I just had one of those nights...the kind that I decided to make changes...to please me

I show up at everyone's favorite gig...the Crab Trap...Power up my set up....the MediaStation decided it didn't want to boot up... ...It turns out not to be the hard drive, most likely the boot order or motherboard..I couldn't get into the Bios..I guess I have to talk with Dom..
For now the MS is packed away..Though it is great to use with the band..Combo mode and Media player...While in my final month with the band...the MS is not important for my solo use..

Next up Stu's wireless mic system goes south..I had to give up my mic for our lead singer..

The stage was possessed..Audio pops all night long , no matter how we routed the wiring..
Time to get paid...$150 short...the owner decided, since we used a sub the night before..a fill in for Stu (BTW: the fill in is the highly regarded and longtime musical partner of mine Kath..she is one of the most popular girls in the business..My point being no one missed Stu)..Except the owner ..the same owner that I have lost respect for..They are use to throwing their power around...so much that the managers and personel ..all kiss up, and are afraid to voice an opinion..even when the powers to be are wrong..

Same night..my band mates decided quietly..not to invite me to Fox Park , Wildwood...the annual show.


So what have I decided to change...not the way I view the folks that do us wrong ..but I am going to play the instrument that serves me best (the G70)..Any backing tracks (MP3's) my band mates will have to play on the BK5..I am not setting up a laptop..

I am not going to compromise, by playing a 61 key controller with a laptop...By the time I set the "light" set up..I could be playing the good set up..

I am pretty much done dealing with people, that are not to my liking...People that I see, taking advantage of other folks..

All this may back fire on me...and I may have to be a roadie for Dave ...after the CT boss hears my negative comments about him

PS: I am having dinner at the CrabTrap Monday night..best prime rib..anywhere.

Boy, Im glad I went solo 18 years ago to avoid all the group & club gig BS!

Good luck Fran sorry to hear the frustrating news.
You and Kat should hit the trenches as a Duo.

Boy I second that no more of the drama. When I went solo my Gigs went thru the roof. I am completely
Sold out thru Jan 2014. I mean 85 gigs worth so go solo and forget all the drama.

Fran ... just think ... before too long these will be the 'good old days' ...

I've said it SO many times ... 26 years with the same guys in NY and NEVER a problem with personalities ...
... and I MISS it ...

BTW ... did the crowd have just as good a time without Stu there??? ... are all the players names on the contract??? ... where does the owner get off short changing you like that??? I would play one more gig for the guy and leave after the first set, even if I didn't get paid ... let him go scrambling for a last minute replacement ...

Tony, you're right..all this adds to the good old day memories


Actually..stuff doesn't phase me..I get over the little stuff..initially it bugs me when others are being unfairly targeted..

In my old age..I speak out more than my younger days

My long time stage partner, Kath..

Do other musicians irritate me from time to time? Of course. (Pretty sure I irritate them, too, something you rarely hear from most on this forum!)

Can they outplay any arranger made? You bet they can!

That's a no-brainer where I come from.

But Diki, you irritate everyone, so to them it's just the normal you. And, you come from the UK if I recall. I'm not going there to hear those guys play, no matter how good they sound. I hope to find out this winter just how good the guys you play with regularly can really play.

Cheers,

Gary

Subs are a part of the business. Occasionally one of your band members can't make a job. Was your contract (or non-contract deal) for X amount of pieces? Although these guys do what they want anyway. You have to fight back if you want what you should get, and most of the time it's not worth it, and not only do they know that, they count on it.

Just for the record, I don't find Diki irritating. I frequently crack a smile at his comments which, for the most part, are irritatingly accurate.

Oh, and the club owner guy that shorted you, Fran, well that brings to mind the old double-edged comment he needs to hear: "I'll certainly recommend you to my friends."

Sparky, We have been playing the Crab Trap for 11 straight years...for me 20 years overall...No contracts, just verbal nod..Management is 100 percent wrong with their action..

I just came back from the Crab Trap...my wife and I had a great dinner...so did Dave...

