Audience member that wants to sit in.

[nickbass79]

Love the cord!
I might go to Burger King for lunch,I wonder if they will let me sit in on fries for a few orders???

HA! I'm was wondering if I could sit in on your next appendectomy?

 

[Factor88]

I guess you never play parties Having the host/hostess or person the party is for come up and sing a song or two can be a huge win. The crowd will love them no matter how bad they are! Trust me, we do this all the time. And it does get us gigs.

Re-read my post. I said, in certain situations the risk reward equation changes. This weekend we played a wedding rehersal dinner where the groom's uncle wanted to sit in. Of course we said yes without a thought. It was in fact a train wreck, but the people paying the band didn't care, so neither did we. Trust me, I'm well aware of the situations where letting an audience member sit in is the best interest of the band.

 

[winndaddy]

My sister and her husband were dancing at the Wort Motel in Jackson WY when this ultra-intoxicated old fart came in and wanted to sing with the band. They ignored him until the end of the evening, when they let him come up and sing. When he sang, everyone was stunned. It was Merle Haggard.

Sounds like Merle. One time along time ago I walked on the bus. He was smoking out of a piece pipe and drinking moon shine. They handed it to me. I spent the whole show puking backstage.

 

[phatbass]

As far as I'm concerned, "If you have to ask, then you can't sit in". In my experience, with EXTREMELY rare exceptions, the only people that ask are the ones who aren't gigging musicians and don't "know the ropes". They don't have a clue, even if they can play or sing, about the art of performing with an actual professional (as in gigging for pay) band.

And I'll be polite as I can but as rude as I need to be - I don't bother with excuses like venue policy or union rules, I just say no.

 

[PlungerModerno]

It's not unusual.

LOL!!!!

 

[iamshanegoss]

be careful with these people! we had a drunk guy ask to jam with us while we were setting up for a gig. I told him no after I got approval from the owner of the venue. while I was setting the rest of my gear up, I heard a guitar come from behind the stage and was like "***?". next thing, the entire PA popped and blew several channels on the mixer. turns out he plugged into the same outlet as our rack, somebody told him to get out and when he reached to unplug his guitar amp, unplugged the rack. luckily I had a spare mixer in my jeep so the night wasn't ruined but we've been without our main mixer for 6 months now (who knows why). so yeah, watch these people!

 

[marmadaddy]

Just this Saturday night. Club is packed full of people there to see us. Singer comes up to me at the start of the second set and says some guy is going to come up and sing a Johnny Cash song. I have no idea who the guy is, if he can play or sing. We don't know any Johnny Cash songs. I know for damn sure that the guitar player doesn't know any and that he isn't letting someone he doesn't know play one of his instruments. A few questions later it turns out the guy plays acoustic guitar and sings one or two songs at open mics sometimes. The singer and drummer were in a band previously that let the guy do this once.

I just flat out said "No".

1) We're a rock band. Our audience didn't come to hear some solo guy play Johnny Cash.
2) It's the peak of the night. I can think of no better way to kill the momentum of the show.
3) If this guy wants to play to a packed house, he's welcome to bust his butt and develop his own following. Walking in to someone else's successful show and saying "Hey can I take over your stage for a while?" is just clueless and classless IMO.

I'm in the "never ask to sit in" camp. I'll always sit in if invited, but asking to play on someone else's gig is amateurish and crass.

 

[Wesley R]

1. In about 1975, I played in a Cowboy band, in a Cowboy, rough place bar. Turns out Thursday night was "Jam" night and we were supposed to let people sit in. Miserable experience.

2. In 1981, my first gig with a "newly formed" cowboy band, a cute lead singer chick asked to do a couple songs. She did, and when she sat down, she told the guy next to her, that she wanted me in the band. The guy sad "but I am your bass player" she said "But your my husband, so if you love me, you will learn to play and sound like him or get him in my band". I felt so sorry for the guy.

3. In 1982, playing in a orchastrated whore house/boxing ring, a chick asked to sit in and do some Joplin. Nobody in the band wanted to, but I had seen her before. We did and it was great. I would have payed to back her up in a band.

 

[gigslut]

Just this Saturday night. Club is packed full of people there to see us. Singer comes up to me at the start of the second set and says some guy is going to come up and sing a Johnny Cash song. I have no idea who the guy is, if he can play or sing. We don't know any Johnny Cash songs. I know for damn sure that the guitar player doesn't know any and that he isn't letting someone he doesn't know play one of his instruments. A few questions later it turns out the guy plays acoustic guitar and sings one or two songs at open mics sometimes. The singer and drummer were in a band previously that let the guy do this once.

I just flat out said "No".

1) We're a rock band. Our audience didn't come to hear some solo guy play Johnny Cash.
2) It's the peak of the night. I can think of no better way to kill the momentum of the show.
3) If this guy wants to play to a packed house, he's welcome to bust his butt and develop his own following. Walking in to someone else's successful show and saying "Hey can I talk over your stage for a while?" is just clueless and classless IMO.

I'm in the "never ask to sit in" camp. I'll always sit in if invited, but asking to play on someone else's gig is amateurish and crass.

We have a name for that (wanting to "sit in" during prime time at a packed venue). It's called "grandstanding". I'll politely tell them that this is not the time or place, but if they would like to come to one our week night jam sessions, they can sit in. People who want to sit in for the experience and fun of jamming don't care about the crowd. Grandstanders are only in it for the glory and wait until your busiest set of your busiest night to ask to sit in.

Then there are the people who don't play anything, but think it is appropriate to walk up to you in the middle of a song and strike up a conversation. As if what we do is so effortless that we can engage in idle conversation the whole time we are doing it. I had a guy do just that last Saturday. It was a fill in gig so a lot of the material was fairly new to me. He tried to engage me during a Steely Dan song, that, while not terribly difficult, did require my undivided attention. I told him "go away, I'm busy".

 

[mellowinman]

My sister and her husband were dancing at the Wort Motel in Jackson WY when this ultra-intoxicated old fart came in and wanted to sing with the band. They ignored him until the end of the evening, when they let him come up and sing. When he sang, everyone was stunned. It was Merle Haggard.

That happened to you, too? Merle really does need to get his own gigs.