People who ask to come up and play

[MDLMUSIC]

I play in a jam session band on Sunday evenings at a local bar where people are encouraged to get on stage and jam with "real" musicians. Sometimes it works great and sometimes it sucks bigtime, but that's OK, because everybody realizes that's what the jam session is all about.

 

I do have a problem when I play that same or another local club with my oldies/classic rock trio (same drummer, different bass player) because people want to sit in as if it were the jam session band. I just tell them that we are being paid as the regular band and that if they want to sit in, they are welcome to come to the Sunday jam session. If they still give me a hard time, I do the old broken record routine: "Sorry, it's against our policy....Sorry, it's against our policy....Sorry, it's against..." You get the idea.

 

All that being said, there was one occasion a few years ago when one of those annoying "Let me sit in with the band" guys turned out amazingly well. I was playing with a rock and roll trio in a small club when this guy came over on the break and showed me one of those "Little Lady" harmonicas on a neck chain. You know those tiny four hole jobs that are about an inch and a half long? He said he could really play it. Well, we figured it was good for a laugh, and the club was kind of dead anyway, so what the heck?

 

We asked him what he wanted to play, figuring he was going to call off "Stormy Monday" or some other old blues tune, but he asks for Van Morrison's "Moondance". "This should be good", we're all thinking. Try pulling off "Moondance" with eight notes.

 

Well, we start the intro, the guy puts the whole harmonica in his mouth, hold the microphone in front of him, and proceeds to rip off some of the tastiest, jazziest licks I've ever heard. The guy was amazing. He did three more songs with us and on the break told us he had performed on the "Tonight Show". I believe him.

[Cortfan]

We have a simple solution to that problem. Come on up after the last song in the last set. Bring $50 cash per song. The only way I'll sit in with another band is if their bassplayer suddenly gets sick during the gig. Otherwise, no thanks.

[flip333]

Hey MLD:

 

You win some and you lose some.

 

The risk of a stinker or a problem person is too high for me at a real gig.... good anwer about the sunday jam

[Terry Allan Hall]

If I can't get out of it through diplomacy, I just have them come up at the last song of the set, let 'em do their thing, then take a break...if they suck, little harm done - if they were great, then that's cool, too!

[twangboy]

we kept a few covers that we purposely {censored}ed up for just such an occasion.

 

"Sure, cmon up! You know Back In Black?"

 

start the song off correctly, then at the first verse, we would play it ska, western swing, or etc. ,then back to the correct style just to keep 'em off base.

 

nobody ever got bast the 2nd verse and the crowds loved it. It became a regualr part of the show called stump the chump.

[flemtone]

 

Originally posted by zookie I would rather limit my venues than be someone's personal dysfunctional playpen. The stage is MY dysfunctional playpen, dammit!

 

 

 

THIS line is definitely sig-worthy!!!

[Old Steve]

Funny story (I'm hoping): years ago, lousy band in its infancy on it's way to full blown mediocrity, we get a "gig" playing on the deck of a big back yard bbq (probably 100 people)....basically an excuse to have a free rehearsal with an open bar and as many burgers and dogs as we could eat.

 

Aside from the normal backyard gig problems (PA power coming from inside the house with 100' or orange extension cord inconveniently placed where bathroom-commuters trip over the plug no fewer than 3 or 4 times...), a guy comes up after one of the sets and asks if he can sit in.

 

Stalling, I say, "what do you play". The guy says, I play the "cungo" ("congo" is a central African country, "conga" is a large drum...no idea what a "cungo" is). Anyway, since the guy doesn't even know what his "instrument" is called, I figure he's probably REALLY GOOD. Anyway, the guy proceeds to tell me that his "cungo" is in the car.

 

As the drummer/soundguy of the band (both of which are pretty hammered at this point) I figure that he won't be loud enough to be heard anyway, and since the gig is quickly devolving into a complete hack-fest, I tell him "sure, go get your 'cungo' and c'mon back."

 

Anyway, as a person who has spent some time formally studying percussion, one of my pet peeves is the thousands of people who think they play certain percussion instruments simply because they picked one up in a flea market. It's almost like some bands say, "Vinny wants to be in the band, but has no musical talent. Let's just give him a conga/bongos/tambourine/cowbell/etc. and let him perform with us" not knowing that these things actually DO make noise, and that this noise can either ENHANCE or DETRACT from the overall sound.

 

5 minutes later, our "Cungoist" comes back from his hooptie with a beat to hell conga and pulls up a lawn chair right next to me and my drumkit (coooool....now we're a "percussion section"). I gotta hand it to the guy, he flat out sucked, but HE sure didn't realize it. He whaled away like Ricky Ricardo on crystal meth and cuppochino for 3 or 4 songs (a couple of which were rather slow ballad-type songs, if I remember correctly), before he got tired and went away. The best part, at least for me, was that everytime I looked over at him, he'd shoot me this look like "hey, WE'RE really ON tonight, eh?", and I'd just smile back.

