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"Squirrel" Radar.....

Roy Vogt

Supporting Member
Sep 20, 2000
4,433
537
Nashville,TN
www.royvogt.com
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Kiesel Basses, Ampeg Amplification, Hotone Ampero II effects
Good night! Sometime you get gig calls that make you grateful that you don't have to take them...
I got a call from some guy today-let's call him "Son of Famous Deceased Country Star". He was looking for a bassist to do a gig with 3 other "Children or Relatives of Deceased Country Stars". 3 rehearsals plus the gig for $100....Jeez!
I told him to call the Nashville Musicians Union for a list of bass players and he said, "I don't like the Union, they ripped me off!" He then proceeded to tell me that he just fired his last bass player for taking his shoes off and playing on top of the bar barefoot at their last gig....
Does anybody else here have what I call "squirrel radar"? I can usually tell within about 5 minutes that I'm not talking to someone with a firm grasp on reality. If I had time to burn I'd almost like to take one of these gigs every now and then-but I'm grateful I never have to...
Oh, he called me "Dave" through the entire conversation LMAO
A friend of mine called me later and apologized to me for giving my name to this guy. He thought he was legit enough until he went to his website...
I did tell him not to worry, it was amusing and made me grateful I didn't have to depend on this sort of thing-only in Nashville!
 
Hi.

I call it a moron detector, but yes, I have one as well.

For me it's not gigs though, not enough opportunities around here I guess.

For me it's automotive repairs or motorcycle maintenance/customizing.

The morons usually tell me exactly when I will be able to do the thing(s) they need to be done, how much it will take to do it and how much I'll charge.

I always try my hardest to be polite, but sometimes it's just too much to take ;).

Regards
Sam
 
I just realized that this is the same guy that starred in an mp3 called "The Gig from Hell" that was making the rounds here in Nashville. It just got weirder and weirder but the drummer who was taking the call just kept leading the guy on. It's above my bandwidth but I'll try to find a way to post a link.....
 
Being a bit kooky myself, I usually give other crazies much more slack than others would (or should). But in some cases there does come a point where I realize the conversation or transaction cannot be salvaged, and I cut it off at that point. So I also have "squirrel radar", but I don't fire the torpedoes until negotiations have failed. :p
 
Five minutes? You need to upgrade your sensor. It should only take a few seconds. :D

It's amazing how all these guys have about five minutes of "Hi, I'm Son of Famous Deceased Country Star with XYZ Records and I need a bass player for a Major Concert Date.....<insert Music Business Buzz Words here>" and then you start seeing the buck teeth, the bushy tail, and the proclivity for storing nuts for the Winter :D
 
Dave, I call it something else, but, "Squirrel RADAR" works just as well, Roy. By some chance, did you, say, answer the phone with something like, "Hi, Roy speaking!" And he still called you Dave?
 
$275 for the WEEK??? 4 2 hour shows a day times 6 days a week? For $275?? :hyper::D

Even if you figure a normal gig might be 4 hours, so you could cal it 2 gigs a day, 6 days a week... 12 shows for $275?

That's $22 and change per gig equivalent. 48 hrs of playing for about $5.70 per hour, plus rehearsals...

Hope that's not really the going rate in Vegas...

Randy