[Dixielandjazz] Turning off the young

[Dave Hanson]

Elazar,

I've been in the music business for 50 years and I started off with others that often didn't have a contract. We got stiffed plenty until we decided to ask for a deposit and contract about a month before the job. If they don't pay a deposit and return the contract within a reasonable time, then you can assume the gig is off.
I like to trust people as you do, but so many people think that musicians just play music for the love of it, but don't consider we have kids in college, car and house payments, health insurance and so forth. They need a wake up call, so I won't consider a job until MY terms are met, even though I might not get the gig, where I might not get paid anyway. It's a win, win and it doesn't take long for the word to get out that a particular venue won't pay, so they can simply hire a band that will work for free ! I think the key is to not hold the gig so long that you can't rebook the date.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Dave Hanson
Trombone
Atlanta  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ministry of Jazz 
  To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com 
  Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 6:02 PM
  Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Turning off the young


  Turn-off is right, Dave. I'm not that young, but I'm not that old either,
  and I have put together a band of 5 players, all of whom, except for me, are
  25 to 40 years old. I'm 54, still a relative youngster in the OKOM world.
  Our Doctor Jazz Band was booked to play last night at a large mall just
  outside of Jerusalem, a 90 minute show that was to be open to the public
  free of charge. The gig was arranged by the CEO of a non-profit organization
  who has hired us a couple times to play for handicapped children. His
  organization was going to split the cost of the show with the mall. Total
  bill about $100 per player for 5 players, so not enough to break the bank of
  either of them.

  It would have been a great show. Many of our gigs are only for 3 players. We
  had already mapped out the show -- song list, patter, gags, props, etc. We
  advertised it, and even had people coming to hear us who were considering
  hiring us for a wedding. My partner called the other day to ask a simple
  question about the gig, and was informed that the mall decided to cancel
  their current roster of musical programs, including us only 3 days in
  advance. We had held the date and had 5 players booked for nearly 2 months.
  The non-profit guy was furious with them. We demanded a 25% cancellation
  fee, but since we took no deposit and had no contract, we are unlikely to
  ever see it.

  Now in glorious hindsight, we began to realize that this was the 3rd time
  we've been screwed by corporate customers, and we've been shafted twice by
  another company that arranges events for the City of Jerusalem. We have
  tried to work without contracts and advance deposits, and our wonderful
  private customers have never done this to us. Some even offer to pay half or
  all of the fee up front, even when we don't ask for it. On the basis of this
  grand revelation, we have decided to begin requiring a 50% non-refundable
  deposit from corporate customers to close the booking. Not that we're likely
  to get it, but we will at least require a contract that includes a
  cancellation fee. Corporations here tend to pay 1 to 3 months after the gig,
  while I try to pay my players cash on the day of the gig. I'm still out a
  couple hundred bucks from a gig 1 1/2 years ago that we did and were never
  paid for it, but I paid my crew out of my pocket. What really irks me is
  that these soul-less corporate tightwads don't even see the problem with
  last minute cancellations. I've told them we've advertised, that some of my
  players cancelled other bookings to do these jobs, that we've turned down
  other jobs for the same date, etc., and they can't even manage to say
  they're sorry. It's just too bad. they decided not to do the gig. I wonder
  what would happen if we cancelled on one of these yahoos 3 days before a
  show!

  Now my young partner, who has listened to me squawk for several years about
  the extra time and money a bandleader invests in the band, and why he
  deserves more money than the side men, has learned a good lesson. This time
  the customer called him, and he's the one who spent hours arranging the
  players and making the preparations, and now he's crying in his beer with
  the rest of us. I only hope this kind of treatment doesn't kill my young
  players' enthusiasm for performing and gigging for fun and profit.

  Elazar Brandt
  Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
  Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
  Jerusalem, Israel
  www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
  +972-2-679-2537


  Talk about turning off the young.

  -----Original Message-----

  David Richoux <tubaman at tubatoast.com> wrote (polite snip)

  > While we are on this topic, something that happened recently to a
  > local youngish "sorta-dixie" band is disturbing. Without naming any
  > names, a trad jazz society had hired them to play a monthly session,
  > then the music director was replaced for unknown reasons. When the
  > band leader called the new music director to get a bit more
  > information on the gig he was told there was no contract, no gig, and
  > goodbye.


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