The "Hired Gun"

[patchedguitar]

So, my bass player calls me up and notifies me that he had something come up and that he wasn't going to be able to make a gig we had booked which is a week away. I said it was cool and that I would find someone to fill in. I start looking and asking around when I stumble on a guy who has a decent resume and a ton of experience. I call him up and talk to him and find out he's a no-hassle kind of guy, thought of himself as a professional, but doesnt like to practice. He asked me to send him a set list and for those that he wasn't familiar with, he would just look them up and learn them from his computer. OK? Now, our covers range from popular dance music, blues, classic rock, Latin and Tex-mex to the obscure "b-side" type of stuff you don't normally hear on the radio, but the crowd loves when we play them. Songs like "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison and "Feels Like Rain" by John Hiatt come to mind. Although most of our stuff isn't too complicated, and we do play "loosely", I still want to be as tight as we can. Anyway, a few hours after I talk to the guy, our bass player calls and said that his plans fell through and that he would be able to make the gig after all. So it's very late at night and I don't want to give the guy a call to disturb him, but I do want him to know asap that we wouldn't need him after all so that he can make himself available if another opportunity comes up. He did tell me, "I get calls all the time and normally have fill in gigs everyday of the week." So I sent him an e-mail, since it was late at night, and told him that I was sorry for any inconvenience and thanked him for his offer to help and that I looked forward to seeing him play sometime and meeting him. If there were any questions, I told him to feel free to give me a call.

 

A few days go by and I figure everything was cool until I see that someone has signed our guestbook. Well, it was the "hired-gun", only this time, he wasn't so nice. He wrote that I cost him money, said that I was unprofessional, and called me a coward for not calling him!! WTF? Here he was calling me a coward for not calling him on our guestbook. A coward:evil: ?! I picked up my phone to call this egotistical prick and have a come-to-Jesus talk about his problem, but he didn't take my call. So I emailed him and told him what I thought!

 

The nerve.

 

What do you guys think? Ever had this situation occur with you?

[rhat]

It doent sound like you missed much with that guy. I question if he could live up to his hired gun status if he came unglued like that and starting slaggin you on you web page. Thats pretty tacky. You dont need him. Since he gets all his work as a fill in ,, i doubt that anynone else needs him very bad either. rat

[ggm1960]

there's always the potential for damaged egos in this business, folks usually get over it and move on.

[succubus]

He was probably just irritable from coming off an evening of heavy drug use.

Most of your heavy drug users have irrational irritable periods like that.

[SanDiego333]

what did you pay him for a 'kill fee' - you know...offering the job, he accepts, asking for your set list, etc.

 

I know the answer, I'm just saying that there's at least two sides to every story. And no, I can't see where you did anything wrong. He'll get over it.

[srsfallriver]

Why didn't you just call him the next morning rather than e-mailing? Maybe he doesn't check e-mail daily.

[New Trail]

While the "hired gun" should not have put the message on your guestbook, IMO he had every right to be upset.

 

Here's what should have happened:

 

1. Your bass player can't make a gig and asks you to get a sub.

2. You find a sub (who, by your own description, sounds able and professional)At this point the gig is NO LONGER your bass players gig, but the sub's gig.

3. Your bass player's plans fall thru and he calls to tell you. He should have said "Have you found a replacement yet for that gig?" and which time you would have said "Yes, I have" and the bass player should have been okay with that and dropped it, having previously given up the gig.

 

This was a very unprofessional sequence of events on your part, and your bass player's part.

[lonotes]

 

Ever had this situation occur with you?

 

 

Never. Proper and timely communication can prevent this every time.

