I know there are a lot of people suffering out there right now especially due to the storm, but I just thought I would share a 'lighter' story with you ...

I played a gig in a Providence hotel bar/lounge Saturday night ... this was like a gig designed by a musician ...
I pull up in front of the place, tell the valet who I am and he says he will park my truck and it will be out front when I am finished ...
He then proceeds to help me inside with my gear ...
Inside I am getting set up and the guy doing the hiring – the Executive Chef – comes out says hello, asks if everything is ok, and then goes and gets my check – BEFORE I played a note !!! ...
He then introduces me to the room manager, and tells him to tell the bartender that anything I want to eat is ‘comped’ ...
The room manager asks if I want to eat before I start! I was early enough so I did ...
The bartender shows me the wine list, the bar menu and the dining room menu ..
I pick off the ‘bar’ menu which was not much different than the dining menu, but had grilled pizza, etc ... the food was great ...

The gig was good, but the place was not very busy early ... it got busier about 9:30 ... they have a jazz group on Friday nights and I heard that was slow also ...

I played from 7:30 – 11:30 at more $$$ then a normal ‘steady’ gig would be ...
It may become a couple of Saturdays a month thing ... we’ll see ...
BTW ... at end of night the valet put the truck out front and brought the keys in to me ... AND asked if I needed help getting the gear out ...

They just don’t make gigs like this ...

Tony, WTG! Nice work!

Tony, that's great! That's the way it should be.
Also, I'm very lucky, because that describes the way I'm treated every night at my regular job!
I do tip the waiter and the valet though!
DonM

Scary thing is, that's a lot of comps and service for a place not doing great business. I hope you can turn it around, it sounds great.

Sadly, most of the places I ever played in that treated the musicians well quickly went out of business, while the ones that treat us worse than the guy doing the dishwashing survive forever..!

Great story T.....all should be like that lol.....I play at a top end country Club restaurant lounge once a month also....730-1030pm....they take good care of me with anything i want to drink or eat ...last week I had grilled Mako Shark bites with a chipotle dipping sauce and lobster bisque soup yum....but the best party about this gig is Upstairs they have a catering hall tha holds 2-300 people for weddings etc .....which is usually a fri or sat when I play when the affairs are over around 10:30pm.. 11pm just when Im finishing up the dinner crowd music...they all come into the lounge from the weddings etc,.. for a wild nightcap and most times want to PARTY!!!....this is where I really make the bucks in tips and overtime, I use a big chrome champagne bucket on a tripod in front of me which ends up full also.....last week I ended up staying till 1am...pumping the dance floor with dance music as they move away some of the dinner tables to make room also...great gig for the right acts that can be flexible to accommodate the different audiences and mix it up.

The lesson here is, take care of the help"! I learned a long time ago, as Don says, you tip the bartender and take care of the people who help with the equipment. Act like every other employee. I've seen so many local "stars" create some real resentment. Last week, during a particularly busy time, I bussed a few tables and carried a few bags of trash out to the dumpster.

Also, I don't demand my money on a Saturday night at quitting time. I send a bill.

I've been at this so long that some of the bussers who helped me years ago are now restaurant owners or managers.

And that represents more jobs for me, from people I like and have known for a long time.

WORKS FOR ME!

Russ

Yes, I always tip as well ... in fact I probably gave the valet his biggest tip of the night ...
I don't drink alcohol when I'm working but I do drink a fair amount of water ... I'll even tip the bartender when I get water ...
I also mention the bartender and wait staff during the course of the evening - the great job they do,etc.



You're right Diki ... this place is part of a hotel, so I don't think they will go out of business, but they certainly could cut the entertainment ... hopefully, not too soon ...

Great gig story and even better advise from the Pros who've been there. I've always taken care of the help and mentioned them during the night. It goes a long way.
I've also had some great gigs. Best was a hugh Chinese restaurant years ago. B3/piano. As soon as the dining room was empty I was done so it was and early night. No bar to hold a crowd. All the help and some regulars went next door to a motel that the same people owned and they had a big bar so we hung out there. Everything comped for me all night and the owners so polite you couldn't believe it.
The other side is when I used to do the higher end weddings in NJ. My rule was the nicer the place the worse you are treated !
I've seen the dumpsters and greasy back doors of every high end place in the state HA!
Go to a VFW or Elks Lodge for a party and your treated like gold.

Bill in NJ

"Oh, you're the BAND?!? Come in through the kitchen..." Been in as many catering hall kitchens as a chef!!!

Is this familiar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYlsSWW0rPI

:):)