• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bar Manager Refused to Pay Us! Now what?

#141
cassanova said:
That doesn't sound too competent to me. Competent musicians know to turn down, don't have zero groove unless its purpose is anti groove, and IMO don't sound like noise, layered upon noise, layered upon noise. Unless of course its music I don't like.
Click to expand...

i mean competent on their respective instruments,, as for being onstage & making music that people actually like,,,at a decent volume,, they didn't have a clue,, but i'm sure that they also thought their tunes were " catchy " but they were the only ones,, & the crowd told them so by leaving

listen,, everyone here is taking the OP's word as gospel that the drummer blew the gig for 'em, when i'm not so sure that that's what actually happened.

WE here at TB need links or clips to hear what this band sounds like
 
#143
Lowtonejoe said:
Well, since the problem was caused by the OP and his band it is up to them to make amends ...
All the manager did was ask the OP and his band to turn down. The OP admits the band did not significantly comply.
Click to expand...

Not so much. The OP said they turned down twice, and made it clear that any lower would have been less than the level of the drums. What I was saying was that the manager had booked the wrong band for the gig - that makes him more than a little responsible for the outcome. I'm just going by the post - of course if the band were actively seeking work in unsuitable venues that'd put a different light on things. Also, if the OP's post had been 'this bozo told us to turn down but we didn't because we rock so much', I'd agree with you completely.

Brad Johnson said:
It was apparently too big a deal for them to actually do what they were hired to do. What business would expect to get paid under those circumstances?
Click to expand...

According to the OP's post, the band had been contacted by the venue and asked to play - the OP describes the band as 'hip hop/reggae/rock/funk fusion', so *that* is what they were being hired to play - and with a horn section at that. And yet this is a room that can't handle the volume of an acoustic kit being hit hard, to the extent that it stops the bar staff hearing the customers? That's just bad booking.

Brad Johnson said:
I honestly think this thread breaks down into two camps, those who actually gig and have a clue and those who for whatever reason simply don't get it.
Click to expand...

Don't get what? Your opinion as fact? I gig. Have done for 20 years. I also do some promotion and book bands. I would never book a band without hearing them first. That would make me incompetent and unprofessional. Indeed there have been a couple of very good bands in touch recently who I had to knock back for precisely this reason - too loud for the room I'm working with.

MysticMichael said:
In the business world, performing a certain amount of work for which you never get paid - for which you realize in advance that you'll probably never get paid - is a lot more common than you may realize... :hmm:
MM
Click to expand...

Mate, I'm a self-employed musician running a media-production business - trust me, I realize! :crying:
 
#144
Hughsie said:
Not so much. The OP said they turned down twice, and made it clear that any lower would have been less than the level of the drums. What I was saying was that the manager had booked the wrong band for the gig - that makes him more than a little responsible for the outcome. I'm just going by the post - of course if the band were actively seeking work in unsuitable venues that'd put a different light on things. Also, if the OP's post had been 'this bozo told us to turn down but we didn't because we rock so much', I'd agree with you completely.
Click to expand...

The OP said the drummer was not complying. All we have to go by is the OP's word.

Are you saying he is lying? Why do you think that? Ok, ok...you didn't say that but do you get my point? Unless he traps himself in contradictions or someone comes up with proof to the contrary, I will assume he is being truthful.

This was a band responsibility problem not a venue responsibility problem.

If the band was turned down to the level of the drums and the manager was still unhappy, then the drums needed to come down and the band could turn down further accordingly.

:D

Joe.
 
#145
Again. The band's style (as quoted by the OP - unless *you're* calling him a liar ..!) was unsuitable for the venue. The music itself was not quiet. Wrong band, wrong venue.

You don't book a 'hip hop/reggae/rock/funk fusion' band to play in a venue where nothing can be heard over the drums (no matter how hard the drummer hits) - that would be stupid. Just like you don't book a death metal band and then expect them to play soft rock in a tiny room. That would also be stupid. You don't book a string quartet for a biker festival and ask them to play some Sabbath. That - no, actually that would be kind of cool.:p
 
#146
NorCal Dog said:
i mean competent on their respective instruments,, as for being onstage & making music that people actually like,,,at a decent volume,, they didn't have a clue,, but i'm sure that they also thought their tunes were " catchy " but they were the only ones,, & the crowd told them so by leaving

listen,, everyone here is taking the OP's word as gospel that the drummer blew the gig for 'em, when i'm not so sure that that's what actually happened.
Click to expand...

