[Dixielandjazz] Meals, booze and "comps"

[Steve Barbone]

"pat ladd" <pj.ladd at btinternet.com> wrote, (polite snip)

> 
> (Wiggins wrote) "should not expect to be complimented a meal">


> Pat Ladd asked: 
> Ouch!!. The things that you Americans do to my language. You don`t mean
> `given` by any chance?

No ouch necessary Pat. This is good old American Slang in action. A
"compliment" or "comp" is a freebie given to a person that is important to
the venue. Like in "The high rollers in Las Vegas are "comped" suites, meals
and drinks." Meaning the Casino gives away the cheap stuff to their
"whales". (very rich fools who lose A LOT of money at the tables)
> 
> In the UK it depends on the venue. If you play in a pub then you usually get
> so much cash plus, maybe a couple of pints of beer free. In a hotel for a
> dinner dance you are usually fed.
> The quality of the food you get can vary considerably. I remember one New
> Years gig with a slap up sit down dinner. Because it it was at a top class
> hotel my wife and a gang of friends bought tickets and sat down to a really
> superb meal while we played.
> The band looked forward to the same sort of meal on the break. What did we
> get?  Dry sandwiches left over from the bar.

I put a clause in our contract when the gig is over dinner hour, (wedding or
early evening gig) to the effect that if the band is not fed, a surcharge of
$35 per man is added. Usually we request club sandwiches because the full
meal takes much too much time. And at buffet dinner events, we get to go
through the line first so as to avoid dead time waiting around. We handle
details like these in advance via talks with the client.

One additional thing about drinks. Tom makes it sound as if all sidemen are
drunks out to cadge a free drink. Not so in my experience. Barbone Street,
is, in most instances, just like a guest at the event. And we are therefore
expect to be treated like guests, not a bunch of bums. Hence the food and
drinks are offered, but never abused.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone