OK, here goes....so we're playing our second set last Sunday when up comes a tourist, in the middle of a song!!...and says..."ok guys, sing something....anything....just start singing" turns around and walks back to his table and wife and sits there staring at us...then gets up and leaves during the next song. The guy was furious with us. If he had come to one of us on our break and asked nicely.....MAYBE we would of sang something for him but i couldn't believe the nerve he had to come up to a band while on vacation and demand they do something. We're "entertainers" and want to be entertaining but if you want something from us.....ask nicely....put a couple $ in the tip jar and be nice. That guy made us all uncomfortable for a while and me? I wanted to slap his head and send him back to his room but i didn't have to......he walked out on his own! Does this happen to you guys too? What did you do?
R-R

The TakeOffs
"Kauai's Only All-Instrumental Surf Band"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-TakeOffs/312866840587

about a third of our set is vocals, so we really dont ahve that preblem. we've had times where people tell us we should sing more after the set, but its always in a polite way.

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This has nothing to do with surf music, but since we're on the subject of bad gig experiences . . .

My old blues band The Mudats were once talked into subbing for a house band at one of those infamous "state-line beer joints" we have here in the South. The place was just like Bob's Country Bunker right out of the Blues Brothers movie. All that was missing was the chicken wire.

We start the show and give them about half an hour of our best stuff and not a single person approaches the dance floor. They all just sit and look at us like we're from Mars or something.

Finally out of desperation I lead the band into a very comical rendition of "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" complete with the most nasal Willie Nelson vocal imitation I could muster. But the dance floor fills and they like it so well they demand we replay the song three times through before they finally get enough.

We made it through the rest of the night by tossing out our normal set list and proceeding to fake our way through about two hours of bad Skynyrd and ZZ Top covers. Though I did ruffle some feathers by thinking it would be funny to inject the lyrics to Werewolves of London into Sweet Home Alabama. Seems the crowd didn't find it nearly so amusing.

Matt Crunk
Decatur, Alabama

Founder: North Alabama Surf Alliance (NASA)

MattCrunk
Though I did ruffle some feathers by thinking it would be funny to inject the lyrics to Werewolves of London into Sweet Home Alabama. Seems the crowd didn't find it nearly so amusing.

GOLD!

We only play a few instrumentals so basically it's a whole lot of covers, we sometimes seem to attract the "one drunk" who starts up about halfway through a set and just won't quit until "its" friends drag it away.

That kind of person can ruin an otherwise great time, other than that, we've had a pretty good run.

At our last gig, we had an inebriated, middle aged irish woman sitting directly across from us at the bar. At first she yelled for us to turn down, I told her this is as quiet as we get lady. It's a drag playing quiet, we're not a lounge band, I play a showman for pete's sake. Anyway, she then starts with "play an Irish song, don't you know any?" We ignore her. Song ends...."Play Danny Boy!" We ignore, next song..."Play Danny Boy!!!" Finally I give in and improvise Danny Boy for her hopefully to shut her up. She seemed very happy about it and content. We play another song, after it's done..."PLAY DANNY BOY AGAIN!"

Where's the bartender? Right next to her doing nothing, booking agent? ignoring her - she wasn't going to go away. I played Danny Boy Again a little longer and said "that's it, no more Danny Boy" Again, after the next song she wanted Danny Boy, I told her forget it, no more Danny Boy! She starts crying. She got over it enough to give me a hug at the end, but she was really pissed off at the rest of the band for not playing Danny Boy.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

Maybe she was saying, "Play Danny!....boy. Maybe not.

Speaking of Danny Boy....that reminds me of a time when, taken by the moment, I decided to sing Danny Boy acapella during a break in the set...an elderly gentleman in the front began weeping bitterly...so after the performance I asked the guy, "So are you Irish?"

He said, "No, I'm a musician."

a-goo

Seriously though, folks...people that just cannot mentally grasp the concept that there can be music without singing are many (type 1). It's just the a-holes that get obnoxious about it are the problem (type 2).

For type one...dumb it down for them: Ask them if they have heard of Jazz or Classical types of music. Then say, "Ever seen the movie, "Pulp Fiction"?" Then feed them a treat.

For type 2...ignore until they get in your face and then say "sorry, don't know it." But be nice! But as Dalton would say, there are times to not be nice.

Wooza, I've been called that as long as I can remember. Too bad I didn't become a plumber (sing the first line of the song)

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

The people telling me we should be playing songs are usually other members of the band. Fortunately, none of them have actually got around to writing one and I have nothing left to say, so can only write instrumentals.

Los Fantasticos