The First Tour of 2012 - blog #2 (day 9)
Driving Stats:
Miles Driven - 1391
Average Speed - 50 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 43.3
Driving Time - 28 hours, 6 minutes (1 day, 4 hours, 6 minutes)
At the end of the last entry, I was heading out for the first Pittsburgh show of the tour, on Thursday night. It was at a place called Cadillac Ranch. It's not exactly a concert venue, so I wasn't expecting too much. But I usually expect there to be some portion of the audience that claps after songs. Aside from my parents, who headed home after the first set, it was a no-applause sort of night. The venue paid well, so it's a worthwhile gig, but those shows can be emotionally draining. So I finished the gig, and got ready to pack things up. A table of women were actually paying attention from time to time, and one of them bought two cds after I finished playing. And the manager came up to me to say that he wanted me back, and that a lot of people were making good comments to him throughout the night. I guess people don't want to be bothered to slap their hands together any more...
Well, I guess that depends on the venue, because Friday night's show was wonderful. It was a fundraiser, so I wasn't guaranteed any compensation. But the audience is such a music-loving crowd that it is worth the gamble to perform there. I wound up selling 10 cds that night, after playing for only 30 minutes (and not having to set up a sound system and pack and unpack all my gear in my car). It's a difficult thing for me to take non-paying gigs, because it leaves me with an uncertainty as to what I might earn for those shows. But there is the flip-side situation, where some of these shows are in front of the audiences that I need to be playing for. It's a difficult thing to balance and figure out from city to city.
On that Friday afternoon, I was also reunited with my wife and baby son, Keenan. They've been coming out to most of the shows. I unfortunately had to leave both of them at my mom-in-law's place east of Pittsburgh after Friday's show, while I had to (or thought I had to) head to the South Hills so that I would be closer to the venue for my Saturday lunchtime show. There is overnight construction happening at the dreaded Squirrel Hill Tunnels, which made what should have been an hour drive take about 30 minutes longer, and put me to bed later than I was hoping. Here's a photo from the interwebs.
Saturday was to be my first two-show day of the tour. The first show was in the cafe area of a popular supermarket chain. I arrived early enough to unpack my car and set up my PA. About fifteen minutes before my set time, a woman arrived, carrying some music gear as I was plugging my mic in and getting ready to sound check. This results in one of the worst feelings that a performer (especially a touring one) can have, as I figured that the date was double-booked. I had my iPod on me, and was able to access the emails I had sent and received for booking the date, so I figured that all was well. The woman who arrived didn't have access to any of her emails or other correspondence. But a staff person came out to talk to us, and told us that it probably wasn't actually an accidental double-booking, but rather a deliberate double-booking, with each of us playing opposite ends of the location (it's a very large place, so there wouldn't be any overlapping sound). This staff person called a manager, however, who came and immediately told me that I was not on the schedule and would therefore not get paid. I explained to him that I had the confirmation email, and that I was on tour from Nashville, but this made no effect on the man. He said he would call the woman who booked us, and come back with a final verdict. In the meantime, several of my friends had begun gathering, as they had come out to catch a set or two. The only thing making this uncomfortable situation more uncomfortable was having to go through it with a bunch of people looking on.
So, it took about 30 minutes (we were now over 20 minutes into the performance time), and the woman and I (and everyone else) were just waiting. I didn't want to take down all my gear, in case I was still going to perform. But I had a very bad feeling. Since the manager seemed to be taking a while, I decided to call the contact I had for the show. She was apparently on vacation, so I left a message. This show was the first (and probably the last) one that I had booked through this person, who works for an entertainment agency in Pittsburgh. The woman who was also booked for the show informed me that it wasn't the first double-booking that she had experienced for this venue. When the manager came back, he said he talked to the booking person (the contact that I had booked through), and she told him that I was not on the schedule. Meanwhile, I had left her a message, explaining that I had the confirmation email up on my iPod. Anyway, I was told that I would not get paid for the show (the more understanding venues pay both performers on a double-booking the amount that was agreed upon, and have them both perform). It would have been nice if someone had stopped me before unloading my car and setting up my PA. So I proceeded to unplug all of my gear and undo the setting up that I had done. While I was unplugging things, I got a call back from the booking person, who tried to tell me that the situation was my fault. She said that I should have followed up with her closer to the date of the event to be sure that I was on the schedule, even though we had confirmed the date. She mentioned that her computer crashed in February, and she lost all of her spreadsheets. She wouldn't have lost our emails, though, and even if she did lose her spreadsheets, I don't see how that would be my fault. This was not a good first gig-booking experience with this contact. I asked her if I would be getting any compensation, and she said she would "see about getting me something." This means, of course, that I won't be getting compensated.
