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Carpooling...
- Thread starter Brad Johnson
- Start date
- Aug 16, 2003
- 1,130
- 24
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist;Essential sound products,Dunlop, Ergo Instruments
I had a similar circumstance a few years ago,
A leader who I had worked with fairly often called me with a gig in the UP of Michigan(I live in Chicago) it was about a 6-7 hr drive and we had a sound check in the early afternoon. He called me and told me that he(Gtr) and the keyboard player and myself could carpool in his mini van (we were using a Michigan based drummer)and he wanted to leave Friday night. I had a gig Friday so I told them I would drive myself which, like Brad,is usually my preference. He insisted that I ride with them because of the distance involved and his worry that if I left in the morning I would be late or wore out from the drive and that we would leave when I was done with my gig which was done at 10:30pm. So I played my gig and met with them at his house,like I said I had worked with both of these guys locally and on the road but had never traveled with either of them.
So after a long load in trying to fit all our gear in his Mini-van we set off around midnight and as soon as we cross the IL-IN border the leader,while driving mind you,opens up a bottle of wine.The keyboard player pulls out cups and starts pouring,I was sitting in the backseat and the keyboard player try's to hand me a cup which I refused and asked if they thought it was a good idea if they drank wine while we were driving. They told me it was fine and nothing would happen. At this point I got pissed because it was obvious to me that this had all been planed without telling me anything until we were already on the road.I pointed out that if we got stopped with open liquor in the van EVERYBODY was in trouble not just the driver and that driving at night on the highway with a buzz was never a good idea. they both talked me down saying that they had done this hundreds of times and I was freaking out unnecessarily (I wasn't freaking at all)The keyboard player even went into this whole thing about if we did get in accident that it was just our time to go; WTH?!?!
At this point I offered,actually insisted,to drive which I did for the next 5 hrs after playing a gig before we got on the road.We stopped at a really creepy hotel and got a few hrs sleep then continued to the gig and besides the trip back I have never driven with either of those guys again and never will unless I'm driving MY car
A leader who I had worked with fairly often called me with a gig in the UP of Michigan(I live in Chicago) it was about a 6-7 hr drive and we had a sound check in the early afternoon. He called me and told me that he(Gtr) and the keyboard player and myself could carpool in his mini van (we were using a Michigan based drummer)and he wanted to leave Friday night. I had a gig Friday so I told them I would drive myself which, like Brad,is usually my preference. He insisted that I ride with them because of the distance involved and his worry that if I left in the morning I would be late or wore out from the drive and that we would leave when I was done with my gig which was done at 10:30pm. So I played my gig and met with them at his house,like I said I had worked with both of these guys locally and on the road but had never traveled with either of them.
So after a long load in trying to fit all our gear in his Mini-van we set off around midnight and as soon as we cross the IL-IN border the leader,while driving mind you,opens up a bottle of wine.The keyboard player pulls out cups and starts pouring,I was sitting in the backseat and the keyboard player try's to hand me a cup which I refused and asked if they thought it was a good idea if they drank wine while we were driving. They told me it was fine and nothing would happen. At this point I got pissed because it was obvious to me that this had all been planed without telling me anything until we were already on the road.I pointed out that if we got stopped with open liquor in the van EVERYBODY was in trouble not just the driver and that driving at night on the highway with a buzz was never a good idea. they both talked me down saying that they had done this hundreds of times and I was freaking out unnecessarily (I wasn't freaking at all)The keyboard player even went into this whole thing about if we did get in accident that it was just our time to go; WTH?!?!
At this point I offered,actually insisted,to drive which I did for the next 5 hrs after playing a gig before we got on the road.We stopped at a really creepy hotel and got a few hrs sleep then continued to the gig and besides the trip back I have never driven with either of those guys again and never will unless I'm driving MY car
no you won't. i used to get tested at a factory i worked in & i was told that if i had smoked or had any second hand smoke or ate poppy seeds i would fail. so i talked with the employees of the testing office (i ate a poppy seed bagel that day) about what will & will not fail you & they said you would have to be locked in a closet with some heavy smoker for it to even register.
I stand corrected....though I still will continue to try to avoid putting myself in that situation.
FWIW, I have heard that about poppy seeds too.
I have seen people fail their test due to eating poppy seeds (muffin). Unless they were a closet heroin addict...
Got an email from the contractor, he's gone. In this economy with the money we're making not a good thing for him at all.
And it wasn't just for the nonsense after this gig. He regularly showed up late or barely on time for gigs, drank too much on gigs ( I really didn't pay attention to him on breaks) and the contractor said that and the other issues put the band at risk.
I couldn't have breathed that much in, I opened the window as soon as I realized what he was doing.
Ahhh... You poor thing...
I had to repeatedly explain that in another gig thread. Still not sure why.
On the sympathy tip, I don't know whether or not people think I should feel sorry for him for his firing but honestly, I don't... and I don't dislike the guy, quite the contrary. You do stupid stuff and quite often you suffer. That's why I keep stupid stuff to a minimum.
I left a band mate on the side of the road once when he tried to spark up in my mini-van on the way home from a show. 3:00 in the morning. Before cell phones. In the middle of nowhere. The singer went back and got him when we got to the practice space. Next day he 'pissed' and started to throw a hissy fit. I told him if I ever heard one more word about it I would tip the cops to him and have them search his house. Never came up again.
I am all for doing what you want to do on your own time, I am super liberal and incredibly open-minded. But I am not ever gonna let someone get me in trouble with the law over something like that. And to have someone not ask first? That is insane disrespect.
I am all for doing what you want to do on your own time, I am super liberal and incredibly open-minded. But I am not ever gonna let someone get me in trouble with the law over something like that. And to have someone not ask first? That is insane disrespect.
I wouldn't blame you if you hung your head out of the window. Sounds like he was a PITA....good riddance, IMO.
Sounds like he wanted to nip the conversation in the bud... mission accomplished.
That the guy had the nerve to complain later on shows just how clueless he is. He apparently did what my guy did, just fired it up without a word. Does that seem a bit much?
How do you even talk to someone that stupid? If I were in my car I probably would've done the same thing. Because that jackhole was holding in my car, putting me at risk. He could walk home for all I care.
BTW this happened in rural Virginia, not exactly a place I want to test law enforcement.
Sorry to hijack but I have similar experiences, only every friggin show now. My manager isn't working and my singer just got layed off and the drummer and guitard live in a different area so guess who gets stuck driving the two of em. I wouldn't mind if they both weren't the most obnoxious loudmouthed backseat drivers I've ever met, I literally once had them yell at me to go different directions then argue about which one was right. That and they incessantly joke about me getting lost when its their fault half the time for taking me off my planned route for a "better" route where I dont know where the hell im going. Whats makes it worse is Im fine with my manager cuz he got injured and thats why he's not working and does booking for us but my singer always drove himself then claims he wantsta save money on fuel when he's laid off, so annoying.
- Aug 16, 2003
- 1,130
- 24
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist;Essential sound products,Dunlop, Ergo Instruments
I spent a few years being the "sober guy" in a band I toured with.It was a drag having to drive every single night after a hard gig but not having to worry about a drunk or high bandmate flipping a van over was worth it.
As long as we don't wreck, I don't particularly care what goes down while someone else drives. But I won't abide anyone chuggin' or puffin' while I'm at the wheel.
On local jobs, it's like Dude, seriously: you CAN make it a half hour. On tours... well... I've been really trying to avoid going way out of town in the company of screw-ups.
On local jobs, it's like Dude, seriously: you CAN make it a half hour. On tours... well... I've been really trying to avoid going way out of town in the company of screw-ups.
