Is There A Better Way?

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 24 Oct 2010 10:12 am

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a good friend who is great blues guitarist/singer who was coming up here to play few shows to benefit a worthy cause,he was given a list of rhythm sections by the woman who was promoting the show and wanted to know my opinion of the players that she suggested,I would be playing second guitar.He mentioned a few drummers and I told him that a couple of them played to busy and didn't really get the blues thing,one had a nasty attitude...finally he mentioned a guy who I rarely see and is great and I told him that's the guy!Then it came down to the right bass player,he mentioned three extremely talented bass players and all three have serious drinking problems,I told him that he should talk to these guys and tell them that they had to do the gig straight because I've done gigs with them and sometimes they're good for one set,then you have to throw them in a cab and send them home.What I want to know is? I don't want to keep any of these people from making a living and I don't want to be a snitch or a rat,Is there a better way to handle this?thanks

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 24 Oct 2010 10:40 am

No.

EJL

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 24 Oct 2010 10:44 am

You have to be diplomatic,but you have to tell the truth.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 24 Oct 2010 12:08 pm

I just read a website last night that stated that in a study of group dynamics, the "nice guy" of a group was the 2nd to be kicked out, after the groups recalcitrant was axed. It seems the "nice guy" of the group was too easy on the "bad guy" and the rest of the group could no longer trust the "nice guy's" judgment.

Food for thought about being honest..

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 Oct 2010 12:31 pm

not that what i think means much, but you handled it pretty much how i would have. i think it's best to be honest and set stuff up to make any gig you're on as enjoyable as possible.

Ron Davis · Post by **Ron Davis** » 24 Oct 2010 1:13 pm

Business is business...
Charity is charity...
The 2 concepts don't often mix.
Sure, we wanna help our friends, but ya can't allow their weaknesses ruin it for everyone else, in a business situation. (Been there, done that. lol)
Sometimes ya just gotta drop the hammer.

Best of luck, Bro.
rd

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 24 Oct 2010 1:40 pm

I'd say you're doing a good job so far, Stu, - honest and fair.

Bill Ladd · Post by **Bill Ladd** » 24 Oct 2010 3:11 pm

Your friend asked you for your opinion. Seems to me he did that for a reason.

You mentioned to him players that don't know how to play the blues, players with nasty attitudes and players with drinking problems.

You did not create those poor musical skills, attitudes or drinking problems -- the individuals in question did. Those are beds in which they lie, not you.

You did absolutely the right thing.

Think about it this way -- Say you hooked up your friend with a drummer that sucked or had a nasty attitude, or a bass player who fell off stage, out cold, 30 minutes into the first set.

Bet your buddy wouldn't ask you for any more advice on players, would he?

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 24 Oct 2010 3:39 pm

Thanks for the replies,Sometimes it's an awkward position to be in,The truth works for me,plus it was a good friend counting on me to steer him in the right direction.You guys are great each everyone of ya'Stu

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 24 Oct 2010 3:50 pm

You're on the money, Stu. By knowing the truth, your blues guitarist/singer friend may be able to shoot straight with these bass players and come to a mutual understanding that benefits everybody. Someone who routinely shows up at gigs too drunk to play probably knows it's a problem, eh?

Think about it this way -- Say you hooked up your friend with a drummer that sucked or had a nasty attitude, or a bass player who fell off stage, out cold, 30 minutes into the first set.

Bet your buddy wouldn't ask you for any more advice on players, would he?

Yup, your credibility is on the line with something like this.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 25 Oct 2010 9:20 am

I am fortunate to have encountered you, Red, Billy N., Larry A. and a few other real gems in the northern frontier but I learned long ago that the rules regarding acceptable behavior are a bit different in Alaska than down here in the "lower 48." Whether it is due to the large number of fugitive personalities or simply the extreme environment, if a body "winters" there most anything else they do will be accepted (or at least tolerated) because they have "earned" their right to be there. I know that my AK friends deal with delusive band leaders, drunken bass players and drummers who can't drum and take it all in stride, but it's not the sort of thing to expect an outsider to understand or be able to cope with right away and you have done your friend a great service by giving him the lay of the land.

The first year I worked the Fair in Palmer I was told that Alaska is "where the women are strong and the men are fugitives" - I thought it was just a joke until my third or fourth trip up when I realized the rental gear was never gonna get there on time, that some stuff would NEVER arrive and that nobody but me (and of course the performers that expected it) was gonna be upset about it. There simply is no space for an outsider to get upset with a local for any reason, you gotta just deal with the situation and keep on moving, so any advice and direction you can provide up front to an innocent from the south is a service to humanity!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 25 Oct 2010 9:37 am

Dave,I was told Alaska...where the men are men,and so are the women!

Kenneth Farrow · Post by **Kenneth Farrow** » 28 Oct 2010 4:22 pm

hello Stu==
Hope all's well w/u & urs--ken in Delta

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 28 Oct 2010 4:40 pm

Ken,Hope that you are good also my friend.