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Try to top this : Singer leaves between sets, without a word

yamaha

yamaha

Apr 7, 2006
1,264
14
57
Montreal
#1
So we had a gig tonight. I am in a Classic Rock and Hard rock cover band. We've been together about 3 years, and after year one, we changed vocalist to our present singer. We do 6 to 8 gigs a year, and most times, we negotiate a decent salary for gigs.

Tonight, the place was packed. Many were standing, as there wasn't enough seats. Not enough staff for the clientele either, both owners had to work the bar to keep up. So the setting was good for a great show.

Our singer was pretty bad tonight. Not, I have to leave now kind of bad, but maybe we won't stay for the 3rd set after all kind of bad. The first set was OK musically, but vocals were so-so. Second set, the music was way better. We were really grooving, and connecting with each other. Vocals we still so-so.

As we get ready to start the third set, we can't find our singer. We look everywhere, and finally notice his car is gone. WHAT?, what's going on. We finally reach him on his cell. Says he'll be there in 5 minutes. 25 minutes later, we're ready to cancel set 3, and a client from the bar says he can sing. So we do 6 songs with him (he really couldn't sing) and start to pack up our stuff.
 
#2
That's some horse s**t.

Okay, sounds like a good packed house. I don't care how self-conscious you are about your performance...YOU HAVE A GIG TO DO. I don't care how shi**y your performace is. YOU HAVE A GIG TO DO. AND FINISH, I might add.

So your singer has a bad night. We've all had them. They suck. However in a band situation most of the time you grin and bear it, bite your tounge and get through the gig despite what your mind is calling a bad performance. I say "bad performance" meaning that a band is the sum of it's parts, equalling a whole, not just one part.

Which is why the singer BAILING is completely unacceptable. I've had gigs where I felt I was way off, and i've never had the stupid inclination to abandon the rest of my band. Apparently your singer thinks otherwise.

Maybe the front-person is more disposable than the bass player, but still...F**K that A**hole. Frontpeople are a dime a friggin' dozen. Put up a fence of zero tolerance, because if I were you I would never share a stage with that flake again. Bad Gig? Share it with your bandmates...don't friggin' bail on them. I've endured countless bad gigs, and my bandmates despite any tensions we may have get the privelige of sharing our sh*t nights together, along with the great spectacular nights. THAT'S BEING IN A BAND IN A NUTSHELL. Live together, die alone. Heads up men, we're taking that hill, and so forth.

In summary,Yamaha (hey, that's the name of my first Bass amp!)....I seriously wouldn't put up with what you endured in that experience. It feels like a stab in the back.
 
#4
"Show must go on! Inside my hear is breaking, my make-up may be flaking but my smile still stays on" - I can't describe it any better. A job is a job and it needs to be done or one gets fired. You need to talk to the singer and make sure he understands that what he did is totally unacceptable and really unprofessional. I would show him the door unless he's a really good singer and would promise never do such thing again (or at least have a really good explanation).
 
#5
I had a similar experience, regarding a "major" gig (min 400 people). It was my first gig as a bass player too (playing the guitar for few years had nothing to do with owning and playing a 5str bass two weeks before the gig, in lack of a bass player). In the original playlist I only sang the first song and the other guy would take over after that. He did not show up and I heard the drummer saying "it's up to you to pull it through"!!!!

I had no training in terms of singing so instead of ruining the lot, I chose to sing on the tones chosen from the (absent) singer and keep the bass lines intact. I was able to save the gig and all were happy (except from my throat). At that gig I realized I could play the bass lines and sing concurrently, and I never looked back. But I know how it feels when the singer leaves between sets, without a word.

PS the singer turned up few months later at a rehearsal and did not even try to apologize. He was not welcome and we told him to leave
 
#9
Thats why it is so important to have more than one person who can sing leads. The bonus to that is that you can also then have great harmonies, which will set your band apart (above IMO) many other bands that just have one singer/frontperson with mediocre backup vocals.
BTW, find a new singer...that was unacceptable.
Good Luck!
 
#12
Let's say (charitably) that he was just "having a bad night". Completely aside from the issue of "soldiering through", he should still have realized that people were getting drunker as the night went on, so his singing was going be more and more tolerable to the audience.

But the whole "I'll be there in 5 minutes" thing is the last nail in his coffin IMO.
 
#13
Bummer. i hate band dramma but yet its so interesting
I do most of the lead vocals in my group. Early in the forming of the band i suggested we invite a 2nd vocalist to help me out. It was scary at first, his first practice he showed up wasted at 10 in the morning. I intentionally wrote most of the songs before he joined and most of his parts were small, so we could still play at least one set if he couldn't make it. But, since we have started praciticing/gigging seriously he has changed. He learned a couple covers, so thats a nice break for my voice during the set. No more drunk practices, and he's actually easier to schedule/deal with than the drummer and guitard. (they both play in another "touring" band) He even called me on friday before our gig and offered to help me load my gear. He says so, and i can just tell, that he feels very lucky to have been invited into our band and appreciates it very much.
It works out well for me, I'm fortunate too.
 
#15
yamaha said:
So we had a gig tonight. I am in a Classic Rock and Hard rock cover band. We've been together about 3 years, and after year one, we changed vocalist to our present signer. We do 6 to 8 gigs a year, and most times, we negotiate a decent salary for gigs.

Tonight, the place was packed. Many were standing, as there wasn't enough seats. Not enough staff for the clientele either, both owners had to work the bar to keep up. So the setting was good for a great show.

Our signer was pretty bad tonight. Not, I have to leave now kind of bad, but maybe we won't stay for the 3rd set after all kind of bad. The first set was OK musically, but vocals were so-so. Second set, the music was way better. We were really grooving, and connecting with each other. Vocals we still so-so.

As we get ready to start the third set, we can't find our signer. We look everywhere, and finally notice his car is gone. WHAT?, what's going on. We finally reach him on his cell. Says he'll be there in 5 minutes. 25 minutes later, we're ready to cancel set 3, and a client from the bar says he can sing. So we do 6 songs with him (he really couldn't sing) and start to pack up our stuff.
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Remeber the words of Bass Player Great, Rocco Prestia;

Singers, their all nuts
 

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