Worst gigging weekend of my life.

[riffdaddy]

About three months ago my band hired a female backup singer. She sang relatively well, listened to what we told her to do, and didn't seem to mind standing in the back. About three weeks ago she quit showing up without any real explanation. Then on Wednesday night, our final prep before doing our weekend gigs in Springfield, she shows up for rehearsal. She answers half a dozen phone calls, fixes her makeup, and falls asleep for a few minutes. When she could be bothered to pay attention to what was going on, she had seemingly forgotten all of her parts and started singing either mine or the keyboard player's.

 

Needless to say, none of this {censored} really sat well with any of us, and we unanimously agreed that she wasn't fit to take out to high-paying corporate gigs. Thus, we made the decision to fire her. Because the band is owned and led by the bass player, it was his responsibility to handle the situation. He assured us he would handle it.

 

Friday afternoon I arrive in Springfield and go to the bar to set up for the first gig. Imagine my surprise when I walk in to find said backup singer sitting at the bar nursing a drink. I immediately found the bass player and asked him exactly what the hell was going on, and he assured me he was only paying her $50 for the weekend. This was $50 too much in my opinion, and I was shocked that he showed so little respect for our opinions that he would lie to us and disregard the decision that we came to as a band. I went to discuss this with my other bandmates and found that they were equally surprised to see her there and similarly upset.

 

Shortly thereafter, the backup singer was sitting next to some of the bandmates' girlfriends. Somebody mentioned the $50 figure, and she informed us that she had been offered quite a bit more than that. I was informed of this conversation by my girlfriend. I went again to the bassist and explained to him that I wasn't comfortable being in a band where this sort of decision-making was occuring. He tried to play it off like it was nothing to be concerned with. When he realized that I was legitimately upset, he said to me "fine, get your {censored} and go home now."

 

The keyboardist and lead singer were successful in talking me into staying and finishing out the weekend with the band. Before the Saturday show (a corporate gig), the backup singer failed to show for the soundcheck. The singer took it on himself to call her and inform her that, because of this, she could not sing with the band that night. She got thoroughly pissed off and went around to the drummer's hotel room to bitch, then eventually to the keyboardist's hotel room. Finally, she showed up an hour before the gig at the convention center and called a band meeting to determine what the hell was going on. The bassist said that she could sing with the band that night, but after that she was no longer needed. She had her fill of his bull{censored} and got in her car to drive back to Kansas.

 

Overall, I'm pissed about a number of things that have occured here. I'm pissed that the bassist lied to us about handling the situation when he clearly never intended to do anything about it. I'm not sure what he thought he might accomplish by doing this. I'm pissed that he lied to us about the amount of money he intended to pay her, especially considering that it would in turn adversely affect our pay. I'm pissed that he would allow somebody who didn't know their parts to sit in on a big corporate gig. I'm pissed at the way he treated my girlfriend (after he dismissed me from the group, he grabbed her arm and told her she needed "to get her boy in check").

 

I'm also pissed at the way he treated the backup singer. She drove a total of ten hours, paid for all of her own gas, paid for two nights at a hotel room, and made absolutely no money. Out of fairness, he should have at least covered her expenses. I don't know why the hell he feels he can behave this way.

 

Furthermore, you can't blame his dishonesty and poor management skills on age. He's 46.

 

To top it off, on the way back, I nearly drove directly into a tornado. We drove into a compact, powerful thunderstorm near the state line. About ten minutes into the storm, I looked across the road into the oncoming field and saw a small tornado. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was just like every tornado nightmare I've ever had. I was frozen; I couldn't react. I finally managed to get the car turned around, just as the tornado ascended back into the clouds. I've seen a few tornados in my life, but this one was no more than 500 feet away. This was the first time I ever got a clear look at the base of a tornado.

 

I hope to avoid repeating the experience.

[Brian Krashpad]

Even though I could sure use the bucks, this makes me glad I'll never do a "high-paying corporate gig." (Unless of course I find the true location of Bizarro World and can book my punk band for some high-paying corporate gig.)

 

Look at it this way though, at least the twister didn't get ya.

 

BK

[ned911]

There are 3 ways to deal with this.

 

1) Get really pissed and walk.

2) Get everyone but the bass player pissed and organize a group walk

 

3) Treat it like your an employee, show up, get paid and stay out of the other crap. Ensure you received X pay for each gig whether that is set dollar or a set % of the total pay.

 

If it's a good paying gig and you enjoy the other players I'd suggest door #3 and ignore the other BS. I also realize this is easier said than done.

[Craig Vecchione]

So the bass player's an ass. As long as the others aren't sheep, it really shouldn't be all that hard to get them to leave and find another bass player. Yes, I'm chuckling as I write this, knowing how futile it is to get even one other band member to do the right thing.....

 

 

 

 

ps: how much ya wanna bet the bass player was either screwing the backup singer or trying like hell...?

[GCDEF]

I'm guessing he just didn't have the stomach for firing somebody. I'm also 46 and in a position in my company when I occasionally have to fire somebody. For some reason, in my band that duty always falls to me also. Even though I've done it a number of times, I absolutely hate it. My stomach turns to mush and it really takes a monumental effort to have that conversation. I can easily see how people would chicken out. I can also see, though not condone, how he could lie about it.

