Services no longer required?

[Cestrian]

My band was offered a residency as the house band at a comedy club. As our first gig there was in December we did a mixture of our own stuff and covers including some Christmas numbers. I emailed the organiser to check he was happy and see if he had any requests for January. (It takes place once a month.) His reply has been copied and pasted below. Just wondering if, as I strongly suspect, he feels it isn't working out - or there might be room for manoeuvre. I certainly don't to be like some clingy boy/girlfriend hanging on when it's clearly all over!

"Glad you had fun! Yeah went well -the Xmas toons & nice audience!

Let's maybe leave it for Jan and will have a think -its such a small stage and think would prob work better if more acoustic setup

Keep you posted if anything else comes up

Just have to be careful with the back room cos of noise pollution for neighbours and also audiences need to have a preshow chat

Worked well with Christmas toons tho!

Maybe have some soppy ones for a valentines show? Haha??

Be good to maybe involve the comedians too but prob need bigger venue!?

Have a lovely Christmas and hope to see you on new year!"

[JTUK]

No problem with that. He thinks January is a bit dodgy. He may well also be letting you down gently,

His gig, his call and he has concerns about the neighbours..??

Edited December 5, 2016 by JTUK

[gareth]

January is always a slow month for venues

[BrunoBass]

'Let's leave it for January and will have a think.'

That's your answer right there. I'd take that as it's over.

Pity.

[leschirons]

He may have had actual complaints about noise although I'd guess he'd be keen to mention that as it lets him off the hook.

Makes you wonder though exactly when you would've been informed had you not mailed him so could be that he was taking his time in figuring how to do that without offending.

[TimR]

Too loud maybe?

Offer to do an acoustic setup.

[Grangur]

Go talk to him. Not on the phone - go and talk. Tell him how the message sounds and ask questions about his concerns.

This way, if there are changes you can make to keep the gig, then you are there to make the choices. If you're a rock band, he might not realise you can also play other stuff. Maybe it won't work, but you will have tried and you get the opportunity to make the changes he wants.

[skankdelvar]

i) Frankly, it is difficult to draw any specific conclusion. On the one hand there is that hint of the hard word 'Let's leave it ... keep you posted ...'

ii) On the other there is the suggestively encouraging: 'Need to have a pre-show chat ... soppy ones for valentines'.

iii) Frankly, I don't know what he means and I don't think he knows either. That's the trouble with comedy types. All arty-farty and swanning around.

iv) Take charge. Perhaps a clear and firm communication along the lines of 'Are we playing the next show? Please confirm date and time.'

[Lozz196]

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1480971111' post='3188635']
January is always a slow month for venues
[/quote]

Yep, in my old punk covers band we avoided January gigs like the plague. Sad, pissed off punters (not because of us, of course) nursing their one half of bitter that will have to last them the whole night night dreaming of the last working day of the month (which seems like it will never turn up) when they will finally get paid and will have some money again, after a heavy Xmas/New Year spend.

[roceci]

Sounds like he's front loaded it with different reasons to justify not using you again, then tried to be nice at the end to soften it a bit. To me that looks like thanks but no thanks.

[drTStingray]

There could be several answers:-

1) He can't afford you in January (this in my experience is not in the least unusual whilst venues recover from Christmas and New Year costs - particularly if they haven't got the ticket sales etc they expected) but may give you a gig on Valentine's Day.
2) You were too loud and he's got problems with the neighbours - so would prefer an acoustic band - of course a duo might be cheaper for him as well (not always the case - a singer with a band I used to play with could get as much as the whole band performing swing crooning to backing tracks).

I think these are the most likely.

Edited December 5, 2016 by drTStingray

[lowdown]

"Xmas toons....Christmas toons....
Maybe have some soppy ones for a valentines show? Haha??"

Sounds like a piss taker to me.

[Barking Spiders]

Hmm, it's the business equivalent of the 'it's not you, it's me' line !

[mcnach]

We had that a couple of times. Sometimes someone thinks it would be great to have a band regularly playing at their venue, but they had not thought about noise issues and after a gig or two they realise it's not suitable for their purposes.
Once it was the first time they ever had live music. Neighbour upstairs complained during our first set, it seems, and we turned right down for the second. They only do acoustic duos and the like now. The other place was meant to be a cool gig, every Friday, decent money, local and easy access, good food included... we played twice. I was surprised to be asked back after the first, really. They normally had a guy playing a piano. It was not a music venue, really, but more for background music. An 8-piece energetic ska/funk band wasn't a good match. Sometimes the person in charge just likes a band and the idea of the band playing at their venue, but they haven't really thought it through. It sounds to me like you have been caught in a similar situation.

