Members Vito Corleone Posted October 28, 2014 Members Share Posted October 28, 2014 ...having the client move our gear for us!?!? We've been talking with a guy for several weeks now about a wedding he wants us to play next summer in Montana. Only way to do that would be as a fly-in. Problem, of course, is on top of the expenses of paying the band and flying us out there is the expense of what to do about the gear. Renting a PA, lighting, and backline....expensive. Renting a truck from a moving company and having them haul our gear out there and back....even more expensive. So now the groom says he is going to have a friend come through here with a van, hook up our trailer and drive it to Montana and back. Hmmm....and hmmm.... I suppose as long as everything is properly insured we should be OK one way or the other? On one hand, the gig almost seems like more trouble than it will be worth. We'll end up making what will be a good paying gig for us, but not quite what we'd make for two gigs, even though this will take up three days. Any hopes of booking anything on the day before or after is out of the question. On the other hand, it will be fun just for the unusual-ness of it all. And it's hard to turn down any gig request that began with this: The wedding is going to rock! Many friends from across our lives and the country/ world will be there. We first heard Jump Start at Hugh and Kerri’s wedding at Painted Rock. Many have said it was the best party of their lives. When we started talking about a band, it had to be you regardless of the logistical challenge. I promise the crew that will show up on August 8th will dance like dervishes, sweat through their shirts and party till the sun comes up. It will be an epic night. but still....trusting our trailer full of gear to a stranger in a van....not that I expect anything to go wrong with the situation--I don't. But it just feels a bit odd and crazy, ya know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MickeyKeys Posted October 28, 2014 Members Share Posted October 28, 2014 ...having the client move our gear for us!?!? ...So now the groom says he is going to have a friend come through here with a van, hook up our trailer and drive it to Montana and back. Hmmm....and hmmm.... I suppose as long as everything is properly insured we should be OK one way or the other? On one hand, the gig almost seems like more trouble than it will be worth. We'll end up making what will be a good paying gig for us, but not quite what we'd make for two gigs, even though this will take up three days. Any hopes of booking anything on the day before or after is out of the question. On the other hand, it will be fun just for the unusual-ness of it all. And it's hard to turn down any gig request that began with this: but still....trusting our trailer full of gear to a stranger in a van....not that I expect anything to go wrong with the situation--I don't. But it just feels a bit odd and crazy, ya know? David, your posts are probably about the only reason I come back to this forum, you're always a good read! . . . and this is no exception. Now, I have to admit that I never have and never will be gigging on your level so I have no experience to base my response on - but I'd be half inclined to run away from this. It's very tempting on the face of it. But the "friend of the groom" bit is scary. How reliable is this total stranger? His doing a buddy a favor that could have catastrophically expensive consequences looks to me like a Wolfgang Puck recipe for disaster. For both your band and the groom - including his friendship with his so-helpful buddy. His willingness to hire you apparently at any cost is impressive. So why cut that particular corner? I don't think he's considered all the angles here. I'd be inclined to either rent a truck and move it myself or insist that a bonded professional (and possibly a helper) did the driving/moving, with the trailer and gear insured to the nines for full replacement value (but you knew that), with the client picking up 100% of the tab. Including the insurance. Right down to the Swirligigs and the last 3' MIDI cable. You want my little orchestra THAT badly? Those are my terms. Call me a nervous Nellie and a control freak if you want (many have ), but that's MHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jasaoke Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 If somebody is willing to drive a van/trailer full of expensive stuff to another state and back again, over the course of an epic party weekend, for free (or significantly less than a legitimate professional), would you really want them to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 LOL. Yeah, I certainly hold all those reservations as well. I will say that there is a certain level of trust that has been reached over the course of this negotiation. I really don't expect anything less than an honorable intention from these people. At the same time, crashing the van with the gear is always as possibility. (The fact that WE haven't done so yet is nothing short of a minor miracle, but that's another story for another thread, perhaps....) And we certainly haven't signed on the bottom of any of this yet. We'll see where we go next with this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GtrGeorge! Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 Get an agreement in writing, 50 percent up front for the gig and write off as much of this "fact finding mission" as possible. Oh, and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 I would tell them you need PA, lights and backline. Then I would bring direct rigs for GTR, Bass, carry on guitars and check other luggage, keyboards in cases (The groom would get the bill for extra luggage) I believe all things considered this is the only way you can do a gig like this and it's usually way outside the bounds of what someone is willing to pay. Theres absolutely no way I would let someone pull all my gear to Montana in a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 We already bidded out renting gear and it wasn't really do able. The only way to do it is to have somebody other than the band drive the gear the 14 hours to Montana. Just a matter of who will do it and how at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeeU 22 Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 Where, roughly speaking is this gig in Montana. Is there really no production company that could hook you up with a suitable rig for the gig? I know roughly what you charge and if the groom willing to go over and above that significantly there has to be a way to make it happen. Couldn't you take the extra cash he is willing to pay for the airline tickets and pay yourselves to drive the gear there. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 The gig is about an hour away from Billings. There's a place there that rents out gear for shows, but I was surprised how much they wanted to charge. Around 4K for a PA, monitors, drum kit, small guitar amp, keyboards, small lighting rig and all the necessary acc. Driving it ourselves isn't going to happen because that would turn what's already a 3-day gig into a 5-day gig. The other option we're considering is paying our bass players kid to drive the gear for us while we fly in, but there's no guarantee he'd be available this far out. Hopefully he has a job by then! Haha. . In the meantime we're still negotiating and looking into all options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 Dave, you might contact my local store in Bozeman. http://www.musicvilla.com/. They rent gear and are about 2.5 hours away from Red Lodge. You could fly into Bozeman and rent a van and a trailer and drive from there. It is a nice drive about a 100 miles of interstate then 50 miles of good 2 lane road. Great scenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 No way some stranger would get a trailer load of my gear. Once a roadie dropped my boogie down a flight of stairs.............But how do you price driving all your gear to Montana? What if your truck breaks down? Trailer breaks? All that effort and no money to fix the truck/trailer? Renting a truck makes more sense, and using your own driver. But really, Sven has the right idea. Rent the PA and backline, charge extra to fly your instruments in. Modulus also has a great solution. If neither is practical, they can't afford to bring you guys in. Frankly, the email from the client telling you how much fun THEY are going to have doesn't make nearly the impression I'd need to spend three days schlepping gear and the band to Montana for less than two gigs worth of cash. Nice to be wanted, but maybe your group isn't wanted quite enough for this gig. And what's wrong with 4k to rent all that gear and do the work? Cost them maybe 12-15k for the whole shebang. Considering what they may be spending in total, shouldn't be a deal breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 You might check with DiA Events in Billings 406-256-1077 for another pricing option. Make sure you're explicit with what you actually need to pull it off. I've set up some gigs where the sound provider seemed to think I was trying to provide sound for a major production rather than a small event and kept quoting me a ridiculous system until I spelled it out for him. He finally got it and now he's my go to guy for anything in the Phoenix area. https://www.facebook.com/pages/DiA-Events/162877620409405?sk=info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members modulusman Posted October 29, 2014 Members Share Posted October 29, 2014 You might check with DiA Events in Billings 406-256-1077 for another pricing option. Make sure you're explicit with what you actually need to pull it off. I've set up some gigs where the sound provider seemed to think I was trying to provide sound for a major production rather than a small event and kept quoting me a ridiculous system until I spelled it out for him. He finally got it and now he's my go to guy for anything in the Phoenix area. https://www.facebook.com/pages/DiA-E...409405?sk=info I'm pretty sure that DiA is the provider that gave Dave the 4K quote. I recommended he contact them a few months ago. Another option would be to pay a band member extra money if they were willing to drive the gear for the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 30, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2014 Yeah, that was the place. Something about it being a really busy weekend with a lot of events going on in the area so he'd have to hire extra people to accommodate doing our show as well and thus the high price. We will look into and consider all options and try to make this work. But after a certain point---if he can't afford to do it, he can't afford to do it. His thing is he says he needs to keep the expense for the music --- that includes paying the band, the flights, the rooms, renting/moving the gear --- under $12K. So we're trying to be flexible and accommodating to whatever degree we can. The whole "I'll drive the gear for you" thing stems from the fact the he's already renting a truck to bring out stuff for the wedding from San Francisco and we are pretty much on the way so he came up with the idea of "I'll just get a bigger truck and we'll put the band gear