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Notes From The Road: Here For A Good Time Winter Tour 2015 Day 5 Swansea, UK

                                       Sunday, January 25 2015
                                  
Skeggness UK to Swansea UK

 

MOST of us woke up early enough to catch a good
(not to mention free) English breakfast. Luke and I
hobbled down to see what was available, right before
they closed at 11:00. I wasn't in the best of moods,
as I had gotten an email from our agent stating that
the promoter on the gig this night in Swansea, Wales
wanted to renegotiate our pay.


He was worried that his ticket pre sale was too low to reach our
guarantee, and he didn't want to have to go into his pocket to pay
us the full amount. This kind of thing ticks me off for one big
reason. If his pre sale was SOLD OUT, like a lot of them are,
he wouldn't be offering us extra money if it wasn't agreed to in
the contract, now would he? And this one wasn't. No gate percentage.
 


Two things were running through my mind. 1) This venue (though it
was a different promoter) cancelled us two or three years ago. 2)
It's a six hour drive we were facing, and it takes a considerable
amount of fuel to get there. Fuel in the UK is some of the most
expensive in the world. In dollars, it's about eight bucks a gallon!
I didn't think it was smart to take the gamble on driving there,
doing a show, and not getting paid. On top of that, I didn't even
know who the promoter was for this show, as I wasn't told and for
some reason it wasn't on my "Day sheet" ( a schedule for any given
day's activities). So I called the agent, and told him in a very colorful
language that I wasn't cool with this, and I might just pull the gig.
This was my initial reaction. We'd just played a smokin' show in
front of a couple of thousand people and I didn't want lose the
upswing momentum. Talk of canceling makes agents and promoters
very nervous, as there are at least SOME people that are going to
show up, and they will be disappointed. This is a fact that is not lost
on me, and the last thing we want to do is disappoint our fans. We've
had probably 10 gigs in the last 10 years cancel through no fault of
ours. (For the record, we've never canceled a show. We canceled
a tour once, but that's a different story) But the promoters invariably
come up with some story for the people that show up to a cancelled
show to make it look like it's the band's fault. I can tell you in our case
it never is. 

After much thought, having a word with the band, and getting hotel
confirmation numbers from the agent, I decided to go for it. We weren't
gonna do anything else anyway, so lets go play for whoever shows up,
and take what money we get. I know from much experience that this
band is not a huge pre sale ticket band, and a lot of people show up the
day of the show to buy a ticket. There are times when some go home disappointed if it's a sell out. 

 

So we head down towards Swansea, stop at a Burger King (NEVER
AGAIN IN THE UK) get loaded up on snacks and truckstop goodies
along the way. I'm becoming semi famous for my truckstop shopping
abilities. If there's a deal to be had, I'll find it. 

We drop bags at the hotel and head over to what's now known as "The
Scene". It was formally known as "Milkwood Jam" as I remember. The
scene upon our arrival was one Alan Jones. Alan is the promoter for the
gig. I've know Alan for years, we've done lots of shows for him and he's
always been fair to us. We have socialized and hung with him on many
an occasion. Alan was actually in a band that toured with Jimi Hendrix in
the late 60's. He's one of the good ones. As soon as I saw him, I said
WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME IT WAS YOU? And I gave him a big
hug. He was glad to see me and the rest of the guys, I could tell. 

 

We jumped all the gear in for soundcheck, which went really well, had a
bite to eat and a few beers. I knew I'd spent the entire day worrying for
nothing, because Alan knows how to promote. He told me that they had
been having a bit of trouble pulling in the venue the past couple of months. I
told him all he had to have done was call me and we would have worked something out. A bunch of worrying by 10 people for nothing. 

The sound engineer was one of the best ones we've run into (I'm gonna
take him out with us when we can afford him) and we played a really good
show to a very appreciative crowd. In the end, we got the money we'd agreed on thanks to a good crowd showing up. I'm glad we did it and we'd do it again. 


Thanks to all concerned and to all that came!

 

We welcome your comments and shares on your fave social site! 

 

Mike

 

 

 

02/27/2015

  • 9 comments
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9 comments

  • Julie
    Julie swansea
    Feb 28 2015 10:15 AM
    we were at that gig as my son plays in one of the bands that were your support that night Peacemaker,Die. We had a great night and loved your set. Would definitely love to see you again if you ever return here

    we were at that gig as my son plays in one of the bands that were your support that night Peacemaker,Die. We had a great night and loved your set. Would definitely love to see you again if you ever return here

  • veronica
    veronica Swansea
    Feb 28 2015 10:18 AM
    So glad you came. Heard so much about the band and we were very excited. You were all brilliant and even attempted to speak Welsh to us. Come back soon. It's a great venue too

    So glad you came. Heard so much about the band and we were very excited. You were all
    brilliant and even attempted to speak Welsh to us. Come back
    soon. It's a great venue too

  • Skinny Molly
    Skinny Molly
    Feb 28 2015 12:00 PM
    Thanks, Julie! Peacemaker Die is a really good band. I really dug them! -Mike

    Thanks, Julie! Peacemaker Die is a really good band. I really dug them! -Mike

  • Skinny Molly
    Skinny Molly
    Feb 28 2015 12:01 PM
    Thanks, Veronica! Sorry our Welsh is so bad! :D We're glad we came too!

    Thanks, Veronica! Sorry our Welsh is so bad! biggrin We're glad we came too!

  • Rina marie ROCK LEGENDS PHOTOGRAPHERS
    Rina marie ROCK LEGENDS PHOTOGRAPHERS COCOA, FLA.
    Feb 28 2015 1:52 PM
    Can not wait to see you all at the cabbage patch March 11,12,13,14 during Bike week. whoooooo hooooo ! Thanks Rina!

    Can not wait to see you all at the cabbage patch March 11,12,13,14 during Bike week. whoooooo hooooo !

    Thanks Rina!

  • Deanna Whitten
    Deanna Whitten Weeki Wachee Florida
    Feb 28 2015 2:09 PM
    Love those smiles.. Keep on rocking... :) We shall do our best, Deanna! Thanks! -SM

    Love those smiles.. Keep on rocking... smile

    We shall do our best, Deanna! Thanks! -SM

  • Lucy
    Lucy Talking Rock GA
    Feb 28 2015 7:51 PM
    Glad everything worked out. I'm sure the crowds were very happy it worked out as well !! Looking forward to seeing y'all again!!! Thanks Lucy!! -SM

    Glad everything worked out. I'm sure the crowds were very happy it worked out as well !! Looking forward to seeing y'all again!!!

    Thanks Lucy!! -SM

  • Alan Banks
    Alan Banks Derby
    Mar 1 2015 1:55 AM
    Seen you twice at the flowerpot and once a few years ago at rock and blues always a good show and always look forward to you coming back to the pot Thanks Alan! It's one of our fave gigs for sure!-SM

    Seen you twice at the flowerpot and once a few years ago at rock and blues always a good show and always look forward to you coming back to the pot

    Thanks Alan! It's one of our fave gigs for sure!-SM

  • Archbishop Of Canterbury
    Archbishop Of Canterbury Penzance
    Mar 3 2015 11:25 PM
    You are a moaning old fanny Estes....stop blaming the agent...he fought in the war for you Hahahaha I KNOW who this is. He's on his throne of gold, polishing his medals with Night Nurse and toilet paper!-Mike

    You are a moaning old fanny Estes....stop blaming the agent...he fought in the war for you

    Hahahaha I KNOW who this is. He's on his throne of gold, polishing his medals with Night Nurse and toilet paper!-Mike

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