[Dixielandjazz] Band loyalty

[Larry Walton Entertainment]

There was a time in the past couple of years that I played with seven 
different bands,  This was good for me not being the regular guy I could 
turn down gigs.  There were a couple of rules that I followed the first and 
most important being once I had accepted a job it made no difference what 
else came up.

As a leader I also followed a rule and that was if someone backed out of a 
gig without really good reason ( like being dead ) I simply never hired them 
again no matter how good they were.

Unfortunately it turns out that the poorer the musician the more "loyal" 
they are and the better they are the more likely they will jump  ship.

There are guys that have absolutely no "Band" loyalty at all and play with 
whoever comes first.  This is the way as a sideman I handled that.  I played 
with a band that primarily worked Friday and Saturday nights.  If there was 
no gig on a particular weekend I was free to take another gig a month out 
since last minute gigs rarely happened.  The other bands knew not to call me 
more than a couple of weeks out and that if I were open I would take last 
minute sub gigs.  The band leader knew that I might not be available if he 
booked a last minute job.

I did that for about 15 years and I worked almost every weekend that I 
wanted to work and more importantly, to me, not work occasionally.  I no 
longer play with those groups because they don't pay particularly well and 
I've learned to enjoy my weekends.

There is a pretty good big band in town called Sentimental Journey.  The 
well known joke about the band is that the more subs they have the better 
the band is.  Some of the regular players are not the best around.  One of 
the problems that I had with this and a couple of other bands is that the 
regular members of the band cherry pick the gigs and the sucky gigs go to 
the subs.  The band leader who is a Doctor and non musician has a very 
relaxed attitude about the players coming and goings because he typically 
hires better guys to fill in.  If it were me they would be looking for 
another gig.  But then again I am hard nosed about it.

I cultivate a very nice guy attitude and am very pleasant to everyone but I 
am very unforgiving.  I never make a scene and I don't confront but I never 
hire again.  If more leaders had the same policy it would put a stop to the 
band hopping that guys do.

As a leader I expect certain things from them and one is to know that I am 
the boss not only for the gigs but I am the musical director too.  I'm sure 
that Ginny will recall the last days of a drummer who refused to play a line 
the way I wanted it because he was the Dixieland guru and who was I to give 
him directions.  There was no confrontation or screaming he just disappeared 
from the band.  Thank you see you later.  He can do his guru thing on 
someone else's time.

In my opinion professional ethics must always prevail over money.

You need to have clear understandings with band leaders and sidemen too as 
to what is expected, that way a situation can be avoided.

I work a lot of duo's.  There are three guys I use and yes there is a first 
call guy.  My first call guy and I have a long running understanding.  We 
both book jobs independently of each other.  If he finds a gig and he's 
booked with me he takes the gig and I hire one of the other two and he gets 
someone else if I get a gig.  This works out for us because in my case I am 
the show and a sideman backs me.  Also, there are tons of trumpet players 
around that I can use.  Since he is the sparkplug of his group I play a 
sideman role and he has a list of guys that he can call after me.  That 
situation is almost guaranteed to happen on New Year's eve / day and Mardi 
Gras when we are knee deep in gigs.  This way no one gets their feelings 
hurt and we maximize our earnings.  The key here is prior understandings and 
keeping a list of suitable pros who will help you out.  I don't like 
surprises.

There is one more thing.  I never allow the side man to pick his sub.  As 
leader it's my job to put together the best group possible and some side men 
either don't care or don't know what I want.
Larry
StL



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Louis Lince" <louislince at neworleansmusic.demon.co.uk>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Band loyalty


> Hi Bert,
>
> Totally agree with you.
>
> best wishes
>
> Louis
>
> Bert wrote <polite snip>
>
> Playing exclusively in one band might work for amateurs, not for pros, I'm 
> afraid.
>
>
>
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