Party Crashers

I received an email from a regular reader of these weekly blogs.  She is a singer/songwriter who plays live shows, of course, and was both giving her viewpoint as well as asking mine, on something that has become all too common, unfortunately.

I will describe the situation, but if you are someone who is getting booked like she is, you probably will nod out of familiarity with this scene.

You are likely a solo act, but maybe a duo.  Regardless of whether you’re at a restaurant or just a venue that does live music, you are booked into, say, a three- or four-hour window.  There is an atmosphere of not just being 100% background music.  In other words, while it’s certainly not a listening room, people are conscious enough of the fact that someone is performing.  Maybe they’re giving you their undivided attention, or maybe it’s 50/50.

Regardless, someone approaches.  Gulp.  Not to request or ask about a certain song, mind you, but to offer to “sit in.”  Or they say they’d like to get up and “jam with you.”  Some of them will start telling you their credentials.

I’m already annoyed for you.

Does this person willingly accept people coming up and joining in with them when they play live?  How many songs does this person expect to do with you?  And are they suddenly going to try to dictate to you what songs they want to perform?

I am not a fan of this at all and have seen it first-hand with people who have tried to approach a Now Hear This client to ask if they could join in.  Heck, at a place that one of my clients performs at on an ongoing basis, there is one person who is a regular customer who wants to get up and sing along with her accompanist (meaning, she can sit that one out)!  He seems to want reading to be done between the lines that he tips.  A lot.  I say, too bad.  You should tip because you appreciate what the performer is doing, and not because you want to be able to sing a song or two.

But back to the others I’ve seen.  I always (always) say, “No, you’re not going to oblige the request.”  Here are some reasons why:
•    What if the person isn’t good (talented) and isn’t who they say there are? (Meaning, they just sing recreationally and have never actually recorded or performed live in a gig- or show-type setting.)
•    What if the person has been drinking?  You can’t control what’s going to come out of their mouth (read as, possible profanity).
•    Is this person going to want any tips that come in while he/she is on-stage?
•    While you should have all the confidence in the world in yourself, let’s be honest – you don’t want to run the risk of someone showing you up!  Even taking vocals out of it, what if it’s someone who has their guitar out in their car and brings it in and proceeds to rip off solos that rival Eddie Van Halen?  You don’t want or need that.
•    Oh, and did I mention – they’re not who the place booked!  They booked you, not you and some surprise guest that you don’t even know and thus can’t even vouch for.

That last one is usually the card I play (or instruct my client to play).  Of course, they also get the benefit of me taking the fall for them so that they don’t have to be the bad guy.

And while this might sound easier said than done, handle the situation quickly and without incident so you can stay focused on what you’re doing and not let the ‘special guest’ throw you off.