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

EricTheWeary

The female keyboard player in my old band never helped with anything, last to arrive first to leave. No one ever really said anything so I took it that's how it was. Our current female player though chips in as much as anyone. Although our drummer's kit box is so heavy he's the only one can lift that. He's in his sixties and recovering from a heart attack so the rest of us are a bunch of pen pushing softies. 

ICBM

I've experienced most varieties too - sometimes it's better if they don't help... some people are just not naturally coordinated at carrying and setting up stuff, and they can get in the way, slow the rest of you down and actually make more work for you when they try.

Some of them bring so much to the band in other ways that they can be forgiven for not pulling their weight with the physical stuff... you just have play it by ear. Ones who don't do their bit and don't contribute much otherwise can get lost though.

I found that a handy way of getting certain people to move their own gear was simply to not do it for them. If they didn't want their gear just left at the gig they were going to have to carry it to the car themselves, since the rest of us had all agreed not to... it doesn't take long for the message to get through when it's very clear that the only things that haven't been brought out are the certain person's guitar and amp.

EricTheWeary

I like to get my guitar stuff set up and checked but for many gigs I can't really do that until the drums and PA are basically set up so it's in my own interests to help with those even if I didn't want to. At the end the dosh doesn't get split until everything is put away so that's an incentive that end! 
The shared ownership of the PA thing is a mare that I won't get back into for pub level bands. 

slacker

ICBM said:

I've experienced most varieties too - sometimes it's better if they don't help... some people are just not naturally coordinated at carrying and setting up stuff, and they can get in the way, slow the rest of you down and actually make more work for you when they try.

Some of them bring so much to the band in other ways that they can be forgiven for not pulling their weight with the physical stuff... you just have play it by ear. Ones who don't do their bit and don't contribute much otherwise can get lost though.

I found that a handy way of getting certain people to move their own gear was simply to not do it for them. If they didn't want their gear just left at the gig they were going to have to carry it to the car themselves, since the rest of us had all agreed not to... it doesn't take long for the message to get through when it's very clear that the only things that haven't been brought out are the certain person's guitar and amp.

If someone ie singer doesnt have any gear of their own I can understand (not condone) why they wouldnt want to carry anything. What I dont understand is people who dont carry their own gear. I played bass in a am dram band and the guitarist expected the leader singer to carry the guitar amp for him, she was pregnant. 

Your first point is spot on, sometimes it's easier to do it yourself, but their are ways of helping. I did lots of gigs with a very short set up time. The drummer and I had a system where we would haul the boxes to the stage and then I would unload all the drums and stands lay them on the floor and get rid of the cases whilst he assembled the kit.

I did a lot of stuff for a keyboard player. He couldnt drive. So he would lay all the stuff on the floor by the tailgate and let me load the car. He tried to help loading once. 

IvisonGuitars

slacker said:

ICBM said:

I've experienced most varieties too - sometimes it's better if they don't help... some people are just not naturally coordinated at carrying and setting up stuff, and they can get in the way, slow the rest of you down and actually make more work for you when they try.

Some of them bring so much to the band in other ways that they can be forgiven for not pulling their weight with the physical stuff... you just have play it by ear. Ones who don't do their bit and don't contribute much otherwise can get lost though.

I found that a handy way of getting certain people to move their own gear was simply to not do it for them. If they didn't want their gear just left at the gig they were going to have to carry it to the car themselves, since the rest of us had all agreed not to... it doesn't take long for the message to get through when it's very clear that the only things that haven't been brought out are the certain person's guitar and amp.

.....the guitarist expected the leader singer to carry the guitar amp for him, she was pregnant. 

WTF?! 

slacker

miserneil said:

slacker said:

ICBM said:

I've experienced most varieties too - sometimes it's better if they don't help... some people are just not naturally coordinated at carrying and setting up stuff, and they can get in the way, slow the rest of you down and actually make more work for you when they try.

Some of them bring so much to the band in other ways that they can be forgiven for not pulling their weight with the physical stuff... you just have play it by ear. Ones who don't do their bit and don't contribute much otherwise can get lost though.

I found that a handy way of getting certain people to move their own gear was simply to not do it for them. If they didn't want their gear just left at the gig they were going to have to carry it to the car themselves, since the rest of us had all agreed not to... it doesn't take long for the message to get through when it's very clear that the only things that haven't been brought out are the certain person's guitar and amp.

.....the guitarist expected the leader singer to carry the guitar amp for him, she was pregnant. 

WTF?! 

I know. I carried the amp. Luckily for his teeth count it was at the venue with witnesses. It was the last in a series of dick moves by a total moron. I was doing the band leader a favour otherwise I would have bailed. 

John_P

A couple of rules I try to stick by -  we all arrive and leave at the same time and everyone contributes,  fair enough if there is an emergency but I think it's rude to leave before the rest of the band have finished packing up.    
Great if everyone helps carry gear and it doesn't have to be the heavy stuff but if you don't then at least book gigs, promote them, buy gear or do something for the band.   If someone doesn't have that all in it together attitude then they can find another band.    
I just sacked a bass player last week for this - amazing player, get gear, turns up on time so all good but just contributed nothing and moaned all the time making gigs harder work instead of fun.

Tuscan777

Thanks guys, seems I'm not alone with this!

Whilst he rarely complained until it was too late, the singer used to bring alll the PA, including monitoring, with him, unlload, set-up and then run the soundcheck. However, when he occasionally got the hump some people thought he was incredibly unreasonable. His point was that, whilst he was happy to bring it along, we all used it in some form or another, so wanted more engagement generally.

It's a shame it came to this, he is a decent guy, an ok singer, good frontman and owns a shedload of quallity pa gear....I'm starting a new band with him once this year's gigs are out of the way, and would hope to continue in the current set-up too, I just can't see how it will function unless we find someone with exactly the same attributes as the last guy, which is a million to one shot in reallity.

Hey-ho, band life....!

Moe_Zambeek

ICBM said:

...

I found that a handy way of getting certain people to move their own gear was simply to not do it for them. If they didn't want their gear just left at the gig they were going to have to carry it to the car themselves, since the rest of us had all agreed not to... it doesn't take long for the message to get through when it's very clear that the only things that haven't been brought out are the certain person's guitar and amp.

A certain person of my acquaintance would have left the gear in question at the venue on purpose, then waited till we were back at the studio to start whinging and claim victimisation, then would spend the next 4 years going on about it and still never move their own gear

midlifecrisis

im the guitarist in my band and also full owner of the pa,  the drummer moans if we dont help him load/unload his kit but is slow helping me with the pa., ive  left my band this week but said il do two gigs we have in 2 weeks time, then they are without me (havnt got any gigs for a month), I dont think its occured to them they wont have my pa anymore, if they ask nicely i might lend it to them subject for me needing it for my new band.