<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">In a message dated 3/9/03 3:48:13 PM Central Standard Time, stridepiano@tesco.net writes:<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Bill Sargent said :<BR>
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" Case in point: I have been working for several years with a name big<BR>
band that is run by someone who can be cheap past intelligence. With this<BR>
guy, money can and does win out over musical quality. In the past year,<BR>
there's been this drummer in our genre who is also a farmer in a state<BR>
hundreds<BR>
of miles from our area. This guy makes good money with his farm and also<BR>
can afford to be away from it for periods of time.<BR>
<BR>
He took a cruise from me that I should have played because he bribed his<BR>
way onto the gig by helping to sell several cabins for the cruise . . .<BR>
then played for zippo. Just took another cruise from me because he<BR>
offered to drive halfway across the US to the five day gig for free. Then he<BR>
took 2 nights last weekend from me here in Wisconsin, because he offered to<BR>
drive up from Nebraska for free as a "vacation"."<BR>
<BR>
Bill - are you saying that your band was engaged to play these jobs? If so,<BR>
how is it possible for the farmer guy to take them from you? If you were<BR>
booked to play the jobs presumably you had enforceable contracts in respect<BR>
of them, so redress is available to you if the other parties to the<BR>
contracts subsequently dumped your band in favour of the farmer's.</BLOCKQUOTE>>><BR>
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The answer was in the above: "I have been working for several years with a name big band that is run by someone who can be cheap past intelligence. With this<BR>
guy, money can and does win out over musical quality. In the past year,<BR>
there's been this drummer in our genre who is also a farmer in a state<BR>
hundreds of miles from our area."<BR>
<BR>
I, in addition to being a bandleader, also play drums for several other bands. I actually look very much forward to that because it gives me an opportunity to shut up and concentrate on playing my drums . . . in addition to making the load in and out that much easier.<BR>
<BR>
Thanks for asking!<BR>
Bill<BR>
414-777-0100<BR>
BillSargent.com<BR>
BillSargentBands.com</FONT></HTML>