 

If he's a good leader and manager in other ways, cut him some slack. Maybe next time one of you guys could volunteer to do the firing.

[Outrider]

 

Originally posted by Craigv ps: how much ya wanna bet the bass player was either screwing the backup singer or trying like hell...?

 

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Over the years I've observed that having women on the dance floor can make a band play better, but having women in the band tends to make the guys in the band act stupid.

[Craig Vecchione]

 

Originally posted by GCDEF If he's a good leader and manager in other ways, cut him some slack.

 

 

This is true, but his, "get her boy in check" comment probably answers that one......

 

 

In complete agreement regarding firing...it's a miserable responsibility.

[daddymack]

1) Did you not have an agreed upon sum promised each member before the gig? If not, then its likely the bassplayer/leader is screwing you on every gig.

2) As the leader, and 'owner', I would guess he also takes a bit more $ per gig. That makes him the one to do all the hire/fire. The band are hired hands, obviously. He needs to earn his $ and position.

3) When confronted for waffling, he told you to walk. I would have told him to cut me a check, and I would have been out of there. I have to believe your services were more critical to the band's performance that the back-up singer's, right?

Call his bluff.

When he says, 'aw, c'mon, man, y'know..."

Tell him "yes, I know, and I want her gone, and I want more $. Now!"

Because he needs to realize that business is business.

4) I would also be all over his {censored} about even talking to your GF about band stuff. Totally inappropriate!

 

In light of this, I would be inclined to move on. I don't know how long you have played in this group, but I would suspect that things will deteriorate from this point. Talk to the other players in the band and see how they feel regarding the entire situation. If you powerplay Mr. Spineless-With-Corporate-Contacts, what can he do? Basically, you guys are his employees, from the way you describe it, and I think a bit of 'collective bargaining' is in order.

[riffdaddy]

Originally posted by daddymack 1) Did you not have an agreed upon sum promised each member before the gig? If not, then its likely the bassplayer/leader is screwing you on every gig. 2) As the leader, and 'owner', I would guess he also takes a bit more $ per gig. That makes him the one to do all the hire/fire. The band are hired hands, obviously. He needs to earn his $ and position. 3) When confronted for waffling, he told you to walk. I would have told him to cut me a check, and I would have been out of there. I have to believe your services were more critical to the band's performance that the back-up singer's, right? Call his bluff. When he says, 'aw, c'mon, man, y'know..." Tell him "yes, I know, and I want her gone, and I want more $. Now!" Because he needs to realize that business is business. 4) I would also be all over his {censored} about even talking to your GF about band stuff. Totally inappropriate! In light of this, I would be inclined to move on. I don't know how long you have played in this group, but I would suspect that things will deteriorate from this point. Talk to the other players in the band and see how they feel regarding the entire situation. If you powerplay Mr. Spineless-With-Corporate-Contacts, what can he do? Basically, you guys are his employees, from the way you describe it, and I think a bit of 'collective bargaining' is in order.

 

1. Yes, there is a dollar figure on each gig. Band expenses are also well-documented, so he doesn't have the ability to screw us.

 

2. He doesn't take more money. The pay is equal. Everybody in the band has been involved in booking gigs, so he doesn't have the opportunity to (a) be dishonest about the amount we're actually receiving or (b) skim off the top.

 

3. I don't think collective bargaining will be effective in this situation, because all we're aiming for is for him to be honest. How do you bargain away a character flaw?

 

To address the other issue at hand, no, he isn't aiming to bang the backup singer. He has a thing for white girls.

[daddymack]

 

Originally posted by riffdaddy 1. Yes, there is a dollar figure on each gig. Band expenses are also well-documented, so he doesn't have the ability to screw us. Then how did you not know how much the back-up singer would get paid? If he had fired the singer, wouldn't there have been an increase in pay for the other members? 2. He doesn't take more money. The pay is equal. Everybody in the band has been involved in booking gigs, so he doesn't have the opportunity to (a) be dishonest about the amount we're actually receiving or (b) skim off the top. Again, if all get equal shares, I do not understand how there would have been a question of the back-upsinger's pay... 3. I don't think collective bargaining will be effective in this situation, because all we're aiming for is for him to be honest. How do you bargain away a character flaw? That you can't change, unfortuantely. To address the other issue at hand, no, he isn't aiming to bang the backup singer. He has a thing for white girls.

 

It still sounds to me like you are in a situation which will ultimnately go sour.

[cozmicslop]

Yup, it's already turned sour.

 

Think on the bright side.

 

It took a full 3 months to turn to {censored}.

[riffdaddy]

To clarify, we had a few gigs that were cancelled due to one of our clubs shutting down. Those gigs were supposed to cover the expense of the soundman and the backup singer. When those gigs were cancelled, we determined we would use the Friday night Springfield gig to cover the soundman. By this point, the backup singer was out of the picture (or so we thought), and thus a non-issue. When she showed up for the Wednesday night rehearsal, it became an issue again. The Wednesday night discussion (the one where the band unanimously agreed that she shouldn't come on the trip) centered around the fact that pretty much everybody wasn't comfortable giving up $50 out of the Saturday night gig to pay for her to be there. Hence, she was to be fired. Yet she wasn't.