[Dixielandjazz] Re: Gunter and the Unwritten Rules

[Bigbuttbnd@aol.com]

Listmates....

I think Mr. Gunter is having fun with us... I know my leg is beginning to 
hurt and one of them seems to be getting longer from the pulling.

Bill... we bow to your technical law definition. Yes, we have the freedom to 
hand out our card on any gig to anyone we choose. It is perfectly legal to 
snake the gig, any gig, any time. It's a risky proposition, though, 'cause 
the bandleader also has the right and freedom to refuse to hire us again (and 
based on the opinions here, mine included, that's exactly what will happen). 
Any musician considering this action should be ready to go for broke in this 
coup d'etat 'cause they are cutting their own throat, burning the bridges 
that got them where they are today.

In fact, there's a wealth of examples of the same kind of behavior in other 
professions... it's not ILLEGAL for a lawyer to climb down under a car at the 
scene of an accident and hand the pedestrian victim a card.

Probably not illegal for an undertaker to hand his card to the victim's 
family at that same accident just as the EMT's pronounce the poor guy dead.

Probably not illegal for a passing ambulance driver from a competing firm to 
give his/her card to the grieving widow with a hushed "In case you have other 
relatives who might be hurt in the future..."

There does seem to be a right time and a wrong time to do things. Most of us 
agree that soliciting the gig while on the gig under someone else's 
leadership and employ is the WRONG time, even though it may be perfectly 
legal to do so.

Heck, we even had a case a few years ago in Atlanta when 2 ambulances, each 
from a different county, both answered an accident call on the border of the 
2 adjoining counties. The ambulance crews got into a big fight as to which 
ambulance was going to transport the victim. Soon a 'tug of war' broke out as 
the crews kept pushing and pulling the victim back and forth across the 
county line. This caused so much bad publicity that both counties agreed to 
back off. A few weeks later there was a similar wreck on the border and both 
ambulance crews got in another fight.. but this time each kept insisting that 
the other shouold take the victim... kind of like the old Smother's Brothers' 
routine when Dick tells Tommy to "take it!" and Tommy refuses and tells Dick, 
"No. YOU take it!"

Bill, it was a great discussion... thanks for the entertainment.

Rocky Ball
Atlanta