Guess what? If I seen the owner tonight and he had a change of heart, and paid me....I would have gave the money to my cute waitress...right in front of him ...it is the principal

Nobody cares!!

???

The bottom line is, can you demonstrate your value to an employer? When you do house gigs, it gets tough after a while, because you are always there, and management gets used to the house revenue to the point of thinking it is normal, and not as a result of your entertainment skills.

Unfortunately, the only way around this is to simply up and play somewhere else a couple of times a year, for at least a month. Any replacement band or entertainer will do OK just on residual traffic for a week or so, but if you play another venue, and advertize well (and inform your regulars via social media) unless your replacement is top notch, they will follow you to the new venue, your regular venue's revenues drop off, and then you are in a position to come back with some clout.

While you may not get management to divulge their loss, you can usually get a waitress or bartender there (who are being treated as poorly as you!) to be honest about how sales have dropped.

But keep playing somewhere day in and out, whether treated poorly or not, you have very little to use for leverage. Let management stew in their own juices, let them see that you actually make a difference to their bottom line, you are likely to get treated better...

And Gary, the main point I was trying to make earlier is the hypocrisy of most solo players here bitching about other musicians they have worked with, as if we have never committed a sin ourselves.

Odds are some of them were better musicians than we are (I've heard most of the user demos from here!) and may have found US as irritating to play with as we found them. Difference is, they are probably still playing with real people, and enjoying the music they make a lot more than OMB's do! Look at the incessant search for the next, latest greatest thing... Most guitarists of any skill haven't NEEDED to change their rig in decades! If we were as happy musically as they are, we wouldn't need to either.

A little more honesty would go a long way here, when we reminisce about past bandmates!

Since I stoped doing House Gigs my business has never been better I have a more diversified crowd and better tips better CD sales higher pay and booked at least 5 shows a week no more house Gigs I have found that by playing multiple places business has never been better and the buzz has been great.

it take's a little work to ramp it up but now I am reaping the reward food for thought.

Can't argue with that! The best thing I ever did in this business is get out of the bars and restaurants. Since I switched to the senior circuit I've booked more private parties than anytime in the past, the pay is excellent, no drunks to contend with, mostly daytime work, nearly all jobs are within 10 miles of home, and the audiences are fabulous people. As 124 stated, it takes a little work to ramp it up, but once the ball starts rolling, it's just a matter of keeping up on the PR work and you'll have all the jobs you can handle. How I wish I were 20 years younger and had today's technology to work with. I would be doing three jobs a day, working 7 days a week, look great, and be skinny. (wouldn't have time to eat)

Diki, I have to agree about the guitars, but keep in mind that the guitars really haven't change that much over the past 30 years. I played the same Yamaha 12-string for a decade, and it always sounded pretty darned good to me. I also played a 6-string Ibanez that sounded pretty good too, but not quite as full as the 12 string. In contrast, arranger keyboards seem to have improved dramatically over a period of just a few years. Granted, those improvements, at last from my standpoint, have been subtle each year, but after a decade of playing the PSR-3000 I was still pretty reluctant to upgrade. Now that I have the S-950 tweaked and tuned to the point where I'm fairly comfortable with what I hear, the 3000s will soon go up for sale. I think the thing that convinced me to keep the S-950 is all of the positive comments from my audiences and activities directors during the past few weeks. It's still a work in progress, but I'm rapidly gaining on it and suspect that within a few weeks I'll have a finished product.

And, of course, you know that I was just joking with you about the band mate conflicts. I'm sure I really pissed off several of the guys I used to perform with when I unexpectedly brought an arranger keyboard to the job. The guy that ran the outfit flat out told me to get that damned thing off the stage and if I didn't I was fired. That was the next to the last job I worked with that band. Ironically, those that are still alive haven't worked a music job in more than 20 years.

Cheers,

Gary

How are you promoting your CD sales at your gigs now may I ask?

Er, that was musicforyourday's comment, Gary. But I'll echo the sentiment 100%. Bars and clubs? Been there, done that, don't miss 'em.

