musicbassman Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 So, after a lot of searching for my first gig after a long lay off I've picked up a dep gig with a decent 1960's covers band, and it looks like they'll want me to join permanently. Their old bass player cannot gig any longer due to health issues. They're all v.experienced players aged 60-70 and great people. 1960's music is not really my cup of tea, but they play it very well. This is all good, but they've got far more work than I want to do - they're doing 35-40 dates a year. I'd be happy doing about 20-25. I was considering whether to suggest to them that I job share this position with another bass player (of the same standard) as a permanent arrangement. So this wouldn't mean putting a dep in, but sitting down with another suitable bass player and deciding who was playing which gigs for the next 6 months or whatever. Has anyone experience of this arrangement? Sounds fairly straightforward to me, but other ideas/warnings may be on offer from your good selves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 We’ve recently done this with our lead guitarist and as both are nice guys, very talented and with the same work ethic (learning songs thoroughly before a rehearsal, etc.) it works fine. Other members of the band have also been part of job shares in other bands and they’ve had no problems with it; it seems to be a good way of keeping everyone happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I think it sounds great at first glance. You'll have to find a bass player who wants the same as you though. If they look and they find a lad they like as much as you but he wants to do them all then your probably going to lose the gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 3 hours ago, musicbassman said: So, after a lot of searching for my first gig after a long lay off I've picked up a dep gig with a decent 1960's covers band, and it looks like they'll want me to join permanently. Their old bass player cannot gig any longer due to health issues. They're all v.experienced players aged 60-70 and great people. 1960's music is not really my cup of tea, but they play it very well. This is all good, but they've got far more work than I want to do - they're doing 35-40 dates a year. I'd be happy doing about 20-25. I was considering whether to suggest to them that I job share this position with another bass player (of the same standard) as a permanent arrangement. So this wouldn't mean putting a dep in, but sitting down with another suitable bass player and deciding who was playing which gigs for the next 6 months or whatever. Has anyone experience of this arrangement? Sounds fairly straightforward to me, but other ideas/warnings may be on offer from your good selves. Sounds perfect to me. In fact where are you and the band based? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICbass Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 If you and the other bass-player get on well and can trust each other it‘s great. It means the band have two worked in bass-players rather than one regular guy and a (potentially) rusty sub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 Thanks for your input, guys. Obviously I'll have to make sure that I don't pick someone who wants to hoover up all the gigs - but hey, I was there first - and I can't imagine mature old musos like these either wanting or needing to do this. (FYI stewblack - band mainly works Crawley/Redhill areas) 36 minutes ago, SICbass said: It means the band have two worked in bass-players rather than one regular guy and a (potentially) rusty sub. Yes SICbass - exactly - it all sounds so sensible to me - but I don't know what they'd make of the idea - might think it a bit odd. They've been together for many years, and might find the idea a bit new-fangled. You know what old people can be like..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 40 minutes ago, musicbassman said: ...You know what old people can be like..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 I do this with my 'no.2' band, in that I am first call out of 3 bass players for any gigs that come in. This involves being 100% on top of each and every diary involved, i.e. my own calendar (synched between all my devices) and those of the no.1 and no.2 bands. So far, so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 It’s an arrangement I’ve got with a jazz band I play for. If they’ve got 30 gigs over the year then me and the other 2 get 10 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I do this. The only tip I'd give is that everyone needs to be organized with their diaries and have clear communication. We have a shared Google spreadsheet, one row per gig. There are three regular bassists and we each have our own column to fill in our availability for each gig. The bandleader asks that we fill this in at least three months in advance. Then he goes through and fixes each gig. There is then another column in the spreadsheet which confirms which bassist is actually doing the gig. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 all in or nothing, leave it for another bassist who wants all the gigs. It's covers, and not even your cup of tea, plenty of bassists would jump on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 47 minutes ago, bazzbass said: all in or nothing, leave it for another bassist who wants all the gigs. It's covers, and not even your cup of tea, plenty of bassists would jump on this. The problem is, bazzbass, (and I expect many other BC'ers would agree) - it's pretty tricky finding a regular reliable well established gigging covers band, whatever style, and I would certainly rate playing 60's covers way above C&W or strict tempo. So I'm very pleased to be offered this gig, and quite happy to do it, but it's really just too many gigs to do without erasing most of my social life and the patience of Mrs Musicbassman. I know some peoples social life revolves around their band in any case, but I'm not one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Have you asked the band what they think of your idea @musicbassman ? I suppose that's the step that will tell you if it's worth pursuing or not. If I was the band leader I'd be happy with this arrangement as long as all I had to do was put the gig in the diary and between you and the other bloke a bass player would appear on the night. Not sure how I'd feel if I had to chase people about it if you know what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 3 hours ago, Les said: Have you asked the band what they think of your idea @musicbassman ? No, it's early days yet Les - I'm just depping with them at present. They may not offer me the gig in any case, but I don't think their current bass player will be returning - he's very ill indeed (Big C). It's rather a delicate subject - he's been in the band a very long time, and the guys are very upset about the situation........... I'm just trying to get some feedback from BCers about the pros and cons of job sharing if I'm offered the gig. Most responses have been along the lines of - yes, if you and the other bass player are super organised, then this should be good. And all bass players are super organised, aren't they ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 You say the gig you’ve picked up is a dep gig.....so why not just say you’re unavailable for half th gigs they offer you? Then it's down yo them to find someone else. To be honest, whether you retain the dep slot is another question, you’re just a dep, if someone else can do them all, they might get number one dep slot. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 On 3/26/2018 at 00:05, musicbassman said: So I'm very pleased to be offered this gig, and quite happy to do it, but it's really just too many gigs to do without erasing most of my social life and the patience of Mrs Musicbassman. I know some peoples social life revolves around their band in any case, but I'm not one of these. do you expect them to agree with you and drop half their gigs? they will be best served by an eager bassist that wants to play every weekend or more. You clearly have other priorities, and there is nothing wrong with that. But this is not the band for you right now. The sooner you realise this the better off you will be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmanb Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 I'm a official full time dep in a covers band .Get around 30 gigs of the 100 plus they do Would I like a few more ? Yeah .Would I want the lot ? No I enjoy it because I don't do it every weekend .I think it's coming to where they want me to take over and I have a mate in mind to share with me as a fill time job and gigs every weekend is too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmanb Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 On 25/03/2018 at 13:35, musicbassman said: The problem is, bazzbass, (and I expect many other BC'ers would agree) - it's pretty tricky finding a regular reliable well established gigging covers band, whatever style, and I would certainly rate playing 60's covers way above C&W or strict tempo. So I'm very pleased to be offered this gig, and quite happy to do it, but it's really just too many gigs to do without erasing most of my social life and the patience of Mrs Musicbassman. I know some peoples social life revolves around their band in any case, but I'm not one of these. I would make some enquiries and get someone interested then mention to the band If it's something you can manage without hassling the guy who sorts gigs money transport etc I'm sure they'll be cool with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 The band won't want 2 bass players. There's only potential trouble for them if you try to go down that route. Do the gig, ie join and be the band member. Explain that you'll have to dep out some gigs due to other commitments. Don't be specific, then you can chose which gigs you do and they can find a dep for the others. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 On 24/03/2018 at 14:25, musicbassman said: You know what old people can be like... On 24/03/2018 at 15:05, Dad3353 said: Yeah, they do take offence easily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, discreet said: Yeah, they do take offence easily. Indeed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 On 25/03/2018 at 20:16, musicbassman said: No, it's early days yet Les - I'm just depping with them at present. They may not offer me the gig in any case, but I don't think their current bass player will be returning - he's very ill indeed (Big C). It's rather a delicate subject - he's been in the band a very long time, and the guys are very upset about the situation........... I'm just trying to get some feedback from BCers about the pros and cons of job sharing if I'm offered the gig. Most responses have been along the lines of - yes, if you and the other bass player are super organised, then this should be good. And all bass players are super organised, aren't they ? A similar thing happened to me just over two years ago. Genuine sixties band, band member getting treatment for cancer - the singer this time - the others wondering if they'd have to find a singer as well as the other three roles they were looking to fill. Just to say before it is forgotten, the singer made a full recovery and is back singing. When you get to that age, you have the stamina to fight back. I was offered the role and accepted but then they went with someone else before my first practice! Later they contacted me again with the same offer. I am not one to wallow in self-pity and hold a grudge but my carer duties had grown significantly. This meant I could not deliver the commitment expected. I had to turn it down in fairness to the band. I just didn't want to become known as a flake if I had to cancel at the last minute for another domestic crisis. I wish I had thought of your job share idea then. It might have worked well. The core of band comprised of drummer, singer and guitarist. They were there playing the sixties hits as soon as they were released. They were in their late sixties and seventies too. It would have been a magnificent education for me. Ah well. I hope it works out like that for you at least. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 Thanks for your thoughtful remarks, SpondonBassed. On 30/03/2018 at 11:13, chris_b said: The band won't want 2 bass players. There's only potential trouble for them if you try to go down that route. Do the gig, ie join and be the band member. Explain that you'll have to dep out some gigs due to other commitments. Don't be specific, then you can chose which gigs you do and they can find a dep for the others. Well, chris_b, that sounds a bit harsh to me, and I don't think they'd offer me the gig on those terms - I'm sure they won't want to be phoning round trying to get another bass player if I feel like missing a gig or three. The material is quite tightly arranged and they would expect someone who had learnt the set fully and was absolutely familiar with it - segues etc. I think I would have to offer the band a good potential working arrangement - and then they would want to approve the other bass player (i.e try him/her out on a couple of gigs) before committing to this on a permanent basis. PS - I have already had a couple of BCers contact me about this - they fancy the idea of a job share also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 22 hours ago, discreet said: Yeah, they do take offence easily. Don't send 'em round here then, my fence has just cost me >£2.5k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 1 minute ago, KiOgon said: Don't send 'em round here then, my fence has just cost me >£2.5k Good Lord - you should have bought a stolen one, instead. From a fence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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