in there or maybe just attach your trailer..." (Man, I know this place in Montana is beautiful and all, but you live in freakin' San Francisco. You're gonna drive PAST Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite and a dozen other beautiful spots on your way there. Couldn't you just get married in one of THOSE places?!?!?) Plus he's got this thing about how he was a logistics and motor transport officer with the Marines, so supposedly he's the expert on moving stuff and a bit of an A-type "can do" personality and that's all great, but..... ...lol. Anyway, I'm sure it'll all be good or we won't do the gig which will be all good as well. Right now, I'm leaning most towards saying that if he can't afford to hire a professional moving company to move our gear (all other things being equal, I'd rather use our own stuff than rented gear anyway) then we can't do the gig. We'll figure it out one way or the other. But thanks to everyone for the perspectives and I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes. Definitely not a story that comes up every day, that's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted November 4, 2014 Members Share Posted November 4, 2014 I'd totally be up for something crazy like that. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This sounds like a possibility of being an adventure. ("This guy drove our {censored} to MONTANA!") But the first thing I would do is empty the trailer, then fill it, inventorying everything down to the roll of Duck tape. Figure out replacement cost, then call your insurance guy and get it covered. I don't know what the deal in the US is, but I can insure my gear for 2.75% of replacement value per annum through the union in Canada. I really gotta get on that. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted November 4, 2014 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2014 Talked to the guy on the phone a bit last night. He's really hell-bent on trying to make me feel safe and secure with this venture. He plans on renting a big truck and transfer all of our stuff into it --- under our supervision of course -- and will drive the truck himself. Says he plans on driving the 14 hours straight through (no overnight stops, anyway) and talked about where it be located and how safe it would be while it waited for us to fly in. We talked about liabilities and insurance. I need to update some of that anyway and I would need to make sure that my insurance covered it being transported by someone else in a vehicle we don't own. I imagine it does, but I've learned it pays to make sure you know exactly what you do and don't have with insurance. I'm still a ways from feeling fully comfortable with the idea, though. The rest of the band seems for it. My wife is not. I'm somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted November 4, 2014 Members Share Posted November 4, 2014 Sounds like a complex venture indeed! Yes the band is comfortable cause they don't have to do anything right? Ha. sounds like all the responsbility been handed to you Mr Guido. Why not just hire a sound co? Prob be cheaper anyway, going to cost a grand just in gas right? Or post in the other forum, there has to be some other bands or something that would rent out their equip for a 1 show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted November 6, 2014 Members Share Posted November 6, 2014 we did quite a few of those fly and play shows. Some were for sure less than ideal. You go with what the budge allows but not chinze so much as to make the band sound like crap. The only ideal way is to spend the money on a production company that makes it seamless turnkey. I am sure they spend a hell of a lot more on production than us as a band for that week in tampa. We got paid very well. The having the gear moved seems like the most logical and price to be worth the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sirfun Posted November 6, 2014 Members Share Posted November 6, 2014 Good Luck and may a good time be had by all !! )))EPIC GOOD TIME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Make sure you have a complete inventory list with serial numbers and model numbers of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dendy Jarrett Posted November 14, 2014 Members Share Posted November 14, 2014 I would also contact your insurance company and perhaps ad a rider for the specific weekend or for events in genera the require you to personally cartage your gear. D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miko Man Posted November 16, 2014 Members Share Posted November 16, 2014 David, please check your PMs. Mark C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FormerlyBassred Posted November 17, 2014 Members Share Posted November 17, 2014 Agree with WESG - Invenory/Catalog every last screw in the trailer. Maybe look into some kind of GPS tracker - we have 'spy stores' here in Vegas that sell that sort of stuff. It sounds like a good deal if it is for real. Also, glad to see a thread with more than a couple of responses! I've been travelling a ton for work and have missed my HC pals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted November 17, 2014 Members Share Posted November 17, 2014 Wes anytime we entered Canada while I was with the Dukes required a full inventory of gear including brand, make, serial number? I am not sure why but we had to have it in case at the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted November 20, 2014 Members Share Posted November 20, 2014 Better you than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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