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Gig question

iriegnome

iriegnome

Bassstar style
Supporting Member
Nov 23, 2001
11,263
5,577
61
Kenosha, WI 53140
#1
There is a pretty large venue where I live. A pretty famous one actually. We just got a call to open for a major act coming through town. All that is pretty cool. We have played this venue before as different bands, but this would be our foot in the door for the current band. Here is the rub. They only offered us $250 for 1 hour opening slot. That part is ok. However we have to haul our B3 and Leslie for the 1 hour show. Oh, did I mention that the club is requiring us to backline our gear (all of it) for the headliner? Did I mention this was also on a Thursday night? This is for a band who are Legends. I have played with legends before, so I am not star struck, but a little dumbfounded at the extremely low pay for what we have to provide. I know darn well, they are not going to the local PA rental facility and getting a Hammond B3 and Leslie for the night for $250...
 
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#3
When we were first questioned about the gig, the only thing the club owner was looking to use was our B3 and leslie. Then he wanted details about my bass rig (DNA, which they never heard of) and the guitar amp (VHT Pitbull, which they never heard of). In our initial discussion, the drums were listed as DW Custom 5 piece, so I assume they hear of DW..
 
#5
That really sucks because on the one hand it sounds like a great gig, but that is such a slimy move by the venue re the backline issue, how could you do that gig without feeling like you've been bent over and reamed?

The backline requirement is entirely to save them the cost of fulfilling their contractual obligation to provide back-line material. That's a lot of gear you've listed, and would cost a lot to rent. The low pay is just insult on top of injury. Given the comparative cost of backline rental, you guys aren't just doing that gig for free: you will be getting negative net income for that gig. I'd guess it would cost close to a grand to rent all that stuff---a B3 and a Leslie are specialty items, so maybe more. So you're essentially giving them many hundreds of dollars in free service in equipment rental, aside from whatever your performance is worth.

I would wonder whether you can pass on it without ruining any relationship you have with the venue. But, if this is how they do business, do you have better prospects to look forward to with them? On the other hand, they may be sort of over a barrel here; maybe you can negotiate something better. But I will acknowledge that I am just some guy on the web and I don't know the dynamics of your relationship with this venue or the people involved, which would be the important considerations re any negotiation strategy.
 
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#6
Sounds like someone is looking to take advantage of you here...most likely not the legendary touring band (but why be shy about naming them....maybe they do in fact have a reputation for shafting local bands that others on here may verify).

You're essentially playing 'for exposure' here...if you're cool with that, then great.
However, if it was me, I'd say no.
Sure, this gig might get you a foot in the door, but you'll be seen as a band who'll play for nothing.
Once that starts, it'll be very hard to change.
 
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#9
viper4000 said:
Sounds like you are playing for free, and they are renting the backline from you for $250. If you think sharing a bill with this group of legends is worth it as a resume builder is up to you. But you are playing a free gig.
Click to expand...

That's my take too. The cranky part of me would suggest adding on a $250 delivery fee on top of the rental.
 
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#12
That's an odd situation.

First off, I'm quite perplexed that an established touring act is using random gear from other bands other than gear they're used to using to acquire a consistent sound. I've seen a few specific bands play many times and they use the same gear over and over for a reason. I've never once watched a rig rundown video on Premier Guitar only to have the band say "We just use the opener's gear".

Personally, I'm not really star struck either. My originals band has turned down opening gigs for bigger bands coming through town plenty of times because of various reasons. I'd contact the person you've been dealing with at the venue and tell them you are interested in playing but you won't be providing a backline of gear unless they can provide some kind of contract regarding the possibility of damage to the gear, and to provoke a bit of thought on their part, mention the costs of the gear they're asking you to just let strangers use with no guarantees.
 
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#19
Everyone has great points. The rest of my band has the same points as do I! We do not need the exposure. Hometown crowd and such. We have not signed a final contract and are working out details as far as advertising, promotion (print, radio, television), future plans to book other shows for our band and a whole slew of other things. We have had about 3 weeks of back and forth email conversations about getting our gear approved by the headlining act. I am sure the club owner is working off their rider for backline. The truth is, if we were the headliner playing this club, we would probably be sharing my bass rig and our drums with the opener so there would be less change over time anyway.
 
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