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Worst ways you have been fired?
- Thread starter irishryno
- Start date
I read the posting on Craigslist, the music and band description were exactly the same as the band I was in. When I called the band leader to see what was going on, he lied to me and said it was for a "side project"....
Went to our MySpace page after a couple weeks of inactivity and saw a different name for bassist, new photos (mine deleted), and no mention of a switch...
Called the main guy (who happened to be a friend as well) and got a text message later saying "sorry, I was going to tell you, but we've decided to go in a different direction, and we weren't playing much anyways you know")
All well and good, but it doesn't give me back my 1/3 share to the studio recording costs which we had JUST completed.... Not to mention several songs which I had been instrumental in composing that he kept playing after I was gone.
Dick.
Called the main guy (who happened to be a friend as well) and got a text message later saying "sorry, I was going to tell you, but we've decided to go in a different direction, and we weren't playing much anyways you know")
All well and good, but it doesn't give me back my 1/3 share to the studio recording costs which we had JUST completed.... Not to mention several songs which I had been instrumental in composing that he kept playing after I was gone.
Dick.
I was once in a 3piece alternative band. The guitarist/songwriter apparently wasnt happy with the way things were going. I was also one of the songwriters and I was at the point to where my bass skills were really starting to get good. We were in the middle of doing some recordings and had taken a break while we all were making some more $ to finish the album. We got a myspace comment saying that he' didnt like the direction the band was going and he was mad that we were playing more of MY songs over HIS'
He was the only one who saw it that way, as I thought all of our songs were OURS, not MINE nor HIS. And when the drummer and I actually broke it down we were playing more songs that HE had written anyways. The album we were making consisted of 3 of HIS songs, and one that I had written, which was an instrumental.
He was the only one who saw it that way, as I thought all of our songs were OURS, not MINE nor HIS. And when the drummer and I actually broke it down we were playing more songs that HE had written anyways. The album we were making consisted of 3 of HIS songs, and one that I had written, which was an instrumental.
I've been fired via phone a couple of times. Glad it wasn't face to face, simply because it would have taken more time than necessary. Perhaps kids today would prefer an email or twitter.
And don't burn any bridges; never can tell when you'll work together again.
And don't burn any bridges; never can tell when you'll work together again.
Long time ago, just outta high school. I went by the singers house where we jammed, one evening when there was no practice, to pick up something I had left behind by mistake.
Pull in the driveway.. head up to the house... and hear music? Walk in to see some other dude playing with the band. And he was playing through my amp.
Took me about 2 minutes to unplug him, pack up all my sh*t and head on out the door leaving them all there red faced.
I heard the house got raided a few weeks later and the singer
ended up jail...glad I wasn't around for that
Pull in the driveway.. head up to the house... and hear music? Walk in to see some other dude playing with the band. And he was playing through my amp.
Took me about 2 minutes to unplug him, pack up all my sh*t and head on out the door leaving them all there red faced.
I heard the house got raided a few weeks later and the singer
ended up jail...glad I wasn't around for that
The band members didn't return my phone calls for a week and a half, I was calling to see if we were practicing. Then on the day we were supposed to practice I sent a text message to the singer/guitarist asking if we were practicing he responds with a simple no. I send an email explaining that I was moving out of state and would have liked to have one final practice. I told him how upsetting it was to suddenly be treated like this. His response "what are you talking about?" So I respond by calling him a coward and telling me what's up like a man, finally he tells me they wanted to fire me from the band. One of the reasons was I showed up with out gear, but on the clubs own website it states only bring a head we have cabinets. They also didn't like how I spoke my mind, which upon reflection I see could have been a bit more tactful.
I knew these guys since High School, this happened in our thirties.
I knew these guys since High School, this happened in our thirties.
After I had played with a 'name' band for two years, and had just come home from a 'can you take a pay cut this time?' tour, there were no gigs for a few months. No big deal, as this sometimes happened, or the two main guys would gig on their own in smaller venues.
Then one night I was doing a TV show and a keyboardist from another band on, who was a mutual friend of mine and the name band drummer casually said 'Aren't you supposed to be gigging with the lads tonight?' He knew what was going on and was giving me the heads up. I bluffed a response of 'Oh, they're probably doing the acoustic duo gig'. Got home and called the venue the next day to see if they had played as a duo or a full band. It was a full band.
