"On Call" jobs and gigging

[Nijyo]

How many people here who gig regularly fit it in with a day job that has a rotational (or non-rotational, for that matter) "on call" schedule? How does it effect your scheduling and gigging?

 

This pops into my mind now and then, and just now have had the good sense(?) to pose the question here.

[Philbigtime]

The percussionist in our band was an on-call locksmith. He ended up getting a similar job where he could have free weekends because he was sick of missing 1/3 of all our shows. I'd imagine that it's pretty damn tough to be on call and have to play a gig at the same time. Either way, you're going to be letting somebody down.

[J Kylez]

It blows quite honestly. I used to be on a 6-7 week rotation but now it's 3 to 4. There are multiple things to plague you in this situation. First your on call 24x7 so sleep sometimes is an issue when things go bad. Then there is the SLA part of answering and responding to certain types of calls. So, if you're away from phone or ability to work or get to work for any reason you have to find converage. With only 2 or 3 people to pick from there are certain times it's tough to accomplish.

 

I've traded days with people or get backup coverage for certain hours certain days to combat the issue. Since I don't work with the band or production every weekend anymore it's not as big of an issue as it used to be. It's easier to return the favor for a switch. Even working 3-4 times a month can be a hassle sometimes. It always seems gigs or jobs line up with my on call schedule. What can you do? You gotta have a full time job right? The other stuff is all extra / fun money really. It is nice though!

[Inazone]

I'm on a rotating on-call schedule, but realistically am "24/7" because most of the other people in the rotation don't know how to handle a lot of the issues. For my spot in the rotation, it has never been an issue to swap with someone else when I know I have a gig, but for unscheduled calls, people have to leave a message.

 

Obviously, that wouldn't be acceptable for someone working in more of an "ASAP" capacity.

[germs]

My last bassist worked for a cable company as an installer. He was on call a few Saturdays and Sundays a month, lotto style...I don't really understand it, but basically he would be on call a maximum of 4 days a month, but as soon as he did his 4 days (sometimes less) he was off the hook. So theoretically he could be on call the first two weekends and be off the rest of the month.

 

UNLESS there was a big storm on say...Thursday...and we had a out of town gig Friday/Saturday.

 

Ultimately, there were some problems. BUT even though we were trying to "make it" at the time, we knew enough to know that jobs that pay our bills are more important than jobs that might pay $75-100 a night. Or less.

 

Cancellations never presented a problem. Most other guys in bands are familiar with "on call" status. And if we had a big show or something, most other guys on the bassist's crew were available to switch. If not, we did a different show.

 

Really, it taught us to be flexible more than anything. I think that's something important in this industry.

[ido1957]

I'm on call every other week. It's impossible to play in a part time band. I'll play a party once in a while, but have to swap weeks if need be. I get paid more on call than I ever would in a band plus it's an easy gig (knock on wood).

[arf-boy]

I'm on-call one week in four. I don't take it very seriously because I'm not compensated in any way for the inconvenience of being on-call. So sometimes, if I'm paged during band practice, I'll call in an tell the mothership that I can start responding at, say 11:30 p.m. or so -- or offer to get up early the next morning and handle the call then.

 

If it's a gig out of the area, I arrange coverage with a co-worker.

[uz3r]

Depends on what situation your band is in, but I would never be in a gigging band with someone who is regularly unavailable on the weekends due to work. Its hard enough organising a band as it is and then fitting into the requirements of promoters/managers etc. Everyone needs to earn a living but if your heart is in the band, you can get a job cleaning toilets mon-fri so your available to rock on the weekend.

[rorylawford]

 

Everyone needs to earn a living but if your heart is in the band, you can get a job cleaning toilets mon-fri so your available to rock on the weekend.

 

 

I respect your enthusiasm and understand that it would be the situation that would work for you, but I can't agree with your position. Expecting a professional to clean toilets rather than work in their field simply to keep them free on weekends is completely unrealistic expectation in my opinion.

[tim_7string]

 

I respect your enthusiasm and understand that it would be the situation that would work for you, but I can't agree with your position. Expecting a professional to clean toilets rather than work in their field simply to keep them free on weekends is completely unrealistic expectation in my opinion.

 

 

Agreed. A professional worked hard for their degree and should reap the benefits and rewards of that degree.

