I'm sure most of us have been in the situation wherein at a gig, an unfamiliar, inebriated bar goer demands to play your drumset.  There are many ways to fend off such an attack.

I have a different situation.  I'll be playing a corporate gig soon, paid for by a big company.  The money is good but not phenomenal, and we have been approached in advance for permission for a few guys to sit in, right as my band accepted the gig.

While asking in advance to sit in shows some class and respect, I'm of two minds about it.  True, they ARE paying us, but I've seen "one or two songs" turn into a 30 minute plus series of formless jam band nonsense.  The whole vibe of the gig sort of deflates as a result.

Does anyone have any experience with being asked to sit in by the people who are paying you?  What is your take?  Do you respectfully decline?  Do you fear for not being asked to play a future gig and say yes?  What if something is broken?  Our fee is not enough to cover a major equipment loss.



Dan

Many times corporate gigs are better than the bar gigs but not always.  This is why everyone should have a "B" set of cymbals.  I have been pleasantly surprised with some sit-ins at corporate gigs.  You may find it enjoyable! 

you can consider it a public service.

odds are the sitter-in will be so bad that he will be cured of any future notion that he is a drummer, so his future requests to spoil some show will not happen again.

everybody tends to think they can drum. let 'em find out that it's not so easy.

Would asking them to sign a release making them liable for any damage to the equipment simply make the problem go away OR if not go away, at least your concern about equipment damage will be addressed in a professional manner. 

The other problem is the ego thing - what if they are good, what if they are bad but the crowd likes them, etc.  I see no downside to letting them play in this regard.  This is a party not a concert - they would come to the party whether or not your band was playing.  They may like your band, they may not.  Let them have a good time and try to have a good time with them.  If that means an embarrassing moment for a few of them playing instruments, ok.  If that means some good players get to show off in front of colleagues, great.  You get to meet a couple new players.  I don't think desperately holding on to the stage is the best way facilitate a good time. BUT, I've been wrong before. 

Depending on the gig, this could be a real opportunity!  I did a corporate gig for 3 years and we played every 3 months.  The first gig was a yearly party and we took our well used but serviceable equipment because we were asked if sitting in was allowed.  We were the only band that did not have a lot of "only ifs" and we charged almost twice the normal rate.  The organizers had so much fun it became a quarterly gig and we were asked to perform each time.  Most times our tips were more than we charged for the gig.  We made almost 4 times the money with less playing and had lots of fun watching.  Everyone needs a beater kit and a cheap set of cymbals.  This could be a money making opportunity and a lot of fun rather than a stress filled night. 

Because I've seen it happen.  More than once.

True - AND it's been my experience that anyone THAT eager to sit-in has not been very good...   Among my circle of friends who play (pro's to weekend warriors) - none of them would EVER make a big deal about sitting in -- IF they brought it up at all.

I had a situation happen a few years back that turned into a good thing for me. I played a private corporate party and a few guys came up and asked to sit in. At that time I just had a 4 pc beater kit, so it was no big deal. The drummer only sat in a couple songs, but the other two guys stayed up and played a few more tunes. I didn't think anything about it, got paid, and went home after the gig. A couple weeks went by and I got a call from one of the guys who got up. It turned out he had a country, fiddle band. He decided to call me instead of the guy that got up to play. Over the next 4 or 5 years I played as many paying gigs with those guys as my normal group. Plus they paid better....I don't know what happened to them. One guy died and they must have quit rather than reform. Never heard a thing after that.... They must be in their late 70's by now. At that time I was the youngest one. Just the same, it was well worth taking the gig. You never know what will happen unless you chance it.  

Yep.  Anyone who wants to sit in THAT badly usually wants to so they can show off to their friends. . .  "Look!  There's a drum set!  Heck, ANYBODY can play drums, right?  I'm going up!"

OK, here's an update, with some things I didn't know when I first posted.
--The guy asking to sit in is the guy who booked us at the club(based on the club's recommendation.  He is in charge of booking the big company's parties.
--They're asking for three songs, which they submitted in advance and they do not clash with our set list.

We decided to let them sit in.  The gig hasn't happened yet, but we will ask them for some signatures before they play.  Being business guys, I'm sure they'll understand.  In any event, we know how to find them.

I'll be using some stuff I won't mind seeing beat up.....and I'm giving the drummer Vater 7A sticks to weigh the situation even more in my favor.  We have no qualms about cutting it short if things get out of control, but we're cautiously optimistic. 

I guess I'll always be puzzled about the preoccupation of some people with "sitting in".  For heaven's sake, go get your own band!  In a way, I hope they ARE good.  There are some good players out there, and I'm not worried about being shown up.  I'm more worried that we could have charged more for equipment rental!  ha ha!


Dan 

We play quite a few corporate gigs and wedding receptions and this comes up from time to time.  Our policy is that we will accommodate them but they must attend a rehearsal and work on their songs with us.  This gets them comfortable with playing with us and gives us a chance to see if they are going to embarrass us all.  Those who can't cut it have realized this and decided not to sit in.  Those who can cut it have been very happy with a performance they were proud of.  No walk-ons are allowed.

This policy works well for us and in one case the bride's father got us some plumb gigs and actually did a few with us as an alternate.

I have a different take on this.  I look more at what the people want who are organizing the event.  Yeah, they might not play that well.  I don't think that matters as much as what you can gain out of this situation.  I am imagining that these execs would probably really dig seeing there buddies play.  The whole thing is about THEM having a good time.  Most non-musicians are not near as critical as we are of our music and they might not even notice or care if the quality of the music goes down.  We had several people sit in at a party recently which they paid us well for.  One guy sang very well, one guy played the congas poorly and others were marginal as well.  It didn't really matter, the people had a good time.  They loved playing with real musicians and yes the quality of the music went down for the most part when they played, or sang.  Anyway, I think you made the right decision and I don't think any mediocre playing by these people sitting in will affect how they view your band.  Have fun at your gig, Joe