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

#41
I would dock him 1/3 his pay plus punitive damages... then would tell him if he ever even thought about puling a stunt like that again that i would burn him at the stake alive in front of the crowd....unless it was an immediate medical emergency... if he gave me any lip at all. i would fire him on the spot..
 
#42
svtb15 said:
I would dock him 1/3 his pay plus punitive damages...
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No pay for him. When he opted out of the rest of the gig he also opted out of the pay. I would hope that his cut was split-out amongst the rest of the guys in the band that had to cover for him the rest of the night, since they more than earned it.

That's also why whoever the band's money man is should never pay the band before the last piece of gear is loaded back in the truck. It's too tempting for guys to skate before the work is done, otherwise.
 
#43
Mo'Phat said:
I wasn't saying it would be acceptable, but would make the pill a bit easier to (ahem) swallow.

As for my, and my bands situations, we all still got back to playing.

This singer is a d-bag for bailing without any word whatsoever, and I think the OP should just fire him with no word whatsoever. Just start trying out other singers. Show the old singer the same courtesy he showed you.
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gotcha
 
#52
I once had a drummer go on a drive during break to go "smoke" and I guess it affected his judgement and he tried to turn around on a road that wasn't really there and got stuck in a snow drift.

We ended up putting the rhythm guitarist on bass while I handled the drums until he got back about 3/4 of the way through the next set. That was the first time I ever sang and drummed at the same time. It sucked doing older songs because that was all the guy on bass could handle.

The drummer showed up covered in snow and we told him to leave his smoke at home from then on.

It sucks pulling a car out of a ditch at 3 in the morning after you've packed up equipment!

Good job handling the situation, Yamaha.
 
#55
something similar happened to me three months ago- I have a weekly gig at the top of the mark in san francisco. our sets usually last about 3 hours.

well about 45 minutes into the night, the band leader/pianist gets up mid song (moondance) and leaves. not a word about where he's going- and guess what... he never came back!

I was working with a fantastic drummer that night who was able to help lead us through the rest of the gig by negotiating which songs we should do (the ensemble was bass, drums, sax and a couple of singers).

definitely a first for me- we got people to dance though so I'd say the night was a success.

turns out the band leader was having serious health issues and was rushed to an ER.
 
#56
JustDavid said:
I don't know why there's even discussion about firing him; that's as loud an "I quit" as anyone should need.
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+1 -- if he comes back, he's a spectator.

I can't top that, but almost:

I was in a house band situation once where the guitarist/bandleader, who was descending into alcoholism, would occasionally invite musicians from the audience up on stage during the first or second set, and then vanish (with a bottle, we believe). His wife was the club manager, and he'd get away with it.

It was a fairly good gig, otherwise, and the show always went on, but I got tired of it and found something else.
 
#58
The singer in one of the bands I'm with is usually to hammered by set 3 to drive away from the gig.
We usually hope she will stay outside and smoke. If she gets the notion to actually sing it's a nightmare.
Unfortunately she is married to the band leader so firing her is not an option although most times I think he would love to. Last gig the keyboardist up and left mid 3rd set because we went off-list and he hates when we do that. It does not give him enough time to hit the "change the key" button on his keys. I wish I were kidding but it's true.
They keep booking gigs and paying me so I just relax and enjoy myself as best I can.
 
#59
Back in 1970 or so there was an awesome, spectacular band named Fungus, no kidding, and that was the lead singers last name or so we were told. He was never on time, never. I was talking with the band about and they were always prepped to start without him. Eventually he would show up 1/2 in the bag with a woman or two in tow. He always manged to pick up some female or another and always put on a great show. The whole band was bleepin fantastic.
 
#60
Wesley R said:
Back in 1970 or so there was an awesome, spectacular band named Fungus, no kidding, and that was the lead singers last name or so we were told. He was never on time, never. I was talking with the band about and they were always prepped to start without him. Eventually he would show up 1/2 in the bag with a woman or two in tow. He always manged to pick up some female or another and always put on a great show. The whole band was bleepin fantastic.
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haha! he's living the dream... awesome
 

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