We were playing one night and David Crosby walks in...
View attachment 5191676
okay I'm lyin' that's someone else.
Got me!! Even though I was thinkin' how much he's changed...
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The "sit-in" from hell
- Thread starter Stinsok
- Start date
Got me!! Even though I was thinkin' how much he's changed...
I never ask to sit in, and when occasionally asked, I decline unless it's a jam night. I am there to see you!
We occasionally have people ask to sit in and it's a no if we don't know you.
On one of my last gigs, a young girl is talking to us during a break and asking if we know a particular Céline Dion song. We don't play any Céline, so that was a no. She says she went up on a karaoke night and people were complimenting her on how much she sounds like Céline and how she really wants to sing. So, she manages to convince our singer to go up acappella. My singer rings up the song on her phone and plays it into one of the other mics and we start off the set with her doing her thing. Well, as you might suspect, that thing was not very in-tune and very weak. She said she was nervous, but as she got off the stage, the bouncer was on his way to remove her! It wasn't horrendous bad. But not at a level that should be asking to go on stage!
In my opinion, there are three general outcomes of a sit in:
1) They are disastrous. That's not a good thing.
2) They are really good. It makes the regular player or singer look worse in comparison and then maybe people are wishing that the other person was playing instead of you.
3) They are okay. Well if they're just okay, why not just have the band that is up there play the whole night!
Well okay, if the player (or singer) is good, then everyone has a good time.
The way I see it, is the venue has hired you because they know you can do a good job. So why put that in jeopardy?
We occasionally have people ask to sit in and it's a no if we don't know you.
On one of my last gigs, a young girl is talking to us during a break and asking if we know a particular Céline Dion song. We don't play any Céline, so that was a no. She says she went up on a karaoke night and people were complimenting her on how much she sounds like Céline and how she really wants to sing. So, she manages to convince our singer to go up acappella. My singer rings up the song on her phone and plays it into one of the other mics and we start off the set with her doing her thing. Well, as you might suspect, that thing was not very in-tune and very weak. She said she was nervous, but as she got off the stage, the bouncer was on his way to remove her! It wasn't horrendous bad. But not at a level that should be asking to go on stage!
In my opinion, there are three general outcomes of a sit in:
1) They are disastrous. That's not a good thing.
2) They are really good. It makes the regular player or singer look worse in comparison and then maybe people are wishing that the other person was playing instead of you.
3) They are okay. Well if they're just okay, why not just have the band that is up there play the whole night!
Well okay, if the player (or singer) is good, then everyone has a good time.
The way I see it, is the venue has hired you because they know you can do a good job. So why put that in jeopardy?
If asked, I'd sit in on bass, guitar, or vocals. Whatever I thought I could pull off. Especially if it's a good crowd---gets more people to my next show
Any impromptu requests to sit in, “Just for a song or two,” by someone I don’t know, is usually met with, “Will you let me borrow your car for 15 minutes?”
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No, ask to borrow his wife
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Gotta be careful with that tactic
Long long ago, I was playing a solo guitar gig and a guy asked me if I minded him borrowing my guitar to play a tune. My answer was "Maybe. Do you mind if I **** your girlfriend?" Unfortunately for me he answers (right in front of her BTW) "Sure! Go right ahead"
Fastest thinking on my feet I've ever accomplished, before or since:
"Obviously I value this guitar more than you value your girlfriend"
---------------------------------------------------
No, ask to borrow his wife
---------------------------------------------------
Gotta be careful with that tactic
Long long ago, I was playing a solo guitar gig and a guy asked me if I minded him borrowing my guitar to play a tune. My answer was "Maybe. Do you mind if I **** your girlfriend?" Unfortunately for me he answers (right in front of her BTW) "Sure! Go right ahead"
Fastest thinking on my feet I've ever accomplished, before or since:
"Obviously I value this guitar more than you value your girlfriend"
We just don't allow sit ins and the one time I was actually asked I declined.
And our reasons for not doing it is not because we're arrogant about our talent level. First, once one person is allowed you get other requests and it snowballs. And mostly it's because we did the practices at home an together, hauled the gear, set up the gear. Please go find your own gig.
