Was this unprofessional by the gig organizer?

[gln1955]

If this is the worst that happens to you as a musician, you are very lucky.

 

[JRA]

Is this just local band craziness or really unprofessional?

i vote "both."

it was stinky for him to treat you the way he did. FWIW: i was treated about the same at your age. when we're in music and HS = we might get shuffled in and out of things just because we're young. rolls downhill.

sorry about your treatment. good luck in your bright future!

 

[levis76]

Trust nothing a promoter/booking agent says unless it's in clear language in a contract agreed to by the band, the venue, and the agent, and even then you can be sure the agent and venue are screwing the band somehow. Just how it is.

As full grown adults in a gigging band we got time slots swapped on us and we were the headliner (???!), bumped off the roster altogether, cut short, asked to stretch it out (a band no showed so we got to play a double set but they didn't tell us til the end of our set, so we cranked out a couple covers), and of course, the most common of them all, the long drawn out reason why they can't pay us and the ensuing argument that ends with cops arresting drunken belligerent musicians.

Word to the wise man, grow thicker skin and fire that drummer. He's gonna be trouble when you guys really get hosed over.

 

[br1qbat]

I don't know about that.

The image I have in my head is band playing a ten minute psychedelic number at the end of a set that's already teetering on going over time while organizer is glancing at his watch. Dude has been waiting for ten minutes and he thought five minutes ago that he might have a chance to tell them "ok, you have time for one more," but now realizes he should have stepped up ten minutes earlier. Then when he thinks the already-long song is over, "psychedelic breakdown with long drum solo" starts, dude whips out the violin bow to start banging on the guitar with it, and organizer decides he has no clue how much longer this is going to go on, so it's time to pull the plug.

He absolutely should have communicated to the band that the set needed to be shortened beforehand, but if they were already over their allotted amount of time by this point (or close to it) I don't see how this guy would have thought waiting another ten minutes to find a proper time to tell them to wrap it up in some other way would have been a good idea.

The way he put it I presumed that the event was running late, thus the set was cut short to get the event back on time and not due to the band's longwindedness.

If the band has a 30 minute slot that the showrunner needs to cut to 25 minutes to get the show back on time, than that's certainly on them to let the band know before they hit the stage.

Certainly, I agree with you if the band gets the show off the rails, the showrunner is certainly in the right to jump up there to wind things up and keep it on schedule.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Two weekends ago, my band played for a Music Education fundraiser at a resturant in our hometown. This is great for us considering we're in high school. But because of our age it seems as though we got pushed aside for other adult friends of the gig organizer. Pretty ironic considering this was supposed to be for giving young people gig and learning experience...

Anyways, this goes back a while. My band was the first to email the organizer about the event. This is also our third year playing it. For this, the gig organizer promised he would give us a great spot since we were on our game and are "veterans" of the event. We check a couple weeks later at the slots. We were placed at 3:30 in the afternoon while other adult bands and friends of the organizer were placed at prime time spots for eating dinner like 6:30, 7, and 7:30. This seemed a little bogus with the promise he made. Also the fact this is a fundraiser for students. My drummer emails him back asking why we didn't get a better spot like he told us. This was kind of sketchy to me. He did make us a promise and 3:30 isn't that great of a spot. I don't know if it was worthy of a complaint by my drummer. But I also can't decide if we're right to complain.

I guess this turned him off from us because there's some more to the story. The next part needs some context. Our last song was fairly long and at the end had a psychedelic breakdown and drum solo, which we worked on for quite a long time. This will be important.

We get to the gig and find out it's running late which is no big deal. We go on and do our thing and we start to get into the breakdown. My guitar player pulls out a violin bow and starts playing with it.

Suddenly, the organizer comes on stage and says our band name and "let's give them a hand" signaling we're getting kicked off. We all end the song and start packing up. In a very annoyed voice the organizer says, "pack up fast guys".

Now, we weren't running late. Since the gig was running late before us, the organizer cut off five minutes of our set without telling us beforehand. That sucked. It seems like he blatantly did not want us to play. I wasn't too concerned because this type of stuff happens when you're in a local band, but my drummer was furious.

In general, was the organizer a professional guy? Is this just local band craziness or really unprofessional?

I wouldn't consider a time slot when everyone is eating as necessarily "better" than playing earlier.
People who are eating generally focus their attention on the food and those they're sitting with, not on drum solos.

 

[redwingxix]

It was a poor way to handle it, but I'd also wonder if he was acting on a little bit of resentment over your drummer's email?

Anyway, unless you are the headliner, these things can and will happen, best thing you can do is stay professional (even when dealing with outside unprofessional behavior) and not burn bridges. Also, I'd recommend nominating a bandleader or booker amongst your number so that there is only one person dealing with promoters and handling gig issues, so there are no surprises in that regard.

Best of luck

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

Unprofessional, but pretty typical. Get used to it. More importantly, your drummer better get used to it.

