The secret to success here is practice. When you're playing with other folks, especially those that have never played professionally in groups, you need to set the levels, then maintain those parameters throughout the gig. Had the same experience several years ago when playing in a country band. The guitar player would drive me nuts. Not only could he not follow the beat, he continuously cranked up the volume on his guitar until the speakers were ready to explode. Once I reached over and unplugged his guitar and for the first 10 or 15 seconds, he didn't know why there was nothing coming out of the speakers. Fortunately, he quit a week later. Don is right--fire the bongo player, keep the money yourself.

Cheers,

Gary