"How are you promoting your CD sales at your gigs now may I ask?"

I just say, "you don't wanna buy a CD do you?"
Sometimes I have to pay people to take them. But I make it up in volume.
I know this question wasn't for me, but I'm getting really bored with so many nights off.
Actually, when I get off my lazy tail and actually have some CDs for sale, I just stand one up on the tray in front of me and hope they ask about them. I must add my degree is in Journalism, Advertising and Sales Promotion, so I'm really good at coming up with these ideas.
Years ago, when I used to sell tapes, I generally did not give them a price, just told them to put something in the jar. Believe it or not, I got more money for them that way.
I haven't bothered to sell any CDs lately, because it makes me mad when they go home and duplicate them and give them to all their friends and family. They even TELL me they do this. I guess I should be flattered. Can't say too much because I download stuff of Youtube all the time myself.
Lately I just tell them to go to my website and download the stuff for free.
I think Uncle Dave hires a scantily-clad Redhead to hawk his songs and for other stuff too. He sells them for $10 each or 2 for $5.
I'm pretty sure Boo makes a sign "will trade CDs for almost anything" and stands out by the road going up Pike's Peak. He puts them in a brown paper bag so they can't tell its Jazz.
DonM

Don, you definitely have too much time on your hands ...

My bandmates don't give a rats whether I use an arranger or not. But that's because I NEVER use any auto stuff or SMF's on the job. As far as they (and me) are concerned, it's simply another keyboard.

It just happens to be FAR better than any WS I have ever used...

"other stuff too" What are you saying?!?!?!?!?!?

YES I do I have sold over 2000 CD's this year alone I do a show in the middle of my show I play a game with the audience where I bring up two people and Have a sing battle using the crowd as teams it get everybody all lather up at the end of the song I do a audience yell off for a winner and I crown both as winners and give each contestant a CD at that point I plug the CD and then at the end of the show I sell like a mother it the best thing I have ever done for business promotion it a very Good CD it cost me 6,000 to make but I have really Gained from it I am complealy sold out for Christmas season 45 shows booked in 30 days already and Big Jobs as well so I recomend it to all .

Fran, that's pretty much my attitude...just don't bother with the club managers/owners that prove that you don't really have to take your clothes off to show your a**!

Stick to your guns, and enjoy yourself.


R.

There is nothing wrong with the Club Owner that adjusted Fran's band's pay ... the problem was, as is many times the case - COMMUNICATION. It's not a question of which sub or not. The client hired 3 people - 3 specific people. To change that lineup without notifying the client is not fair. With a simple conversation, all that pain and awkwardness would have been avoided. Stu (the guilty party) should have talked to the owner and worked out an option.
I've worked at the same place for ever and they treat me like gold - it's a never ending job to sell yourself and earn your keep. No one is "owed" a thing in this business. You work - you do good - you get paid - you get rehired. Pretty simple formula.

Just one man's take on it.

Dave
I agree. Things happen and everyone can miss a job once and awhile I'm sure the owners go through this with all their staff. Its a no brainer that they need to be notified and if they weren't then the pay cut was justified and perhaps a get even move for being disrespected. What job can you miss and not notify the higher ups? An experienced musician should know that from day one.
Musically I'm sure the fill in singer did a great job and no one really cared except the owner who probably felt blindsided. That place is jammed ever night no matter what entertainment they offer. Like so many other restaurant gigs we're just icing on the cake.

I have to agree with this... If you make substitutions in a stable band setup, you owe it to the management to inform them in advance of this happening (unless the case of a sudden illness or emergency), and offer them the option to approve the change, or to hire alternate entertainment for that night (I really doubt that, though!), and at least voice their concern. If any adjustment in scale is suggested by management at that point, the act has the option to just take the night off, or accept the lower scale.

My band usually has someone going somewhere every now and again, but a month in advance is usually asked for and given.

this is why I play a single 95% of the time

if it too be it up to me.

