Stick With The Band Or Stick To My Principles?

there is no "ethical dilemma". The guy is barking crazy. It won't be long before his brand of crazy escalates and spills over into the band dynamics. He may be a good drummer, be this brand of crazy does not self contain well at all. Save yourself some drama and replace him.

 

I wouldn't turn him into the IRS unless you are all declaring all the cash on all your gigs.

Sounds like the band wants him out. Can you replace him in time for the gigs? If not, start auditioning, and as soon as the gigs are over, send him packing. He hardly would be the first nut or tax cheat in a gigging band.

 

A friend of mine was in the same boat, wanting to honor gigs but seriously worried that the person in question would make the band look bad at said gigs. It's a tough call.

Do you or the other band members know a drummer who'd be willing to sub for a series of gigs? I'd say, start looking for a replacement immediately, and if you find someone who can get up to speed before (or during) the upcoming run of gigs, run with them. And tell your booking partner, look, we have a personnel issue here, so these gigs are happening but don't book anything beyond them until we've sorted it out.

For all of what you've said about this guy, it doesn't sound like he's done anything specifically wrong to anyone in the band (apart from the largely symbolic stuff with the disability), and if so, maybe you can manage to let him go without it becoming personal - i.e., it's not about his personal views, but about the band just not feeling it with him and wanting to try someone else. You could caution him about the disability, recommending he not put himself at risk that way. He may indeed be a lowlife, but it's not so clear based on the evidence here. Nothing wrong with ending it on amicable terms.

 

I believe I would be practical and self-serving enough to play the gigs, and then turn the guy in. He's breaking the law and may be mentally ill. He doesn't belong in anyone's band.

 

Disability fraud is not a "largely symbolic" act. It has great meaning to the people who legitimately need help, who then also find themselves lumped in with the truly lazy.

 

I agree.

 

Please pay attention to the context of my statement. I'm not defending the behavior, but am talking about whether it counts as something bad being done directly to a fellow band member. His fraudulent behavior in a non-band setting offends their sensibilities, but does not actually directly affect other band members like, say, stealing gig money from them or assaulting them, etc., would do. The fraud is, of course, more than symbolic for those who actually need disability benefits, but that's not what I was talking about.

 

Get thru the gigs & get another drummer.
There are hundreds of good players looking for a gig.

 

principles.

 

Our fourth drummer was an OCD/Manic/Depressive with Boderline Personality Disorder, as diagnosed by my wife, using the internet as her tools. (I agree with the diagnoses, and I have a degree in Rock Music from the University of I-Made-This-Up)

He seemed OK at first. He would call me about twice a week, and tell me he was quitting the band, because he was quitting music, because he wasn't good enough, and he was thinking about killing himself, and I would talk him out of it. Sometimes we'd go out to a local Applebee's, and he would alternately cry, and tell me the waitresses really dug us. I wasn't sure why he was crying, but I figured, maybe it was because Applebee's is such a crappy chain restaurant, and the food is both mediocre and overpriced.

He started resenting my wife, and explaining to me that she was ruining the band. It appeared he might be abusing his girlfriend. And he wore shades a lot, because he liked to hurt himself, by punching himself in the face, and he would frequently have two black eyes. Sometimes, during a break, someone would ask me, "do you know what you're drummer is doing in the parking lot?" and I would guess, "killing someone?" "using drugs?" and all the other potential possible answers, but I came to realize the answer would always be, "punching himself in the face."

He called our guitar player a "lazy Mexican," and would then launch into a diatribe about how lazy Mexicans are. Keep in mind, the guy doing the talking was not Mexican, however he also was living off of disability.

Our guitar player is a very nice guy, and he said it didn't bother him, but it certainly bothered me. At one point, Mr. Crazy Drummer made a threat against my wife, and I told him to seek medical help, and a new band, and that if I ever saw him anywhere near our house, or any bar where we were gigging, I would kill him.

Now, that's not the solution for everybody, but in this case, it seemed to work, although in all fairness, I was telling the truth, and not making idle threats.

He did come to see us at an outdoor show a couple of years later, and seemed to really have a good time, and there was no incident of any kind. I had not mentioned outdoor shows, and since he kept his distance, and looked geniunely concerned that I might be unhappy to see him, I decided to let things be.

It's up to you to decide who you're willing to work with, and where you draw the line. I took too long to draw mine, but when I did, I really did draw a very clear, easy to understand line.

And only two drummers later, we got the guy we have now, who really brings a lot of good things to the band.

 

There's lot's of bands out there.
Only one set of principles.

 

Sounds like another guy who does the bulk of his research on Youtube... tell him tin-foil hats wont go with the bands' wardrobe and bounce him out. It's people like him that promote the image of people on disability, welfare, or any other government assistance to be a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings when in fact many peopl ein these programs are there through no fault of their own. I agree with your principles and think you should hold fast to them. You can always find another drummer.

 

Some folks who are into the conspiracy theories only have borderline personality disorders. There was recently a story that said half of all Americans (residents of the USA) believe some form of conspiracy story. It is odd, can be uncomfortable, but I wouldn't bail just because of that.

Cheating on SS disability would bother me a lot more. That shows a definite ability to justify truly criminal activity.

In the end his personal demeanor, his affect, and non-verbal communication would be better determinations of whether he has a full-blown mania or personality disorder. I would trust your gut on this, although since two of the members in your band don't see a problem, it makes me wonder. Truly "crazy" people usually come off that way to well over 90% of "normal" people. I use quotations to indicate those terms are not precise, but I am using them in the vernacular.

 

Do the gigs, take LOTS of photos, including load-in/out shots (with lots of big smiles.) Upload the pics to your band page. Then forward your band page to your local Social Services centre. Problem solved.

Personally, I would fire him too. There is a difference between harbouring fringe/taboo viewpoints and posting them onto public forums. In this day and age people are more apt to boycott something for political reasons than ever. Just look at Firefox, the boycott worked so well they fired the guy after a week.

 

Walk away! Don't compromise your principles for this loser. You'll find another gig.

 

I would consider the guy a serious liability. What if he does go off during a gig. If your are the BL, guess what, the lawyers would be all over you.
I would report his stealing to the IRS and the Social Security Administration. They would both like to talk to him I'm sure.
Now, for those of you who think no plane hit the tower, let me ask you this. How many people would have to be involved in such a conspiricy? Do you really think that many people would keep something so horrible secret for this long? We have enough conspiricy theories now.

 

My take; life is too short to hang out with people you don't like, music or no. Bottom line is you don't respect him, and without that, being in a band together will never work. Time to move on.

 

Had a similar situation with a drummer once.

He was an excellent player, but due to some of his quirks made some of the band members (myself included) and fans uncomfortable. Another drummer who had subbed for us before was interested in playing full time with us, so we gave the odd-ball the boot.

Didn't have to back out of any gigs. Smooth transition.

Best decision that band ever made. Seriously.