Rant: Have to front a band at last minute

[HSS]

The band leader for one of the bands I play with had to go out of town at the last minute and, knowing I sing, he's asked me to front his band this Saturday night at a three hour / three set gig so his band doesn't lose its spot in the club's rotation. The problem is that he sings most of the band's songs.

 

The band is a roots band that focuses mainly on old soul and blues. I normally sing lead on 6 - 7 songs in this band out of about 25 - 30 it does for a typical gig. The problem I'm dealing with is the band leader, who advertises his band as a roots soul / blues band, doesn't want me singing Classic Rock, Billy Joel, Beatles, or country songs, many of which I know the lyrics for. Although I love playing keyboards on blues and old soul, I usually don't sing those songs because my voice is too squirrely sounding. As a result I don't know the lyrics to very many blues / old soul songs.

 

There's no time to rehearse so I racked my brain last night and put notional a set list of easy blues / old soul songs together I know the lyrics for (e.g. Dock at the Bay, Georgia, Got Me Running, Barefootin', Messing with the Kid, Everyday I have the Blues, Going Down, etc.). I also added a few easy standard instrumentals to the set list for filler material that will hopefully maintain the band's blues / old soul vibe (e.g. Green Onions, Chickenshack, Summertime, Comin' Home Baby, Watermelon Man). Hopefully the band members, who are mainly old classic rock guys, can pull my songs off on the spot and the band can stay in the rotation at the club.

 

This is the kind of crap of playing with other folks' bands almost makes me either want to go solo or start a band myself. But, besides being marginal player/ singer, the pressure of getting gigs, dealing with club owners and promoters, and managing musicians is what keeps me away from doing this.

 

Sorry for rant.

[mate stubb]

Just remember - you are doing THEM a favor. Don't stress unnecessarily.

[roygBiv]

Good luck - one quick thought - a lot of early Beatles, Stones and even Zepplin tunes are really old Blues tunes, as well as Country/Hank Williams tunes. To pad your list, you might be able to pull out some of them from memory and get away with it if you just play them in an a 'old school' style/arrangement.

[Stokely]

I sing about that many, and one problem I'd have would be my not-so-hot technique killing my voice if I had to sing 30 songs suddenly...

 

Do any of the other band members sing? When our lead singer was sick, we got a fill-in, but we didn't have quite enough tunes that both he knew and we knew. We racked our brains on songs that the rest of us could pull off...I had a bunch of lyrics printed up for "my" tunes for that night

[HSS]

Thanks for the suggestions, especially about early Stones / Beatles / Zeppelin tunes many of which were blues-based and I grew up with singing.

 

I already added a second-line version of Hank's Jambalaya to the list, which I know the lyrics for. I'll it attach to Iko Iko for a medley that we can jam out and occupy 7 - 8 minutes time. The band's old rockers should hopefully be able to pull off a 1 - 5 progression . This assumes the drummer can do a N.O. second line. If he can't maybe I'll sit behind his kit and do a second line and sing. I played drums in a wide-range of bands for many years when I was younger.

[J. Dan]

While he doesn't want the band being known for classic rock, if you gotta pull some out to get the gig done, I'd say do what you gotta do.

 

In my old 80s band we had a female singer that sang most of the songs. The guitar player and I sang some of the guy songs. One night due to weather, she got stuck and couldn't make it to the gig. We quickly added in as many guy songs as we could and where we thought it would work, divvied up some girls songs we could sing, which in some cases meant jotting down the lyrics, and long story short, pulled off the gig as a 4 piece last minute. Nobody seemed to know the difference except a couple regular followers asked where Jeni was.

 

I've also had in the same band where the guitar player was sick and couldn't sing, so I had to pick up some of his songs - again, jot down the lyrics and do the best I can. These things happen and you just gotta do what you can to push ahead and get the gig done.....the show must go on!

[HSS]

Do any of the other band members sing?

The classic rock guitar player sings and I'm hoping he can bring at least 5 - 6 songs that fit the band's advertised old soul/ blues vibe.

[Delaware Dave]

he's asked me to front his band

Couldn't you just say no and give him the reasons you reported in the OP? If you feel you're not qualified, just say so. Don't tell him yes and then blame him.

 

 

[HSS]

Just remember - you are doing THEM a favor. Don't stress unnecessarily.

Good point... They owe me. I could have said no to the band leader and the band. The leader left town for a fk'ing Chiropractor conference / seminar and he threw the gig in my lap with only a couple of day's notice. He probably knew about the conference weeks if not months ago and forgot to tell the band.

[HSS]

Sorry for ranting. Despite my whining and beeeatching on this thread, I'm pretty confident we can pull the gig off. The other band members want the gig. One of them already cancelled another gig a few weeks ago to take this one.

 

I'll cease and desist and just do the gig. As stated previously by J. Dan, "the show must go on!". Sorry for occupying bandwidth with my angst.