[patchedguitar]

After receiving my e-mail, in which I wasn't so nice, he replied that he was going to forward it to the local sheriff's office and contact his lawyer if I contacted him again!! I just laughed it off and left it alone. An hour later, I received another e-mail from him, this time he was apologizing! He said he was wrong for posting his anger and frustrations on our website and proceeded to tell me that he does have problems making friends and doesn't have many and that he was a sociopath! I think succubus was right. The dude has way to many issues. He even agreed that he was an egotistical asshole - "been called that many times". Well, since he owed up to what he did, I was a man about it and said it's forgotten. I wished him well and moved on.

 

WOW! Could you imagine any band putting up with this {censored}e?! We hadn't even play a single note together!

[patchedguitar]

 

While the "hired gun" should not have put the message on your guestbook, IMO he had every right to be upset. Here's what should have happened: 1. Your bass player can't make a gig and asks you to get a sub. 2. You find a sub (who, by your own description, sounds able and professional)At this point the gig is NO LONGER your bass players gig, but the sub's gig. 3. Your bass player's plans fall thru and he calls to tell you. He should have said "Have you found a replacement yet for that gig?" and which time you would have said "Yes, I have" and the bass player should have been okay with that and dropped it, having previously given up the gig. This was a very unprofessional sequence of events on your part, and your bass player's part.

 

 

I hated that our bass player put me in that predicament in the first place. But you're telling me that you would give the gig to a guy who doesn't want to practice and has never played a single note with you rather than to the guy who's been playing with you for two years and knows the material inside and out?! I know most of you would've opted for the guy who knows the material the best. Had our bass player been just another "hired gun", I could see your point.

[lonotes]

I wouldn't have given the hired gun preference over your regular guy, but I think that you handled the communications poorly. This is no different than your doctor charging for a missed appointment, or a garage charging for looking at your engine and finding nothing wrong. He committed his time to you, which left him unavailable for other work. You failed to notify him properly, and work out any solution to his loss. Yes, he acted inappropriately, but it was in response to you leaving him hanging. He may be unfriendly, or a sociopath. He may just be an asshole. Justify it any way that you like, but the bottom line is that you screwed him.

[patchedguitar]

 

If he was unavailable for other work, because of his commitment to you, you did. A phone call at the earliest, reasonable time would have been far more appropriate than an email dismissal. He was out of line, but understandably angry. I vote two out of three in his favor. Never. Proper and timely communication can prevent this every time.

 

 

When he e-mailed me with his apology, he did say that he did have a gig lined up for that night and that he lied about that part. His reason for telling me that I cost him money was to make me feel bad about not going with him because our gig was going to pay him better than most of the gigs he's doing now and days. WTF? Strange that he just "opened up" and started telling on himself. I have no regret now that I know what he's like just as a person.

 

As the leader of our band, I have been in the situation where I've had to fire a couple of members from the band for a number of different reasons, some of them were good friends that I remain friends with today. Each time I talked with them personally and handled it with the utmost respect and professionalism. Sure, I admit that I should have personally called him, but that still doesn't justify what he did. And it's not like I didn't let him know right away. He received my e-mail the very next morning. He said he wanted me to call him so that he could try coerce me to give him the gig (pay factor), but I never did. He wouldn't have gotten the job anyway over our bass player.

[patchedguitar]

I wouldn't have given the hired gun preference over your regular guy, but I think that you handled the communications poorly. This is no different than your doctor charging for a missed appointment, or a garage charging for looking at your engine and finding nothing wrong. He committed his time to you, which left him unavailable for other work. You failed to notify him properly, and work out any solution to his loss. Yes, he acted inappropriately, but it was in response to you leaving him hanging. He may be unfriendly, or a sociopath. He may just be an asshole. Justify it any way that you like, but the bottom line is that you screwed him.

 

Nah I didn't screw him. He had another job within hours of getting my e-mail the next morning. He didn't miss out on anywork. So how did I screw him again?

[lonotes]

Nah I didn't screw him. He had another job within hours of getting my e-mail the next morning. He didn't miss out on anywork. So how did I screw him again?

