I hate most club owners

[Twisteramps]

So we played a gig in Kansas saturday. Had a decent crowd, played here before so I wrote the set list real heavy on ZZtop/Georgia Satellites/Blues stuff on the first set, a little heavier on the 2nd, and by the 3rd we were doing some Van Halen. Nothing real heavy.

We play the first set, people dig it. By the second set people are dancing, having a good time. They start asking for songs, and if we knew them, we'd play it. They wanted some Metallica, so we busted out Enter Sandman. No biggie.

End of the night, we pack up, club made money, we made money, nobody died. It was a good gig.

Drummer/booking guy gets a call this morning, it's the club. They don't want us back because we're too 'heavy' sounding. However, we were taking frickin' requests from the audience that was drinking and spending money!

*grumbles* I fuckin' hate some club owners. Only good thing about this is that it was a 90 mile or so drive, didn't pay that great to begin with, and the staff at the club were a bunch of dicks.

Pete

[diablomozart]

Re: I hate most club owners

sounds like you don't need that club anyway dude....it always kills me when club owners think they should be able to "tell bands what they should sound like"...lol...it won't be the first...and it damned sure won't be the last time either...just look at the owners like i do...frustrated musicians who never got their shot and want to take it out on those of us still doing what we love...d.m.

[Twisteramps]

Re: I hate most club owners

This guy was just hardcore country... but we played the club before and they had a copy of our song list. It wasn't like we showed up as the "good ol' blues boys brothers band" and then opened with a Slayer medley. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

[noodlesatf]

Re: I hate most club owners

So, the club owner has a house full of people drinking and dancing, and bitches about it? You should tell him that you'll rework the set next time to play lighter stuff, and then show and play a bunch of Slayer and Morbid Angel covers. Show him what heavy really means.

[donvandam]

Re: I hate most club owners

I agree with Noodles, bust out some killswitch engage and rock that place

[jgcable]

Re: I hate most club owners

That sucks Pete. I hate club owner most of all. Look on the bright side!!! My band played Friday night. Like you... we had a packed house. They were drinking. They were yelling. They were DRINKING!!!! My bass player.... under heavy negotiations.. got us to play there for FREE. Thats right. It was a packed club full of people that we brought. We get door and he negotiated a free to get in deal because it was our first solo gig. We did get a $100.00 bar tab which the drummer and I drank in the first few hours. That gig cost me some nice coin between restringing all my guitars and the whopping bar and food bill my wife ran up. The club owner was giggling like a school girl at the end of the night because he didn't have to pay us SQUAT. I wore a black shirt that night. When the gig was over my black shirt said SAP in big white letters on the front of it. Of course the club owner instantly wanted to give us another gig in January. Ponderous

The only good club owner I ever worked for was Vinny Pastore (Big Pussy from the Soprano's). My band Cage was the house band at his club The Crazy Horse in New Rochelle NY. His policy regarding bands was simple. If he made money, we made money. We never negotiated a price for a gig. If the place was empty (it never was) you were fukked. If the place was crowded with drinking people... you made a nice chunk of cash. Back in the early 80's we made a minimum of $125.00 per band member + open bar and kitchen.

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: I hate most club owners

when the people start asking that moron , "where's that cool band from last weekend" next weekend, i'm sure he'll be calling you back.

[Twisteramps]

Re: I hate most club owners

[ QUOTE ]
when the people start asking that moron , "where's that cool band from last weekend" next weekend, i'm sure he'll be calling you back.

[/ QUOTE ]

If he does, he'll be paying more. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

[horns666]

Re: I hate most club owners

You made them money , gave their customers a good time and they bitched..

Fuggum!

[pro-fusion]

Re: I hate most club owners

The only money I ever made as a musician was in Monday night blues jams at Taylor's in Eugene, Oregon, while I was in college. They charged $.50 cover and split the gate between the 30 or so musicians at the end of the night. Best I ever did was $11, and that *almost* paid for my bar tab! Of course, considering that I was only 20-years old at the time, just getting into a joint where I could drink myself silly was payment enough (college towns card very heavily). I had to get there early to sign up for the jam--before the door man showed up. Once I was in, I was in... [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

Sadly, Taylor's closed down many years ago (at least as a real bar), reputedly because guys were always dealing drugs in the room behind the stage. Geez, they never gave me any... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[StarRider]

Re: I hate most club owners

Club Owners or Shit Heads whatever you wanna call them
I never liked em, never will
I've had some cool Club Owners in the past but most thought
because you where in their club they own you!
It was a toss up with me which was worse
All the Drugs that ruined many friends, or the Club Owners
I hated them both.
The main reasons why I walked away back in 87'
F'em, there is always other places to play

[lerxstcat]

Re: I hate most club owners

The guy's probably just got a buddy who wants to get his band in there so he's making this up. If you take requests and sell drinks, that's awesome, and Enter Sandman is NOT that heavy. It's just some kind of payola/kickback/pishkesh
kinda thing, don't sweat it.

[Newc]

Re: I hate most club owners

It's amazing to me that more musicians who didn't quite get the Platinum Career (or did) haven't opened clubs for bands to play. I mean, you'd think someone would have the sense to say "Y'know, every band that comes through has to play at that same old bar and the owner's a douche and a cheat, why don't I open one and treat bands the way I wanted my band to be treated".

But it sounds more and more like "well, I had to put up with that crap when I had a band, so everyone who comes after me should have to go through it".

We've all wished that musicians ran the music business instead of money-grubbers and morons, but opening a bar is as simple as opening a beer bottle - if it's there, people will go to it. If you treat bands right, they'll come back. Good bands draw good crowds, and a good club gets good bands on a regular basis.

It's something to think about.

[Chrisb]

Re: I hate most club owners

[ QUOTE ]
It's amazing to me that more musicians who didn't quite get the Platinum Career (or did) haven't opened clubs for bands to play. I mean, you'd think someone would have the sense to say "Y'know, every band that comes through has to play at that same old bar and the owner's a douche and a cheat, why don't I open one and treat bands the way I wanted my band to be treated".

[/ QUOTE ]
I've heard the guy that runs The JAXX here in VA has a similar policy to the afformentoned Pastore. If people show, you get some cash. When I went to see Therion I saw the following day on one of the opener's websites (Brave) their singer Michelle said they never really expected to be paid for the gig cause most club owners don't so she was suprised when they got some money back. This might have to do with the fact that the guy who owns The JAXX is a musician himself so he probably knows what its like for these bands who are playing the club circuit.

The guys from Division probably can speak to wether this is always the case or not, I know they play Jaxx every once in awhile.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: I hate most club owners

Owners can be troublesome to say the least but keep in mind the guy have a set list that he knew you played before. You deviated away from that. Honestly if I was a club owner and your band broke out with Metallica we'd be having words too! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]