I may have to sacrifice a drummer to the Pyramid!

[trag-o-caster]

Nevermind the Pyramid (see GREEN blinking light thread).

We've been booked to play the Genesee County Fair for months. We play tommorrow, and the next day.

Last night at the gig, our drummer (who does about 50% of the vocals too) tells me "I can't make it man. I'm playing with so and so out in Lapeer". Now, today I have to find a replacement drummer, and NO ONE IS AVAILABLE! :evil:

This drummer has done this to me before, and fairly regularly, over the years. I've gone a couple years without working with him because of this kind of behavior. He's a great drummer, and an astounding singer - he knows it, and expects the whole world to kiss his a$$ accordingly. I'm sick of it.

He's been a friend over the years too, but it's time for me to tell him off.

This is an important gig for me. I have many family and friends that will be there. My kids are going to be there. Now, if I can't find a replacement (which is likely because all the drummers that I know are working on Saturday), I may have to cancel the whole shebang, which means I'll probably never be invited to play the county fair again.

Several years ago this same drummer didn't turn up for a gig. The club owner was drunk and belligerant, wanted to fight me, and demanded that I leave his establishment WITHOUT OUR GEAR! He was going to hold our gear hostage because the drummer didn't show!

The drummer has also pulled no shows at gigs that he's booked for us.

I told everyone in the band last night (except the drummer) to enjoy tonights gig, because if he doesn't show for the fair, I'm not working with him ever again.

I see why drum machines are so popular.

[Dana]

Sounds like a jerk. If you really wanted to push the envelope you could take him to small claims court and sue for breach of contract. You may not win but he would sure as H%%% would send him a message, and he would think twice about doing it again.

[PraiseCaster]

Trag, that is a tough one. Tough in the sense that you have to go through it, pretty straight forward, in what you gotta do.

You've had this gig booked for quite a long time, and now at the last moment, when it's nearly impossible to find a replacement, Mr Prima-Donna bails on you, and it aint the first time he's pulled the "I'm Special, what you gonna do?" card from the deck.

I wouldnt get nasty, but I'd tell him, that his reliability, is horrendous, and that is why his services are no longer needed. I would also say, if anyone asks about your services (highly unlikely), I will tell them good drummer, good singer, but definitely, dont count on him when its important. He'll bail on you, like he did us.

[PraiseCaster]

.....and the A<font color=green>G</font>QP (the Almighty <font color=green>GREEN</font> Qutation Pyramid, for those who do not know: why you dont know, is unfathomable), would spit him out, like a bad potato!

[Joel66]

Trag--
If I could make it to Michigan, I'd play for ya in a heartbeat. The only drummers that come to mind are Willie McCoy (aka Wayne McComb), and Chuck Nelson. I played with Willie for 3 or 4 yrs in Clio at Beull Lake Patio Pub. The last I heard, he still lived in Clio. I played with Chuck for almost a year before I played with Willie. The last I knew of, Chuck lived in Flint.

If you can get in touch with Sylvia Jo, she may know how to get in touch with Chuck. She'd probably know of other drummers too.

Good Luck,
Joel

[eryque]

I happen to know a very good and very reliable drummer, but he lives in upstate New York. I happen to know that he's not working, so if you wanted to buy him a ticket I'm sure he'd love to do the gig :-)

[e-merlin]

Well, I suppose you could pull the old switcheroo on him. Find another drummer behind his back and when the old drummer shows up for the gig tell him his services are no longer required.

[trag-o-caster]

First, Joel - I know Wayne McComb VERY well. We've gigged together a lot over the years, but I haven't seen him in a few years. He seemed to have quite a drinking problem. The last time that I used him, he was too drunk to play, so I stopped inviting him. BTW he REALLY doesn't want anyone to know that his REAL name is Wayne McComb - sorry Willie-boy! Now your reputation is ALL OVER THE INTERNET!

I'm not familiar with the other name that you mentioned.

