I was doing a house parth last Saturday night and a few drunk people kept coming up asking for a song to sing. I mentioned that they needed to read throught the book and fill out the slip. they said okay and came back 10 minutes later and asked for the same song. They also kept dancing around my expensive equipment and falling over missing my stuff by inches. I was wondering how do most people handle drunk people at a party? Do you have the host sign a waiver protecting you and your equipment?
How do you guys handle it?
Thanks again..
The last thing i want to do is irritate a drunk person..
Let me know your thoughts...
Drunk People
You should have a contract with the client that includes a statement that they are responsible for the safety of you and your equipment. For private parties, you should demand payment in full before you even set up. As far as the drunks go, you MUST be in complete control of your show at all times. Let things slide and people will walk all over you. Warn the offending people once, and if you get no results, go to the person who hired you and demand that they control their guests or else you are packing up and leaving.
I will not hesitate to walk out. I have had to do it many times. I warn the bar owner/ bartender about the problem. They have 5 minutes to decide if they want the problem to stay or me. Pick one. I really don't care which one you pick, just do it in 5 minutes.
Private party could be a different matter, because most of the time the offender is a real good friend of the host. They might think you are being a jerk, when it's actually the other way around.
Signed contract helps, some.
Insurance helps, some.
Preventing the damage in the first place, is your best bet.
Private parties are usually more money, but they can be the biggest problem. I have all but quit doing private stuff. If I do, it's $100 an hour, and I might raise that.
Even that will not cover any serious damage.
Private party could be a different matter, because most of the time the offender is a real good friend of the host. They might think you are being a jerk, when it's actually the other way around.
Signed contract helps, some.
Insurance helps, some.
Preventing the damage in the first place, is your best bet.
Private parties are usually more money, but they can be the biggest problem. I have all but quit doing private stuff. If I do, it's $100 an hour, and I might raise that.
Even that will not cover any serious damage.
Well I'll address the two questions seperately. As far as people coming up and asking if we have a specific song, I have absolutely no problem with that. We have our complete song list in a searchable format on our computer so it takes all of 5 seconds to check and see. Remember you are dealing with drunks and a really long list of songs (usually printed quite small and cramped together). Also finding out what songs people are asking for that we don't have helps use prioritize which ones to order next.
As far as equipment. Step one is good insurance. No matter what else, this is key. We do have a clause in our contract that the venue/client is responsible for making a reasonable effort to protect it. If people start getting too close for comfort, we'll move it if possible (i.e. get the monitor off the dance floor, move the mic stands, etc). If not, we usually use gentle persuasion to get them to move away from the equipment. Getting combative and argumentative with the client or the guests right off as some have suggested seems counter productive to me. Maybe it's the referee in me (yes I am literally a referee) but proactive people management works better than reactive threats.
As far as equipment. Step one is good insurance. No matter what else, this is key. We do have a clause in our contract that the venue/client is responsible for making a reasonable effort to protect it. If people start getting too close for comfort, we'll move it if possible (i.e. get the monitor off the dance floor, move the mic stands, etc). If not, we usually use gentle persuasion to get them to move away from the equipment. Getting combative and argumentative with the client or the guests right off as some have suggested seems counter productive to me. Maybe it's the referee in me (yes I am literally a referee) but proactive people management works better than reactive threats.
