So I kicked my singer to the curb (acoustic duo)

[Riffer]

WARNING!!!! Kind of long rant below.

Well tonight I kicked my singer to the curb. We have an acoustic duo. I play guitar and sing a little and she sings. We do covers only. She just wasn't taking it as serious as I was. She wouldn't learn the correct lyrics, she would just stand there and read off of a lyric sheet, she would lie about her car being broke so she didn't have to practice, and she said she can't do a gig after I put it in the calendar months in advance because she has spring break plans now. Then I'd have to find a fill in singer, make sure all the songs were in the right keys for the replacement singer, and email/call the bars where we booked the gigs and tell them that I'll be playing with a fill in girl and not the girl they hired from the duo. She would unplug stuff while still at full volume and then get mad at ME when I told her never to do that. She would forget her cables and mic stand, and never promote us on Facebook until the very night of the gig. Tonight she even grabbed my arm when I'm playing the bridge part of the song and wanted me to stop playing and playing it differently (which we've never done before) so I promptly yanked my arm away and kept playing the way we've been playing it 100 times. She texted me Monday after I said that she really needs to be more organized with her stuff because she's putting me in bad situations with getting fill ins. Here is her exact text back....

"Tom, I'm seriously getting tired of you ragging on me about shit.... Out of the 8 or 9 gigs we have, 2 of them require fill ins. I don't really think it's going to be that big of a deal. I'm sorry I'm not organized to the T and I'm sorry I can't give up my life to put gigging first but I've got a lot going on right now and I don't need to be told how to plan my life....Take it or leave it."

That last line, "Take it or leave it", really hit me as disrespectful. So I finally made a decision and kicked her out after our gig tonight which she did not take well at all. She said I should've gave her a chance to redeem herself (which I have been this whole time by telling her what she needs to do and not do). She said I should've let her know it was our last gig and that and I'm a ....ing asshole. She doesn't get how this business actually works and I told her that we just aren't on the same page. I was totally calm the whole time and she was shouting out front of the bar by my car and "couldn't believe me" or that "I hope you sleep well tonight".

There's money to be made doing this and I take it pretty seriously. Yeah it's a ton of fun, but it is a job and if she isn't showing effort into learning how Sweet Home Alabama goes or any type of professionalism then I see no point in keeping her around. We've been gigging for a year and a half and she still has to read lyrics off a sheet to a song we've been playing since day 1.

Sorry for the long story, had to vent a little and wanted to maybe start a discussion about it

 

[xCaptainx]

Year and a half and still reading off lyrics sheets. That, right there. Done, goodbye.

Hope you find a more professional singer and good luck for your future shows.

 

[Insinfier]

She would unplug stuff while still at full volume

I hope you find someone worth your time.

 

[Pezshreds]

She sounds like a great singer.













For how to demonstrate doing EVERYTHING wrong

 

[BucketheadRules]

You're better off without her.

Find a more professional singer (or even use this as a chance to sing a bit more and do the whole thing yourself? More money for you!)

 

[Bear R.]

hit the road jack and don't ya come back no mo no mo...hey man.you did good.you did what needed to be done..thats a shame,her treating you like that..oh well.her lose..

 

[Riffer]

Most of the people I've explained this too agree with me, except her and her friends of course. She's been texting me all morning saying that we should've had a more "mature" conversation about it. Mind you, shes the one that was shouting and cursing in front of the bar last night when I calmly told her I didn't want to play with her anymore.

Now she's saying it's not fair that I get to keep all the gigs that I booked and that I'm getting fill ins for all of them. She says "What if I get a fill in guitar player and want to play those gigs". I basically told her, I booked the gigs, I email people everyday, I bought the PA, I set it up, I run the Facebook and YouTube channel, I make flyers, I promote the duo, I learn the songs correctly, so basically those gigs are mine. I fired YOU not the other way around.

I already told all the bars that we wouldn't be a duo anymore and she got all pissy about that. Now I'm not bad mouthing her to any of the bars at all. That's not my style and it's just bad taste and you get a bad reputation for doing that. I'm just saying we aren't together anymore.

Also I should mention that she would say on a regular basis how "mature" she is. People who are mature never announce that they are mature. She just turned 21 last May and brags about buying a new bong or how she knows how to twerk now.

 

[Albionic]

in my experience no amount of nagging people will make them change they either want to do it professionally or they don't. I had a band with a girl singer. She was always "ill" on practice days etc had to read words (that's a big no no for me if i know my guitar parts i damn well expect the singer to know the words) No amount of moaning made any difference she actually said at one point "i want to be in the band but i don't want to turn up to band practice" at that point we said good bye.

