Punters wanting to sing

[thingyy]

I am sick of idiots that have been in bands wanting to get up and sing.
I wouldn't have the cheek to ask and wouldn't want to.
If they are that good then they should be gigging.
I had one guy that was so persistent last night I got the bouncers to take him out.
He was name dropping all night trying to impress.
How do you guys feel about these has beens ?

[paulhcctt]

Here's a great one for you guys.

Tonight, after announcing that our last song was being played, this girlcomes up, minidisc in hand (She said she was on a night off, but apparently comes prepared for every situation) and asked, pretty sternly could she perform a few songs. so after a very heated row with my keyboard player, I allowed it.

She then proceeds to wreck my PA with mental techno garbage
swears at me when i refused to turn the 7K PA up to a volume that was unbearable, and totally takes over the stage, requesting that my board player move his keys so that she can dance.

No offence to the amateurs out there, but it's these "Non-Gigging ""Professionals"" that ruin it for everyone else. as a result, i have now placed a blanket BAN on all singers outside the band performing on stage with our system.

this totally wound me up and was left with a very sour taste in my mouth as she had no consideration for our audence (18 - 85) our equipment, and moreso, my hypercardioid mic, which now has to be replaced after she screamed directly into the diaphragm.

Is it me, or at the age of 25, am i having a nervous breakdown or a mid-life crisis


HELP!!!!!!

[thingyy]

Must have been a full moon last night. That's 2 of us had the same sort of hastle.

[murphy]

I always apologize & explain that
"the management don't allow any singers"
adding that for every great one (like themself) you get 20 rubbish ones, so it's nothing personal.
Thankfully it tends to work without me getting too much grief.

[dingadong04]

every week ,in one of the bars i play, an ould boy gets up with me to sing I Can See Clearly he has,nt a note in his head, if i did,nt call him now there wud be murder, the crowd love him .. i love people getting up to sing after all its there night .. the rubbish ones make me sound better lol..and the brilliant ones entertain everybody ..as long as ye know how to handle them its all part of the craic ...

cubb

[shezza]

I must admit in the last twelve months I have probably been asked three times by people wanting to sing,I just remind them
that it is not karaoke,and that my reputation is at stake if someone comes in and don't like their singing they may look at the posters with my name on and walk out. Also if they start bragging about how good they are ask them why they aren't out
at their own gig.If all else fails and you use midi and you have what they want to sing, play a chord on the keyboard to find if it's the right key for them,Then count them in after you have
taken up the Midi by about 3 key's.It will make a Pratt out of them and when you take over you will sound amazing.

[Emerald Midi]

My experience is there's no harm in letting up a couple of singers, especially if they're regulars in the pub. As Cubb said they can sometimes make the craic

I do however size them up first and if I think they're too drunk then they don't get on stage, otherwise I see no problem in allowing some up to sing - it only a pub after all, plus I get to gig all the time and many of these local singers might only get to sing a song every now and again.

I still enjoy the craic and I am still the one who gets paid at the end of the night.

[gibbo]

It's quite true that sometimes it's a whole lot of fun for the audience and perfectly acceptable where you have local "characters" and the right atmosphere etc. We've also had many occasions where we've had a well-known singer or celebrity get up and do their thing at a gig and it's always a hoot.
That being said, we never let "unknown quantity/quality" guests use our stage, it's our reputation that's on the line, after all. When someone asks if they can sing a song with us or wants to use our equipment the short-form answer is: "Sorry, our Public Liability Insurance doesn't allow it". End of discussion.
In other words, "Thanks but no-thanks, the referee's decision is final and no debate or correspondence will be entered into."

[guilty]

I rarely let anyone up to sing as it seems to be the one's who tell you that they are singers that can't actually sing. My partner uses a remote mic and gets out in the crowd allowing people to sing a line or two which seems to work well. Even if they're terrible it only lasts a few seconds. Of course there is always the guy who decides to yell obscenities as loud as he can but they're few and far between.

Talking about being prepared, we did a wedding once where the father of the bride happened to bring his mini disc collection to do a song or two and finished up doing a 40 min. Joe thingyer floorshow. He was very good but over stayed his welcome. He was also the guy paying us at the end of the night.

PS: That floorshow was Joe C.o.c.k.e.r. not thingyer.

[Emerald Midi]

Great story Guilty. That Joe C fan was certainly well prepared for the occasion but as you say he was the one paying you. It's one of those "grin and bare it" times.

I use to play a regular gig in east London and the landlord use to always come up and do a few songs and even sang harmonies to some of the songs I did. Actually his efforts usually destroyed my efforts but he was the guv so I had to endure. Paid good money, though.

[paulhcctt]

i agree that some times you have to let the occasional one up to sing. but my point is that as "Professional" as she states to be. she should've had the decorum and the respect to know that equipment is not cheap (We use SLS tops/bins @ €2.500 per speaker!!!) and she was willing and prepared to damage our system, along with our gleaming reputation.

i took some advice on board and now our contract clearly states "Please note that audience members will not be accomodated before, during or after the bands performance"

[Emerald Midi]

Paul it really sounds like you had a horrific experience with that girl, I imagine if I ever had to endure something similar I too would react the same.

I like the idea of having it in your contract not to allow anyone up, this makes much sense but unfortunately for giggers like me who only play in regular pubs, one man efforts to boot, it isn't always an option.