[The Real MC]

Sorry for ranting. Despite my whining and beeeatching on this thread, I'm pretty confident we can pull the gig off. The other band members want the gig. One of them already cancelled another gig a few weeks ago to take this one.

 

I'll cease and desist and just do the gig. As stated previously by J. Dan, "the show must go on!". Sorry for occupying bandwidth with my angst.

 

You're lucky to have two days notice.

 

Years ago we got all set up for a show and our lead singer was a no show. No one knew where he was. So we huddled and divided up who was going to sing which songs and we played the show.

 

Unless you're Great White, the show must go on.

 

Needless to say, lead singer was done. We had no more interest in his cut going up his nose.

[Delaware Dave]

Sorry for ranting. Despite my whining and beeeatching on this thread, I'm pretty confident we can pull the gig off. The other band members want the gig. One of them already cancelled another gig a few weeks ago to take this one.

 

I'll cease and desist and just do the gig. As stated previously by J. Dan, "the show must go on!". Sorry for occupying bandwidth with my angst.

 

You're lucky to have two days notice.

 

Years ago we got all set up for a show and our lead singer was a no show. No one knew where he was. So we huddled and divided up who was going to sing which songs and we played the show.

 

Unless you're Great White, the show must go on.

 

Needless to say, lead singer was done. We had no more interest in his cut going up his nose.

I've done plenty of gigs with missing individuals like guitar and bass players (I did the bass on my keys) and a lead singer (that band had two lead singers so the other singer just sung the whole night). I've never did a gig with a missing lead singer where he was the only singer and we all had to pitch in (unless it was an Elizabeth Reed Tribute band)

[El Lobo]

The problem I'm dealing with is the band leader, who advertises his band as a roots soul / blues band, doesn't want me singing Classic Rock, Billy Joel, Beatles, or country songs, many of which I know the lyrics for.

Too damn bad. If he wants you to front the band while he goes off to a chiropractors' conference, you have the right to fill out the set list with some blues-based classic rock or Stones or country songs played to a shuffle beat. My blues/rootsl/old soul band does a lot of classic rock in a blues or R&B style. The audience and club owner won't think of you as a classic rock band and as a non-blues or non-roots band. They won't know the difference. Trust me on this. And when someone comes up and asks you to play some Michael Jackson or Bruno Mars, tell them politely that the club only wants you to play roots/blues/old soul. Then play a blues-based classic rock tune. You're good to go.

[I-missRichardTee]

Two thumbs up , for your conscientiousness. You are a trouper. I wish there were more people like you. El Lobo seems to have the solution.

[Bootsy]

El Lobo is right on the mark. Youre doing the favor therefore there needs to be some flexibility to make it work. Especially since it was a last minute decision and didnt need to be done that way with thoughtful planning.

[ewall08530]

If you had two weeks notice I would suggest you go out and hire the best singer available in your area for that genre of music.

 

You're right to feel a bit stressed out by the situation and I think it's unfair that the bandleader bails on a gig at the last minute and then tries to dictate how the rest of the band will fulfill the commitment and hopefully salvage gigs at this venue.

 

The best advice is right above my post.

 

Be positive, be professional and do whatever it takes !

Good luck.

[MotiDave]

Do we have a gig report yet? Was that just day 1 of the 2 day advanced warning? Cant wait to hear what you played and how it went - youre gonna kill it, dont sweat the small stuff.

[HSS]

Many thanks for all of the recommendations and support. We'll be fine tonight, although I'm still a bit pissed off at the band leader/ lead singer/ harmonica player for throwing the gig in my lap to organize with two days notice.

 

Anyway, I added about 10 -12 old soul / blues songs to the 6 - 7 I usually do with this band that I already know the lyrics for.

 

Yesterday afternoon I used my smartphone to quickly record snippets of my songs while singing and playing piano. I then converted them to MP3's and emailed them out to the other three band members just so they could at least get the songs' form and groove.

 

The good news is that the guitarist, whom I didn't know could sing, stepped up and sent me an email last night with 8 -10 blues / old soul tunes he can sing. He's an even older (65) dude than me and he plays the hell out of Steve Cropper licks.

 

We will huddle for a few minutes before we start playing tonight and pick about 25 songs we are all comfortable with. Of course we can add instrumentals (e.g. Green Onions, Chicken Shack, Comin' Home Baby, etc.) for filler material if necessary.

 

On another note... I played a straight-up blues gig on keyboards last night with another band. In fact, most of the gigs I've done over the last 20 years or so have been blues and old soul, so in terms if keyboards, that genre is second-nature to me. It's just that I don't usually sing and learn the lyrics for old soul / blues songs because, as I said earlier, the tone of my voice sounds too squirrelly for that genre.

 

Foot note... I probably need to drink more whiskey and start chain smoking to be able to sing blues/ soul more convincingly.

 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Foot note... I probably need to drink more whiskey and start chain smoking to be able to sing blues/ soul more convincingly.

As long as you have a professional reason!

