Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 I put on a free show last night to bring out an audience for a music video I was shooting. I put my two bands on the roster because we have a decent following locally and, mainly, because I knew they'd show up. My one band didn't want to open (I didn't care, the guitarist did), but the other band's drummer hadn't loaded in yet. So, we played, and the guitarist was in a foul mood from the get-go. After some equipment failure, he threw his guitar and... well, we played the whole set, but it was rough. It seemed to be a problem with his pedal tuner cutting out and telling him he wasn't in tune when it worked, so he spent a lot of the set wildly out of tune. On to the next band, where the real problem occurred. As we're loading in, I said the van looked surprisingly like the way we loaded out after our last show last Thursday. The van is the lead guitarist's personal van, he drives it to work every day. I always tell him to take the guitars inside, as both the backup guitars, the rhythm player's main (until his gets repaired), and the bass are all mine, leaving basically just the lead's main. He generally takes them out and sits them in his apartment, but this time... for five days, they sat in the van in the freezing cold. I started telling him, if he can't take care of other people's things, he can't use them anymore. They use my stuff because their stuff is junky, broken, or otherwise just not as good, but the day all my things get as lousy as theirs, there'll be no point. He just said "I dunno what to tell you, man, I forgot." No apology. We played, and were either constantly going out of tune from the several days of cold to the warm stage, or out of intonation (both guitarists use a capo for almost every song, one in an open C tuning, the other in standard). I assume mostly intonation. So, three of my guitars and my main bass need worked on, as well as the lead's main, an Epi Emperor II. And he owes back rent into forever, or else I'd make him pay me to have them fixed. I'm a bit upset. I wanted to vent. Thanks. Looks like I'll be making a deal with a local tech to intonate and adjust five guitars soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Sounds like a rough night! Any damage besides needing setups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lowbrow Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Sounds like you need some new blood in your band.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Yikes, too cold for that in WVa. I felt bad leaving my axes in the van overnight this last Saturday, and I'm a lot of miles south and a lot of degrees warmer than where you're at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 That's what you get with amateurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beyer160 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Sounds like it's a good time to learn to do your own setups- basic stuff like intonation is pretty easy. Even if you screw it up it's very hard to do actual damage, and you were taking them to a tech anyway, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 This is why I don't lend out my stuff. People usually don't care for other's people's stuff as they would their own. Maybe it would help if that guy wasn't left unloading the van all by himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 This is why I don't lend out my stuff. People usually don't care for other's people's stuff as they would their own. Maybe it would help if that guy wasn't left unloading the van all by himself. It's his van, and he doesn't take it anywhere to unload. He just drives straight home. If that's what he wants to do, and he can't be bothered to own his own {censored} and has to borrow mine, the least he can do is grab the cases and bring them inside for the night when it's below freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 When I was in high school I played in the school's jazz band. I would leave my old Tele (71) in the trunk of my car all the time (I played a Les Paul and a different (73) Tele there. It never even would go out of tune. Of course, that Tele wasn't a "vintage" guitar back then. I hope you got the guy throwing his guitar down on tape - that would be good footage for the video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeanJovi Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 So, we played, and the guitarist was in a foul mood from the get-go. After some equipment failure, he threw his guitar and... well, we played the whole set, but it was rough.That's why you don't play at air force bases... But seriously man, I can't stand people who don't respect the property of others. They're not only showing disrespect for your stuff, they're showing disrespect for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 I didn't get a good look at them, but I'm assuming:(1) Squier Thinline Telecaster (repainted, Esquire wiring and pickguard, Lil 59) dinged and beat from being tossed(1) Epiphone Emperor II needs set up (not just from the past 5 nights, the same idiot forgot his guitar at the practice space... by which I mean, sitting outside, and then it snowed)(1) Gibson Grabber slightly bowed, needs adjustedThey're claiming the others are alright, but they didn't sound alright to me. I'll have to look. They would be...(1) Fender Roadworn Tele (would need neck adjusted, intonated)(1) Gibson Melody Maker (same thing)(1) Nelsonic Tele (same thing)This guy has a tendency to ignore my warnings when I tell him to take {censored} out of his band. The other band recorded last weekend, and because he forgot to take my amp out and put it inside for a week, I couldn't pick it up to record with and had to use something much less appealing. Obviously my threats not to let them use my {censored} doesn't work, either. Sound like you gave them more than a fair chance, ample warnings, and they sh*t on your generosity every step of the way. Pull the plug now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 I wouldn't adjust them much untill they have had a few days inside. Just keep them in tune and see if they reset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AxAxSxS Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 easy solution, take your stuff home with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AL30 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Yep, way too cold for that. I'm in Morgantown. Everything gets unloaded. Nice of you to loan out equipment. They should be taking care of it. I did notice one thing. It's his van. It sounds like the band loads it up and then he's left to unload it by himself. You may try offering him some help next time. But, he should also have his own equipment. Tough situation. AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxorox Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Two problems, as I see it. First, you can't trust ANYBODY with your gear. Never trust anybody with your instrument(s). Our gear is kept in a locked trailor, inside a locked basemet/garage. I still keep my