...in which I am tired of your shit.
Dear (event which will remain nameless for now because the person who contacted my wife is her friend or something, and she [my wife] doesn't want me to go all Kilgore on your ass),
I play in two bands, and they are both very good bands, if I do say so myself. Messaging us to ask if we'd like to play your large event is cool. Very cool, in fact. Telling us that, "It doesn't pay, but if you'd like to practice in front of people for an hour, I think you'd be perfect for the 12:30-1:30 time slot," is a fucking insult. I bet nobody else who is affiliated with the event (vendors, lighting crew, sound crew [I presume there will be a sound crew there; it seems the sort of thing that would have one, even if it's only for people to speak and make announcements]) is "practicing in front of people." They all want compensation for their time, equipment, and effort, and I'm certain they are getting it. What makes a band any different? Musicians who play seriously have invested literally thousands of dollars (sometimes tens of thousands) in their gear, to say nothing of the (tens of) thousands of hours they've invested into learning, practicing, honing and perfecting their craft. Why should they fall all over themselves and act like you're doing them some sort of fucking favor by letting them "practice in front of people"?
You get what you pay for, and if you want a band for free, then I'm sure you can find some weekend warriors around here who know 85% of seven different Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, and they might even have enough guitar cables for everyone to be plugged in. But if you want a band that will be there on time with the gear they need in order to get on stage and play good music (originals or covers) and play it well, then you're going to have to get up off of that damned wallet and make with some shekels.
You're lucky that you messaged my wife. I would have told you to get on your knees and practice something in front of me.
From this point forward, any for-profit event who approaches either of my bands with such foolishness will be told in no uncertain terms what they can do with their damned insulting offer. Benefits and charity events are one thing, but if you're making money, and you want my friends/bandmates and I help to make your event better by doing what we love to do and have practiced at for friggin' *decades*, you'd better come proper or I am going to see exactly how much of my foot I can fit in your ass.
No love,
Travis
I play in two bands, and they are both very good bands, if I do say so myself. Messaging us to ask if we'd like to play your large event is cool. Very cool, in fact. Telling us that, "It doesn't pay, but if you'd like to practice in front of people for an hour, I think you'd be perfect for the 12:30-1:30 time slot," is a fucking insult. I bet nobody else who is affiliated with the event (vendors, lighting crew, sound crew [I presume there will be a sound crew there; it seems the sort of thing that would have one, even if it's only for people to speak and make announcements]) is "practicing in front of people." They all want compensation for their time, equipment, and effort, and I'm certain they are getting it. What makes a band any different? Musicians who play seriously have invested literally thousands of dollars (sometimes tens of thousands) in their gear, to say nothing of the (tens of) thousands of hours they've invested into learning, practicing, honing and perfecting their craft. Why should they fall all over themselves and act like you're doing them some sort of fucking favor by letting them "practice in front of people"?
You get what you pay for, and if you want a band for free, then I'm sure you can find some weekend warriors around here who know 85% of seven different Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, and they might even have enough guitar cables for everyone to be plugged in. But if you want a band that will be there on time with the gear they need in order to get on stage and play good music (originals or covers) and play it well, then you're going to have to get up off of that damned wallet and make with some shekels.
You're lucky that you messaged my wife. I would have told you to get on your knees and practice something in front of me.
From this point forward, any for-profit event who approaches either of my bands with such foolishness will be told in no uncertain terms what they can do with their damned insulting offer. Benefits and charity events are one thing, but if you're making money, and you want my friends/bandmates and I help to make your event better by doing what we love to do and have practiced at for friggin' *decades*, you'd better come proper or I am going to see exactly how much of my foot I can fit in your ass.
No love,
Travis