[Dixielandjazz] Turning off the young

Sat Sep 9 11:59:33 PDT 2006

I have only been stiffed twice.  The first time was a green sheet gig (about 
1968).  We showed up at the appointed time and there was another band 
setting up.  I called the local and their response was whoever got there 
first.  No pay on apology -- so much for the union.  I probably could have 
gotten paid but I was new in the local and didn't want to make too many 
waves.

The second time was at an opening of a new grocery store.  If you know 
anything about St. Louis there are two commodities that you can't get in the 
downtown area and that's gas and groceries.  It was a big deal, announced on 
TV and everything.  I got there about an hour early and there was two guys 
that hadn't bathed for months and looked high with guitars.  They got the 
job.  The owner said they got there first.  Fortunately I was able to 
contact the other guys before they left home.  Unfortunately I didn't get 
the deposit but I assume the booker did.  It was the last time I worked for 
that booker.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ministry of Jazz" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 5:02 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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