Our singer is leaving.....and he owns the PA!!

Tuscan777

Like most on here I've been in bands for longer than I care to remember, so people leaving is nothing new. But, having to source a new chap and then deal with all the pa shenanigans is pushing me to pursue my Rockabilly trio dream....

Frustratingly, it's all been brought about by other members of the band taking what the vocalist does for granted (supply pa/run soundcheck/ lots of other general management bits) leading to frustration and, finally, a resignation email.

I don't know, people eh?!

Thanks for allowing the vent...onwards and upwards!

slacker

I must admit I checked your location because I'll have him in my band. I sing in my band because vocalists are generally useless, don't own a microphone and wont help with gear setup (anecdotal evidence).

I would seriously consider dumping the band and forming a new one with the vocalist.

dindude

I've nothing to offer other than I like the Jeremy Kyle style thread title.

Tuscan777

Thing is, there are 2 vocalists in the band and the second does exactly that, nowt! Last to turn up, first to leave and owns no equipment. As you can imagine, the other guy has been getting hacked off for a while, and has mentioned it many times.

Yes, we are looking at doing exactly that once this years gigs are done and dusted!

Tuscan777

dindude said:

I've nothing to offer other than I like the Jeremy Kyle style thread title.

DNA results after this break....

Jimbro66

slacker said:

I would seriously consider dumping the band and forming a new one with the vocalist.

/\ /\ What he said. A vocalist who provides a pa, actively promotes the band and doesn't sod off with the most attractive woman at the end of the gig while everyone else is left clearing the band equipment is worth his weight in gold. Handcuff him to your wrist.

EricTheWeary

The band I left a few years ago had the PA owned by the singist ( actually not strictly true it belongs to his employer) and he would graft. Let's face it not a great singer really but he ticked every other box. But then trying to put something else together - finding a front person and what will do for PA,etc, was an obvious headache and my project just never came together. So, the current band is that old singer again with the PA plus the old band's original drummer and a couple of waifs and strays.
So, yes, give some thought to following that singer. 

Tuscan777

Cheers chaps, I'm on it!

I've been seeing this coming for a while and, like @EricTheWeary our guy is an ok singer, but is a good frontman and loves his pa gubbins (recently splashed out on some all singing, iPad enabled mixing thingamy...), just got hacked off with others showing no interest.

He did suggest, albeit lightheartedly, that he should take a slightly bigger cut of the cash given that he was always the first there, had to set-up the PA alone, mix the sound and adjust levels as required throughout etc. I could certainly see his point, but was the lone voice on that front!

Danny1969

All the bands I'm in, well 4 out of the 5 I'm in have PA's owned by the band. Bringing your average 2 x bins and 2 x tops with stands, desk and amp plus monitors etc is a lot of kit for someone to bring so we operate vans and the kit gets left in the vans. Otherwise it's twice as much loading \ unloading
Everyone use's the PA so it's only really fair that everyone pays for it. Ten gigs worth of putting the money in the kitty is enough for a pretty decent PA  so it's no massive hardship 

Tuscan777

Try telling that to the 2 members of the band that rely on the cash far too much....I did, it didn't end well!

Jimbro66

/\ And when someone decides to leave the band and wants their money from the shared pa........ Been there, seen that. Never pretty.

Roland

@Tuscan777 Why not go with the singer and find a new rhythm section?

Who "owns" the band name and/or runs the website? You may be in the position to take this with you, and the current bookings. In those circumstances it should be easy to find other musicians.

slacker

Jimbro66 said:

/\ And when someone decides to leave the band and wants their money from the shared pa........ Been there, seen that. Never pretty.

That's why I own or will own everything. I'm not going to buy a massive pa but something to do smaller gigs.

I've turned the small bedroom into a rehearsal room with a Roland kit, bass amp and two guitar amps.

Danny1969

Tuscan777 said:

Try telling that to the 2 members of the band that rely on the cash far too much....I did, it didn't end well!