When you find a proper, enthusiastic, professional singer you'll be glad you booted the old one it makes all the difference.

 

[Jonathan20022]

Sounds like bad company, I wish we lived somewhat closer man is have to introduce you to the girl I've been jamming with. Very cool demeanor, respectful, and she has a wonderful voice.

But it just sounds like you're better off without her being such a nuisance. You don't need to give her a reason why, her poor performance is more than enough proof of why she doesn't deserve this.

 

[Jonathan20022]

*double post* sorry!

 

[Repner]

She just turned 21 last May and brags about buying a new bong or how she knows how to twerk now.

What did you ever see in her?? Wow

That firing needed to happen. Sounds like it can only go uphill from here. Wise decision.

 

[Riffer]

in my experience no amount of nagging people will make them change they either want to do it professionally or they don't.

When you find a proper, enthusiastic, professional singer you'll be glad you booted the old one it makes all the difference.

She wasn't a bad singer at all either. Just unprofessional and immature. I paly acoustic guitar with 2 other singers as well. Carla and Samantha and they both are way easier to deal with and "get" the business and how it works.

But it just sounds like you're better off without her being such a nuisance. You don't need to give her a reason why, her poor performance is more than enough proof of why she doesn't deserve this.

She has no stage presence really and like I said. Reading off lyrics sheets on a stand is not cool in my book. Especially after a year and a half of singing those songs. If you have them for backup that's fine. But you don't see me up there reading chord charts for every other song. My acoustic song list is 105 songs. I can play every one of them without a chart.

What did you ever see in her?? Wow

That firing needed to happen. Sounds like it can only go uphill from here. Wise decision.

She's a good singer and she is cute. She's a Daddy's girl and has probably never been dumped or told stuff she doesn't like. Well I changed that last night. I have to look out for what's best for me.

 

[Necris]

At least she didn't twerk during any of the performances she showed up to (I hope ).

 

[Riffer]

At least she didn't twerk during any of the performances she showed up to (I hope ).

She did not, thank god.

 

[Phantom]

Yeah did the right thing dude. Covers or original music, if you want to be professional, you have to act like it. Yes music is fun, it's cool, it's a lot of great things, but there comes a point to where if you're going to be serious about it, then you need to be serious. Some people don't understand that. Like some have said, if they aren't serious because they want to be, no amount if nagging, begging our pleading will change that.

 

[Rommel]

Good on you Riffer.

 

[ihunda]

Thanks for sharing, congrats on getting through with the firing!

 

[rastachild]

She just turned 21 last May and brags about buying a new bong or how she knows how to twerk now.

that pretty much explains it all lol. I've worked with a few female musicians...and while I don't like to generalize, most of the band troubles I've experienced have usually revolved around them and their drama. best thing to do is lay everything out on the table to anyone you start working/playing with in the beginning so there are no surprises. let them know what your pet peeves are (and also find out what theirs are too). it still may not prevent a bad situation from occurring, but at least they can't act like they don't know why they're being fired.

 

[Nails In Your Coffin]

I'm not gonna defend her actions, especially when it comes to unplugging your gear and asking you to modify songs onstage. That's just very rude, immature, and very unprofessional. That would piss me off at the highest level.

As for her not revolving her life around gigging like you *supposedly* do, I can appreciate her stance. While some of us are dedicated and put everything aside, some people just don't dedicate their lives to one cause, and in this case, it's music. You clearly have a dream, she's clearly doing it as a fun pastime.

Given she's still reading from a lyric sheet, and has been for over a year, it's clear she's not serious about this and basically wants to do something that's one step up from a night out of karaoke with the girls.

You made the right decision to ditch her, but you're also a bit at fault for keeping her around as long as you did. I understand people need a little time to settle into a routine and learn songs and stuff, but by waiting for over a year, you didn't do yourself any favors. Chalk this one up to a lesson learned.

I think for the next go-around, you need to be very upfront about what you're looking for and what the requirements are so this doesn't happen again.

Right now, there are two friends of mine who are just dying for me to be in a band with them. First, I live over 2.5 hours away from each of them, and secondly, I simply don't care enough to waste their time. Consider me the equivalent of the singer you just ditched. I play for fun and jam to have a good time, not to make a living.

Good luck with the future! I hope you find yourself a singer that's on the same page and you're successful!

 

[Bear R.]

She did not, thank god.

wait a minute here..i have been away from the scene for a little bit but what the hell is twerk?..tweakin and workin.?...ha,ha..