[DaveH]

Originally posted by Old Steve Funny story (I'm hoping):

 

You're right, it is funny.

I've been in the same situ, a few times. A couple times it got to push&shove to get them off the bandstand.

[daddymack]

Since we are a 'blues band, everybody thinks that we 'jam'. We get idiots all the time asking to sit in. I have developed varying responses based on the preferred instrument, the drunkenness of the asker, the crowd, the room/venue, etc.

Guitarists ask..I ask them where their rig is. THe invariable answer is 'at home'. I tell them "that's too bad, but no one, and I'm sure you will understand this, plays my rig...it's like brushing your teeth with another guy's toothbrush".

Or I do the old 'insurance dodge'. Or I ask for a $5000 deposit against possible damage...no one has ever coughed up on that one.

I would never ask a band I didn't know if I could sit in. Iassume anyone who does that is a bedroom wanker or a drunk showoff, neither of which would I share the stage with.

 

I generally do not accept offers from bands that I know to 'come up and sing/play a song', unless it was arranged ahead of time; I have a couple of friends whose repertoire I know well enough who ask me to bring a guitar and amp to sit in, and for them (they are far better players than I) I am pleased to do that.

 

When I did weddings/bar mitzvahs, etc., with a 'pro' band ( I was a fill-in) we would all cringe when the host would ask us to let Aunt Mazie/Uncle Jake sing 'O Promise Me'/Hava Nagila/Feelings/Tie A Yellow Ribbon/Proud Mary/etc...

Ohhh, the humanity...

[colliewobble]

A lady I know showed up at one of my gigs and asked if she could come up and sing. I had met her at a couple jam sessions. She was pretty drunk and got really upset when I told her no, that this was a paying gig for us, not a jam session.

 

It happens from time to time. I just let my no be no, and haven't had much problem.

 

It's weird that people think they can ask that. If I attend a gig where someone I know is playing, the LAST thing I do is ask if I can sit in. If I'm asked, that's one thing. I guess some folks don't have "manners."

[Jimi Ray Halen]

I've never had a guitarist come up to me and ask me to play my rig. Unless I know them or somebody else in the band knows them then {censored} no. But the guys I know would never ask. I ask friends if they would like to sit in. Especially some of them who I know the crowd will like a lot. If they can add something excellent then I'll go have a beer and watch.

 

It's usually a drunk karoake singer who wants to impress his girlfriend or something. We did it a couple of times if it seemed like he was a popular regular with a large group of drinking friends in attendance (you are there to sell beer, after all) but it gets to be a pita after awhile. So we ixnayed that. It takes a lot of balls to approach a band you don't know and ask to sit in. Liquid courage?

 

The way I figure it is, go put the time, money, energy, blood, sweat, and tears into putting and keeping a band together and getting gigs. Then you have earned the right to be on stage.

[PBBPaul]

We often let people sit in. Most of the time it's someone we know but occasionally we let a stranger sit in but only if we get a good vibe. What sucks is when the club owner thinks they can play or sing and THEY want to sit in.

 

One night we were playing at this club out in the middle of nowhere and this little old lady came up and asked to sing with us. Now, we're a loud'n'fast Blues/Jazz/Soul/Funk/Rock band and this 5 foot tall, 75 year old lady wants to sing with us? Better yet, she wanted to sing "Hello Dolly". Our keyboard player had a great sense of humor and told her "of course you can sing with us". So in the middle of the set, and to thunderous applause, we call her up. She started sing and I swear that if my eyes were closed I would have thought it was Louis Armstrong on stage with us. She was friggin' hilarious! And very good. And very entertaining.

 

It just goes to show... well I don't know what it goes to show but it was very funny.

[lastcall]

About 15 years ago we took a friend out for his 21st birthday. We knew the band that was playing. Towards the end of the night the birthday boy was hammered. The band was playing "Stairway to heaven" and we told our friend the band wanted him to help sing the fast part. So he jumps on stge and starts singing, except he's not singing into the mike, he is singing into the guitar players ear. It was funny as hell. Now at the time, I had just started playing guitar and had never played in a band. If I was on stage now and it happened to me I'd probably hit the guy in the head with my guitar. But it was funny, to this day my friend still gets embasased when I bring it up.

[Scafeets]

I wish I had the balls to do this, but I have to give credit to a bass player in my band a few years ago.

 

Guy on the dance floor (with Hot Girlfriend) says: "Hey, I'm a bass player -- can I sit in for a couple of tunes?"

 

Bass Player: "You got your bass?"

 

Guy on dance floor: "No, I want to try yours out."

 

Bass Player: "OK, you play bass, and I'll {censored} your hot girflfriend."

 

End of request.

[Mr. Botch]

Originally posted by Scafeets Bass Player: "OK, you play bass, and I'll {censored} your hot girflfriend."

Classic!

[elsongs]

If the band invites a friend or special guest onstage who they KNOW can play something, that's one thing.

 

But if someone asks to play with us, I'll just ask them, "Did you come to our last rehearsal? No? Than I'm sorry."

