Until the guys in white coats work out the miracle of teleportation, or self powered flight, we're all going to come up against the issue of double bookings and depping work out. Well, unless you're a hairdresser or something.
A lot of my issues with depping come down to taking on gigs or shows as a financial definite and then having the dilemma of a different gig coming in (usually something where it would be more hassle to find a replacement and organise rehearsals to get them up to speed on non familiar stuff, as opposed to a covers gig where the material is fairly standard, or a show where the written sheet music is provided). Most people would tell you to honour the first diary commitment, which I do understand in a like for like trade off. For example, you wouldn't pit one function gig with another just because one is worth £20 more or something. That doesn't really seem fair to me. But, if there is an opportunity to perform with an original project rather than the outstanding covers gig, I would aim to seek a replacement for the covers gig, leaving me free to take the original project gig.
It's never really a thing about money. The way I see it, as long as you're doing alright for money that month, I think that it's a good idea to try and favour the original project gigs. Well, especially as a 20 something without a family to support. Perhaps in a few years my priorities will change, but just now that's where I'm at.
So what do you do when it happens? The obvious solution is to find a dep! But it's something I've been struggling with a little bit recently. I know it can't be the case, but I seem to have a problem finding people who will do a job with the same sense of pride as I do. This might come across a little big headed, but that's kind of the point! It upsets me that in theory it should be a like for like swap, however it works out being a slightly sub standard performance in my absence, and I get negative feedback from the band / show / project that I have depped out.
I've been the dep in enough situations to know that if you do a good job, it only does good things for your reputation in circles of musicians. It's simple! Do a good job, get asked to do more things, the wheels keep turning. If anything, it's not a bad idea to try and do a better job than the person you're depping for. That way, you know that you're not letting the side down on a performance.
I'd also like to dispel the idea that you should get a dep in who will do a worse job than you because it makes you look better. Your work should speak for itself, if anything it is a credit to you to be able to provide a dep who can be an exact stand in! It just seems like this would make everything a lot easier.
So I'm coming towards the end of my rant, but my plea to the world is...
- If you're depping on something, take it seriously! It's still a gig at the end of the day.
- Have a bit of pride in the job you're doing. Don't half arse it.
- Don't take things on that you can't do. If this involves reading music, this is quite important.
- The reason I haven't called you again is because you didn't nail it last time. Sorry. It's fairly simple.
Right, I'm glad to get that off my chest.
Al
