Nightmare gig 2 - Alive!

This one from Derek Poindexter, who at the time was bassist for a terrific band, The Waynes. They seemed to have it all going for them in the 90s during that time when "College Rock" was becoming full on mainstream.

The Waynes were on the verge of being singed to a label deal or so it seemed. I was at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX where I met the Gibson Guitar artist rep. I wanted an endorsement deal and approached him about one. I was told that we needed to be signed to a label and then he had to see us perform. As luck would have it, we were to play in Nashville, TN( Gibson Guitar's Corporate home) in a couple of weeks for a label rep. With that I gave him the club name, which he new well, and our performance date. He said he'd be there.

The night of the show, no one showed up to see us, which had us quite depressed. We're showcasing for a label at this really nice venue and only the staff and one couple were there.

We were visibly frustrated by the turnout. The male patron must have sensed our anguish, so during a pause between songs, he shouted something to try to settle us. I don't remember what he said, but he had a distinctive British accent. We were all stunned - we expected a southern drawl. But before we could make sense of it, our lead singer shouted something condescending back to the man. I remember that we all looked at our singer in dismay because we felt the patron was only trying to help.

When we returned to Cleveland a few days later, I was the first to run into our manager who asked what had happened at the show. I immediately ranted about the poor attendance and the no shows from the label or Gibson Guitars, but he cut me off. "no no, I mean what did you say to Peter Frampton!?" My heart sank. It seems Peter Frampton was a Gibson Guitar rep who came to the show with the Label Rep. They were the couple. And to this day, I still have not gotten that Gibson Guitar deal.

Comment from host: Some bands use attitude as part of their show. Being a bit abrasive can be part of the band aura. And sometimes that can work against you. I'm not saying you have to be nice to everyone, but know how to control and manage it. There are ways to be an jerk and yet include everyone. But if you don't exactly have that mastered, you need help from your friends. For example, if a label rep and guitar rep were going to be at the show, and the band knows it has personalities that can rub people the wrong way, then the manager has to be at those shows. Someone needs to manage those situations. If not, accept that fact that your chosen attitude may attract some fans and may turn away some. That is who you are. Accept it and own it. Any manager that takes on a project like that has to be ready for the extra time involved to protect the band from itself.