Sylvia Jo is a dear friend of my dad - her husband, Gabby Borrough (sp?) is a MONSTER Tele player! He was the best in town when I was a kid, according to my dad. You must know old man Cliff too. He's 84, or 85, still drinks like a fish, is married to a 22 year old, cheats on her at every opportunity, and occasionally joins the other musicians in the parking lot for "Break Time Festivities". He worked for Leo Fender in the 50's, jammed with Les Paul and Jimmy Bryant - does that guy ever have some stories to tell! He can STILL play all of us young whippersnappers into the ground!

I've got a guy named Chad AKA "Fido" (last name???) to play the first set or two, and then my regular drummer will be there to take over. Chad is great, and we used to teach together at the same music store. We've gigged together quite a bit, so he knows my usual routine (which is to keep my bandmates guessing!).

We'll be there the next day too, and after that is over - I'm telling that drummer off. There's some rooms in town that won't let me play anymore because of his stunts, and I can't afford to have my own reputation tainted any further because of his unreliability.

I'll let everyone here know how it went.

Wish me luck!

[Joel66]

Trag-- I'm glad that you've got it worked out. I even called my ex-wife to get some drummers numbers. Her new boyfriend is a musician. No luck though. By the way, WillieWayne McCoyComb used to date my ex's aunt. From all reports, he quit drinking almost 2 yrs ago. I hope he's still clean.

As for Gabby.......he's the reason I wanted to take up the tuba.....or the accordian....anything but the guitar. LOL. I remember watching him and Lindy Larson trade licks in an "Oh yeah, watch this" kind of way many times. Man, that was something to see, and hear. I think I remember Cliff, but I'm not sure.

I hope it goes great for y'all. Good luck.

Joel

[trag-o-caster]

Gabby and Lindy playing twin harmonys on "Sugarfoot Rag". That was JAWDROPPING!

Ever heard Mike Keil (sp?) on steel guitar? He's the best that I ever seen in front of my face. I've had the extreme pleasure of jamming with him a couple times. He's so amazing that it's almost impossible to play next to him!

We've got some great players here in the Flint area, except no one knows about it, and you just can't get people to come out to hear live music anymore.

I hold the record in this town for the musician most replaced by karoake.

[Charlie Bernstein]

don't bet more than i want to lose.

so? re gigs: don't book 'em unless you can live with having it fall through. re personnel: don't have anyone in the band with the capacity to screw it up more than you want it to get screwed up.

in fact, i have a gig tomorrow night with an old friend who's a fantastic but unreliable drummer. (if a better offer comes up, he's outa there. sound familiar?) if he doesn't show up, we'll play without him. and have fun. and show the audience a great time. (saw john mayall in '69, and he had a full, rockin' band with no drummer. frankly, it would've been redundant. "room to move" brought down the house.)

hey - i'm no pro - just a struggling day-job grunt. but i've played enough gigs (and and learned enough from life in the non-music world) to know that if you're getting enough jobs that a flaky band member is damaging your reputation or livelihood (or happiness), then you're getting enough jobs to attract players who will take the band seriously. right? so sticking with the flake is self-sabotage. kamikazi is a full-time job - you have to choose between that or being a working musician.

gently but firmly dump mr. uncool, and find someone cool to take his place.

prima donnas and artistes need not apply!

[Joel66]

Originally Posted by trag-o-caster

Gabby and Lindy playing twin harmonys on "Sugarfoot Rag". That was JAWDROPPING!

Ever heard Mike Keil (sp?) on steel guitar? He's the best that I ever seen in front of my face. I've had the extreme pleasure of jamming with him a couple times. He's so amazing that it's almost impossible to play next to him!

Jawdropping is an understatement.

As for Mike, he is something else. I played with him a few times. Another steel player that I enjoyed playing with was Billy Cole. I played with Billy and Johnny Lorrison (Lindy's son) quite a bit.

