thepurpleblob

As a matter of fact, I used to be on the other side of this doing band booking way back in the 80s. For almost all the same reasons I always gave the band a written contract and everything was signed. I didn't want to be met down a dark alley by some disgruntled punk band that had got the wrong impression of the deal

[quote name='Sibob' post='723146' date='Jan 24 2010, 02:42 PM']I find it odd when people say you have to have a certain type of set list for weddings! You can't decide what songs you'll include until you know who you're playing for, or even until you get there! Most of the people getting married now are 25-35, and so they want pop/modern rock. Yes there are other, older guests, but for the most part, people are younger at these things now. I rarely (and I mean RARELY) play any disco/funk music at weddings. Each function is individual, so although we get booked from people liking what we do (and so rarely have to change our sets drastically), we're always ready to swap songs in and out as necessary onstage. Like was mentioned above, you just have to br prepared and good at what you do. I should also mention that we're just a 4 piece, one guitar, band.....not a 'wedding' band. Si[/quote] I really meant *variety*. If you can play everything from Mustang Sally to Biffy Clyro then you're probably on the right track. I certainly don't advocate a completely overhaul of the set list - more some creative tweaking.

Think weddings. Adjust your set list to give the impression that you would make a good wedding band, dress a touch smarter (maybe), put it on any posters and advertising that you are available for functions and weddings. Then get out and play. Sooner or later someone will come along and ask you to play at their wedding. That's how it's always happened for me. There are specialist agencies but you might struggle to get taken on with no track record. Worth a look / ask I suppose. EDIT: Just to reinforce what others have said. It's not something to take on lightly and not an easy gig. You *all* (and I absolutely do mean all of you) have to have the right attitude. It's all been said before but you have to go in with a "what if" and a "can do" attitude. In particular if something goes wrong you*have* to fix it. Also it's not about you - you have to keep smiling no matter what. If you are not 100% about all of this then don't even think about it.

So this is turning into one of those "I can learn an Oasis line in 3 seconds without even listening to it" conversations . I've covered loads of Oasis songs over the years and they're not *that* simple. There's usually enough improv throughout a song to keep you on your toes if you want to get it right all the way through. I suspect that almost getting one verse and one chorus right and that will do will not do. Learn the song properly and also think how you are going to get a similar sound. You *might* even have to look the part (unlucky), so that's something to think about too.

If there had been a one pound booking fee on each ticket would you have expected your cut to be of the amount *including* or *excluding* the booking fee. It's just the same as the VAT thing. The venue has to pay its VAT - there's no getting away from that - all that's happened here is that you have failed to agree if your cut is of the gross or the net figure. Silly you - sorry. The venue probably are being scumbags but they've taken advantage of you naivety not done anything wrong. I'm sorry to bang on about it, but others beware. That's why bands have managers to worry about all this nonsense.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='722348' date='Jan 23 2010, 05:28 PM']But if the gross takings are £902, the VAT element of that should be £134.34. £157.85 is 17.5% of the gross figure. So someone's screwed up the numbers.[/quote] Well spotted. Doing percentages No. 1 mistake there. You should call and say "we noticed that you made a mistake deducting the VAT"

[quote name='Mateybass' post='722326' date='Jan 23 2010, 05:07 PM']Regarding the VAT, if they'd charged us for VAT on the expenses and on their share of the door take (for providing a service) then I could have accepted that but to charge us VAT on the gross takings at the door as the first item on the receipt just seems wrong to me. They can claim their share of VAT charged to them back from C&E, we can't.[/quote] You didn't say that though - you said that they deducted the VAT amount before calculating the cut. That's a substantially different thing from charging you VAT on a service you didn't get (which would probably be fraudulent). They're just fiddling the percentage. I think you are going to have to take it on the chin. I don't want to come over the smart-arse but if you do a gig without a proper contract (at best) or at least a detailed email (and "less expenses" isn't detailed) then you are asking for it. As long as this is factual, I can't see anything wrong with naming the venue. You haven't accused them of anything. It will caution others who play there to get a proper agreement.

You've at least been scammed on the PRS fee. The venue needs a license to cover that. They have paid. The VAT thing is a bit more debatable - they have to pay the VAT they have charged on the ticket sales to the government regardless so it's money they don't get. Anyway.... the bottom line is simple. Get something in writing. If you knew you would get Sales less VAT, less expenses, less PRS fee and then split would you still have taken the gig? If you don't get it in writing then you're going to get done sooner or later.

I didn't know him, but it's a terrible thing to happen at just 18. Very sad.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='719840' date='Jan 21 2010, 09:35 AM']Superstition - Stevie Wonder I've played with a lot of bands..it's always terrible and it doesn't have thé vibe. You just don't get that sound.[/quote] It was suggested the other day in my band.... my heart says "yes", my head says "idiot, you're not good enough"!! To be fair, I have heard it done well but only on rare occasions.