[Stokely]

LOL I kind of have the same issue. I sound something like a poor man's Jackson Browne, and almost exactly like Glenn Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket. Not exactly Joe Cocker in other words.

 

Well, every singer has stuff that is better for their voice than others. Heck I'd love to be a tenor to be able to sing like Steve Walsh or Steve Perry but it just wasn't in the cards

[HSS]

Do we have a gig report yet? Was that just day 1 of the 2 day advanced warning? Cant wait to hear what you played and how it went - youre gonna kill it, dont sweat the small stuff.

You asked for a gig report, now you're going to get a long but, in hindsight, hopefully humorous one from this week-end warrior. Murphy's Law was definitely in high gear last night, but that's been the story of my entire life.

 

We played outside at a small club in Boulder City (Boulder Dam Brewing Company). The gig started at 7. Because there was no house PA, I transported the PA in addition to my keyboard rig. Needless to say my Kia Sorento compact SUV was filled to gills. Because of a wreck and traffic jam, I didn't get to the club until 6:15 and had to rush to set the PA and my two-board keyboard rig up. The other band members arrived as I was about 75% done and I was sweating like a Sow in heat. The bass player was extremely helpful quickly hooking mics up and doing sound checks while I got my keyboard rig up and running. It turns out that he had spent several years working as a sound engineer for touring bands and recording studios and it showed.

 

We started playing with a notional set list I put together. But we quickly threw it out after we opened with a 5 minute instrumental jam on "Coming Home Baby". After that, the very-experienced guitar player and I alternated calling songs out to the band, like at a typical jam. We adhered to the KISS principle sticking to well-known easy old blues, soul, R&R, and even old country tunes that we knew we could sing and the rhythm section could play.

 

I opened up the second set singing and playing Georgia solo and the rest of the band trickled in. We then started rolling again with the guitarist and I calling tunes out. After about 35 minutes into the second set, the wind started blowing and we could see lightening in the distance. I then cracked a joke to the audience and sarcastically started playing / singing "Stormy Saturday Blues" trying to be cute and changing the lyrics in real time. The audience laughed, applauded, and tips went into the tip bucket. At the end of the next song, an old 50's R&R tune called "Wine, Wine, Wine", the heavens opened up and the rain came down. Go figure... In the middle of the friggin' desert.

 

Anyway, as the deluge pounded us we frantically powered down and threw gear into our vehicles. Needless to say the first things I went for were my Hammond SK1, Kurz SP4-7, and JBL 515xt. The PA's mixer and my little keyboard mixer were next, and then the mains and monitors (back-breaking JBL Eon G2 15's and Behringer B212d's). The mics were next, including my SM beta 58. We left the cables and stands to the bitter end.

 

In the midst of the rain-soaked chaos, my eyeglasses fell to the ground and both lenses popped out so I was loading out in the rain, wind, and lightening while nearly blind. The bass player, who is younger, 40'ish with good eyes, miraculously found my lenses after we had loaded the critical gear. In the meantime, I put on my 10 year-old spare glasses so at least I wasn't totally blind.

 

After we finished loading equipment, the club cut a check to me and I gave the band members their cuts in cash. I then pounded down a good craft beer and headed home. I'm drying my keyboard and PA gear out today. Hopefully it's all still alive.

 

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have mocked the Gods by singing "Stormy Saturday Blues". But it's only rock & roll and, as J. Dan famously said earlier in this thread, the show must go on.

 

BTW... If you made it this far, thanks for reading this verbose navel-gazing post. It's been therapeutic writing it.

[Doerfler]

great story. Hope everything dries out OK.

[Tonysounds]

The band leader for one of the bands I play with ...asked me to front his band ....so his band doesn't lose its spot in the club's rotation.

 

Youre saving their ass. If they can't figure out how to make your abilities and songs work with their's, you're both better off doing something else with the evening.

[WesG]

Sounds like your bass player is a keeper!

 

My "surprise rain" plan -- which I have never had to use with more than spitting rain *knock on wood 𝄾 ♪♫♩𝄽 * -- goes like this

- kill the master power

- throw the cover on the X32 as best as possible with the cables still in the back

- knock over all the monitors so that they are grille-down

- throw the CP4 in the gig bag (which is never far)

- drop the FOH sticks and get those speakers face-down

- grab all mics, fill pockets with them, carry to van and throw on seat. While there, grab tarps

- tarp the speakers and the Hammond

- load in usual load order, but FAST. Cables last.

 

I also keep a box of garbage bags in the van, for those days when it really looks like rain.

[ajstan]

FWIW, here's a link to a thread from a couple of months ago with ideas for quick rain protection.

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2932805/1

 

I bring a BBQ Grill cover with me to all outdoor gigs just in case. Another neat idea in the thread was the ATV cover for larger rigs and drums.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Thanks for the gig report! Seems like you made the most out of it, especially under the circumstances. Always comforting to hear other players' tales of battling Murphy's Law.