Ok, I get what you're saying about the other guys now.

I'm sure you aren't singling me out, but I agree with you about the drummer blowing the gig for them. Its band, henceforth a team effort. They all equally blew the gig together. I think the other band members should have kept turning down even when the drummer supposedly couldn't. I've worked with many a heavy handed drummer some schooled, some self taught and though they're dumb, they aren't that dumb to know how to smash a stick onto an object with less force to where someone in the back of a bar would have that much of a problem hearing people order drinks.
 
#148
Hughsie said:
Again. The band's style (as quoted by the OP - unless you're calling him a liar ...) was unsuitable for the venue. The music itself was not quiet. Wrong band, wrong venue.
Click to expand...


If the band, (according to the OP) was unsuitable for this venue, then why would the owner hire them knowing they aren't suitable for this venue? That just doesn't make sense to me and I'd be hard pressed to believe the proprietor wouldn't know what kind of bands would and would not be suitable for their own establishment, because I'm hypothesizing that this isn't the first band he's ever booked there.

Is that a polite enough way of not calling him a liar while still not being disrespectful and implying that I don't think he's quite telling the truth?:D
 
#151
Brad Johnson said:
If the first sentence is a by product, what is the main reason bands get hired by a venue?

:hmm:

The OP's band learned a $350 lesson. I'd hope.

I had a similar situation, the owner asked us to turn down multiple times. After maybe the fourth time he said if he had to ask us again, we were gone. This all happened in the first set.
:eyebrow:

We took a break. While my personal volume was well within what he asked for, the remaining members got indignant about being told how loud to play. I waiting a few minutes before chiming in. Then I told them that if we got kicked out because they couldn't follow a simple request, they would have to come up with my money because I was doing what the owner asked.

The owner was very pleased with the remaining sets.
:hmm:

It's business and unfortunately too many musicians are simply to childish to see that.
Click to expand...
Once again, we agree. I bought my drummer a set of Pro-Mark Hot Rods. Solved that issue immediately!
 
#152
Hughsie said:
Again. The band's style (as quoted by the OP - unless you're calling him a liar ...) was unsuitable for the venue. The music itself was not quiet. Wrong band, wrong venue.

You don't book a 'hip hop/reggae/rock/funk fusion' band to play in a venue where nothing can be heard over the drums (no matter how hard the drummer hits) - that would be stupid. Just like you don't book a death metal band and then expect them to play soft rock in a tiny room. That would also be stupid. You don't book a string quartet for a biker festival and ask them to play some Sabbath. That - no, actually that would be kind of cool.:p
Click to expand...
WRONG. They may hire bands that play the same type of music all the time. The problem is the drummer suffers from "look at me syndrome". Fire him and hire a real drummer.
 
#153
cassanova said:
[/b]

If the band, (according to the OP) was unsuitable for this venue, then why would the owner hire them knowing they aren't suitable for this venue? That just doesn't make sense to me and I'd be hard pressed to believe the proprietor wouldn't know what kind of bands would and would not be suitable for their own establishment, because I'm hypothesizing that this isn't the first band he's ever booked there.

Is that a polite enough way of not calling him a liar while still not being disrespectful and implying that I don't think he's quite telling the truth?:D
Click to expand...

:D
 
#154
Some musicians just don't get how to play with 'nuance'! I quit a band last year because the guitarist and drummer just could not turn down! I tried to show them DVD's of well known bands of all types and asked them to listen to the 'balance' of the instruments but they just didn't get it. It all came to a head during my last gig with them. The guitarist and drummer were just banging away! I complained to the band leader an he got pissed off at me! O..K..A..Y..........see ya! I know plenty of drummers who can play extremely quiet with regular sticks.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back