Then a while later, thru another mutual friend, I heard that they were telling folks I had left the band.
Admittedly I was a paid member of the band, to make up numbers, as opposed to being a contributing member, so it would have been perfectly acceptable to have said they were replacing me, or even to not have told me and booked someone else (which they obviously did) but I think it morally sucks to work with someone for two years and not have the decency to say - 'We want to try someone new'.
Then one night I was doing a TV show and a keyboardist from another band on, who was a mutual friend of mine and the name band drummer casually said 'Aren't you supposed to be gigging with the lads tonight?' He knew what was going on and was giving me the heads up. I bluffed a response of 'Oh, they're probably doing the acoustic duo gig'. Got home and called the venue the next day to see if they had played as a duo or a full band. It was a full band.
Then a while later, thru another mutual friend, I heard that they were telling folks I had left the band.
Admittedly I was a paid member of the band, to make up numbers, as opposed to being a contributing member, so it would have been perfectly acceptable to have said they were replacing me, or even to not have told me and booked someone else (which they obviously did) but I think it morally sucks to work with someone for two years and not have the decency to say - 'We want to try someone new'.
I showed up at one of our gigs to find a new bass player setting his stuff up with my band! They had been rehearsing with the guy for a couple months without me knowing and never told me I was fired. I guess they figured I would get the hint when I showed up to find the other guy setting up for our gig.
I was pretty bummed that none of the guys in the band had the balls to tell me to my face that I was fired.
I did the only natural thing to do. i walked up to the singer and broke his nose!
I was pretty bummed that none of the guys in the band had the balls to tell me to my face that I was fired.
I did the only natural thing to do. i walked up to the singer and broke his nose!
There sure are a lot of cowardly, dishonest musicians. I think I'd react the same way Echovox did if someone pulled this kind of deceitful crap on me.
I was laid off from a regular job via a voicemail. That was fun.
As far as bands are concerned, I was in a hard/classic rock band a few years ago (21 years ago to be exact). I was sharing a hotel room with the drummer, and he said he was going out to meet some friends. Turns out the band had a meeting with our new management company, who had decided that I didn't have "the look." So he returned from the meeting to tell me I was out. (At least he had the decency to tell me.) As for my Fender amp head that was in the band's truck, I never saw it again. Don't you just love happy endings?
I hope you were put on the copyrights as a composer.
If there is no copyright, hey send it in yourself and get it done. Then if they become hits you get paid, no worries.
But yeah they sound like jerks.
I was between jobs & could not come up with the dough for rehearsal. They put up with it for a few weeks but one day they told me "we're gonna meet in a bar instead of rehearse". Not a good sign. When I get there we get a round of beers & they tell me, "we can't afford to pay your way anymore." I said that's fine I understand let's just finish our drinks & we can part as friends, they had other ideas, they kept talking about how I had to get my life "together". I was out of work for about two months, at that time it was the longest I spent without working. I kept saying "let's talk about something else, you guys are adding insult to injury" but they seemed to have an agenda and were sticking to it. One guy said " I knew you were not gonna keep that job for long" I replied "that's why, as soon as I was hired, you asked me to get you gear at a discount right?" I kept trying to get them to change the subject but they kept it up. "you really got to get it together man" and things like that. I stormed out pissed off & minus a few "friends". Years later (now) I'm playing with two out of three of those guys but on some level I never forgave them for the way they handled that.
I got kicked out a band for being too bossy, i dont think that i would have minded but i wrote the songs. I was proper vexed when i saw them live playing songs that i wrote every lil itty bit too.. but as soon as i saw people enjoying it. it just inspired me, a xerox is never as good as an original.
I was in a band with my cousins and we had been in the studio. and got on eachothers nerves pretty bad they we not open to trying new things for the bass (like just recording me with a mic) anyhow we got a couple of gigs the first went ok but the second the guitar plaerys amp fritzs out so while they were thrying to fix it I was talking to the crowd. about 2 week later I find out from a friend that they had asked him to play bass, so I phone them up ticked off said a bunch of stuff I shouldn't and we broke up. they didn't do much for a year then we talked it out and now I'm back with 'em and we still form other projects together... honestly it was a good thing I learned how to deal with problems in a band by learning what NOT to do.