 

He asked me to send him a set list and for those that he wasn't familiar with, he would just look them up and learn them from his computer. OK? Now, our covers range from popular dance music, blues, classic rock, Latin and Tex-mex to the obscure "b-side" type of stuff you don't normally hear on the radio, but the crowd loves when we play them. Songs like "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison and "Feels Like Rain" by John Hiatt come to mind.

 

Time and effort on his part, to satisfy your needs. Plus, unavailability for however short of a time. He had to go find work to replace yours. That's more time and effort. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have gone with your bass player. I'm saying that when you call a hired gun, whether it be a musician or a plumber, the rules are different than when you do it yourself.

[patchedguitar]

He asked me to send him a set list and for those that he wasn't familiar with, he would just look them up and learn them from his computer. OK? Now, our covers range from popular dance music, blues, classic rock, Latin and Tex-mex to the obscure "b-side" type of stuff you don't normally hear on the radio, but the crowd loves when we play them. Songs like "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison and "Feels Like Rain" by John Hiatt come to mind. Time and effort on his part, to satisfy your needs. Plus, unavailability for however short of a time. He had to go find work to replace yours. That's more time and effort. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have gone with your bass player. I'm saying that when you call a hired gun, whether it be a musician or a plumber, the rules are different than when you do it yourself.

 

I'll mark it down as "Lesson Learned" .

[lonotes]

Before: I start looking and asking around when I stumble on a guy who has a decent resume and a ton of experience. I call him up and talk to him and find out he's a no-hassle kind of guy, thought of himself as a professional, but doesn't like to practice.

 

After: The dude has way to many issues. He even agreed that he was an egotistical asshole - "been called that many times".

 

Interesting contradiction. Look, I don't know how much time and effort he put out on your behalf, nor do I know how much money, if any, that he deserved. But he definitely deserved a phone call, so that he had an opportunity to discuss these points with you. An email is a one-way kind of thing. Not fair to him.

[succubus]

Contradictions.

 

Another sign of a heavy user. He was no hassle cause he was feeling good.

The next time he was a hassle cause he was on the down side.

Wicked mood swings, totally different personalities.

It maybe a mental issue, but hell he is a bass player. Sounds like drugs to me.

Been there, done that.

[mickeydean]

i am a hired gun myself and you really needed to call him, but hey i check my emails all the time. making money playing guitar is hard enough without working it constantly. i think you both could have done better.

 

you have good taste in music tho'!

[lonotes]

 

Sounds like drugs to me. Been there, done that.

 

 

Every problem looks like a nail if your only tool is a hammer. No one, including the OP, has said anything about drugs except you.

[rhat]

 

I wouldn't have given the hired gun preference over your regular guy, but I think that you handled the communications poorly. This is no different than your doctor charging for a missed appointment, or a garage charging for looking at your engine and finding nothing wrong. He committed his time to you, which left him unavailable for other work. You failed to notify him properly, and work out any solution to his loss. Yes, he acted inappropriately, but it was in response to you leaving him hanging. He may be unfriendly, or a sociopath. He may just be an asshole. Justify it any way that you like, but the bottom line is that you screwed him.

 

 

 

 

Would you have wanted a phone call at 1am getting you out of bed to tell you that the gig was off? This is a hard call. I would guess in the hired gun business , stuff like this happenes. The guy sounds like he was pretty unstable. If he was a true pro i doubt that he would have handled his end of the deal by slagging the bands web page. I question if there was a win win solution . If he got the late phone call ,, the abuse would have just happened over the phone. No doubt the guy felt like a {censored} heal because he had to call up and say he was sorry.