 

With that said, I personally would not play in a band with said professional because I look at a band as a part-time job in itself. I also take it very seriously. I do what it takes to make the gig, no matter whose group it is, and expect everyone else to do likewise. If that means they have to do some temp work for an agency M-F to keep their weekends free for the sake of the group, so be it.

 

It's part of the reason I will not work in a band with my cousin. He's very talented, but since he works a graveyard/overnight shift and can't always switch with someone at the job, it presents an obstacle, one I don't want to deal with. I need bandmembers that will be available at every gig, every time we play. I only ask for Friday and Saturday nights, because I don't want to work other nights of the week either, since I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. for my day job (the one that actually pays the bills). Losing sleep for days on end isn't my idea of fun.

 

So, while I would not blame the professional for choosing a career with odd hours over being in a band, he can't expect the band to work around that schedule either if everyone else has day jobs and can be available when necessary.

[rorylawford]

 

Agreed. A professional worked hard for their degree and should reap the benefits and rewards of that degree. With that said, I personally would not play in a band with said professional because I look at a band as a part-time job in itself. I also take it very seriously. I do what it takes to make the gig, no matter whose group it is, and expect everyone else to do likewise. If that means they have to do some temp work for an agency M-F to keep their weekends free for the sake of the group, so be it. It's part of the reason I will not work in a band with my cousin. He's very talented, but since he works a graveyard/overnight shift and can't always switch with someone at the job, it presents an obstacle, one I don't want to deal with. I need bandmembers that will be available at every gig, every time we play. I only ask for Friday and Saturday nights, because I don't want to work other nights of the week either, since I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. for my day job (the one that actually pays the bills). Losing sleep for days on end isn't my idea of fun. So, while I would not blame the professional for choosing a career with odd hours over being in a band, he can't expect the band to work around that schedule either if everyone else has day jobs and can be available when necessary.

 

 

point well said

[Rich4Once]

I used to be in a band with a guy that raced sprint cars every Saturday night from April to October. My stint in that group didn't last long.

[uz3r]

 

point well said

 

 

Agreed.

 

I should also point out that I also have a degree and work in a professional capacity.

 

There are an infinite number if variables but I believe even working my job 9-5 puts me at a disadvantage to other original bands/musicians who choose to live the more relaxed life or life of welfare. Sure I can afford nice things, but while I hack away at my keyboard 8 hours a day, they get to sit home and practice shredding and writing awesome songs... a luxury I wish I had!!!! Its because of this viewpoint that I have zero tolerance for unnecessary interference with band.

[paste]

 

How many people here who gig regularly fit it in with a day job that has a rotational (or non-rotational, for that matter) "on call" schedule? How does it effect your scheduling and gigging? This pops into my mind now and then, and just now have had the good sense(?) to pose the question here.

 

 

I'm not, but our drummer is on call about every six weeks, which almost always seems to fall on weekends we have gigs, but he is usually able to switch given enough time.

 

Our former guitarist was on call more often and he also had problems playing on Saturday night. So throw all that in with a singer who had an original band that was gigging on a semi-regular basis made booking shows kind of hard.

[spruilldog]

 

Depends on what situation your band is in, but I would never be in a gigging band with someone who is regularly unavailable on the weekends due to work. Its hard enough organising a band as it is and then fitting into the requirements of promoters/managers etc. Everyone needs to earn a living but if your heart is in the band, you can get a job cleaning toilets mon-fri so your available to rock on the weekend.

 

 

 

 

I'm a physician and I play in a band with 2 other physicians as members. When I am on call (every 3rd day/every 3rd weekend) I have to be able to be in the hospital within 30 minutes according to bylaws but realistically I have to be able to be there much sooner. We all have kids as well so between my call schedule and the other 2 and kids and travel, etc we are lucky to play out 5 times per year. We have a blast and suprisingly are able to practice on a relatively regular basis. The reason it has worked for us for 7 years so far is because we are all on the same page about what we are trying to accomplish. If you have some members looking at it as a hobby, some thinking they are going to quit their day jobs and make a living playing music, some wanting to gig every weekend, some wanting to gig every once in a while it isn't going to work. We got that conversation out of the way early on and have had zero problems since then. We also only play "reasonable hours" meaning we are breaking down when some of you guys are starting your first set. We do enough 0200 work we don't go out looking for extra.

 

Sometimes I think cleaning toilets would be more fun than practicing medicine.