I went out to an early lunch with my parents and brother, and drowned my sorrows in some pasta. Then I headed back to my mother-in-law's to be with the rest of my family. Keep in mind that I didn't even have to leave them the previous night because of the double-booking situation.
Thanks for letting me vent. I deal with a decent amount of inconvenient back-and-forth driving due to show availabilities when I'm on tour, so to have to do it for no reason is very frustrating. Speaking of, this whole first tour has been a pretty frustrating one. Along with Saturday's double-booking turned cancellation, I had two other cancellations just weeks before the start of the tour (which means that I had next to no chance of refilling those dates). One cancellation was due to an ownership change, which happens from time to time, and is somewhat unavoidable. Another one was due to construction in the area of the venue - another unavoidable situation. But in this case, the people I booked through knew about the situation for a month before they told me about it. In fact, I had to call them to get someone to tell me about it, and when I called, I was told that it was on their calendar to call me the week prior, but that they just didn't get around to it. I generally have about 2 cancellations a year, so to have 3 for a two-week tour is kind of infuriating.
Hopefully we're just getting all of this nonsense out of the way now, instead of throughout the rest of the year.
That night, I performed at what has become my regular venue east of Pittsburgh - Pizza Siena in Greensburg.
.
.
.
My wife and Keenan and I headed out early to grab dinner there, and to set up. A number of familiar faces came out for the show (or maybe just to meet Keenan for the first time), and it was a decent night, though I was still pretty bummed out by the events of earlier in the day.
Miles Driven - 1391
Average Speed - 50 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 43.3
Driving Time - 28 hours, 6 minutes (1 day, 4 hours, 6 minutes)
At the end of the last entry, I was heading out for the first Pittsburgh show of the tour, on Thursday night. It was at a place called Cadillac Ranch. It's not exactly a concert venue, so I wasn't expecting too much. But I usually expect there to be some portion of the audience that claps after songs. Aside from my parents, who headed home after the first set, it was a no-applause sort of night. The venue paid well, so it's a worthwhile gig, but those shows can be emotionally draining. So I finished the gig, and got ready to pack things up. A table of women were actually paying attention from time to time, and one of them bought two cds after I finished playing. And the manager came up to me to say that he wanted me back, and that a lot of people were making good comments to him throughout the night. I guess people don't want to be bothered to slap their hands together any more...
Well, I guess that depends on the venue, because Friday night's show was wonderful. It was a fundraiser, so I wasn't guaranteed any compensation. But the audience is such a music-loving crowd that it is worth the gamble to perform there. I wound up selling 10 cds that night, after playing for only 30 minutes (and not having to set up a sound system and pack and unpack all my gear in my car). It's a difficult thing for me to take non-paying gigs, because it leaves me with an uncertainty as to what I might earn for those shows. But there is the flip-side situation, where some of these shows are in front of the audiences that I need to be playing for. It's a difficult thing to balance and figure out from city to city.
On that Friday afternoon, I was also reunited with my wife and baby son, Keenan. They've been coming out to most of the shows. I unfortunately had to leave both of them at my mom-in-law's place east of Pittsburgh after Friday's show, while I had to (or thought I had to) head to the South Hills so that I would be closer to the venue for my Saturday lunchtime show. There is overnight construction happening at the dreaded Squirrel Hill Tunnels, which made what should have been an hour drive take about 30 minutes longer, and put me to bed later than I was hoping. Here's a photo from the interwebs.