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='66812' date='Sep 28 2007, 10:44 AM']"Love will tear us apart" by Joy Division. The two versions i've heard (Paul Young, The Cure) make me want to rip my ears off[/quote] I dunno... I like this French take on it...

[quote name='Rasta' post='719470' date='Jan 20 2010, 07:27 PM']Howard is a pleasure to deal with, good communications all round and his packing skills puts my wife's totally to shame Loving the TRB matey (must lower them PU's ), glad your happy with the Precision too [/quote] A pleasure. The TRB was my first proper and my main bass for lots of years. I hope you get as much fun from it as I did. Now.... where did you hide the treble on that Precision

Did a straight swap... my unused TRB4 for his Jap Precision. No hassles at all. Great communication, friendly guy - everything as described and as expected. I'm even very pleased with the bass which, so far, seems to sound better than all the more expensive stuff I have around. Damn!! A good guy - deal in confidence as they say!!

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='718229' date='Jan 19 2010, 06:49 PM']Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated! I guess you're right, giving up and selling my gear would be a pretty stupid thing to do! I will probably try the open mic night approach, as I find trawling through the "musician wanted" ads the most depressing thing ,doesn't anyone want to play anything other than metal or blues? As for the guy who said, wait til you're middle aged, I had to laugh, I'm 47! (nice one, though) Mark.[/quote] Wow someone's older than me. Slightly.... 46 here

[quote name='Johnston' post='717510' date='Jan 19 2010, 09:32 AM']So basically they are complaining about losing jobs they didn't like !!!![/quote] And there's nobody in this country doing crappy jobs they hate, being bullied by psycho managers that they can't afford to leave because there's nothing else? Oh well, that's all right then

I don't understand.... the link you sent says this happened in 2007!! They're still complaining about it? That's life, until governments force large companies into having some social responsibilities (and it's a big debate whether they should or not) they'll keep on shafting staff to get the lowest cost base. The thing that's sad is when people believe all the "we really value our workers" BS. Sorry, never fooled me and I've never been surprised or disappointed

It's not just music is it? If you care about something enough to give a sh*t, every so often it's not going to go your way and you'll get down about it. It's up to you, but I guess you can either play through it or stick everything under the bed and see how you feel in a few weeks/months time. Selling your stuff sounds a bit rash. You'd only spend the money on crap

The whole Jam back catalogue? Mind you, I've only heard of one song in your list which means I have no idea what sort of music you are into. Not what I'm into though

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='712673' date='Jan 14 2010, 03:34 PM']Hope you didn't Google that at work... I do like the idea of someone saying "we've booked DVDA for our 25th anniversary" though.[/quote] Or, "our bridesmaid recommended DVDA to us for our wedding". And so on.....

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='712634' date='Jan 14 2010, 03:03 PM']DVDA [/quote] I'm learning new things here. Is that even possible???

[quote name='Conan' post='712614' date='Jan 14 2010, 02:44 PM']I would partly agree with this, but a lot of it depends on the music you play and the band you play with. Much of Foxton's playing is in the kind of "middle" registers of the bass rather than low down on the E string for example. Within the context of a three piece with a very "cutting" guitar sound that works. A lot of players find a five string necessary if they play with a singer whose range has dropped over the years... A good example of this would be Fish's band (ex-singer with Marillion if the name doesn't ring a bell). As the ravages of age, cigarettes, alcohol, etc have taken their toll, his ability to hit high notes has diminished. In many cases, the band has had to drop keys to accommodate this. Many of the original keys were C, B or even E - so if you drop from there on a four string the only way to go is up!! If the track is in D and you only have a four, then you will be playing on the A string at the fifth fret! No bottom end at all! This is where I see the main advantage of a five. Or in metal bands where that really low-end riffage sounds massive...! Just my opinion of course! [/quote] I think it leads to a general point that if you have to change key in a hurry and don't want to have to think then a 5 can save the day. Not an issue for decent musicians, of course, but that would count me out

[quote name='Dandelion' post='712583' date='Jan 14 2010, 02:22 PM']Sorry.[/quote] Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying it was a bad name.....

[quote name='Dandelion' post='712400' date='Jan 14 2010, 11:43 AM']Fanny and the Scrotes.[/quote] Some people are just not taking this seriously. You know who you are!!

[quote name='J3ster' post='712340' date='Jan 14 2010, 10:45 AM']1 girl 4 boys!! 8 Ball or 8 Ball 1 pocket[/quote] Not since my "accident"