You guys missed the point...the subs we use are the same subs we used for years..Kristin, Kath and Mark have filled in multiple times over the years...they are just as popular as Stu and JoAnn...maybe more

The cash register has never suffered from any of our performances


Dave you only have to talk with any bartender, waitress etc and get a handle on out "great" the owners are....let alone entertainers..

And how can you endorse a great owner that you didn't know existed a week ago

Both papa bear Jack and son Kenny, have a long history..

Personally I thought is was laughable when Stu found the check short...the bad reflection is on Kenny..not "Just In Time"..

I'm with Fran on this one ... these 'subs' have worked there before with no problem? ... they pleased the crowd? .. no one left because 'Stu' wasn't there? .. PAY THE BAND THE FULL AMOUNT ...

Ditto! Just another club owner screwin another band. It happens everywhere. Reason #999,999,999 why I love doin what I do.

Gary

And why did the club owner wait till the end of the night to make a decision like that he should have said something in the beginning of the evening to the band

I'm not sure I understand what you're doing, but.......I'd like to understand. I've been thinking about re-inventing myself and getting back into playing music by doing shows.

Is that what YOU are doing....shows, where you entertain?....instead of gigs? Could you tell me more about what it is you're actually doing? I'm surprised no one else asked!

Thanks

I guess nobody told the manager, so he in turn said nothing until the check was given and left. Two wrongs don't make a right. But do you tell management when you have to sub a lead singer, but not a drummer in the back or other musician that is not fronting the band? I subbed my drummer several times without objection when the job was too far from his eastern Long Island home.

Why would anyone get mad that we sub a guy over 60...for a 40 year old in a skirt

I am heading out to the Crab Trap now...maybe I will ask Kenny...Maybe he has a thing for Stu

I do many concert like Shows where I do a Show like you would go to Vegas and see my main skill in that is to Entertain I am a good singer and play keyboard and guitar. It a polished show and I do 30 min 45 min and 1 hr versions and mix the songs I have many different show so often I get booked 2 and 3 times a year so my audiences don't see the same show.

I also play dances for many places tonight I am at a elks lodge in Lake Elisinore ca where I will play a dance for 3 hrs and Tomm night I will be a the Mission Inn in Riverside ca a 5 star Resort I am best in the concert show setting and I am gaining popularity doing that. So hopefully it will start to take me places but for now my calendar is full and the kids are being fed. Thanks for your inquiry if I can help feel free to ask. I am on Facebook Ron Johnson. And I send out announcements and web site musicforyourday.com it needs to be updated with calendar dates but you can hear samples. Thanks RJ

I think you have a Bingo Fran

Ron......very nice. You have a good voice and good interpretation/delivery. I have quite a few questions actually as I've been thinking about doing a "show" for a long time and I'm hoping that will get me back into playing music again! Perhaps we could talk on the phone sometime next week on the # you have on the site?

Meantime...I really like the backing arrangement you have on Save The Last Dance. It's very, very creative! I assume it's a MIDI file? Did you do it yourself.......purchase it? You sing over it in your show or are you behind the keyboard? What instrument are my hearing on the track?

Thanks

Mark

yes It is the bubble Arang with my vocal style I am a Big Fan of the Yamaha Midi Spot stuff they do the best Job on Midi Files that I can find with jump points and voc harmony and all the Tyros stuff they are outstanding you can contact me on the 213 area code number I will be glad to talk my web site is being held hostage by a web designer that has no follow thru I could use some advice by Someone to help me get the codes so I can fix my self or I will just need to start again .

So, Ron, then you're using MIDI files from MIDI SPOT? I just went to their site to learn more about them. That really was a great arrangement of "Save the last dance." Now....the sound was coming from a Tyros? And how did you get the percussion track so crystal clear and "punchy." Was it done in a studio and processed?

Mark

When I recorded that track I went into a studio and used Pro tools HD scrubbed each track recorded each track indv there are 4 outputs on Tyros so recorded 4 tracks at a time eq each and added new reverb ect it make a bid difference. It is all Tyros on that track I also used a good producer that has good skills on cutting a vocal that is the key as well. It is expensive but worth it You will get a finished product a level above most.