 

[2groggy]

Violin bow? That does sound a tad self-indulgent. That alone could have been the deciding factor in whether he waited it out or pulled the plug.

 

[Turbo Sparky]

Two weekends ago, my band played for a Music Education fundraiser at a resturant in our hometown. This is great for us considering we're in high school. But because of our age it seems as though we got pushed aside for other adult friends of the gig organizer. Pretty ironic considering this was supposed to be for giving young people gig and learning experience...

Anyways, this goes back a while. My band was the first to email the organizer about the event. This is also our third year playing it. For this, the gig organizer promised he would give us a great spot since we were on our game and are "veterans" of the event. We check a couple weeks later at the slots. We were placed at 3:30 in the afternoon while other adult bands and friends of the organizer were placed at prime time spots for eating dinner like 6:30, 7, and 7:30. This seemed a little bogus with the promise he made. Also the fact this is a fundraiser for students. My drummer emails him back asking why we didn't get a better spot like he told us. This was kind of sketchy to me. He did make us a promise and 3:30 isn't that great of a spot. I don't know if it was worthy of a complaint by my drummer. But I also can't decide if we're right to complain.

I guess this turned him off from us because there's some more to the story. The next part needs some context. Our last song was fairly long and at the end had a psychedelic breakdown and drum solo, which we worked on for quite a long time. This will be important.

We get to the gig and find out it's running late which is no big deal. We go on and do our thing and we start to get into the breakdown. My guitar player pulls out a violin bow and starts playing with it.

Suddenly, the organizer comes on stage and says our band name and "let's give them a hand" signaling we're getting kicked off. We all end the song and start packing up. In a very annoyed voice the organizer says, "pack up fast guys".

Now, we weren't running late. Since the gig was running late before us, the organizer cut off five minutes of our set without telling us beforehand. That sucked. It seems like he blatantly did not want us to play. I wasn't too concerned because this type of stuff happens when you're in a local band, but my drummer was furious.

In general, was the organizer a professional guy? Is this just local band craziness or really unprofessional?

Sorry to hear/read what happened.
Sounds to me that the "organizer" planned a gig/show using "the children" or rather "the youth" as theatrical leverage to show "how great" he is to his "Like" button inspired ego. Something that happens frequently in today's world.
My only reccomendation, if I may, is your band/group should have a single point of contact/manager so to speak. One who takes lead for gigs/venue contact and correspondence etc.
TOTALLY unpro.
You weren't playin' the Gong Show, it was a benefit for those whom count in all of reality; children/youth.
Now you know what a Massengill looks and acts like.
Good luck in the future.

 

[LBS-bass]

The way he put it I presumed that the event was running late, thus the set was cut short to get the event back on time and not due to the band's longwindedness.

If the band has a 30 minute slot that the showrunner needs to cut to 25 minutes to get the show back on time, than that's certainly on them to let the band know before they hit the stage.

Certainly, I agree with you if the band gets the show off the rails, the showrunner is certainly in the right to jump up there to wind things up and keep it on schedule.

I guess you missed that their last song was really long. At most of these kinds of fundraisers I've played, the organizer will signal you about five minutes before he wants you to wrap it up if there are scheduling issues. Usually they wait until you stop a song and then give you the signal to just do one more. But if the song doesn't stop... well... what are the options?

 

[gln1955]

I guess you missed that their last song was really long. At most of these kinds of fundraisers I've played, the organizer will signal you about five minutes before he wants you to wrap it up if there are scheduling issues. Usually they wait until you stop a song and then give you the signal to just do one more. But if the song doesn't stop... well... what are the options?

Yeah, I can see when the drum solo starts or the violin bow comes out, who knows when the song will end.

 

[elgecko]

Pretty ironic considering this was supposed to be for giving young people gig and learning experience...

Actually, the purpose of the fundraiser was to raise funds.

 

[TheReceder]

Best thing you can do is try to keep your drummer in check. Easiest way to get a bad reputation is to blow up on a client, and even though it sounded like this was a freebie, the douche is still a client.

Seems like you handled it well.

 

[40Hz]

Not sure what you are on about, I was getting paid to play professionally in high school. Ageism is B.S. and professionalism is how you act. Seems to me the OP handled it like a pro, unlike the promoter.

I agree age shouldn't enter into the equation. But when you're dealing with a fundraiser, it's all about getting people to contribute. The setting was a restaurant. I'll confess I don't know what a "psychedelic breakdown" is despite dating back to the so-called psychedelic era. But I do have an idea. And I get the feeling that that combined with a long song that includes a drum solo wouldn't have gone down too well the attendees during the dinner hour.

In all fairness, professionalism isn't all about you or showing off what you can do. There's also the matter of showing some awareness of the occasion and a little respect for the organizers and the people in attendance. Because it's not the OP band's showcase. It's a fundraiser - and the organizer's show. And the fact that the that band is young - and the point of the fundraiser being to benefit youth music education - doesn't change that.