[chris_b]

January is certainly cancelled. . . . probably the whole gig. People have ideas that don't work out as they planned and this gig sounds like one of those. I'd assume it's finished but you should clarify some of the "wishy-washy" language and see if you can talk him into putting on a few "specials" next year.

Make suggestions on how you can address his issues. The volume (take the volume down), the space (less gear, give the stand-ups more room on the stage) and getting the stand-ups involved.

[stuckinthepod]

I read this as "Holy Sh*t you guys were loud"! Perhaps suggest a mellow more acoustic second set if you are willing to work with him.

[Dropzone]

I see this as you are out for what appears to be reasonable reasons and people rarely chage their mind once made. IMO it depends how good a gig this was for you on what you do next. If it was amazing then it is worth chasing with compromise, if it was average I would just send back "no worries, really enjoyed playing the show, let us know when you want us" and keep it on good terms as he may have other events.

[Monkey Steve]

I think there's enough in there that sounds like he does want you to come back, but maybe with a different (*quieter*) set up. Would that work from your end?

No point asking us to speculate, better to go and get it from the horses mouth, but I'd suggest a friendly "sounds like there are some issues, how can we make it work?" approach

[mikegatward]

Reads like the classic 'sh*t sandwich', the guy must have had management training :-)

[bazzbass]

It's obvious to me

turn your drummer into a percussionist for this venue.

Manager doesn't want all that noise.

That's what they mean when they say they want something more 'acousticy"

[blue]

Bar owners on the circuit we play basically never offer musical opinions, suggestions or criticism.

If they do the band will never hear about it, but you won't be re-booked.

They have built up live music business with a pretty closed group of bands they book in rotation.

Blue

[CrackerJackLee]

[quote name='Cestrian' timestamp='1480970352' post='3188614']...My band was offered a residency as the house band..."Let's maybe leave it for Jan and will have a think -its such a small stage and think would prob work better if more acoustic setup"...Keep you posted if anything else comes up...see you on new year!"[/quote]

Doesn't sound like a residency to me. But he did say he'd see you in the NY. Be hopeful, but look around. Your presence depends on his show. If I were him, I'd just hire a trio. A guitar/banjo with a drummer, and maybe an upright bass. Or a piano instead o guitar. A comedy club does not need a rock band, large group or dancing. His neighbor problem sounds real to me.

In the old days, the BL would re-design the band instrumentation to match the club's requirements, because musicians didn't take well to starvation. Either tone down, muffle the drums, reduce volume, or decide who has to go for the sake of all.

A gig is not a steady job anyway, even with a contract, but rather a separate opportunity because establishments do not want musician employees or attachments. There's no reason to beg as they won't hire a band just because of that. Business is not complicated. Supply & Demand. A press kit, photos/videos, is needed to start knocking on doors. Find out what they want and supply it.

Although I'm just an amateur BP, (unless they start paying musicians again) I bought an upright and learned to bow and walk and ballad. I picked up guitar and plectrum banjo, because I love it, but also to be versatile. Too bad my area of the world has little in the way of live music, but at least I wouldn't be the first to be let go if a band had to downsize to pick up a gig.

In the old days, all the tunes were standardized and the music was printed out. The musos read music and knew the tunes. They just got hired on recommendation, auditioned and fell into place. This week with band A and next week with band B. Memorizing tunes was not part of the deal. It was all very mutable. And the BL would not hesitate to hire an ace bass player and let the current one go.

And musicians doubled on other instruments. Upright Bass/Tuba, Guitar/Banjo, Piano/Organ, Reeds, Woodwinds, Saxophones of all ranges... or even Piano/Vocals... Also, people danced (no TV) and theatres and movie houses needed musicians. There were many bars (6 or 8 per block in Montreal) for dancing or just to relax after work before going home (happy hour).

Just as the computer replaced secretaries, robots replaced welders, waitresses got fired from hamburger joints and theatres fired all their ushers, the professional musician has been replaced by Disc Jockeys and kids who play for free. At least musicians can still play along with old recordings, by themselves and with friends. There's better ways to make money than playing music in bars. At least you get paid with a real job and if you educate yourself you can make good cash.

Consider tailoring your act to fit the bill. Good luck with the gig.

Edited December 7, 2016 by CrackerJackLee

[tauzero]

Ask him what date he'd like the Valentine's show to be. And get the guitarist to turn down.

[Dan Dare]

It's his venue. he can book who he likes and for whatever reason he likes. I'd ask straight if you were too loud (for his taste, not the band's), apologise if he says you were and ask if you can try again.

[vbance]

at least Huey Lewis had the balls to say..."I'm afraid you're just too darn loud..."