[Dixielandjazz] Sit in

Sat Oct 21 12:13:27 PDT 2006

I read your post with a lot of empathy.  Actually no one in their right mind 
will invite a sit-in unless you are being paid to do it.  Some time ago I 
was asked to play with a former student who has done very well in St. Louis 
and I thought it would be a real kick to sit in with him.  When I got there 
it was a sit in kind of thing and there was about 7 or 8 people with 
instruments.  I waited for awhile before I told my blind friend I was there. 
The sit ins were really bad for the most part and I played a couple of 
tunes.  I noticed a couple of the players putting their instruments up and 
huffing out.  One ran into me leaving.  The place was really crowded so it 
was sort of OK but I thought a bit rude.  These guys were acting like it was 
their gig.  Most of the players sat down and got out of the way while I 
played but I only did two tunes then left.

For several years we had a NY eve gig that involved the guys friends sitting 
in.  Now I majored on Oboe in college and have nothing against the 
instrument but when some guy with less than high school skills plays it's 
really a trial.

I think most of the time it's a lose lose situation but occasionally one of 
the bridesmaids or someone with the party will want to sing and occasionally 
they are very good.  If the person is better then you lose, if he's worse 
you lose and they are usually worse.  This is why I would never go to a 
karaoke bar willingly.

When I was at Missouri School for the Blind I had an interesting experience. 
Speaking of being hijacked.  We were invited to play at a church one night. 
The church was in a very poor part of town and only had the one room.  So we 
set up the band and started our concert.  About three quarters of the way 
through one of the students got up and started preaching.  I wanted to and 
should have but didn't grab him around the neck.  He continued for about a 
half hour complete with alter calls and an offering.  Reflect dear reader on 
the school I was working for and a little thing about separation of church 
and state.  I had a loud but also interesting discussion about it from my 
Superintendent the next morning that started off with "Just what in the hell 
are you doing..."  The preacher had called him and the big boss in the State 
Capitol about how we were suppressing the students religious rights.  It 
turns out the kid was having Séances in the school library at night and 
scaring the hell out of the younger kids.  One of the house parents had 
stopped him from having his little games and he complained to the preacher 
about it while we were packing up.  A post script: that guy ended up in 
prison for child molestation and likes to call in on the late night 
religious call in shows.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ministry of Jazz" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 1:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Sit in

> Shalom Jazz Fans,
>
> Amen to Jim's comments about sit-ins. I've had a couple of experiences
> lately, bad ones, in this regard.
>
> 1. We were playing in a restaurant one night and a customer says he sings
> and asked if he could sing Hello Dolly with us. We played the intro, the 
> guy
> grabbed the mike (we use only one battery operated amp for the vocals) 
> sang
> the song, graciously allowed the band to play half a chorus, and then sang
> it out, not giving anyone a chance to play anything.
>
> 2. We were on the street. (It is not easy to deal with unwanted sit-ins on
> the street because technically they have as much right to be there as you
> do, and it is only courtesy that would prevent someone from ruining your
> show. The police are not going to arrest them for being bad performers!) 
> A
> young kid came by with a guitar, and without asking or being invited, took
> up a position front and center, and started playing and singing, not
> necessarily what we were playing and singing. Now somewhere in the 
> universe
> there is a law of nature that these guys always have obnoxiously loud
> voices. We asked him to lay out, and he seemingly graciously agreed, but
> then he kept playing and singing. I asked him again, more firmly, and he
> said he would stop, but didn't. Then I made him put down the guitar. (He's
> lucky I didn't break it over his head!) So he grabs our washboard and 
> stands
> in the line-up and starts playing that. We had a crowd and this guy was
> trying to hijack our show and our audience. I had to do something I rarely
> do, and that is to humiliate him in front of the crowd. I took the 
> washboard
> from him, I announced to everyone present that he was not in the band and
> was not going to be in the band. He said all he needs is a little 
> practice,
> and I said, "No way, Jose. It ain't going to happen." Finally he left and 
> we
> were able to continue.
>
> 3. What do I do when one of my own less experienced student/players 
> invites
> someone inappropriate to perform with us? A couple weeks ago, my banjo
> student and partner in forming the band sent me an email informing me that
> he has a friend who plays alto sax who will be playing with us at our next
> street performance. Now my apologies to you alto players out there, and 
> yes,
> I know you can play Dixieland on an alto sax, but we finally have the
> instruments we need for a traditional line-up, and some of them are new, 
> and
> I prefer to work with them and not confuse them and to try to present a
> consistent face of the band to the public. The sax guy doesn't have
> experience playing OKOM, and didn't know our songs. I told my partner I'd
> rather the guy didn't join us, and he says he already invited him, so it's
> too late to uninvite him. And he couldn't understand what my objection 
> was.
> Lucky for me, the guy didn't show. I then asserted my divine right as
> founder and leader of the band, and noted that if I want to invite someone
> to perform with us as a guest, I always run it by my partner before
> finalizing the invitation, and I insisted that he do the same with me in 
> the
> future.
>
> I always preach to my players that a real musician will never force 
> himself
> onto another band as a guest, and if he is asked to sit in, or if he asks
> and the band agrees, he doesn't get up and take over the show. As far as 
> I'm
> concerned, someone who does this is not a musician, but a noise-maker.
>
> Now I travel a lot, and I always make an effort to find and contact local
> players and bands and try to attend their performances. Sometimes they ask
> me to sit in. Sometimes I ask if I can--in advance whenever possible, not 
> on
> the spot. But I don't think I've ever done it without an invitation, and 
> my
> intention is to then listen to the band and fit in with them rather than
> take over and become the star of the show. If I ever get to sit in with 
> any
> of you and I fail to observe proper courtesy, please, please hit me with
> something.
>
> All the best,
>
> Elazar Brandt
> Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
> Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
> Jerusalem, Israel
> www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
> +972-2-679-2537
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
> 