#$@%! double booked again

[Brooks]

my gig last night was doublebooked, i show up and there's another act loading in. this keeps happening a lot recently. yes, we keep good records, its not our fault.

what can we do to prevent this? i was thinking of a contract, but don't wanna insult the morons who book us. also thought maybe a fax after the booking that confirms the booking might help.

suggestions?

[MCChris]

I think a simple phone call the week of the show would suffice. I do the same in reverse; I always call the bands booked to play at the cafe sometime during the week prior to make sure they know the details (load-in time, set length, etc.) and to confirm that they haven't in fact broken up.

The paper trail is necessary if you want to get paid for the booking even if someone else ends up playing.

[Jeff R]

Set up and play anyway. That'll teach 'em.

[HamerHokie]

We've been double booked only a few times. The key is to keep your eyes open and notice things like advertising. I caught a couple of instances where they had another band advertised on our date - calling them to confirm either reveals a mistake on their part in the schedule or a true double book.

As far as the showing-up thing goes, you could always insist on partial payment. If you have a room with a reputation for shoddy record keeping, you need to have them sign a contract. Or send them a letter via certified mail to confirm your dates.

[pesocaster]

A policy I have had in a few bands now is to call a couple days before the show and confirm everything ... then call (or stop by) the venue 1 or 2 days after the gig to thank the bar for haveing us... and to book future dates...

[David B]

Always good to confirm sound if you are renting a system too.

[Moose]

what can we do to prevent this? i was thinking of a contract, but don't wanna insult the morons who book us.

A contract is NOT insulting. In fact, I consider it a huge deal and the way you do good business for a long time. It can be very simple -- just a few plain english paragraphs. It avoids the conflicts and bickering that will come with the inevitable disagreements that eventually occur over when and for how much.

Eventually, most gigging musicians get stiffed by a bar owner, doublebooked and not paid (you can't play somewhere else, so they OWE you for their mistake), or abused in some other manner. Most of these issues can be easily resolved with a simple, one page piece of paper that says when you are booked, how much you'll be paid, and that you must be cancelled a certain number of days in advance or they owe you anyway.

If anyone takes a contract that simply states "I'll play on this day and you owe me this many dollars" as an insult, then you're dealing with folks who will waste a LOT of your time and probably find an excuse to not pay you for your efforts.

But, then, that's just me.