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Lamontsdad
DFO Star
The musician's union, at least in my locale, is non-existant. Furthermore, most venues around here won't hire union musicians.
I have had a few gigs where union representation would have been helpful, but again: I have a feeling this particular venue owner would not hire union-represented musicians. This clown stiffed my old band not once, but twice. My band leader was equally a clown, because he wanted so badly to play this joint because he drinks at that bar and it is two blocks from his house. He would have done anything to play there. Looking back, I should have refused to play gigs at said venue after the first time we were shorted. (I did after the second tine) The owner shorted the band $150 off of our negotiated pay because we didn't bring enough of a crowd. Of course my old band leader was an idiot, but that is for another thread...
The saddest part of this scenario is that it was so hard to get into the union in my locale. They only would let people they thought were "good enough" into the union. Venues started hiring non-union bands at higher wages (at first), then the genie came out of the bottle. Furthermore, people who were in the union in its heyday have told me was that it was pretty weak by the 90s. Also, with increasing DUI arrests and a lack of good public transit, the money isn't there to pay bands unless they can bring in a crowd.
Maybe it's different in other geographical areas. I would love to have had a union representing me in a few scenarios. But around here, you negotiate a fee, hope that you're not playing to a bunch of empty chairs, and you hope that you get paid at the end of the 10-2 gig. Of course then there are the other factors: hoping that you don't have a bunch of drunks demanding you play the Doors, Gimmee Three Steps or Freebird, along with hoping you're not jumped during load out. I think I talked myself out of ever playing with a band again, the more I write about this.
I have had a few gigs where union representation would have been helpful, but again: I have a feeling this particular venue owner would not hire union-represented musicians. This clown stiffed my old band not once, but twice. My band leader was equally a clown, because he wanted so badly to play this joint because he drinks at that bar and it is two blocks from his house. He would have done anything to play there. Looking back, I should have refused to play gigs at said venue after the first time we were shorted. (I did after the second tine) The owner shorted the band $150 off of our negotiated pay because we didn't bring enough of a crowd. Of course my old band leader was an idiot, but that is for another thread...
The saddest part of this scenario is that it was so hard to get into the union in my locale. They only would let people they thought were "good enough" into the union. Venues started hiring non-union bands at higher wages (at first), then the genie came out of the bottle. Furthermore, people who were in the union in its heyday have told me was that it was pretty weak by the 90s. Also, with increasing DUI arrests and a lack of good public transit, the money isn't there to pay bands unless they can bring in a crowd.
Maybe it's different in other geographical areas. I would love to have had a union representing me in a few scenarios. But around here, you negotiate a fee, hope that you're not playing to a bunch of empty chairs, and you hope that you get paid at the end of the 10-2 gig. Of course then there are the other factors: hoping that you don't have a bunch of drunks demanding you play the Doors, Gimmee Three Steps or Freebird, along with hoping you're not jumped during load out. I think I talked myself out of ever playing with a band again, the more I write about this.
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