[Terry Allan Hall]

Originally posted by Scafeets I wish I had the balls to do this, but I have to give credit to a bass player in my band a few years ago. Guy on the dance floor (with Hot Girlfriend) says: "Hey, I'm a bass player -- can I sit in for a couple of tunes?" Bass Player: "You got your bass?" Guy on dance floor: "No, I want to try yours out." Bass Player: "OK, you play bass, and I'll {censored} your hot girflfriend." End of request.

 

LOL...wow!

[orfalot]

It happens all the time with our small club/bar band. Nine out of ten times it's someone who wants to sing and they approach the singer typically while he's singing. Our singer is pretty direct and tells them: "Hey man, this ain't karaoke night, go get your own band."

[JacieFB]

I'm pretty much in agreement with everyone that is saying "noooooo way"...but recently, on tour, we had an experience where it would have been very cool. My band plays a fast punk version of "Be My Baby". On one night in particular, all the girls in the crowd went crazy when we played it. In retrospect, I think it would have been fun to invite a few of them on stage and have them do the "Be my, be my baby, my one and only baby" backing vocals.

[hethaerto4]

I feel like a total piece of {censored} after reading this thread.

 

My ex-girlfriend out in CA used to ask bands if I could sit in on drums all the time (while I wasn't looking).

She was constantly embarrassing me.

Sometimes the drummer would say "Cool, man", and go play a game of pool.

Other times the band would just ignore her, as I did.

She was constantly putting me in an awkward position just so she hear me play drums.

[zekmoe]

I love these stories. But almost all of them remind me why I play the way I play now. I mostly play in a band that is your typical older guys playing orignal music that is out of style or never was. We do it because we want to. We play dives and places where there are 5 bands on the card. One 50 minute set, out and no money usually. But we like it and have fun. No one tells us what to do, what to play or tries to play along. None of us have delusions of granduar or stardom anymore, but all of us love to play. Even rehearse. None of us needs the money. I'm the happiest I've ever been playing.

Once the owner of a place gave me $45 for the whole band and said 'hey, you guys drew tonite". I laughed, thinking of the $10,000 in guitars and amps I personally brought in to play with, and told him,"give it to the bartender as as tip".

We've gotten some good recordings from some of these gigs as well. I really love playing without comprimise whatever we like and not beholding to anyone for money. May sound weird but it's really refreshing after playing years with "ok, now what will get them up dancing". Now if they start dancing, I view it as an insult.

[hethaerto4]

 

Originally posted by zekmoe I love these stories. But almost all of them remind me why I play the way I play now. I mostly play in a band that is your typical older guys playing orignal music that is out of style or never was. We do it because we want to. We play dives and places where there are 5 bands on the card. One 50 minute set, out and no money usually. But we like it and have fun. No one tells us what to do, what to play or tries to play along. None of us have delusions of granduar or stardom anymore, but all of us love to play. Even rehearse. None of us needs the money. I'm the happiest I've ever been playing. Once the owner of a place gave me $45 for the whole band and said 'hey, you guys drew tonite". I laughed, thinking of the $10,000 in guitars and amps I personally brought in to play with, and told him,"give it to the bartender as as tip". We've gotten some good recordings from some of these gigs as well. I really love playing without comprimise whatever we like and not beholding to anyone for money. May sound weird but it's really refreshing after playing years with "ok, now what will get them up dancing". Now if they start dancing, I view it as an insult.

 

 

I can't remember the last time I got to see an original band in a small club.

[iop]

Its funny how the "sit in thing" works with different styles of music.

 

With blues and jazz its reverse you have to almost hide so you don't get ask to sit in.

 

Now, with rock bands you have to be dating the band leaders sister or own the PA they are using that night to get sit in privileges. It seems to be a favor oriented deal, in-order to sit in.

 

I don't like to play on other peoples guitars because of the set up and position of knobs and things. If you bring your own axe then you got to be playin' the shzt cause you got your axe.

 

Unless its my brothers blues band I just say no.

[wikwox]

Back in the eighties I played in a country/rock band. The lead singer/guitar player never, ever turned down a request to sit in. Yes I agree harmonica players are frequently the worst and yes a bunch of what today would be karoke types. The one that got me was and old man who looked like he was homeless. Real scary. He wanted to sing House of the Rising Sun. We knew the tune so what the hell. His voice about raised the hairs on the back of my neck. stage presence like you would not believe.He got heilacious applause and disappeared before we could say "who the hell was that?.

[srsfallriver]

I used to get crap like this all the time when I was in a blues or bar band. When I joined a wedding band, I thought I was immune. Boy was I wrong!!

 

Our response is "unless the bride and groom give you permission and ask us to let you play, you cannot". This deters most. Some manage to get permission others get violent.

 

Recently, a very (obviously) drunk guest approached our singer and requested to sing "something". Our singer stated our policy and politely told him "NO". The guy got pissed, called my singer a c*nt, and said he'd kick my singer's a**! This was at a wedding!!!! I felt like I was at a crappy bar gig.