[Dixielandjazz] Musicians as Guests?

[Robert S. Ringwald]

> Robert S. Ringwald robert at ringwald.com wrote
>
>>The first thing a professional musician should  realize is that while
>>working a job, he is not a guest.  He is a hired hand.  He should not
>>expect
>>free food, drinks, etc.>
>
>>If the client offers, fine.  If the band leader negotiates such, fine.
>>However, eating or drinking with the clients guests is a big no-no.
>
>>If you hired a Plumber in your house, you would not expect him to raid
>>your
>>liquor cabinet or sit down to eat with you, would you?
>

Steve Barbone replies:


> Au contraire.
>
> I think the first thing a professional musician should realize is that he
> is
> there to satisfy the client's entertainment and psychic needs.
(snip)


Ringwald:
First, 2nd, 3rd?  That is just an expression.  You are splitting hairs.
Maybe the first
thing a musician must do is learn his craft?


Barbone:
> When we played a late (1 AM) private party for Henry Ford 2 about 1960,
> for
> Robert McNamara who was leaving. (He sent his man at midnight to see if we
> would play there after our club gig in Southampton ended at 12:30 AM) We
> were an 8 piece band and he had 8 other guests in his summer home in Water
> Mill L.I. They had a dinner party complete with servants earlier and this
> was a continuation but the servants had all left by the time we got there.
>
> Henry himself served the band drinks and his wife served us snacks. We
> chatted with his wife about art on the breaks. (Dufy, Pollack, Klee were
> hanging on the walls etc). Ever since that night, I've had a different
> attitude about musicians as hired help.


Ringwald:
Yes yes yes Steve, you have mentioned this gig many times on DJML.
of course there are always exceptions.  How often does a band such as ours
(you and me) play a gig for Henry Ford and have him serve the band?

So there were 8 guests, no servants and Ford served the band.  Big deal.
You can bet that if you were hired by Henry Ford under different
circumstances, you would not be served by Henry Ford.

How many times since then have you been invited to Henry's house as a guest?

I once worked a gig for the head of Tri-Star Pictures.  Every star, news
person, agent, manager, studio head, show-biz attorney Recording exec in
Hollywood was
there, including
Johnny Carson.  Besides my band, Also entertaining was Frankie Vally, Tex
Beneke's big band and a steel band.  The host nor none of the guests served
us drinks.

I remember playing a party for George Bush Sr. with such guests as Frank
Sinatra.  Neither Sinatra nor Bush nor any of the other guests served us...
While the guests ate steak, the band and the rest of the help ate KFC.  I
did not expect to be served steak and to sit down with the guests.  Food was
negotiated and that is what we got and it was fine.


Barbone:
> I don't know about other bands, but I think we are talking about a
> different
> gig world between the gigs you guys play and the gigs Barbone Street
> plays.
>
> Since many of my gigs are repeats, and many of them are for friends of
> mine,
> they treat us as guests and/or friends.


Ringwald:
Well of course.  We play the same kind of gigs and get treated as guests.
And that is fine.  But a professional musician should not expect this every
time.


Barbone:
As far as expecting food goes, if
> the gig takes place at dinner time, and the event is serving dinner, I
> damn
> well expect the band to get fed. Ditto for lunch.
>



Ringwald:
As I mentioned in a previous post to DJML, I usually negotiate this up front
so there is no question.  However, if the client for instance is having the
dinner catered and it is costing him $50 per plate and he does not want to
feed the band, then it is our responsibility to make sure we eat before or
after the gig.  I am not so hard up that I refuse to play gigs because I am
not being served dinner.


Barbone:
> By now, my clients are mostly friends and some travel in the same social
> circles as I do. They expect me to socialize with them and since they all
> have class, they include the band.


Ringwald:
Steve, of course.  But I am not talking about special circumstances such as
you working for friends.  I am talking in general about the code of conduct
for a professional musician.

If you have a day gig and it is lunch time, you do not expect your
employer to buy your lunch, do you?  If you are working swing shift and it
is
dinner time, you don't expect your employer to buy you dinner.

Your gigs for friends or repeat clients with whom you have established a
long-term relationship with is not what I am talking about when I say that
musicians are hired to play music and entertain.  If they are not invited to
the bar or to the food line, they should not go there anyway.  That is just
common sense that some musicians don't have...


Barbone:
> Even some clubs too. When Sydney's Jz Club hired us for Louis Armstrong
> weekends, Ms. Sydney put us up in a condo, and fed us dinner each night at
> her well known restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. We also go free drinks. We
> also
> got paid well. She also thought it was great that we socialized with the
> customers. And why not? Every night, at least 30 were friends of mine. She
> also hired us for the Rehoboth Jazz Festival several times, ditto there.
> That also paid us very well. Too bad she retired and the club is now a no
> music, family restaurant.
>
> When you do a lot of repeat gigs, for friends and social peers, you build
> somewhat of a local rep that puts you in demand. Both as a band and as a
> person. All sorts of people want to get to know you, buy you drinks, feed
> you, etc, invite you to their house for non gig social events . . . and
> pay
> you well on gigs.



Ringwald:
Yes Steve.  But again, that is not what I am talking about.

I also work those kind of gigs.  I am talking about the ethics of a working
musician.  You can go on and on about your gigs for friends and long-term
acquaintances as I can.  But that is not what I am talking about.

Friday a week ago I played a gig in Reno at the Atlantis Casino and Hotel.
It was a fund raising event, not sponsored by the hotel.  I played 7
numbers.  The client paid me very well, gave me a room for two nights and
gave me certificates to eat in the hotel dining rooms.  I also had free
access to the bar and food at the event.  So you see, you are not the only
person who
works these kind of gigs.  But again, I am speaking in general about the
conduct of some musicians.  I am not talking about your gigs for friends or
long-term clients.


Barbone:
So please forgive me if I disagree with the hired help
routine.
After all,
> we've been wined, dined, chatted with, flattered and well paid, by some
> pretty upscale folks in the Philadelphia-Wilmington social whirl over the
> past 15 years. So I get a little prickly if some officious country club
> food/beverage manager tells me there is no food for the band.



Ringwald:
Steve.  If he is hiring you, he can call the shots.  If you don't like it
you don't have to accept the job -- And I'm sure you don't.


Barbone:
> Likewise, when I need a plumber, I call my daughter who works in the home
> building industry. She sends her friends and I supply them with food and
> drink and even offer dinner if they work during that time.
>



Ringwald:
Good for you.  However, again, this is out of the ordinary.

When I need a plummer, I do not call my daughter.  And I do not offer the
plummer dinner.

--Bob Ringwald