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Dont do drugs kids

perhaps the bass player comes from the school of thought that if you wanna be a Rockstar you gotta party like a Rockstar? Maybe they were antsy cuz they were all hopped up on goofballs? On the bright side they had tons of gear and chicks...
 
So i felt the need to share my gig story from this past weekend. So I was hired to put together a band for a Co-workers 60th bday. Long story short we were hire to provide entertainment from 1-6 in the afternoon (with breaks of course)and the owner of the property said party was being held on decided to hire another band to play out the rest of the night after we packed out.

So on the day of the gig, we get there set up, sound check, and we are rolling maybe 15 min late. Around our second 2nd the next band shows up and just starts trying to load their gear on to the small stage as we are playing. They were under the impression they were to play at 6 (meaning they thought they were loading in and setting up at 4 or so) and there the rub began. After conveying to them that we had no room for their gear up there (mind you they brought 2 uhauls full of a premo 1988 JBL FOH rig, guitar stacks, lighting rig...did i mention this was for a party >100 people???) and they impatiently waited at the foot of the stage for us to finish our 1 and1/2 sets of music. I notice a weird vibe from these guys right off the bat, particularly the bassist who could barely keep one eye open.

We finish our gig, pack up our mini van worth of gear and they proceed to unload a ridiculous amount of gear and take 3 hours to set it up and soundcheck, they're all fighting and bickering much to the amusement of the party and once they finally got going it was a southern rock train wreck, my lord. The bass player was trashed on what we all assumed to be heroin, he was nodding off, couldn't keep time, by the second set he was trying to sit on his cab and do the show like that when his band kicked him off the stage and the keyboard player filled in his part for the rest of the night. The bassist then proceeds to go into the house of the guy who hired him and fell asleep on his couch. The home owner/guy who hired them proceed to literally kick his a** out of the house to which he stumbled to a camping chair in the yard and proceed to nod off, every 5-10 he'd stir awake looking like he had to vomit and one of the band girlfriends proceeded to remove him from the back yard to who knows where. What the heck did I just watch????

A side note, the girl who helped get rid of the junkie bass player was later in the drive way vomiting with her pants falling down, we all saw much more than we would have liked to.

I should also mention that these people were all in the 40s-50s, this has to be one of the most pathetic displays I've ever seen, I'd feel bad for the guys in the other band if they weren't so weird to us the whole night. Anyways, thats my gig story
So was the girlfriend really a girl if the bold is the case?


Also, wow, that's sensational, 100/10, would love to be there, sounds like a great time.
 
This is why I stopped doing the band thing. All the musicians around here are unemployed pot heads, unreliable cocaine addicts, or the ones who drink a 6 pack every practice. I forgot to mention all these groups live with their parents and well into their 30s+. I switched from guitar to keyboard to bass, to drums. Now I do everything except sing so if I can find the right people I'll do whatever. I'd love to be in a functional band again. hoping a job transfer to a bigger area will fix this.

I don't mind someone getting a buzz and working on music. It's what the poster said above me. Most people go well beyond their limits.
 
I quit drinking 2 years ago. Not for any real issues, but I probably had a bit too much on occasion and I just wanted to have a clearer head and be on my A game with a young daughter now in the house.

It's funny to jam with my local friends I've played with for years who all indulge in lots of different substances. The evening usually ends in a train wreck, but it's a fun sort of train wreck.

The good news is I always drive the drummer home so that keeps one more drunk off the road!

By careful though... if the drummer gets to accustomed to you driving him home he might sell his big rig and buy a Prius ;) and of course he'll expect you to drive him and his set to every gig....
 
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Even if they were stone cold sober, when I've had watched their amount of gear they were trying to get up on stage, I would have alarm bells going off in my head.1988 JBL premo... ha ha...

I will not suffer fools gladly. I wouldn't even be in that band. I'll bet they have some pretty huge turnovers and turnaround in members, revolving door members policy. Age hasn't really anything to do with it. If they're stuck to addition they are.
 
This is why I stopped doing the band thing. All the musicians around here are unemployed pot heads, unreliable cocaine addicts, or the ones who drink a 6 pack every practice. I forgot to mention all these groups live with their parents and well into their 30s+.

Reminds me of a 'Bassist Wanted' ad I saw pinned up a local rehearsal space a few months.

To gently paraphrase: "Bassist wanted. We are two guitarists in our late-30s looking for a bassist. We have our own rehearsal space and record and produce all our own material. We are going to make it big. Our sound is a mix of '90s alt rock and grunge".

Basically sounded like two dudes who want more folk to party with.
 
We're I the host of the party, that is one band who'd have been cut short and "escorted out" sans pay for a completely pathetic show of professionalism. If I was doing such a bash as to have one band for the afternoon and another for the evening, there would have been contracts and one would have been an intoxication clause. I've played in too many bad situations (or at least seen them) not to add that little writer. One major rule for me when playing is to take it professionally - church hall or the silver dome. People are paying you. If I showed up at work blitzed, I'd be out on my ear. Why should I act the fool when playing and ruin a good time for all and the chances of any future work? If one member is messed-up then it reflects on all regardless of behaviour. Glad to hear you guys did well and had a free show at the end.
 
This is why I stopped doing the band thing. All the musicians around here are unemployed pot heads, unreliable cocaine addicts, or the ones who drink a 6 pack every practice. I forgot to mention all these groups live with their parents and well into their 30s+. I switched from guitar to keyboard to bass, to drums. Now I do everything except sing so if I can find the right people I'll do whatever. I'd love to be in a functional band again. hoping a job transfer to a bigger area will fix this.

I don't mind someone getting a buzz and working on music. It's what the poster said above me. Most people go well beyond their limits.

I can relate, since I quit drinking a year ago (was becoming an issue) I have found that I drastically decreased the amount of gigging. A couple guys I played with have some serious substance issue which doesn't make me want to jump into any situations with them despite them being very good friends. I have two groups now, a bluegrass group i play DB in and a covers/irish band I'm the lead guitarist of, these bands make good cash and everyone can keep their act together, I got no time for people who'd rather be trashed than make good music
 
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