Well I rely on the cash myself .... ever since deciding to skint myself by building the worlds most unprofitable recording studio I basically gig to put food on the table ...  I've got 4 gigs booked in this week, by the end of July I will have done 17 in the month. No one likes gig money more than me
There's 2 things that will earn a band more money than their peers,  one is  being tight and well rehearsed, the other is sounding professional because they are using good PA equipment and preferably a good sound guy too. All the other stuff we fret about on here, what drive pedal and what pickups etc is pretty much irreverent to a bands earning potential but the quality of your PA and how is presents you is very important and well worth the investment .... because you will get the money back 

Tuscan777

Getting a band of 4 to agree stuff like this is hard enough, with 8 of us it's nigh on impossible.

There's been trouble brewing for a while - those who are happy to take any gig offered, so long as there is cash involved set against those (me included) who would rather be a bit more selective, sacrifice bigger cash for better marketing ops, audiences etc.

We all have our priorities, sadly none of these will be met by hacking off the singer with the PA...

Tuscan777

Danny1969 said:

Tuscan777 said:

Try telling that to the 2 members of the band that rely on the cash far too much....I did, it didn't end well!

There's 2 things that will earn a band more money than their peers,  one is  being tight and well rehearsed, the other is sounding professional because they are using good PA equipment and preferably a good sound guy too. All the other stuff we fret about on here, what drive pedal and what pickups etc is pretty much irreverent to a bands earning potential but the quality of your PA and how is presents you is very important and well worth the investment .... because you will get the money back 

Cheers for the wise words, wiz awarded.

ESBlonde

Oh god, the old PA and work share woes.

Had an 8 piece soul band with two girl singers plus a sax and trumpet. For the band to sound good it required a powerful and clear PA with good quality monitors. Back in the day I built a 6k rig (sub, 2x12 and horns) and 2.5k monitors (4 wedges,4 independent mixes) I aquired all the stuff and built the rig whiilst learning how to optimise it. I found myself loading, storing, humping, setting up and generally getting frayed before I'd played a note -m or even got the guitar out of the case. We had words! eEveryone likes the results but the input was less popular, I stopped running about getting the gigs and gave everyone a job in setup/break down of the setup. I also made a small charge per gig for ware and tear (£35) bearing in mind that was less than half of what anyone was paid. I paid for the gear by doing sound and lights for other big gigs and mini festivals.
For me it was great being a part of something very successful and I do enjoy the technical challenge or building and operating a big 3 way rig withe the early digital contollers. But the physical aspects took their toll and I took longer to recover the following days. We worked the money out so that those that turned up to rig and soundcheck got more and those that walked in late with a tambourine got less. the money was always good, it's just that some earned more.
In the end some resented the work they had to do and didn't need the money particularly (affluent middle age). The band got less work because I didn't actively chase it and no one else would either so eventually it folded, some went off to have an easier life without all the gear and hassel, that ended in doing a few 'freebee' charity things and a couple of badly paid gigs.
You have to remember you are competing with live DVDs and big concerts, so a dodgy 1x12 with piezos and a 150w amp is woeful in todays market.

hotpickups

God I have sooo been here. Thankfully my new band lineup helps with the setting up and packing away of the PA which I own. A band has got to be a team effort or it will fail.

IvisonGuitars

I recently dep'd for a pals band, a 4 piece acoustic band with 2 female singers. I was shocked when I got to the first gig to find my pal setting up all the PA (he also owns it) and the girls nowhere to be seen. Hour before kick off they arrive, (to be fair they both own their own mic) do the set, take an equal share of the fee then bugger off, leaving my pal to pack down the pa and load the car etc. 

The second show was in an upstairs room, same situation, so I purposely arrived early to help him load in. Finish the set and, to be fair, the one lady helped load out...while the other sat at a table and painted her nails. 

I told him he was a better man than I for putting up with it.

slacker

@miserneil I depped for a mate's band a while back and they had a huge PA and lights. The two female and slender singers carried all the heavy stuff and got pissed off with me for taking it off them. Some people understand the concept of other people and some don't. 

Moe_Zambeek

I used to gig with a female singer who wasn't keen on helping out. I never minded them not moving the gear, but it did annoy me if they couldn't even be bothered to hold the door or watch the van.

to be fair, the keyboard player was worse, to the point it was a running joke even with the audience that he was a lazy sod. Being a tad self-obsessed I don't think he ever figured out people were laughing at him.