free drinks for part of payment

You need to drink more.

 

i think that sounds like a plan, or just take a load home to justify it if they wont give you more pay

 

Give it a try, but keep in mind that the bar gets beer wholesale, so they probably won't give you the retail $ difference between what you and the other bands drink. You probably don't have a ton of negotiating room in reality.

 

If you cant get more $, get a bucket of beers with each set and give em out to your friends and family.

 

Recovering alcoholics?
To be honest, their chances of a complete recovery are slim and non if they are going to continue working in bars. That's like a recovering sex addict working in a whore house. As for drinking while you play, I've done my share of it but I play better sober and the only thing I do well when I'm drinking is GET DRUNK. I guess you could negotiate a few more buck out of them if there were to be no free drinks.

 

Good luck with that. That's pretty standard for club managers to do that, so that they don't have to pay you more.

 

Ask for more money. The guys who can't/won't drink probably feel crappy that they're not getting their "full pay" since they can't drink anyway.

 

So ok, the bar pays MAYBE 50 cents a beer domestic bottle. Even at 6 beers per band member per night with 4 members.

We are talking 12 bucks.

That's why club managers like doing that.

 

Get a bunch of younger guys to do the setup/tear down and pay them with the free beers. That was my first job, and on occasion if the band made next to nothing, watching the show and drinking for free all night was typically a pretty good consolation.

 

Man thats a great idea. I know a couple of guys that would have no problem doing that for my band. Plus your starting to get your moneys worth then.

I was going to suggest getting really really hammered at the gigs. Screw it, if the bar managers cheaping out on you. You have to take your payment in whatever form it comes

 

The roadie for beer idea is awesome.

 

Very good idea...

 

+1. That's a great idea.

 

I think it's a good idea to not drink until the band has finished playing for the night. I don't consider drinks in any way a form of payment. I usually have a beer at the end of the night and have no problem paying for it if necessary.

 

Six beers per member during a gig? Does this make the band play better?

 

I also like this idea in theory, but I'm having a hard time imagining which part of my rig I'd want loaded out by drunk kids.

 

I've been comped quite a few over the years myself, and wondered the same thing for a few players/friends I know that were sober - I know a few people that aren't comfortable in clubs/bars...wish that they'd have more opportunity to hear us play.

I work for CASH, but if the venue wants to provide drinks, more power to them.