I have a feeling that you and I have a few musician friends in common. Here's a few people that I've played with that you may know:

Tim Taylor (guitar) (not the one from 'Tool Time either ), Kevin Smith (guitar and drums), Marty Campbell (guitar), John Cook (keys), Rick Williams (drums), Dave Kimber (amazing keys), Ed Bernard (guitar and bass)

I'm drawing a blank on names right now.

I hope the gig went great today, and that tomorrow's goes even better.

Joel (feeling kinda homesick now)

[trag-o-caster]

Tim Taylor, Kevin Smith, and Marty Campbell are all good friends of mine. The last time I heard either Tim or Marty they both sounded better than ever. They must've been woodshedding or something. They were good before, and they were just great when I heard them last.

Did you know bassist Lee Mahnke? He had a stroke on the bandstand with me a couple years ago.

Billy Cole is great. I hear he had a heart attack and is not playing at all anymore.

Tonights drummer fiasco took a turn for the worst. The replacement drummer called me on my cell phone right at starting time to tell me that his room mate borrowed his car, and he had no way to get there. So, he called a few drummers and sent in this guy that I used to jam with when I was about 15. Well, he was a total heavy metal maniac all through the 80's - big hair and spandex. Well he got there in time for us to be an hour late starting. And his playing pretty much ruined the gig. It was embarrassing. I had my in-laws out there, and they'd never seen me play before. The people in charge are P.O'd at me for all that happened, and they're docking our pay. Tomorrow my regular Mr. Prima Donna drummer is supposed to be back.

When tomorrow's gig is over - that's it. I'm done. No more band. No more gigs.

[Joel66]

I'm sorry to hear that last nights gig went so bad. Maybe today's performance will help smooth things a little with the people in charge. (am I allowed to refer to them as "the dockers", or is that a copyright infringement with Levi Strauss Co.? *grin*)

I played with Tim Taylor at Beull Lake for a while. I loved it but the keyboard player hated it. He said Tim was "too rock and roll". I sat in with Kevin at a few different clubs in Flint. The last I heard, he'd moved to Nashville and was working at a music store.

Marty was one of my groomsmen in 97. I sat in with him more times than I could count. He was the first person to change pup's for me in my first Tele. He put a Pre-B1 in the bridge of my 87 Squier. I remember that he didn't have it done by that weekend so he told me to just "take one of my guitars". I chose his sunburst Tele (a 76 or 78, I don't remember). I loved that guitar. It had hardly any finish left on the upper body, and not a lot left on the lower half. He filled in with us a couple of times at Beull Lake. He played the night I got married. I wasn't "allowed" to take my wedding night off from the band. The keyboard player let me have, I believe, the last half of the night off. Of course I found out later that the keyboard player and my, then, fiance` had developed a really "special friendship" at a local park and motel.

I hate to hear about Lee and Billy. They were both great to play with. I remember one Halloween at the WagonWheel. Billy was onstage in a rubber mask and had to keep lifting the mask to drain the sweat out of it. On break we went into the men's room and I gave him a quick makeover........ Peter Criss' makeup. The look on Sylvia Jo's face was priceless.

When tomorrow's gig is over - that's it. I'm done. No more band. No more gigs.

I don't really know what to say to this. It's probably not my place to give advice or an unwarranted opinion.........but........if this wasn't planned already to be the 'swan song' for the band, all I can say is please think it over some more. I heard y'all at the Otisville Hotel years back........you blew me away then. I can only imagine that y'all are even better now.

Joel

[trag-o-caster]

What good is a great band, when you can't depend on the members to behave even semi-professionally. Danny McCree is the reason why we were fired from the Otisville Hotel after playing there for about 8 years. They won't have me back - even with a different drummer. Now, Danny can get another band and play there if HE wants, but the bar owner holds ME responsible. Not only can I never play there again, according to the bar owner I'm supposedly barred from there. All because Danny decided to not show at all one night. It was nasty too. The bar owner was drunk and ready to fight. He was screaming at me in front of a packed house waiting for us to go on. He insisted that I leave now, and wasn't going to let me take my equipment down or anything. "Leave now, or I'm calling the police". Well suffice to say, I pulled my gear out anyway, while he was screaming.

