STAY AWAY from George's II in Wallingford!

[crazyjunkie]

Nov 4, 2008 17:13:15 GMT -5 Johnny 5 said:

It also sounds like crazyjunkie's friend's band didn't play the open mic, sounds like they played on the weekend.

That is correct. It was the weekend and not the Open Mic.

Paying people at an open mic is wonderful because there is no expectation of pay when you go to one to perform.

Jammin Joe, I seriously hope you straighten out the weekends and change George's practices. What happened to my friend's band is inexcusable and you cannot convince me otherwise.

[Johnny 5]

See? I knew we could start to get this straightened out if we all came here to discuss it. ;D

[georgesii]

Thank you katiebelle. Now does anyone want to talk to me about how I can advertise and promote for your band, get your band heard by more people, have you play a 45min set and get paid for it? Let me know.

Oh yeah, did I mention you don't really have to lug anything! Well, except a bass rig! I have P.A., house drum kit (drummers like to bring their own but hey) and two decent guitar amps with pedals. So check it out, tell your friends and make a night out of it.

[Johnny 5]

I'd definitely start a new thread about this. Now that we have this sorted out, you probably don't want it under the heading "Stay Away From Georges" Haha. ;D

[chasingbaxter]

Nov 4, 2008 17:13:15 GMT -5 Johnny 5 said:

It also sounds like crazyjunkie's friend's band didn't play the open mic, sounds like they played on the weekend.

That was also the case with us - it was not an open mic.

Open Mic not getting paid = perfectly understandable. Hence "open mic".

Promising someone they will be paid $X and then shorting them or not paying at all = not cool.

[scarletgarter]

Ok. I'm to support Joe and hopefully end alot of crap that has been happening here and other websites. My band, Scarlet Garter, has played at George's II on the open mic nights and have nothing but great things about the place. On thursday it's a good night and everyone has fun. I'm not totally 100% sure what happens on weekends. My band has never played there on saturday's. But the open mic on thursday's are a fun night for all. Check it out for your self. My band will be playing there on thanksgiving eve headlining. For the person who is pissed about not getting paid, grow up. Don't take it out on Joe. He is not the manager. He just does his own thing on thursdays.

[crazyjunkie]

Nov 6, 2008 20:16:28 GMT -5 scarletgarter said:

For the person who is pissed about not getting paid, grow up. Don't take it out on Joe. He is not the manager. He just does his own thing on thursdays.

Since you're bringing it up again...

First of all, there is more than one pissed off person.

Second of all, if I remember correctly, the one band that I know that was ripped off booked their WEEKEND show through Joe.

So yes, Joe is to blame, as well as the bar. If you are a booking agent for the bar, and the bar doesn't pay the band the full amount, guess what? The booking agent is responsible for the remainder. And that didn't happen either.

If bands want to go play Joe's so called "open mics", then go ahead and do so because true "open mics" have no expectation of payment. If Joe can somehow pay each person that performs in the "open mic" then that's great.

However, if bands want to play on the weekend there, I would highly suggest getting a written contract so you have some standing ground at the end of the night. Georges may try to underpay you, or they may not, but with their weekend history, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

The incident I speak of happened about 8 months ago. I have no idea if Georges have changed their practices since. I would hope they have.

And here's a free tip for you novice bands: When you get paid, make sure you COUNT the money IN FRONT of the person that pays you. Once that person walks away, it's your word against theirs as to the amount they handed you.

I personally had a bar owner hand me a stack of bills and try to rush off... I told him to wait just a second while I count the money. It was $200 short, AND it was the night before Thanksgiving with literally 300+ people there, so he wasn't hurting for money. When I counted it in front of him and confronted him about the missing $200, he was caught. What did he do? He ripped into his bartender and blamed the bartender for the "error". The bartender said, "You told me to give you $500, which is what I did." The owner yelled, "No, I told you $700! Get it right next time!"

We never played there again. And we told the bartender we know what happened and not to worry. And we gave him a big tip.