instruments with me. Second, your band is using your gear. PA stuff, OK. Instrument amps, maybe temporarily. Instruments, only in an emergency. You see this as a favor and a benefit to the band that should be returned with their gratitude and respect. They see it as an entitlement and don't give a rat's ass because it belongs to somebody else. You're not doing them a favor. If they don't care to upgrade their rigs to a reasonable professional level, they just don't care. So your stuff has been exposed to theft by being ferried between some guy's home and work for a week, in weather conditions that caused actual damage that affected the bands ability to perform, and left you holding the bag for repair costs. I think it would be foolish not to take this opportunity to take your gear off the table before it's totally trashed. Time to get these pups off your tit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Yep, way too cold for that. I'm in Morgantown. Everything gets unloaded.Nice of you to loan out equipment. They should be taking care of it. I did notice one thing. It's his van. It sounds like the band loads it up and then he's left to unload it by himself. You may try offering him some help next time. But, he should also have his own equipment. Tough situation.AL We're playing in Morgantown tomorrow (Thursday) with It's Birds, I think. The lead guitarist and the rhythm guy/singer live together, and they go back to their place. They take their amps (or the singer's amp and my amp, if he's borrowing my Tiny Terror), all the guitars, and my bass rig with them. Everything is their equipment, or what they use at least, except for my bass and my bass amp. The cabs stay in the car, because it won't hurt them, and it someone wants to life 100 pounds to steal it, they can have it. So, everything except my bass and my amp head are what they use. I figure, for using about 2 grand worth of my {censored}, they can do me the favor of taking those inside with them when they go... But apparently, there's be no "going" lately, because they've just left them in the car until next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 211dave112 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 That seems far too much hassle for me. why cant they buy their own guitars, they could get decent playable gig worthy guitars for $200 or less if they looked used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Second, your band is using your gear. PA stuff, OK. Instrument amps, maybe temporarily. Instruments, only in an emergency. You see this as a favor and a benefit to the band that should be returned with their gratitude and respect. They see it as an entitlement and don't give a rat's ass because it belongs to somebody else. You're not doing them a favor. If they don't care to upgrade their rigs to a reasonable professional level, they just don't care. I called and told them I can't let them use my stuff anymore. I asked them to split the repair costs three ways (which is more than reasonable, considering the only one I should be responsible for is the bass, as everything else is there for their use), and they said "no, nothing's broke." So, I said no more and told them sorry. The only thing that sucks is that they're too stupid to get their own gear fixed, so they basically won't have anything to play, or at least anything that works and plays in tune. I could say "that's their problem," but when I have to play publicly with them and face the humiliation is a {censored}ty show because they're too dumb to get things that work, it's my problem too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Longhair Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Simple solution: quit the band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 That seems far too much hassle for me. why cant they buy their own guitars, they could get decent playable gig worthy guitars for $200 or less if they looked used. I've tried. I basically picked all the gear in this band. I traded the lead guy's old {censored} for his current amp (here), I picked out and convinced him to get his main guitar (which would be great had he not left it outside, in it's case), I picked out and convinced the singer to buy his Peavey Classic 50 because his old Fender solid state sucked, I continually repair his junky Les Paul copy, and he bought a strat that isn't playable (needs refretted), which he hasn't taken to get repaired. Basically, he's the hard-headed one. He wants what he wants whether someone more knowledgeable says its a good idea or not. In fact, telling him "no, bad choice" makes him want it more, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AL30 Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 That's a lot of equipment you're shelling out. I don't think you're asking too much by them taking them inside. I always take my equipment with me - heck I've lugged my bass rig into hotels. Are they at least willing to fix, maintain, re-tube equipment etc? It's Birds is amazing. Really nice bunch of guys too. AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 Simple solution: quit the band If the music weren't so good, I'd be gone. I'm in two bands, one that has their {censored} together, plays shows often, just recorded a CD, etc etc etc, but the songs aren't as good. The other, the one in question, has fantastic songs, and incredible potential because of it, but I'm convinced they're mentally {censored}ing retarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AxAxSxS Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 be strong and dont give in man, dont cave and let them use your {censored} anymore. if they give a {censored} at all they will cave to GAS once they do not have your stuff to play with. if not then they are probably not worth being in a band with, it wasn't meant to be and you can start looking for a new band. IMO I would allready be doing that. Find some guys that care as much as you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr_GoodBomb Posted March 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 That's a lot of equipment you're shelling out. I don't think you're asking too much by them taking them inside. I always take my equipment with me - heck I've lugged my bass rig into hotels.Are they at least willing to fix, maintain, re-tube equipment etc?It's Birds is amazing. Really nice bunch of guys too. AL Nope. I asked em to fix them, go three ways on the cost, and they said "no, they're not broken." Sound would tell any logical man otherwise. We recorded with Brian two weekends ago. He knows his {censored}, and they're all nicer than hell. They can even make Nirvana songs sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted March 3, 2010 Members Share Posted March 3, 2010 "stupid" is kind of a strong word, but it seems the one not making the good decisions here is you. It's your stuff, take it home. Why would they take your threats or warnings seriously when you don't mean it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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