A RANT!

So a good friend to the Boston Blues, Brews & BBQ Blog not to mention yours truly seems to appreciate or get great amusement when I get unhinged....

So this blog posting is dedicated to ‘Jim Polecat’....

I won’t claim to be a professional musician. Our band has a semi-pro sound, but for all intents and purposes we’re really just a bunch of hacks. We take pride in our sound (Nigel and I having been indoctrinated by The Lassonde Doctrine), but we don’t rehearse a lot and we gig even more infrequently. We also do not play for money, which allows us to do things our way and play when we want to play. If a club will have us, great. If a good friend could use our help by playing with us, or wants to sit in...even better. If you’re business is flat or flagging, and you can’t afford to pay us...FINE. No biggie, a comp bar tab goes a long way with us....

Just when our band is willing to play for free and a real good friend of ours is willing to contribute a set while bringing the majority of the crowd PLEASE do not expect us to sell your food too. I mean, we’re a bar band. Our responsibility is to show up on time, be professional, help market the evening, and to playing as much music as we’re hired to play.

If you can’t even put up all of the flyers I deliver to your restaurant/bar, or can’t show up just an hour or two early to let us in to set up ahead of time can you really expect me to give a flying fuck in a rolling donut if our crowd isn’t eating your food? Also if you’re concerned underage people could potentially be drinking illegally then get off your ass and check IDs. If I am not on your payroll don’t expect me to do your work for you. It’s hard enough to make sure the responsibilities I am responsible for are covered. I am not a bouncer, I no longer have to wait on tables/bar tend, and I have seen enough family I care about chewed up and spit out while making the sacrifices needed to own a successful bar/restaurant. I am merely just a guy who can play a little harp, sing a little and play some drums who has had the smarts enough to surround himself with better musicians with similar goals (which would be none)....

Really it is so infrequent I can say The Infamous Nigel is the voice of reason it was just worth making a post about it.

Oh, and not that I want to name the names of the guilty....but musicians have a great network and talk frequently. This stuff gets around much quicker than you imagine.