 

In reality ,, the only thing that came of this was the hired gun just got himself crossed off a bands sub list. Sub situations and auditions sometimes turn into cluster fuks.... If you fly off the handle and take the situations personal that dont work out, you just burn bridges. Bottom line , a pro keeps his cool .. no matter how dorked up the deal gets. You thow a fit ,, and the word gets around ,, no matter whos fault it is ,,, it wont do you any good. rat

[patchedguitar]

 

Before: I start looking and asking around when I stumble on a guy who has a decent resume and a ton of experience. I call him up and talk to him and find out he's a no-hassle kind of guy , thought of himself as a professional, but doesn't like to practice. After: The dude has way to many issues. He even agreed that he was an egotistical asshole - "been called that many times". Interesting contradiction. Look, I don't know how much time and effort he put out on your behalf, nor do I know how much money, if any, that he deserved. But he definitely deserved a phone call, so that he had an opportunity to discuss these points with you. An email is a one-way kind of thing. Not fair to him.

 

 

There was no "effort" on his part only that he agreed to do the gig. I agree that a phone call was in order, but again, he didn't loose out on anything. He got another gig and didn't have to waste his time searching for and learning any of our material. And the initial thought of calling him came to mind, but it was late. I didn't say that calling him was never a thought. Since he said that he is always on the computer working in the studio, I figured he'd get my e-mail first thing and if he wanted to talk, I said that would be fine. Sure, I could've called the next morning, but it was already an afterthought. Still, there's no reason for going onto our website's guestbook and calling me a coward!! There's no justifying him disrespecting me and our band like that! I don't care what you say. I would've had more respect for him and offered him my sincere appologies had he handled it differently.

[patchedguitar]

 

In reality ,, the only thing that came of this was the hired gun just got himself crossed off a bands sub list. Sub situations and auditions sometimes turn into cluster fuks.... If you fly off the handle and take the situations personal that dont work out, you just burn bridges. Bottom line , a pro keeps his cool .. no matter how dorked up the deal gets. You thow a fit ,, and the word gets around ,, no matter whos fault it is ,,, it wont do you any good. rat

 

 

This is true. I even told him that some more jobs might come up and that I would keep his contact numbers if he was intrested. This was all before he slammed us on the website. In his apology, he did mention that this isn't the first time he's had confrontations with others and blamed his ego for getting in the way.

[MartinC]

I was in a similar situation. Regular guitarist couldn't make it, so I called a guy i'd never played with. For two gigs, one paid 300. a man, one 400. I sent him some charts and asked for one rehearsal. He shows up late to the rehearsal, doesn't know the music. I realize at this point he is really not going to be able to really do what I'd like him to be able to do, but I'm stuck. I get through the gig by basically covering what I hired him to do. A couple weeks before the next gig, regular guitarist calls and says he can make it. I call sub and tell him the last gig wasn't very good seeing as he really didn't know the music, and the next gig is off. I feel I had every right to do so, seeing as the guy really couldn't cut the music and that for 400.00, you better play the damn music, but I still felt bad about it.

[lonotes]

 

Sub situations and auditions sometimes turn into cluster fuks.... If you fly off the handle and take the situations personal that dont work out, you just burn bridges. Bottom line , a pro keeps his cool .. no matter how dorked up the deal gets. You thow a fit ,, and the word gets around ,, no matter whos fault it is ,,, it wont do you any good. rat

 

 

Absolutely, but it is a two way street.

[lonotes]

 

I was in a similar situation. Regular guitarist couldn't make it, so I called a guy i'd never played with. For two gigs, one paid 300. a man, one 400. I sent him some charts and asked for one rehearsal. He shows up late to the rehearsal, doesn't know the music. I realize at this point he is really not going to be able to really do what I'd like him to be able to do, but I'm stuck. I get through the gig by basically covering what I hired him to do. A couple weeks before the next gig, regular guitarist calls and says he can make it. I call sub and tell him the last gig wasn't very good seeing as he really didn't know the music, and the next gig is off. I feel I had every right to do so, seeing as the guy really couldn't cut the music and that for 400.00, you better play the damn music, but I still felt bad about it.

 

 

Totally different situation, at least from the description. Your guy showed up late to rehearsal, and unprepared for the first gig. I wouldn't have felt bad about canceling the second, at all.