[mark]

Paul
I think your bad experience is the worse thing i have heard. You could have said "Sorry Love I dont have a mini disc player" this often works for me.You just have to weigh up the situation.
I had one guy Ask to Sing For "The Good times"I asked him what key? What tempo? What style?Did he want an instrumental break?He went and sat down back at his table."You sing it!"he said.
All the Best
Mark

[themd21]

It all depends on the venue.
If you're doing a set show or its a dance then strictly no singers.
If its a pub and they're sober, give them a try.
The audience usually are fair judges and can promptly end a performance or if all else fails just kill the master volume.
The reply to that persistent nuisance who just wont take no for an answer?...........Well you dont go round to his house and annoy him while he's performing so why should he annoy you.

[gibbo]

OK... now all this input has given me an idea for a new thread... see; midimart.proboards56.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=anything&thread=1173706737

[charlie]

Hey guys,

Great advice dealing with wanna be singers...or "punters" as you call them. We run into situations like was described above, and on ocassion, have some very talented singers sit in. I usually tell the wanna be's to meet me during the break. I get them to sing a couple of bars of the song they wanna sit in and sing, and I usually can tell if they're gonna be good enough to be on the mic. Then, I tell them there is a small donation of $5 to cover the cost of the "live" CD I burn for them while they're singing. If they are serious about their performance, they wont' hesitate to pay. If they dont wanna pay, they dont sing. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. The good singers are always welcome as they bring their own crowd with them, and always tip us pretty good. Since we have started burning CD's for the guest singers, gas money has been taken care of. Now, that's not to say, just because you have $5, you can make a blistering fool of yourself and drive away our audience. And, we have had only one instance where this guy put $20 in the tip jar and began to scream obsecenities into the mic, at which time, I promptly shut the mic off, and motioned to the security guard for his removal. He ended up going to jail anyway, after resisting arrest. But for the most part, good guest singers often add that little something to the night,and the audience appreciates our willingness to be open and friendly.

[paulhcctt]

thanks for the feedback guys.

Yeah it was horrific. and still suffering the results of it.

i also play standard pub gigs, so yesterday i emailed/called/faxed all my non-contracted venues and issued them the following statement:

To Whom It May Concern:

We regret that due to recent changes in our Public Liability insurance terms, we will no longer be able to accommodate performers that are not stated on our policy.

This is to ensure the safety of your patrons, your premises, and ourselves.

As of effect from 12/03/2007; we will be disregarding all requests for singers to perform with us, and hereby ask for your cooperation in this matter.

Should we receive a request, we will be clearly stating that we are unable to accommodate, regardless of professional ability of said person(s). Should this be disputed, we will be referring them to Management/Bar Manager, whereby we request that they have a copy of this notice to show in the event of a dispute.

Failure to comply with this term, (BAND NAME) will therefore terminate the performance with immediate effect, whereby the venue must either (a): resolve this dispute with ourselves or (b): resolve this dispute with our management. In either case, (BAND NAME)’s decision is final and failure to reach a resolve will result in the full performance fee being owed, regardless of performance duration.

We thank you in advance for helping us make your entertainment experience more enjoyable and look forward to your continued custom.


I was surprised that 100% of our venues came back with acknowledgement that they would gladly comply with this and would help us in any issues that could arise from it.

[lfc1892]

I haven't gigged for years, but man, guest singers were the bane of my life. I used to have running arguments with my keyboard player about them - he was always on for accomodating them, whereas I didn't want to have anything to do with them. I was one with the musical ear who got the job of backing them but most people haven't a note in their head and almost worse, no sense of timing.

The worst thing though was if you let one guy up to sing, suddenly every drunk-perry-como-wannabe wants to try his luck. They can really mess up your night and performance. On the other hand, if you don't let them up to sing, they'll bitch about you all night to their gang and possibly even to the proprieter after you're long gone.

Tough situation, glad I don't gig anymore!!

[sweetk2678]

The thing I hate most about people wanting to get up and sing is they are usually pretty hammered by then, and they spit alcohol breath all over me and my microphone, or they have no idea how to use a microphone and they bash it on tables asking me if it's working or not or walk in front of a speaker so it squeals. Also, we had a terrible experience at a gig not long ago that was a big corporate event for some very wealthy people and when we left the area to eat our dinner ( muso's are relegated to a tent out the back ) suddenly we hear some very loud singing that quite clearly was not the break music we had left playing. I ran back to the stage to see three people screaming into our microphones and bashing on the congas, they had not known which things were which on the PA so just turned it all up full volume. My system blew up!! I will never work for that company again, and I don't know how anyone could just get up and do that. Very rude.

[Tone_Deff (Musicmaker)]

Hi fellow Giggers.

I must be the only one out of step here!!! I NEVER allow floor singers to sing.

1. In the past, I have had them singing in continually changing keys, on notes that are in between the notes, forgetting the words - and most times, they turn round and blatantly stare 'daggers' at you.

2. Most times, I do an 'act' that involves about half and half music and comedy. Not just straight music, except when I am specifically playing for dancing. I don't sing at all, and couldn't hold a tune to save my life, and this way I get over that.

3. I don't use 'styles' like most keyboardists, but midi backings, that I produce myself, and have about 3,000 stored on the Keyboards Hard Disk. It is impossible to change the key, or follow their singing tempo.

4. I keep people away from my Keyboard, Amp, speakers, etc. even if they are coming to ask for a request tune. When they have had a couple or few, they can spill their drink on my gear, trip on my 'cats cradle' of leads, etc.

I have never had any problem with a firm stance, needing a clause in the contract, etc. After all - I am 6ft 3inches tall and over 20 stone!!! ;D and I used to be a 'Bouncer' for Mothercare !! Firm, Fair and Friendly is the answer.

Interesting thread Guys !

Tony