I personally think it was pretty amateurish pn the part of the drummer to do what he did. The more professional thing would be to accept you're the one being "hired" and play the slot the person who hired you assigned - for whatever reason, not that it's really any of your business.

I know it's sometimes a hard thing for some people (and not just young people, since many adults are just as bad) to accept in this age of entitlement. But there's a certain wisdom in knowing your place in situations where you're not the one in charge or the only name on the program. Because changes can and do get made. Often for reasons known to nobody other than the powers that be.

I can understand (a little) why the drummer was disappointed with the time assigned. But complaining wasn't a very smart move IMO. It wasn't going to change anything. And there's a good chance it wasn't well received. Which is not a good thing for the band long-term.

Just my 2¢.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

This is a "fund"raiser. High school students have no funds bu the adult bands have friends that will come out to see them and will be happy to donate. This isn't a showcase. How much was raised?

 

[obimark]

Two weekends ago, my band played for a Music Education fundraiser at a resturant in our hometown. This is great for us considering we're in high school. But because of our age it seems as though we got pushed aside for other adult friends of the gig organizer. Pretty ironic considering this was supposed to be for giving young people gig and learning experience...

Anyways, this goes back a while. My band was the first to email the organizer about the event. This is also our third year playing it. For this, the gig organizer promised he would give us a great spot since we were on our game and are "veterans" of the event. We check a couple weeks later at the slots. We were placed at 3:30 in the afternoon while other adult bands and friends of the organizer were placed at prime time spots for eating dinner like 6:30, 7, and 7:30. This seemed a little bogus with the promise he made. Also the fact this is a fundraiser for students. My drummer emails him back asking why we didn't get a better spot like he told us. This was kind of sketchy to me. He did make us a promise and 3:30 isn't that great of a spot. I don't know if it was worthy of a complaint by my drummer. But I also can't decide if we're right to complain.

I guess this turned him off from us because there's some more to the story. The next part needs some context. Our last song was fairly long and at the end had a psychedelic breakdown and drum solo, which we worked on for quite a long time. This will be important.

We get to the gig and find out it's running late which is no big deal. We go on and do our thing and we start to get into the breakdown. My guitar player pulls out a violin bow and starts playing with it.

Suddenly, the organizer comes on stage and says our band name and "let's give them a hand" signaling we're getting kicked off. We all end the song and start packing up. In a very annoyed voice the organizer says, "pack up fast guys".

Now, we weren't running late. Since the gig was running late before us, the organizer cut off five minutes of our set without telling us beforehand. That sucked. It seems like he blatantly did not want us to play. I wasn't too concerned because this type of stuff happens when you're in a local band, but my drummer was furious.

In general, was the organizer a professional guy? Is this just local band craziness or really unprofessional?

Maybe time to take a hard un-biased listen to your band? WHen you say things like pyschedelic breakdown and drum solo, I am not sure you are quite as good for crowds as you may think. When I hear things like that, I think more of a band who plays what they like or likes to show-off rather then a set of music the audience will dig.
I can barely tolerate the drum solo part of shows by the likes of Rush and Van Halen, much less a local band...

 

[40Hz]

I can barely tolerate the drum solo part of shows by the likes of Rush and Van Halen, much less a local band..

Yeah. That or the proverbial bass solo. They are kinda 70s in that they've both been done to death and have gotten really old. I'm surprised people even seriously consider doing them anymore.

 

[Jacknotjohnbass]

I don't know about that.

The image I have in my head is band playing a ten minute psychedelic number at the end of a set that's already teetering on going over time while organizer is glancing at his watch. Dude has been waiting for ten minutes and he thought five minutes ago that he might have a chance to tell them "ok, you have time for one more," but now realizes he should have stepped up ten minutes earlier. Then when he thinks the already-long song is over, "psychedelic breakdown with long drum solo" starts, dude whips out the violin bow to start banging on the guitar with it, and organizer decides he has no clue how much longer this is going to go on, so it's time to pull the plug.

He absolutely should have communicated to the band that the set needed to be shortened beforehand, but if they were already over their allotted amount of time by this point (or close to it) I don't see how this guy would have thought waiting another ten minutes to find a proper time to tell them to wrap it up in some other way would have been a good idea.

The incident is actually on YouTube. Search "The Purple Shadows Voodoo Child"

 

[JoeWPgh]

I can see that the promoter handled it poorly. But the time slot? You gotta get past that. You've presented this as high school students v adults. Guess what? When you get older, you learn this. Adults have fuller dancecards of obligation and responsibility. This can limit their availability. So the schedule becomes accommodating who can do it/when?

 

[GrapeBass]

You should have made a shout out to what a great promoter he was (on stage) and then ask the audience if they'd like to hear another song...

Also, I've gotten in the habit that when people ask me to hurry up, I slow the f*ck down.