[ambientnoize]

 

The reason it has worked for us for 7 years so far is because we are all on the same page about what we are trying to accomplish. If you have some members looking at it as a hobby, some thinking they are going to quit their day jobs and make a living playing music, some wanting to gig every weekend, some wanting to gig every once in a while it isn't going to work. We got that conversation out of the way early on and have had zero problems since then.

 

 

I think this is a brilliant sentiment that really applies to all forms of bands.

 

When I was 15-16 years old playing in bands with guys a bit older than myself, with uni/college commitments as well as working commitments, i couldn't understand why people would want to be in a band and not have some motivation to 'make it'. Those bands soon folded as people couldn't keep up with my unrealistic expectations of what should happen in a band.

 

As i grew older, and with that came my working/uni/life commitments, i soon empathised with these guys and learnt that being in a band should be fun. When somebody is hassling you about a practice that you'll have to make a tricky trade off to make - it isn't fun.

 

The current band i'm in is with a group of guys, all with jobs and currently in uni/colleges. We found a common time to meet up for practice, and try to practice over and above that if we can. Although there's no real hassle if one guy can't do it.

 

We're all really passionate about the band, although realise that difficulties in life and the fact that none of us wish to pursue a career in music mean it's unrealistic for us to practice all the time and go gigging every other spare minute. This realisation has led to us having more fun..

 

Sorry for rambling and veering OT. I guess the overall point is everybody in the band has to have the same expectations otherwise it definately won't work.

[RupertB]

I am likely to face a similar decision in a couple of years. If I am still doing this job, there is likely to be a transition from being an employee of an independent distributor to that of the larger company for which we distribute. In a lot of the district offices, the operations folks cover call duty. There is little in the way of wiggle-room. If there is a weekend/evening call, it is probably for a trauma case, so the need is "right f***ing now."

 

With a schedule that averages 4-5 gigs a month, I'm looking at issues of both time and income. If there were a compensatory increase in pay, I'd consider cutting back on gigs in order to keep a job that is otherwise a great fit for me. If no more money were offered, I'd take a day-job pay cut in order to net the same or more money and keep playing gigs.

[germs]

 

Agreed. I should also point out that I also have a degree and work in a professional capacity. There are an infinite number if variables but I believe even working my job 9-5 puts me at a disadvantage to other original bands/musicians who choose to live the more relaxed life or life of welfare. Sure I can afford nice things, but while I hack away at my keyboard 8 hours a day, they get to sit home and practice shredding and writing awesome songs... a luxury I wish I had!!!! Its because of this viewpoint that I have zero tolerance for unnecessary interference with band.

 

 

That's {censored}ing stupid. Have you ever been broke? In real, imminent danger of living on the street? I'm not talking about eating ramen in college. I'm talking about flat-out "how are we gonna pay for electricity? oh wait, we can't" "what's cable?" "can I borrow a few dollars to buy some food, brother?" broke.

 

Tell you what, quit your job tomorrow. Sell off all your possessions and trade your gear in for like a Tiesco and a solid-state Fender 8". {censored} it, right? Then you'll have infinite free time for all those "luxuries" like living on welfare in a {censored} part of town with crap gear. And going to bed listening to gunfire or your neighbors screaming at each other.

 

I mean, that makes sense, right? And once you're good and broke with {censored} for gear and no disposable income to improve your situation - other than all that money rolling in from those killer songs you're writing - then maybe you'll know what true suffering is so you're able to tap your inner musician.

 

What. The. {censored}.

[uz3r]

 

That's {censored}ing stupid. Have you ever been broke? In real, imminent danger of living on the street? I'm not talking about eating ramen in college. I'm talking about flat-out "how are we gonna pay for electricity? oh wait, we can't" "what's cable?" "can I borrow a few dollars to buy some food, brother?" broke What. The. {censored}.

 

 

Not sure what your trying to say? I wasnt saying Id rather be a bum on the street playing guitar, but seems like thats what you interpreted.

 

I know lots of musos that are happy working 5-10 hours a week in a dead end job and getting the rest of their needs subsidised by welfare, they ensure they have a roof over their head and food in their mouth, apart from that all they do is music.

 

Its hard for a muso who spends 50 hours a week in a proffessional job and a few hours on the weekend playing to be better than someone who works a few hours and has 50 hours a week to play music.