Members Vito Corleone Posted May 14, 2016 Members Share Posted May 14, 2016 I'm fairly convinced that there are a lot of bar owners who seriously believe they can book a band as if it's booking a party like a bar mitzvah. You show up with your friends and the band everyone drinks and eats, and the bar owner kicks back a few hundred to the band....or screws the band outright....and there's their best night of the week. Just like just about every other aspect of modern life and business, there's no thought given to developing the venue as a popular spot, just gimme some money now. Another dumb band will be along next week, and the week after.... Honestly? I don't have a clue what bar owners think these days. Not sure I even want to know. Glad I've gotten out of that racket for the most part. I can probably count on a couple of fingers how many club dates I've played in the last 10 years. If this one wasn't A) one of the hottest clubs in the region B) work out perfectly for working in a new drummer a week before two private event shows, I doubt we'd have taken it. I hope it works out well for both us and them. I always want every gig to be as close to a 100% win/win for everyone. I'll report back how it went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted May 17, 2016 Members Share Posted May 17, 2016 Jeff,It sucks that happened, but be grateful it hasn't happened to you guys more often. Let's face it people- everyone here has had a bad night, and most of us have had many. I used to play in an originals band, I know what I'm talking about. But a deal is a deal is a deal. Verbal or otherwise. Frankly, I would have challenged the manager right there. If you guys recall, we got ripped off about 4 years ago.. I was extremely upset and vented here, and someone came up with the idea to find the 'contact us' page on their website, and as a united front, you guys (and the guitar forum) flooded his inbox with complaints about how he rips off bands, and within two days, the owner called me up begging me to "call off my dogs" from spamming his inbox. I also wrecked his establishment on CL and several other bands chimed in to vocalize their similar stories about the place/owner. He had a check waiting for me at the bar for what he owed us, that day. We never played there again, or wanted to. My point is that if we don't stand up to these owners, they will walk all over you, and every band after you. You are an enabler by allowing them to walk away with money they owe you, and they WILL do it again. Would you rake someone's lawn, and then let them not pay you?? The cost of your performance is mostly accumulated in the maintenance of your band van / transportation, gear, time to load in, load out... all that effort and wear and tear, and he's going to short you because he made a mistake? Not your problem. You nailed it Jeff in your contact to him - they hired your band to entertain HIS customers.. it's not your job to fill his establishment any more than it's his job to learn how to perform your sets!! If you failed to do your jobs (perform), then yes, I can see the problem, but you fulfilled your end of the deal- the manager had no right to pull you with the job 85% done. If you were a brick layer, how would you feel if a customer pulled you at 85% of a brick fence around your property is done and pay you so little that it doesn't even cover the cost of your materials, much less your time?! No band is responsible for bringing a crowd, and I am shocked to see so many bands still allow owners to bully them into owning that responsibility. Sure, my band brings a crowd. Sometimes better sometimes worse. We recently lost a regular gig because we had ONE bad night (low turnout from 'our' crowd on top of some unsettling PA issues during the first half of the first set), BUT we kept the crowd, and the bar had a pretty hopping night- our success is that we are one of the only bands in our area that can retain the majority of the crowd not only after midnight, but usually until closing time- and I debated the owner on that merit. I went back and asked everyone who didn't show.. why? They all had the exact same response.. they hate that place.. the service is terrible, the worst. They know were playing elsewhere in a couple of weeks and would rather see us there. Of course the owner wouldn't .. couldn't accept any such responsibility, so we agreed- we don't want to play there anymore. This is business. I know there's a couple of comments about this being fun, but whether or not you have fun, it's still business, and while the money isn't going to make or break me, I do use band funds to pad my personal savings (me and wife have family account, then our own personal accounts), and that money helps me buy lots of toys like amps, guitars, effects... so it IS important to me. It's important to do my job, perform at a level of a paid musician, and entertain the crowd(s). I take that seriously, and if fun enters the picture (and it does usually!), then that's icing on the cake. I think we all need to read this regularly and remind ourselves that what we do deserves respect:http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/musici...onal-musician/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members toober Posted May 18, 2016 Members Share Posted May 18, 2016 Trying for a helpful idea here.... on future gigs, try something to the effect of... 'since the event is over an hour away, we prefer a minimal contract and half pay when we show up, the rest when we are done'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted May 18, 2016 Members Share Posted May 18, 2016 Trying for a helpful idea here.... on future gigs, try something to the effect of... 'since the event is over an hour away, we prefer a minimal contract and half pay when we show up, the rest when we are done'. That's a good idea, I'd even go as far as to draw up a contract that stipulates full pay when we arrive. Why load in if they make it clear they will rip you off? In fact.. I think I might draw up contracts that stipulate that for ALL gigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kramerguy Posted May 18, 2016 Members Share Posted May 18, 2016 and NO checks. Cash only! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted May 25, 2016 Members Share Posted May 25, 2016 They know were playing elsewhere in a couple of weeks and would rather see us there. FWIW ... this is why I don't advertise more than one gig ahead of time. While I don't consider it my *responsibility* to bring a crowd, I always make the effort. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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