USE OF MOBILES WHERE LIVE MUSIC IS PLAYED

[shyamwestwind]

Hi Everyone
Years ago,(maybe about 7 or 8 years ago) we, as a band played at night clubs and everone danced and enjoyed themselves, No one complained of the music being too loud - they enjoyed the vibrations and let the music soak in. They were wonderful days !!

Today, guests walk in, notice that a band is on stage, tell the stewards that they want to be far away from the band and sit themselves down to have a "meeting" The band is part of the furniture and more an irritation rather than entertainers.

I have always wondered why the times changed so drastically and then it struck me - MOBILE PHONES !!!!!!!!Everone owns a mobile phone and no one switches them off .
Businessmen talk shop and discuss strategies and finances, mothers call up home to check on their kids, boys call their girlfiends to find out what they're munching ------- nearly 60 percent of the guests are on their cell phones.

Gosh !! They need to get their brain cells examined .They came to the nightclub knowing fully well that a band would be playing. If they have two left legs, atleast sit back and enjoy the music, send requests, whistle, scream, throw tomatoes, eggs ... anything , but no !!!! They meed to speak on that darned mobile phone and. but naturally, they cant hear a thing !! Call the steward to tell the Band that they are music is too loud, even if the singer is doing "Am I losing you " by Jim Reeves.
Ring tones are free and plenty and there is an orchestra of them in the night club, The signals criss cross and the amplifiers pick up the cacophony and there's pandemonium.
Managements of Night clubs do not want to prohibit usage of Mobiles as they dont want to risk any loss of clientele.
The Band plays on, nevertheless - a question of bread and butter ... or is it " singing for their supper " ?
I wonder if the situation is same in other parts oif the globe.
Can we have the views of members on the usage of Mobile phones in night clubs where there are bands ?
With warm regards
Shyam
India)

[themd21]

Hi Shyam

As our kids would say........ HELLO! the answer is in the name.
A mobile phone is guess what? MOBILE?
My friend you have the microphone, use it and embarrass those who would intrude on on your occupation. Don't be afraid to name and shame. They're not, so why should you?
If they don't want to listen to music let them go elsewhere.
I do it all the time. I revel in the challenge.

[shyamwestwind]

Hi Jimmy
Well well well so the problem is there in your part of the globe too !!
I would love to do that - would be an easy way to sort out the matter, but in our part of the world,the management will never take up for the band . To them the GUEST IS ALWAYS RIGHT - NO MATTER WHAT !! In one big five star hotel in New Delhi, there was a notice board outside the restaurant saying " Please switch off your mobile phones in the restaurant" It wasnt heeded to most of the time, but...atleast, there was a rule to flout.
I agree, people who dont want to listen to music should go elsewhere but they are really an arrogant lot
Thanks Jimmy for your opinion.
With warm regards
Shyam

[Emerald Midi]

At one gig - some years ago - a punter [member of the audience in a pub where were playing] had to audacity to ask us to turn down the music so he could hear who he was talking to on his mobile phone!

Needless to say we didn't comply

These days people in my neck of the wood tend to take their mobile phones outside to conduct their conversation when a band is playing, so for me personally [and fortunately] it hasn't been an issue of late.

[ezduzit411]

i was playing a gig at abar sometimeago and this person told me to stop playing because he was expecting a phone call(kind of rude ,i thought)so during this untimely break,i got his phone # and called him and asked him if there were any request fro a song he'd like to hear.lol

[dingadong04]

Fair play ta ya thats the craic make a joke of it as jimmy says we have the mic sometimes i would stop and ask their permission to play the next song.. lol

[dingadong04]

PS what if they are on the mobile telling Simon Cowell that your the next big thing........thats it i,m keeping me gub shut in future

[a.j.]

Hi Shayam,

This is definitely a worldwide problem. I visit the UK often, and I'm sure that people in South Africa (in general, of course) are even less socially acceptable in their habits when it comes to mobile phones outside of the work environment.

Like you said, they have a habit of sitting right in front of the bins, and can't understand why the band is freaking out about the interference everywhere.

Away from the music side, the one that gets me (I don't know if this happens anywhere else), is when you see a couple dining in a smart restaurant, and one person spends the entire evening talking on the phone, while their partner sits there looking bored to tears. Or even better, when they get up and walk outside to talk, leaving their dining partner sitting there alone. I see this so often - it's a clear message that the phone call is more important than present company. Some people just don't know when to stop.

From a personal point of view, I have to spend a lot of time on the phone or my mobile during my working day, and it's a pleasure to get away from it in a social environment - my husband and I both agree on cell phone etiquette, fortunately.

