TimR

[quote name='steantval' timestamp='1506011160' post='3375896'] Having a word with the idiot, the idiot may take offence and give you a bloody nose, just not worth the possible risk. [/quote] Or he may shuffle about looking at his feet uncomfortably and say sorry?

Well, not quite. There's not a lot I can do about all the rapes and muggings in the world that are going on. I can have a word with the idiot standing next to me at a show there and then and maybe make them think twice next time. I'm fairly sure I shouldn't have to wait until all the rapes and muggings have been stopped first before I approach him.

Here's a list of high profile nasty cases. http://www.nme.com/photos/20-outrageous-times-bands-were-sued-by-their-own-fans-1424248

I was on a ladder training course a few weeks ago and a guy had fallen 3ft off a ladder and broken his back. Took 12 years for him to get his compensation. In the mean time. He lost his job (obviously), his wife left him and he tried to commit suicide. When I was 18, we had an idiot at one of our gigs stage dive into the crowd. The crowd parted and he hit the deck. Very hard and didn't get up for quite a while. Accidents happen. I don't fancy having to pay for lawyers in a 12 year court case to prove that I did everything possible to stop someone jumping off the stage during one of our performances. Even if the disabled guy is 99.99% to blame.

I've seen lots of technically crap bands receiving a great response from an audience so I'd say a lot of the time it's down to attitude rather than technical competence. So I'd be happy to play in a crap band if they're getting the gigs and entertaining the audience. What I'm not happy about is playing in a band of technically good (or bad) players who think they're amazing but don't get a decent audience. I think there is a level for me where i am within a comfort zone. The Goldilocks zone of bass playing. Not too good and not too bad, getting gigs and entertaining audiences. Who is the best person to decide whether you (or anyone else in the band) is a good player?

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1505818241' post='3374487'] Quite a few posters in here seem to have equated the wolf whistling and "smutty comments" with simply looking. Looking at/watching the dancers is fine. Whistling and making smutty comments is unacceptable, surely? [/quote] Entirely depends on context and on the nature of the performance. In this situation, it's not acceptable. There's obviously a few people around who can't draw the distinction and will be polarised either one way or the other. Plus it's the internet, it's either right or it's wrong, there's never any in-between. .

Dancers and acrobats have been wearing leotards for centuries. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leotard

As everyone has alluded to: There's at least three reasons why it's done. It varies depending on circumstances. It's art, not science. Just use your ears and retune your bass. .

No not old fashioned. Some people have always been like that. You just have a different set of values. Probably best you don't try and start a business.

This isn't new. It's always been the case. He even had the grace to come back to you and ask if you wanted to make a better offer. No money had changed hands and you didn't have a contract with penalties attached for non-delivery. Someone else needed the pedal more urgently than you did. He may have had a gig this Saturday and his had failed. Who knows. He's paid a premium for it, for whatever reason. Next time make it very clear that you want it taken off the market, you consider it a binding contract and you require it urgently. That might make the seller think a bit more carefully. Whether you can enforce it would be another matter. Alternatively he may have just been fishing for a higher price. As a previous poster said, it's not uncommon when selling a house to say you have other buyers interested willing to pay the asking price.

Kick it out into the garden.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1504445748' post='3364885'] Certainly 'do-able', I towed a trailer with my Renault Espace for a couple of years. Seven seated and the whole caboodle (drums, PA, backline...) in the trailer. The OP, however, was hoping to reduce ferry costs; I believe a trailer would scupper that, as there's be a supplement (could be wrong...). [/quote] Just trying to work out if he's just putting gear in the vehicle or people as well. If it's just gear, the people will need separate transport. I don't know the vehicle in question, it's not clear to me.

I had to move some paving slabs. I weighed them at 15kg each. 5 of them is the equivalent of one person. I reckoned just 40 of them would put me into 'overloading' territory. Might be worth weighing the kit before you wedge it all in, 6 people plus gear could get you into trouble.

Hire a trailer?

As far as the audience are concerned I suspect changing the singer is the only seriously tonal and visual difference that would impact a video or music recording. Guitar, bass and drums are just filling the music in.

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1504134362' post='3362969'] Our singer has had the idea of putting the logo jpeg on a memory stick , with a lot of the modern TVs that seem to be stuck on the wall behind most stages , he thought it might plug and play , yet to try it mind [/quote] We were thinking of doing this too. Only on some kind of looping MPEG.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1504119245' post='3362849'] ... I never leave the gear unsupervised. It's just not worth it. [/quote] Not just the damage people can do to the gear but the damage they can do to themselves. And blame you.

This has fairly serious implications for car insurance too then. If you're driving to a gig and have an accident and don't have business cover you're screwed. Given the cost of business insurance it's beginning to look unviable to do once a month pub gigs.

If you're the insurance company and you win the claim, what's the point if the defendant has no insurance. You still have to pay the person you insured and you won't get your £1m back.

In a 4 piece band you're looking at another £120 a year. Not a great deal I suppose. The thing is, it does make you easier to sue and it give some the venue an opportunity to side step its responsibilities. No doubt the request that you have insurance is from the venues insurer who realise that a bunch of penniless musicians is going to be impossible to recover money from or even if they have money but no insurance will end up in a protracted legal battle where they can only recover £200k at most.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1504101123' post='3362690'] Nope. That's not negligent. It's criminal, but not negligent. [/quote] I'd still be interested to know if the band can be legally considered a partnership if they're not in it to make a profit.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1504093975' post='3362617'] ... [/quote] So when the drummer punches someone, you're all responsible? Where is the line?

It's at that point you realise you didn't actually make any money doing the gig either.

My concern when leaving an originals band would be to have some form of written contract regarding material I had a hand in writing. All it takes is for someone to come along in 10 years time and nick a sample off whatever website you've used, and use it to make a recording that makes millions and you're left high and dry. It's a slim chance but could always happen. Videos of the band are tricky, they're harder to re-shoot, but getting a photographer to the next gig the band does should be simple, and produce loads of promo material to replace the old stuff. Bands should be keeping websites updated with recent photos anyway so old gig pictures will slowly slide down and out.

Interesting comment in last night's Evening Standard about London's historic statues. https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/simon-jenkins-it-s-time-to-have-the-argument-about-london-s-historic-statues-a3622161.html