Before taking such drastic action have you considered firing the drummer?
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Throwing in the towel tonight....
- Thread starter Volunteerk9
- Start date
Yeah...it's always swell when you discover your not a member of a band, you're just a cog in your BL's PEP (e.g. Personal Enrichment Program) who sees it as his or her personal piggy-bank. I was in one of those deals briefly. All revenues banked for "expenses." As in the BL's.
Good thing you're leaving. But you might have a little fun firing a shot across their prow on the way out...
I suppose if you were feeling like a real prick, you could ask for some settlement money in return for not reporting them to your state's tax authorities for running a business and not reporting any income. Since you never got a dime yourself - you're completely in the clear.
Odds are good these clowns don't keep any records either. So if you actually did, they'd have a lot of headaches trying to worm their way out of that one along with how the government might decide he's also an employer and subject to reporting and witholding requirements - as well as being obigated to pay at least minimum wage depending on the employment rules in your state.
Your local revenue department will also happily rat you out to the IRS if they go after you just to make it more interesting and to give you an an additional incentive if they have a state tax issue with you. (Can you spell 'gangbang'?)
Odd are good they wouldn't go after them even if you did. But Yoko and her moron husband don't know that - so at least you'd get some giggles before you walked out the door with nothing to show for 18 months.
Good thing you're leaving. But you might have a little fun firing a shot across their prow on the way out...
I suppose if you were feeling like a real prick, you could ask for some settlement money in return for not reporting them to your state's tax authorities for running a business and not reporting any income. Since you never got a dime yourself - you're completely in the clear.
Odds are good these clowns don't keep any records either. So if you actually did, they'd have a lot of headaches trying to worm their way out of that one along with how the government might decide he's also an employer and subject to reporting and witholding requirements - as well as being obigated to pay at least minimum wage depending on the employment rules in your state.
Your local revenue department will also happily rat you out to the IRS if they go after you just to make it more interesting and to give you an an additional incentive if they have a state tax issue with you. (Can you spell 'gangbang'?)
Odd are good they wouldn't go after them even if you did. But Yoko and her moron husband don't know that - so at least you'd get some giggles before you walked out the door with nothing to show for 18 months.
I've quit this band. I'm glad you did, too. Everyone should.
I've shared your pain. It may not seem like it now but there will be a better option down the road. Hang in there . Move on. It'll get better. I've finally found a group that is . Trust me it took a few bad ones at first.
If you're not having fun you should make decent $$$
If it's not fun and you are not being well compensated, find another band.
Time is all you have - spend it wisely!
If it's not fun and you are not being well compensated, find another band.
Time is all you have - spend it wisely!
The guys showing up with new gear is the one that burns me the most! The just wing it BS is a laugh!! Ok gimme the chords at least Morons!!! Once again the bass player is the least appreciated but have you not show up and they'll hold that against you till the end of time! Kudos to you my friend as I never seen myself as a violent man but they would have had me pretty close to at least having a restraining order labeled against me..
You are on point and I fully accept that I got what I asked for or didnt get what I should have asked for. This was my first band after a 20 year hiatus and to say I was more than a little excited to relive my youth is an understatement
I'm just chalking up the money I lost as an education I received and it will not happen again. I promise I'll shut up about it but another thing that torqued me last night: sound check - BL names a song that 2 of us have never played, drummer pretended to know it and the other guitarist just did the best he could. The first 'song' that people heard us do was a complete hack and totally negated the purpose of a soundcheck. Might as well have shown up, plugged up, gave it hell and hoped for the best.
You are on point and I fully accept that I got what I asked for or didnt get what I should have asked for. This was my first band after a 20 year hiatus and to say I was more than a little excited to relive my youth is an understatement
It's not uncommon. I have done the exact same thing, jumped into something after a long hiatus, and didn't look very well before I leaped because I was so excited to get back on stage and entertain people. The last time I did that and ended up in dysfunction it lasted 9 months. I had come to my senses, chalked it up to experience, bowed out gracefully, and resolved to never make that mistake and waste my time in that manner again.
You have what I consider excellent standards. You're detail oriented, and you know it's the little things that can add up and make an impression on people, so they're worth taking a closer look at and applying some common-sense standards. I just started a band about 8 months ago, we're doing very well, but when I was looking for players I was looking for people like you.
Keep looking for people like you.
Band Leaders aren't necessarily good producers. It IS show business after all. Have to put on a show that people want. We can all play our guilty pleasure songs at home. Doesn't mean ANYONE wants to hear them.
Sans the money part, I could have written that about my last band. Add to it excruciating volume levels in my case.
I quit a few months ago and have decided that the next cover band of this sort that I join will have me as the BL. I'm perfectly happy not playing in a mediocre bar band of middle aged guys that have no interest in becoming truly GOOD.
Congrats on just being a good guy @Volunteerk9 and that's about all I can say....other than best of luck with whatever is next.
As I read your list I thought, "some of those should have been OK". Then I read your explanation and realized that most of those were the ones with asterisks, though "working man blues" goes over well where I live.
I had a BL mention that we were going to do a song at a gig that we had never rehearsed but "everybody knows". I said, politely, that I refuse to play something that we have not rehearsed, unless it is a request accompanied by a $20 bill. He hasn't asked since.You are on point and I fully accept that I got what I asked for or didnt get what I should have asked for. This was my first band after a 20 year hiatus and to say I was more than a little excited to relive my youth is an understatement
I promise I'll shut up about it but another thing that torqued me last night: sound check - BL names a song that 2 of us have never played, drummer pretended to know it and the other guitarist just did the best he could. The first 'song' that people heard us do was a complete hack and totally negated the purpose of a soundcheck. Might as well have shown up, plugged up, gave it hell and hoped for the best.
