Colds/flu are common in this area. Local nursing/assisted living places post signs saying if you are not well....don't come in.

I'll miss two gigs this week because of flu. The places I play don't seem to get too excited if I miss a gig.

But it made me curious, how do the rest of you handle such a thing?

It depends on the gig i guess, when playing wedings and such people really depend on you, you just need to have a lot of musician friends that can fill in for you when you are really sick...

Under normal circumstances, the very first thing I did, and this was indeed rare, was to tell the AD that i would try to find someone to fill in for me. Usually, it was not a problem to find someone, and the ADs were very appreciative that I took the time to find someone.

When I get very, very sick last August, I called every AD, told them what happened, and that it was unlikely that I would ever be physically able to perform again, which is still the situation. I told them I would try to find good entertainers to fill in for me, which I successfully was able to do after a dozen or so phone calls. The ADs were very sad to see me retire, and several have called just to see how I was doing. Today, was a very bad day, I had to take some nasty drugs just after lunch, and while they alleviate much of the pain, I hate the way they make me feel. For the life of me I cannot understand why someone wants to be stoned out of the mind on drugs - it ain't fun at all!

Rog, one of the secrets to keeping well while performing the Nursing Home circuit is to keep a container of hand wipes in your car at all times. If you sterilize your hands and car's steering wheel each time you leave a job, there's very little chance you'll become ill from many communicable diseases, especially the flu. Now, some folks believe that just getting a flu shot will prevent them from catching the flu. Unfortunately, most of the flu shots given today were for an influenza that took place 3 to 5 years ago, influenzas that have mutated several times since then. Consequently, it's unlikely that you'll get much, if any, protection from today's flu.

Gary

I take this

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B009HUC40I?keywords=h%C3%A4ndedesinfektion&qid=1457044930&ref_=sr_1_9&sr=8-9

The American alternative:

http://www.amazon.com/Purell-Instant-San...=hand+sanitizer

I am fortunate to have a couple of other musicians I can call to fill in for me, and if SteveM wasn't basking in the Florida sun, I would have one more ... if it is 'last minute', I will just call the AD and tell them who is coming in my place ... we usually leave the 'accounting piece' as is, in that they pay me and I pay the sub ...

I always use Hall's Menthol cough drops on a gig to keep my throat from getting dry ... one time one of the residents saw me take one and said in a voice loud enough to be heard "Oh no, he has a cold, now we are all going to get sick" ... I announced - and told the AD personally - that I did NOT have a cold, but allergies, and the cough drops were just 'lubrication' ...

I had to go in for a heart operation so I called a friend to cover my New Year’s job. I found later they offered him four jobs and he took them.
I was upset so I called some of my Italian friends and him worked over.

I think that is one of the worst crimes a fellow musician can commit.
I did not talk to him for ten years. I now see him about once a week.

OK, I need a vote here:

Am I an angel?
John C.

John, that could be a problem, but has never happened to me in all the years I've been an entertainer. Just lucky, I guess!

Gary

Good points. I never thought of the hand sanitizer.

john did you get your 15% commission for the 4 gigs?

John, my "buddies" in the music business have tried to take every job I've ever had; usually by cutting price...in 1/2; sometimes.

As my rep grew, they stopped. Most people I work for won't even talk to replacements, because, now, my relationship with the venue is of a personal nature. I'm part of whatever portion of the social stratus that frequents that place. Ability to play is not the primary business issue.

Mainly, I have developed a market for dinner jazz; a little more sophisticated; no Jimmy Buffet music allowed!

Sadly, undercutting your buddies is a dark part of this business...at least the business of entertaining at clubs.


Russ

This is a difficult situation ... If I have a 'sub' playing a gig for me and there was someone in the audience who liked what he was doing and wanted to hire him, what is the sub to do - turn down the gig? ... It's a different story if the people were there to hear me, and the sub was approached ... In that case I would expect the sub to tell them that they should listen to me as well, and then make up their mind ...

John, what would you do in this situation if you were the one covering for another player and someone wanted to hire you?
I have a good friend of mine who played a private gig at a Country Club and the manager heard him and wants to hire him on a steady basis ... the problem is that my friend knows the other piano player very well so he doesn't know what to do ... again, I ask - does he turn the gig down and open it up for some other piano player to get, or does he talk the the guy who is there now and say "I did not go there looking to replace you, and I am sorry, but I was offered the gig and I am taking it?"

Comments ?!?

If a good player subs for me, is liked by management and is offered a job...that's great. The price cutters who aren't real players are the once I have a problem with.


And, around here, they're EVERYWHERE!


Russ

i get offers from places all the time. If I'm subbing for a friend, I ALWAYS turn the job down. I have a "squeaky clean" rep in the business and I don't want to be accused of stealing a gig.


R.

If I have a fever, vomiting, or have diarrhea, I cancel. If it's a morning gig, I try and have a voice mail or email waiting for the AD when they arrive in the morning to give them a heads up.

If its an afternoon gig, I'll make the call by 10:30am or so...

Usually, they're great about rescheduling...

If I'm just feeling generally crappy or I don't have a voice, I'll contact the AD and be straight with them. Sometimes they say background music is fine, other times they say stay home.

I agree, Bill. If I'm sick, the last thing the AD, or myself, wants is for me to be in there with the high probability of the residents contracting whatever bug I'm ill with. Like yourself, I give them the heads up at the earliest possible opportunity, (most times you know a day or two in advance), and any AD worth their salt will be very happy with that and will reschedule the gig, no problem.

LOL, Tony it may be sunny here but it's not summer like, not beach or pool weather either. Did get to the indoor heated pool yesterday for the first time this season. Too bad I don't have an interest in golf, been perfect weather for it!

Interesting, you are presently just a bit too far north in Florida. Just north of Orlando there has been a sharp delimitation line in afternoon temps from 80F down to 66F today. Bad luck (But still better than our 39F in western Germany.)

Rosetree you certainly know the weather and the geography. You hit the nail on the head, I agree better than 39F at your home and better than the high 20s where we live the majority of the year.