Walkway seeking bassist

[pete.young]

This has just popped up on joinmyband and I thought it deserved a wider audience. I know the band, they're a great bunch of lads and excellent at the style they play.

Popular established rock band Walkway, from Diss, East Anglia seek Bassist.

Busy touring schedule (shows across the UK) with paid work until the end of 2019 and gigs already booked for 2020.
PLEASE NOTE: Our tour schedule for 2019 can be shared with our current dep Bassist.

Large repertoire of original and cover material to learn.

You must be:
* Committed
* Hard working
* Take pride in what you do
* Focus on attention to detail and play to the song
* Have own quality gear
* Can drive
* Backing vocals and 5 string players are a big advantage

We want someone that wants to have fun, but strives to develop and be the best that they can be.

Male and Female Bassists welcome.
All ages considered, however personal presentation will be taken into account.

Please send all details, examples etc to: [email protected]

[status1]

Yeah I enquired a couple months back although I’ve got lovely long blond hair own teeth pro gear transport BVs and don’t mind getting the beers in at 58 years old was told I’m too old even though the ad says all ages considered,I suppose I my age was considered but was considered to old

hope the band get their man as they are one of the best bands I’ve seen for a long time when it comes to original bands

the last two great bands I can say we’re great was iron maiden  and Angelwitch,backin the day,that was when I was a keyboard man

blimey I am old

[yorks5stringer]

Err, did the last bassist walkaway?

[status1]

Anyone seriously looking for a good rock band then these guys are good

[Richard R]

Interesting question on whether a band can discriminate on grounds of age. An employer absolutely can't, and any company that explicitly said that a candidate was too old would be walking into court and out again a lot poorer.

 

[status1]

Yeah but even though I’ve got my lovely long blond hair,own teeth like women and don’t mind getting the beers in I can see where the guys are coming from it’s their loss and I’ll go see em one day as I don’t live too far away and yes you are right but there is too much cow poop nowdays so I’m not gonner let it ruin me life and I hope they get their man cos they are seriously good

[E sharp]

They are good , but whoever gets this gig , has to realise that they're just there to show off the brothers .

They've had a steady stream of Bassists and Drummers over the last 10 years - no one stays long .

[status1]

That wouldn’t bother me in the slightest as I normally get a good groove going with who ever is on sticks so it would be a good show

[frannie01]

On 11/06/2019 at 15:31, Richard R said:

Interesting question on whether a band can discriminate on grounds of age. An employer absolutely can't, and any company that explicitly said that a candidate was too old would be walking into court and out again a lot poorer.

 

Nice .... I tend to hire older musicians as in my experience the younger ones don't have the skill or the other things that go with being a pro, transport gear sound, punctuality, etc there is always something lacking. Maybe I'm being discriminatory ?

Edited November 28, 2019 by frannie01

[status1]

No you ain’t but they ain’t all lazy and stupid there are some really good enthusiastic young dudes out there that love playing 

[Monkey Steve]

On 11/06/2019 at 15:31, Richard R said:

Interesting question on whether a band can discriminate on grounds of age. An employer absolutely can't, and any company that explicitly said that a candidate was too old would be walking into court and out again a lot poorer.

 

In a legal sense, the band would not be an employer, so the legislation does not apply.  The exact circumstances haven't been tested by the Courts, but a similar case on discrimination against protected characteristics (actually on the basis of religious belief and for an artist wanting to be included in an exhibition, but it's covered by the same legislation as age discrimination and is generally held to apply to all "artists" whatever the medium) ruled that an artist is not applying for employment, but is offering their services as a freelance contractor, and so isn't covered by the Equalities Act

Edited December 3, 2019 by Monkey Steve

[Richard R]

Interesting.  So I can be discriminatory towards contractors, but not staff? That seems to be a pretty serious loophole.

Most bands aren't companies employing people, though larger and more successful bands might be. They are however legally partnerships by agreement, so I would expect similar laws to apply. I am pretty sure that there are folks on here far better equipped to talk about the legal status of a band than I am, but I did do a bit of hunting some time back. This was the best article I found, but it doesn't mention discrimination. 

http://inchbrakie.tripod.com/audiotalk-business/id18.html

 

[Monkey Steve]

the legislation (Equality Act 2010) specifically only applies to defined categories. Employees and Partners are covered.

Contractors are not, because the individuals are employed by the contractor company, not by the company who wants the services.  The fact that the "contracting company" effectively means the individual artist doesn't change this.  The artist concerned would only have a case if they were discriminating against themselves!

There's a lot of attention on this at the moment, around IR35 issues (all the stuff in the media about HMRC going after BBC presenters and Lorraine Kelley and whether they are actually self employed) and this all depends on whether the individual solely works for the employer on a permanent basis, or if they supply specific services for an agreed period with the option to take on other work.  Musicians will typically fall into the latter category, and can legitimately remain self employed.  From next April it becomes the employer's problem, not just the individual, and the market for employing people who claim to be self employed is completely closing (I spent an hour on the phone with a recruitment agency last week, 15 minutes of which were about the vacancy I have, and 45 minutes was her ranting about all of the issues she's had to become an expert in for the staff they provide, ahead of this change)

There are also exemptions where this is "justified" and that gives a lot of wiggle room for artistic endeavours and the band's opinions on who is the best fit for the position

[lowregisterhead]

On 04/12/2019 at 10:43, Monkey Steve said:

the legislation (Equality Act 2010) specifically only applies to defined categories. Employees and Partners are covered.

Contractors are not, because the individuals are employed by the contractor company, not by the company who wants the services.  The fact that the "contracting company" effectively means the individual artist doesn't change this.  The artist concerned would only have a case if they were discriminating against themselves!

There's a lot of attention on this at the moment, around IR35 issues (all the stuff in the media about HMRC going after BBC presenters and Lorraine Kelley and whether they are actually self employed) and this all depends on whether the individual solely works for the employer on a permanent basis, or if they supply specific services for an agreed period with the option to take on other work.  Musicians will typically fall into the latter category, and can legitimately remain self employed.  From next April it becomes the employer's problem, not just the individual, and the market for employing people who claim to be self employed is completely closing (I spent an hour on the phone with a recruitment agency last week, 15 minutes of which were about the vacancy I have, and 45 minutes was her ranting about all of the issues she's had to become an expert in for the staff they provide, ahead of this change)

There are also exemptions where this is "justified" and that gives a lot of wiggle room for artistic endeavours and the band's opinions on who is the best fit for the position

That's interesting, but even if there were genuine legal grounds, it would make absolutely no difference in the real world. People want what they want. Over the many years I've been playing I've been 'discriminated against' on the basis of looks, fashion sense, taste in music, hair length, age, skin colour, and instrument choice, to name just a few. But it was ever thus, and shows no signs of change, in fact in terms of undercutting on price, it's been getting much worse over the last few years. Not a profession for the faint hearted!