And our reasons for not doing it is not because we're arrogant about our talent level. First, once one person is allowed you get other requests and it snowballs. And mostly it's because we did the practices at home an together, hauled the gear, set up the gear. Please go find your own gig.
this is my favorite part of the story ~
Non member here.
Yeah, my one and only time of playing a church "gig" was a sub request by the drummer in one of my bands for an early Sunday morning service. I did it for no pay and as a favor. It didn't go well. No set "sets" of duration (Are we on for 15 or 30 minutes?). My friend said we had to play it by ear. (oh boy)
The service just kind of meandered with the pastor deciding, when the spirit hit him, we were to play. So after an hour of standing there between "sets", I hit the restroom. I come back and sure and shooting, they're all up there playing with no bass player. My friend was peeved that I came up late. I reminded him later I was no mind reader and neither was my bladder.
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That's how I treat it from the other side...I'm not going to even ask if I can, I'm there to watch them. And nine times out of ten, I'll politely decline unless they're good friends and insist. Because it's their night to work, not mine, I want to enjoy what they're doing and support them.
We'll have a guitarist sit in on rare occasions, but it's never a rando from the crowd. Our BL has a lot of connections in the local music scene, so if one of his buddies from another known band shows up, he may offer a song or two. He has pretty high standards for the band and musicians in general, so I never have any reservations about it; they've always been top notch players.
The one random request we've received was on someone's birthday. She was a professional flautist and asked if there was a jammy song somewhere in the set where she could come up and play. We were all taken aback a bit, mainly by the fact that she brought her flute to a bar! She fell into the "okay" category... We could tell she had chops, but apparently just wasn't prepared to play in Eb
I've never had anyone request to on sit in on bass, and my answer would be a firm no unless it was a close friend of mine that I know could hang. But then most bassist friends of mine have the same stance as I do on sit-ins... You don't swap out a rhythm section!
If you want to sit in, go find an open mic night somewhere. I've got a job to do, and this place isn't paying YOU to play.
The one random request we've received was on someone's birthday. She was a professional flautist and asked if there was a jammy song somewhere in the set where she could come up and play. We were all taken aback a bit, mainly by the fact that she brought her flute to a bar! She fell into the "okay" category... We could tell she had chops, but apparently just wasn't prepared to play in Eb
I've never had anyone request to on sit in on bass, and my answer would be a firm no unless it was a close friend of mine that I know could hang. But then most bassist friends of mine have the same stance as I do on sit-ins... You don't swap out a rhythm section!
If you want to sit in, go find an open mic night somewhere. I've got a job to do, and this place isn't paying YOU to play.
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I've been asked to sit in a few times, and sometimes I reluctantly went along with it. I don't see much point in sitting in on bass especially if you're playing something similar to what the band's bassist would already be doing. Sometimes I did it to add some extra vocals, but it generally wasn't necessary in the end. The ones that really get me are the slap happy overplayers that take a nice tune and ruin it with bass histrionics. So, yeah - the whole concept of sitting in on bass can be fraught with numerous complications.
And to add the poster who said that re: valuing bass more than gf, yes, that, too.
The wife/gf thing was and likely still is a thing with certain other "social" groups I'm familiar with who travel mostly on two wheels. "Hey, *bro*, can I ride your xxx?" The answer can be, "Sure, if I/we can 'ride' your wife/gf..." if not an outright "F-- off." I've never heard that request granted.
I have never, and never will, ask to sit in. I wouldn't presume. I won't if asked, either, haha, because I KNOW I'm a mediocre bass player, and it isn't my gig.
Last night we had one of the good guys sitting in. Danny Frasier [far right], who we've all played with at one time or another.
That's really funny. The guitarist that joined our start up project (me and the drummer) is a seasoned touring guy but had been out for a while. The first rehearsal, the guitarist lays things out and we talk about things that everyone seems to take for granted. Things like splitting money/expenses, bringing in new members, all sorts of stuff that seems obvious but apparently he had experienced the wrong side of it.
- The lead guitarist of his old band, on more than one occassion, opened a tab in the band's name and drank their pay away, buying rounds for people.
- The drummer from the same band got butt hurt when the pay was divided up. He wanted all the pay because he was going to buy a new snare.
- After he left, the band took all the original music that our guitarist had written and continued to play it without any renumeration or royalties.
So yeah, it is important to talk out the obvious things as well as the unlikely events just so there are no surprises.