Only problem though, with the high crime rate in South Africa, we all like to keep our phones handy in case of trouble. I like to keep mine on in case the tracking company calls to say that my car has been nicked! Bit of a double edged sword, really.

[mark]

I have on occassions been interrupted by mobile phones on gigs. I normally crack jokesand make fun of it. I have always received an apology. My own phone is mostly swithed off when i am working.I actually believe they are ruining the art of one to one conversations. My own daughter texts her friends rather than talk to them.It is very worrying.I blame Star Trek.Beam me up Scotty.

regards

Mark

[dingadong04]

i agree talking to each other having a bit of craic is the reason we socialize. watched four friends (who always said they would,nt have a mobile phone about them ) actually show each other jokes that each had been sent ,they sat laughing at the mobiles then passing them round for each other to read... JUST TELL THE JOKE im right here beside yas

[FoothillsSound]

Hello all,

Mobile "MISuse" is not limited geographically or by venue.
Here in the States, it seems that if by age 14 one doesn't have a cell at their ear at least 12 hours daily, they're odd.
I had one for a while, tired of the 'leash,' & got rid of it. Then my elderly father fell ill & I picked one up again.
It seems to me that most cell misuse is generated by an "I/me" mentality.
On a lighter note, several years ago a band I played with had the opportunity to poke some fun at a fellow that evidentally thought his mobile made him look important. We were playing in an out-of-the-way resort area that had NO cell coverage. Yet this idiot chose to hold the mobile to his ear & jabber away in a most animated manner!

[shyamwestwind]

It sure was interesting to note that this mobile misuse is common all over the world. Yes its a neccessary evil but the way its taken over our lives isnt funny. We should draw the line somewhere and switch off our mobiles and have undisturbed simple conversations.
I heard the very disturbing news that they are thinking of recognising sms language and accepting it in schools, in the U.K. Whats happening in the U.K. ? Eventually the only good - King's English, will only be heard in India !!!

[jacqui01]

I must admit, a mobile can be very annoying if it starts ringing when your singing, especially if it's one of those silly ring tones like Crazy Frog
But it's become a normal part of life for lots of people, just like a fashion accessory, if their sensible and keep turned down low, it shouldn't cause any problams.
I've often had folks holding up their phones so friends could hear us, we even got a booking once from a guy on a club committee phoning his entertainments secretary, taking our picture and letting him listen to a few songs, so that was a result
Jacqui

[thingyy]

Not allowed in clubs over here due to mobile phone taking pics under the tables.

[Emerald Midi]

thingyy said:

Not allowed in clubs over here due to mobile phone taking pics under the tables.

Here in Ireland many schools have also imposed a similar ban on mobile camera phones for this very reason - boys were caught sneaking up on unsuspecting girls and taking photos from below knee level up.

[midimart]

They are banned in most schools here too..... Not for your reason Pat, but a thing they call "Happy Slapping"..

Very nasty.

[Emerald Midi]

midimart said:

They are banned in most schools here too..... Not for your reason Pat, but a thing they call "Happy Slapping"..

Very nasty.

What I described is bad enough, in fact it is deplorable, but that "happy slapping" thing is in many respects even worse. I hear that some kids in the UK, who were the but of these "jokes" ended up in hospital with some serious wounds.

As you say, very nasty.

[bri]

One of our daughters gave me a mobile phone for Christmas 2 years ago. I went and put a fiver credit on it (min amount). Two years on and I've still got £3.50 on it. Guess I'm old fashioned and prefer a "real" phone that's stuck to the wall, although even there, lots of them are now mobile within twenty or thirty yards of the house. (Not ours...as I say, stuck to the wall).

[sixstringbing]

With regard to the happy slappy post I sen these youths( i SAY YOUTHS BECAUSE THEY MUST HAVE BEEN BETWEEN 16 & 18) doing the happy slappy thing on a man about 40 but the man was to quick caught one and biffed him right outside HMV and boy was he sorry everybody started clapping while this yob lay sprawled on the deck LOL.

[shyamwestwind]

I guess we got to live with the menace...its tough not to get worked up when someone tells the band to tone down just because they are talking on their mobiles. Yes there are good things to be said about mobiles too.....like confirming shows after"hearing" the band and "seeing" the live performance.
Some years ago when President Bill Clinton visited New Delhi and stayed at the Maurya Sheraton, where my band played, it did our ego lots of good to sing to some Colonel at the White House, through the mobile which the Colonel in charge of Security carried at the hotel.
The White House !!! WOW !!! The song ? Wonderful tonight of Claptons , and the American couldnt believe that an Indian could sing it !!!
Cheers
Shyam