Saturday was to be my first two-show day of the tour. The first show was in the cafe area of a popular supermarket chain. I arrived early enough to unpack my car and set up my PA. About fifteen minutes before my set time, a woman arrived, carrying some music gear as I was plugging my mic in and getting ready to sound check. This results in one of the worst feelings that a performer (especially a touring one) can have, as I figured that the date was double-booked. I had my iPod on me, and was able to access the emails I had sent and received for booking the date, so I figured that all was well. The woman who arrived didn't have access to any of her emails or other correspondence. But a staff person came out to talk to us, and told us that it probably wasn't actually an accidental double-booking, but rather a deliberate double-booking, with each of us playing opposite ends of the location (it's a very large place, so there wouldn't be any overlapping sound). This staff person called a manager, however, who came and immediately told me that I was not on the schedule and would therefore not get paid. I explained to him that I had the confirmation email, and that I was on tour from Nashville, but this made no effect on the man. He said he would call the woman who booked us, and come back with a final verdict. In the meantime, several of my friends had begun gathering, as they had come out to catch a set or two. The only thing making this uncomfortable situation more uncomfortable was having to go through it with a bunch of people looking on.
So, it took about 30 minutes (we were now over 20 minutes into the performance time), and the woman and I (and everyone else) were just waiting. I didn't want to take down all my gear, in case I was still going to perform. But I had a very bad feeling. Since the manager seemed to be taking a while, I decided to call the contact I had for the show. She was apparently on vacation, so I left a message. This show was the first (and probably the last) one that I had booked through this person, who works for an entertainment agency in Pittsburgh. The woman who was also booked for the show informed me that it wasn't the first double-booking that she had experienced for this venue. When the manager came back, he said he talked to the booking person (the contact that I had booked through), and she told him that I was not on the schedule. Meanwhile, I had left her a message, explaining that I had the confirmation email up on my iPod. Anyway, I was told that I would not get paid for the show (the more understanding venues pay both performers on a double-booking the amount that was agreed upon, and have them both perform). It would have been nice if someone had stopped me before unloading my car and setting up my PA. So I proceeded to unplug all of my gear and undo the setting up that I had done. While I was unplugging things, I got a call back from the booking person, who tried to tell me that the situation was my fault. She said that I should have followed up with her closer to the date of the event to be sure that I was on the schedule, even though we had confirmed the date. She mentioned that her computer crashed in February, and she lost all of her spreadsheets. She wouldn't have lost our emails, though, and even if she did lose her spreadsheets, I don't see how that would be my fault. This was not a good first gig-booking experience with this contact. I asked her if I would be getting any compensation, and she said she would "see about getting me something." This means, of course, that I won't be getting compensated.
I went out to an early lunch with my parents and brother, and drowned my sorrows in some pasta. Then I headed back to my mother-in-law's to be with the rest of my family. Keep in mind that I didn't even have to leave them the previous night because of the double-booking situation.
Thanks for letting me vent. I deal with a decent amount of inconvenient back-and-forth driving due to show availabilities when I'm on tour, so to have to do it for no reason is very frustrating. Speaking of, this whole first tour has been a pretty frustrating one. Along with Saturday's double-booking turned cancellation, I had two other cancellations just weeks before the start of the tour (which means that I had next to no chance of refilling those dates). One cancellation was due to an ownership change, which happens from time to time, and is somewhat unavoidable. Another one was due to construction in the area of the venue - another unavoidable situation. But in this case, the people I booked through knew about the situation for a month before they told me about it. In fact, I had to call them to get someone to tell me about it, and when I called, I was told that it was on their calendar to call me the week prior, but that they just didn't get around to it. I generally have about 2 cancellations a year, so to have 3 for a two-week tour is kind of infuriating.
Hopefully we're just getting all of this nonsense out of the way now, instead of throughout the rest of the year.
That night, I performed at what has become my regular venue east of Pittsburgh - Pizza Siena in Greensburg.
.
.
.
My wife and Keenan and I headed out early to grab dinner there, and to set up. A number of familiar faces came out for the show (or maybe just to meet Keenan for the first time), and it was a decent night, though I was still pretty bummed out by the events of earlier in the day.
posted by Jeff Miller at 5:23 PM
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