes back and tells us he still can't hear so we turn down more. The only problem is that our drummer is self-taught and has no formal instruction, so he's a total beater and has 2 volumes: loud and very loud. Obviously there's no volume dial for the drums so the rest of the band has to match our levels to his.
Anyways, about 2 hours into the set he comes over looking furious and tells us we need to turn down or stop playing. Long story short, he refuses to pay us ANYTHING, not even half of what was agreed upon. We threatened him with legal action, telling that if he needs to either pay us or be prepared to show up in court, and he responded with "We're 15 chains strong and we have a team of lawyers," assuming we don't have the patience or know-how to follow through with this.
However, in his defense, there was DEFINITELY a strong correlation between us starting to play and the bar clearing out and us taking a break and the bar filling back up. I noticed that the two corner walls behind the bar were lined with brick, which as you know doesn't absorb any sound and so maybe that's why he perceived us to be so loud. But you could hear the band from across the street and they were incredibly loud, and somehow people could still order drinks... just like any bar with loud music I've ever been to.
And we're not some crazy death-metal punk band or anything, just a hip hop/reggae/rock/funk fusion with some catchy tunes. And we've never ONCE, ever ever EVER been asked to turn down by anybody.
So now what do we do? Between the 6 of us, we have 3 lawyers in our families that we can ask for consultation, but I was wondering if anybody here might have some personal experience with this kind of situation. We have email correspondence between this guy and myself confirming the $350 agreement we had, and we have multiple witnesses that saw him ask us to leave. Also, we're in California if that helps.
Any help at all is appreciated!!
- TooManyThinking
Hope this is the right place for this, I'm brand new here.
CLIFF'S NOTES: Manager tells us to stop playing halfway through our set because we're too loud and incapable (mediocre drummer) of turning down, then refuses to pay us, not even prorated.
So we get an email from a bar downtown wanting us to play a 4 hour set on a Friday from 9:30 to 1:30 and agrees to pay us $350 (plus a $100 bar tab). We set up our gear and he tells us we can start as late as 10 if we want when the bar starts picking up.
A few songs in he comes over and tells us that the bartenders can't hear patrons ordering drinks and that we need to turn down. So we all turn down and bring down the horn section and vocals on the mixer and continue with the set. A few songs later he comes back and tells us he still can't hear so we turn down more. The only problem is that our drummer is self-taught and has no formal instruction, so he's a total beater and has 2 volumes: loud and very loud. Obviously there's no volume dial for the drums so the rest of the band has to match our levels to his.
Anyways, about 2 hours into the set he comes over looking furious and tells us we need to turn down or stop playing. Long story short, he refuses to pay us ANYTHING, not even half of what was agreed upon. We threatened him with legal action, telling that if he needs to either pay us or be prepared to show up in court, and he responded with "We're 15 chains strong and we have a team of lawyers," assuming we don't have the patience or know-how to follow through with this.
However, in his defense, there was DEFINITELY a strong correlation between us starting to play and the bar clearing out and us taking a break and the bar filling back up. I noticed that the two corner walls behind the bar were lined with brick, which as you know doesn't absorb any sound and so maybe that's why he perceived us to be so loud. But you could hear the band from across the street and they were incredibly loud, and somehow people could still order drinks... just like any bar with loud music I've ever been to.
And we're not some crazy death-metal punk band or anything, just a hip hop/reggae/rock/funk fusion with some catchy tunes. And we've never ONCE, ever ever EVER been asked to turn down by anybody.
So now what do we do? Between the 6 of us, we have 3 lawyers in our families that we can ask for consultation, but I was wondering if anybody here might have some personal experience with this kind of situation. We have email correspondence between this guy and myself confirming the $350 agreement we had, and we have multiple witnesses that saw him ask us to leave. Also, we're in California if that helps.
Any help at all is appreciated!!
- TooManyThinking
