• 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.

Members not making gigs

#141
MultiScaleMale said:
"Normal job" is his day job. You would pass on a 2x pay raise? Let's assume it all checks out and it's basically you will do a similar job, just at twice the pay.

I'd be less likely to do that with a musical endeavor because it's a side gig for me and I have the luxury of a good regular job to make the music gigs mostly a tax nuisance.
Click to expand...
Where did I say I wouldn’t take the job? The point is I don’t leave ppl in a bad spot if I can help it. I was reacting to the “moments notice” part. For a day job, usually notice is sufficient. Not always. I’m a lawyer and doing a deal right now with a client’s in-house counsel who has taken another job but she is staying on to consult to finish the deal because she has the key knowledge to make the deal happen. For a band situation, if I committed to SPECIFIC GIGS (the point), unless they found someone else to fill in, you better believe I would make every effort to do the gigs. I especially would not take another gig on the same night for 2x. That’s real douchey, bridge-burning behavior.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: lat, oldrocker and LBS-bass
#142
3Liter said:
Yeah I get it but 1. I got the idea that this was a hobby for the OP and 2. If you're a part of a "thing" and the BL books the gig you don't get to pick and choose the gigs you're going to play based on the pay ..do you? Does a pro do that?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they do. You said "choose," not miss. Most bands I know that play for a living have a minimum charge that they'll work for. A venue that pays less than that won't even be considered. Some bands are a little more flexible and the BL might bring up that they were asked to work for less than their minimum, to see if everyone wants to do it anyway. If anyone says no, the gig doesn't get booked.

So yeah, people choose what they'll work for all the time. But once you commit to a show, the money should be irrelevant. You do the gigs you commit to doing, at least in my book.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3Liter
#143
lermgalieu said:
Where did I say I wouldn’t take the job? The point is I don’t leave ppl in a bad spot if I can help it. I was reacting to the “moments notice” part. For a day job, usually notice is sufficient. Not always. I’m a lawyer and doing a deal right now with a client who has taken another job but she is staying on to consult to finish the deal because she has the key knowledge to make the deal happen. For a band situation, if I committed to SPECIFIC GIGS (the point), unless they found someone else to fill in, you better believe I would make every effort to do the gigs. I especially would not take another gig on the same night for 2x. That’s real douchey, bridge-burning behavior.
Click to expand...

Maybe we're interpreting "normal job" differently. I took it as his day job, maybe you are reading it as his normal band gig. I'm in an "At Will" state where I've seen people walked to the front door on a moment's notice, so if a perfect job came up that paid 2x and I had to leave right now I would. That's not going to happen though.
 
#144
MultiScaleMale said:
Maybe we're interpreting "normal job" differently. I took it as his day job, maybe you are reading it as his normal band gig. I'm in an "At Will" state where I've seen people walked to the front door on a moment's notice, so if a perfect job came up that paid 2x and I had to leave right now I would. That's not going to happen though.
Click to expand...
I explained how I would handle a “normal” day job. I would give notice. I wouldn’t walk out on the spot unless there were extenuating circumstances, not just a bigger pay check.
 
#153
LBS-bass said:
Yeah, they do. You said "choose," not miss. Most bands I know that play for a living have a minimum charge that they'll work for. A venue that pays less than that won't even be considered. Some bands are a little more flexible and the BL might bring up that they were asked to work for less than their minimum, to see if everyone wants to do it anyway. If anyone says no, the gig doesn't get booked.

So yeah, people choose what they'll work for all the time. But once you commit to a show, the money should be irrelevant. You do the gigs you commit to doing, at least in my book.
Click to expand...


As a Band you commit or not, once committed individual Members can't opt out. That makes things very difficult.
 
#154
3Liter said:
2. If you're a part of a "thing" and the BL books the gig you don't get to pick and choose the gigs you're going to play based on the pay ..do you? Does a pro do that?
Click to expand...
It can happen. I don't pick and choose necessarily on pay, but more on who the gig is that's conflicting with an already booked one and how far out the notice is. Example, I have two gigs that take priority over all local-ish gigs, and my locals know that. One always books more than a couple months out, so I have plenty notice to get a local sub. The other one (just two weekends ago, in fact) has been known to use me last minute and won't use me if I'm already booked locally. I could say to the local act "Sorry, more money, I gotta run", but I can't do that to them and the one needing me won't let it happen either.
 
#157
Gravedigger Dav said:
It was not right of him to do that. I suggest you get a Dropbox calendar for the band and share it will all members. Members should block out dates they wont be available. You will then know whether you can book a date. If a member does not block a date and tells you later or just doesn't show, he immediately becomes an ex-member.
Click to expand...
I almost agree. But there is a time consideration, too. I don't feel compelled to take a gig a week or two away, no matter what my schedule says.

Fortunately we are all grown up and know how to use the telephone.
 
#158
Gravedigger Dav said:
It was not right of him to do that. I suggest you get a Dropbox calendar for the band and share it will all members. Members should block out dates they wont be available. You will then know whether you can book a date. If a member does not block a date and tells you later or just doesn't show, he immediately becomes an ex-member.
Click to expand...
I'd love to love this idea but in practice it usually doesn't work, because nobody wants to keep updating their own personal calendar and another calendar too. Yet bands try to do this all the time, then someone gets mad because gigs get booked and someone who didn't update isn't available. You need to talk to each other about every gig, and if you're doing that anyway, this band calendar thing is not needed.

Now, someone's going to come in here and say it works for them, and I'm sure it does. But having a whole group of cats herded successfully into compliance with anything like this is the exception rather than the rule.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RustyAxe
#159
lermgalieu said:
Where did I say I wouldn’t take the job? The point is I don’t leave ppl in a bad spot if I can help it. I was reacting to the “moments notice” part. For a day job, usually notice is sufficient.
Click to expand...

Anyone without a union contract can be frog marched out of their job at any moment with no notice.

Notice is a nice courtesy - and if you want a good reference from them is probably smart to do, but it's a courtesy they won't extend to you if they decide to get rid of you.
 
#160
aborgman said:
Anyone without a union contract can be frog marched out of their job at any moment with no notice.

Notice is a nice courtesy - and if you want a good reference from them is probably smart to do, but it's a courtesy they won't extend to you if they decide to get rid of you.
Click to expand...
Jobs are all different. I am talking about my life and experience. I don't have a union job, however I certainly could be walked out at any time (anyone employed at will could, it's not a union-specific thing). I still would choose to give notice unless there were other circumstances than just a higher paying job elsewhere. Just my opinion. Also IMO, this has little to do with the original question. More pertinent is this: you have a gig on the calendar with your current band that you've said yes to. It pays $200. Someone calls you up and offers you a gig on the same night for $400. Do you take it?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back