[Dixielandjazz] Unwritten rules??/

[Bill Gunter]

Hi all,

What a fascinating thread (unwritten rules).

I have posted some fairly clear (I hope) observations on the practice of 
passing out one's business card at a casual gig at a club.

I was not talking about a "steady gig" but my arguments ought to hold there 
also.

Most of the postings to this thread are similar to Don Hale's post wherein 
he said:

> > I must disagree with my good friend Bill Gunter.
> >
> > Two things come to my mind........I think you should be loyal to the 
>band
> > that hired you.......

Loyalty is a good thing. When does 'loyalty' end? If 'loyalty' is a 
permanent thing then it would be 'bad form' for a sideman ever to approach a 
club manager. Would you, as a sideman, give up your right to pass out a card 
EVER at that club because of a sense of loyalty to a leader who played a 
casual there once?

Is it the case that you must be 'loyal' during the gig but that sense of 
loyalty has no effect the following day? I'm afraid I don't understand the 
"loyalty" issue. A sideman is hired to play a casual and gives up his right 
to solicit a gig from the manager . . . I don't think so.

I know, I know . . . to most of us this practice (handing out your card on a 
gig) seems to violate some sense of 'fair play' and my gut reaction is this 
is in poor taste.  But my gut reaction tells me that I ought to have the 
right to give a potential customer my card if I so desire.

You have a casual gig to play a reception at a club. From whence arises the 
notion this is "a permanent gig" and it is unethical for anyone else to 
approach the manager.

I think we've been reading too many Louis L'amore novels where the hero of 
the western always "rides for the brand."

Don Hale concludes by saying:

>and............The leader of the band playing probably did the leg work to 
>get the gig in the first place.

Hell, he may have even given the manager his card while he was a sideman in 
some other band. Just because person "A" hustles a gig is no justification 
to deny the same privilege to persons B, C, or D.

FACTS OF LIFE:

No job is permanent
Nobody has a "right" to a gig
Nobody has a "right" to a job
A job is worth only what someone is willing to do it for.
In a free competitive society a person with a service or a product is ALWAYS 
FREE TO ADVERTISE IT.

Don Hale concludes:

> > It doesn't seem right to me that a "temp" should take advantage of the
> > leader's work and ask for a job because he happens to be where the 
>leader
> > has gotten the gig.

This is the most important argument offered so far . . . "It doesn't seem 
right."  But the words "it doesn't seem right" are not the same as "it is 
NOT right."  Often what SEEMS right may be totally at odds with what IS 
right. And what IS right is your freedom to ask anyone for a job.

Bob Ringwald, in another post to this thread, alluded to a musician in our 
town who has shamelessly hustled gigs from managers and then fielded a sub 
standard band. I know who Ringwald means and this individual is a standing 
joke in this community. I personally have no warm and fuzzy thoughts for him 
and I would personally never accept a gig from him.

BUT . . . what gives me the right to tell this guy he shouldn't go out and 
hustle gigs? Hey? What what what?

I'm not talking about what SEEMS right nor am I talking about what musicians 
should expect from their co-workers nor am I talking about some unwritten 
sense of ethics which drives such matters.

I am talking about the way business is conducted in our competitive and free 
and open society. I'm talking about how nobody has the authority to deny you 
your fundamental rights in the United States of American.

Finally, let me state that I AM a loyal sideman on any longterm gig I've 
ever played with any band.

But let me also state that a CASUAL gig is a one time shot and doesn't 
"belong" to anyone whether he is the leader or the final arbiter of moral 
behavior in the matter of casual bookings.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill "Fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way" Gunter
jazzboard@hotmail.com



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