Regardless of how "great" the band is, I shouldn't have to put up with that. I'd be better off with a bunch of hacks backing me up.

[Joel66]

My post above is a clear indication of why a "counselor" is not a possible venue of employment for me. I didn't mean it to offend in any way. My sincere apologies if it did.

If the bar owner at the Hotel was named Jerry.......I've seen "that" side of him too.

What good is a great band, when you can't depend on the members to behave even semi-professionally.

I agree wholeheartedly. We were playing at Beull Lake when the drummer at the time got ticked off and pulled his drums 5 mins before starting time. Unfortunately, he also owned the p.a. We played that night without a drummer and with me singing through the keyboard amp. Talk about embarrassing.

Also at Beull Lake I made my drumming debut when a different drummer showed up just in time for the 2nd set. I played the first set. When we started to walk onstage for the 2nd set, he fell and knocked my Iceman off it's stand. Seems he had a little bit to drink before he got to the club. He sat in the audience and played tamborine, I played drums for the rest of the night.

In closing, I'm definately a "hack musician"......so if I ever get back up that way I'd gladly back you up.

Joel

[trag-o-caster]

Jerry it is!

Bingo!

[Joel66]

I helped a friend out with his karaoke (don't shoot me) gig at the Hotel. I remember Jerry throwing ice at the stage twice. Once at the guy I was helping, and once at a guy that had gotten up to sing. Jerry didn't think their singing was up to par, and he let that be known quite well.

[stantheman]

what a SCUMBAG OF THE 1ST ORDER this guy is....
never deal with him again, socially, professionally....
and never give him the satisfaction of knowing what
You're thinking....wait....and when it's absolutely the
defining moment....then....and if it's really perfect it'll
be so subtle that "the burn" will hardly be noticeable
at first....like when The Titanic hit the 'berg...a tinkling
of the Champagne glasses....
and remember "time wounds all heals".
This is the reason I so admire John Lee Hooker,
no band needed....John Lee was a genius on so many
levels, he even beat the record companies...GENIUS 8) .

[trag-o-caster]

Well, it was quite difficult playing with the guy yesterday at the fair. The other guys in the band BEGGED me not to tell him off. So, I played the gig, got it over with, apologized profusely to the powers that be, and off I went to my next gig (jam night at the Fenton Road Tavern - two gigs in one day). Lo and behold - Danny's there! I played with every drummer in the house EXCEPT him. Larry McCray came in, and I usually get up and trade licks with him, but Danny was up on the drums, and I just went outside and hung out with the "Parking Lot Crew" while they played. I can't even look at the guy.

His significant other was there, and she kicked off the conversation with me about what he'd done. She's P.O.'d at him too. I told her "Apparently I didn't give him enough notice - he's only known about it since before Christmas".

Danny has literally booked gigs, forgot about it, and we'd all show up, set up, no Danny. Couldn't be reached by phone, and we had to call in another substitute drummer. Of course we started WAYYY late.

It's time for that to end.

[shakedancer]

I can feel for you! But on the same hand and i'm sure you know, you have no one but yourself to blame. With this guys history you should have kissed him goodbye a long time ago. You should have smacked him a long time ago.

[Rob Rent]

You are NOT a victim in this.....as a matter of fact....you aren't even an "ignorant volunteer".....You have asked for and stood in line waiting for anything and everything this drummer might do. You have allowed optimism triumph over experience and knowledge....and have no right to be surprised or upset...as you've pointed out he's done this time and time again.....NOBODY plays good enough or sings good enough to behave that way and keep a job....AND if you hire him again....You deserve whatever it is he does....
Having said all of the above....I'm sorry you've chosen to put yourself in this and I hope thintgs are bettr next time...