Members Alan Roberts Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 So, I just saw this on my buddy Matt's FB page. Matt https://www.facebook.com/matthillboogie won "new blues artist of the year" a couple of years ago at the BMA's. His wife, Nikki, is also a gigging musician. It's as classic a double booking story as I've ever seen or heard and surely belongs in some archive to be preserved for posterity - here it is: "Matt Hill2 hours ago near Saint Louis, MOI don't normally like to do this, but I genuinely feel like I was done wrong and I want to give other musicians in the area a heads up. Earlier today Shady Jacks called Nikki to offer her a date, which so happened to be one that I was booked there for already. Nikki called to point that out, then an hour later I received a call from them, and was told that not only was I not welcome back, but they were canceling the two gigs that I already have booked, one of them less than two weeks away. When I asked her why, she said that the owner received complaints that I went too far at the "BIKER BAR" (which has a stripping pole on the bar!) And I offended people. This is a Friday night at midnite at a bar, where I actually really keep it tame because the crowd doesn't pay attention to the band as it is. I find it completely inappropriate to 1. attempt to give my gig away with no contact 2. attempt to give my gig away to my own wife 3. attempt to give my gig away without even talking to me first and giving me a chance to change things. All it takes is communication!!!! Had Nikki not pointed that out, they would never have even called me! Now, I am down two dates that are too close to book anything all because of cowardly action and I'm the one that has to tell my band they are out 2 gigs, not them. This is not a game, it's how I feed my family and how I make a living. Shady Jack's Saloon - Biker Bar in Downtown, St. Louis has definitely been shady in this case. Thanks a lot!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, at least he gets to help spend some of the money...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alan Roberts Posted July 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, at least he gets to help spend some of the money...??? I wonder where this ranks in causes of musician divorce? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 So...is the wife still booked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CliffordN Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 If it offended bikers we probably need to hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I would be asking the owner of the bar about exactly what you are being accused of and to settle the matter. It could be the case of yet-another-bad-bar-owner, or maybe confused you for someone else they were complaining about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 What did he do that is considered too far? Airing stuff on Facebook is going to backfire more often than not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members race81 Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Im north of st louis....have friends in bands down there, and Ive never heard of that place....may be a reason for that, and like clifford said...may need to hear the offending banter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KeysBear Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I have played biker bars for more than thirty years. People are constantly telling me what wonderful people they are.... They do a lot of benefits and charity work but from my experience if you don't hang out with them on a personal level you don't exist as a human being. I've done dozens of zero pay, cheap, or for tips charity gigs for them trying to gain favor and it means absolutely nothing in return. I can knock all the gear off my handcart and nearly break my leg going into a biker bar (it happened) and no one, not a single person will offer to help me get off the floor. But they did complain that I was blocking the door. I have also found that they are very easily offended by things that you may not even know you did to offend them. I'll be playing two biker events this month, one for pay, one for tips because the band likes the event. My opinion is if you've seen one saggy grandma pull up her shirt you've seen them all but they want to go anyway. It is what it is. Your mileage may vary. Move on and get other gigs, stuff happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 If you don't ride a bike, you aren't a human worth acknowledging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KeysBear Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 If you don't ride a bike, you aren't a human worth acknowledging. that's funny. I haven't ridden in years and no desire to in this miserable traffic area. Lead guitarist's wife begged him into selling his Harley a few years ago. Drummer was a touring motorcycle racer in Canada. I played in a true biker band for awhile but those guys partied much harder than my liver could have ever kept up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 No matter how good an artist you are, if your making your living playing dives with names like "Shady Jacks" you should probably expect this kind of treatment. And since he's a bluesman, maybe he will get a song out of it. It would be good for him to know what he did that offended the patrons though. OTOH, it could all be BS. He acknowleged no one paid the band any attention, so that could be the reason, but in any case, it seems like little was lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CliffordN Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Ain't that the truth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Getting cancelled by clubs just happens sometimes. Not every band is a perfect fit for every club, and he obviously did something to piss them off. Posting about it on Facebook and only giving one side of it is bad form. It's going to make other clubs less likely to hire him if they see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 "BIKER BAR" (which has a stripping pole on the bar!) Now that's a bar gig that I would be devastated to lose as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Now that's a bar gig that I would be devastated to lose as well. I was a bit bummed when we stopped playing this place..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I was a bit bummed when we stopped playing this place..... DON'T LOOK AT THE BOOBIES!!!! They are attached to someone with ZERO musical taste!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 DON'T LOOK AT THE BOOBIES!!!!They are attached to someone with ZERO musical taste!!! Too late! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alan Roberts Posted July 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I am truly sorry to hear about that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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