Off Topic Gig venue HOSED us

[adouglas]

There's this local joint we've been trying to get into all year. It's just a standard roadhouse, but it's really close by. We managed to book two dates months ago, and the first one is (or was) this weekend.

We were promoting it, talking it up to everyone we know, etc.

Yesterday morning a friend emailed me and told me that not only are we not listed on the club's website, they're promoting a different act.

We called and were told the usual sob story about how they never make money when bands play on weekends, blah, blah, and that the owners wanted to try something different to differentiate themselves from the competition around the corner.

So we got bumped for a dueling piano act.

Yep. Dueling pianos.

Cripes.

What really, REALLY steams me is that THEY DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL US.

Moral of the story:

Get it in writing.

 

[SteveB]

Maybe they saw your chicken-eatin' photo of old?




Seriously, that sucks. Bar owners are the reason I hate gigging.

 

[Powman]

Its a long long way to the top if you want to rock and roll....

 

[five7]

They suck!

 

[T-bone]

Hey that was a Turkey Leg!

tbone

 

[TheAntMan]

Dueling Pianos!!!

Like, Oh, My God!!! Becky, look at the size of his piano!! Its SO BIG!!!

I - like - big - keys - and I can not lie!

Hey man, hope things work out - It is typical of this life we lead. Hang in there. They do suck, but, don't burn your bridges.

-- Ant

 

[adouglas]

The back story is that the club manager (who hired us) is the daughter of the actual owners. The owners shoved this through against her wishes. She's all kinds of apologetic and has booked us in December.

We're still going to get it in writing, and it was still a skeezy move to not tell us.

 

[silverburst]

You certainly post lots of gig stories.

 

[adouglas]

That's because I'm really, really happy with my basses so I don't talk about them much.

Just sharing stuff that we all experience... if it's too much let me know and I'll zip it.

I'm very very thankful that I've got enough gigs that I can actually talk about them!

 

[AtomicPunk]

My band had a thing with a bar similar to that, where they hired a talent manager to bring in and book good bands, and they booked us for 5 shows over 2 months. The bar owner went out and saw another band (OOH! Shiny Penny!) and booked them himself in some of the dates we had booked. We asked him about the conflict and he said he wanted this other band and had let his talent manager go. So we told him to cancel our other dates and we filled them in at other places.

A few months go by and this bar owner has now re-hired his talent manager, got rid of the band he liked so much because they couldn't draw a crowd, and is calling us again to play his place.

I don't think it's worth the hassle.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I can't believe they didn't even have the decency to tell you. It's bad enough that they reneged on their end of the deal, but what were they thinking? They'd tell you after you did the load in? That would be like you guys sending a clown as a sub for the band with no warning!

 

[adouglas]

The way we're approaching this one is to henceforth demand a signed agreement with a kill fee built into it (I hope... I'm not the contact person) from this particular venue.

I'm perfectly willing to take a word and a handshake, right up to the point at which someone proves to me that they can't be trusted. From then on, it's strictly business and they need to put up or shut up.

A couple of the band members (myself included) are really angry about this. Like, Molotov cocktail angry. But it doesn't pay to go off like a hand grenade and burn your bridges. The right thing to do is be professional, but careful... and be totally above-board about it; let the club manager know that you're demanding a written agreement because they've proved that you can't take their word at face value. That way you keep your reputation, you keep the paying gig and you've got the moral high ground.

Good karma, no?

 

[jlepre]

Just out of curiosity, where is this club? I like to keep a list of sleezy clubs to stay away from.

I mainly play in NY but sometimes reach out to the NE NJ area as well.

Thanks and sorry for your loss,

 

[adouglas]

The Lumberyard, Georgetown, CT

 

[jlepre]

Thanks! And BTW it's still on your schedule.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

Ouch!

We had one of our regular venues cancel on us last month, 2 days before we were supposed to play! They said they weren't booking bands anymore, and were going to use a DJ instead. On top of it all, they had us booked a few times in rotation through the end of the year. Oh, well, I guess the other gigs will mean more now.

 

[adouglas]

Thanks! And BTW it's still on your schedule.

Yes, dear.

 

[AnthonyD]

Only gig we've done "in writing" has been a township concert in the park. Everything else has been the handshake thing. When developing our initial relationship with one particular venue, we consistently verified nothing's changed as we get close to our dates - we call in 4-5 weeks out and look for our Band being promoted on their website calendar.

Now we're one of the booking manager's favorite Band's to work with so we feel better.

Unfortunately there are way more Bands then good venues to play, so until the right relationships are formed we're at the mercy of the bar.

 

[ModuMan]

If it was Daffy and Donald doing Dueling Pianos I'd totally be there.

 

[Bloodfist]

WOW, my band had the exact same problem about a year and a half ago. We were scheduled to play a place called the Plex in N. Charleston. The show had been booked at least 2 months out. I stopped in the day before to talk to the manager to see what time he wanted us to load in and on the billboard they had "dueling pianos" listed for our date (I don't remember who the guys names were). I walked in and asked him if they were opening for us and the guy said he decided to give them our date! Needless to say, I got pissed as hell and had some real choice words with him. After I left I started calling everyone and sending out messages that we were not playing there and then I warned all the bands I knew in Charleston not to play there. I drove by there the next night to see how many people came to the show, and saw only 3 cars in the parking lot lol. The manager later called me wanting to reschedule, and I hung up on him. The bar ended up closing 4 months later, so that also made me feel happy lol. Basically the musicians and the fans of all the bands started blacklisting them because they apparently screwed over a bunch of bands, not just us, so they got what they deserved.