Re: mitzvot music (was Scarborough Fair tune)

[Beverly Woods <tradmusic...>]

We used to do most such events on the basis of verbal agreements, but lately
more people have been asking us to give them contracts, so we've been doing
that. A meeting beforehand, whose understandings are spelled out in a
detailed contract signed by both parties, can pretty much eliminate this
kind of trouble, and several other kinds as well.

Beverly

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>From: Alex Lubet <lubet001 (at) umn(dot)edu>
>To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>Subject: Re: mitzvot music (was Scarborough Fair tune)
>Date: Tue, Jul 16, 2002, 11:19 AM
>

> Actually, I've never been in a situation where the problem was anywhere
> near that complex.  In a case of my own son's bar mitzvah, the music we
> engaged got the times wrong and had to leave early, about the time people
> had finished eating and might have wanted to dance.  Unfortunately, simchas
> tend to get treated his way all too often.  No one family is going to be
> booking the group for all that many simchas and there aren't that many
> people who are going to make a fuss big enough to make a difference.  I,
> however, and sort of person who does and, although my son isn't eager for
> another bar mitzvah, we did get some satisfaction, an apology and a
> reimbursement, enough to feel justice was done.
>
> I'm happy for the empathy this thread has generated.  I suspect that will
> be dealing with this personally again until my daughter's wedding, which,
> given the pattern of late marriages in our family won't be for a
> while.  This is a good thing to, because my wife and I will be able to play
> enough jobs to pay for the next simcha.
>
>
> At 10:59 AM 7/16/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>>On Tue, 16 Jul 2002, Alex J. Lubet wrote:
>>
>>> Something else has been on my mind that I thought I'd put to the list, since
>>> matters relevant to jobbing musicians are a frequent concern.  I'm usually
>>> on the jobbing side myself, but not this time.  My son's bar mitzvah was
>>> last shabes and there was a bit of a mix-up with the music I engaged.  (I
>>> received an apology and things are more or less patched up.)  This is not
>>> the first time I've seen tussles of this kind (I'll spare you the details,
>>> they don't matter), but the problem seems to be a major cognitive dissonance
>>> between those musicians for whom simchas are the bottom of the food chain of
>>> what they do (concerts are usually at the top) and those who engage them,
>>> for whom b'nai mitzvot, weddings, etc. are singular (one would hope), sacred
>>> moments where, G_d willing, all is perfect.  Needless to say, this is not a
>>> strictly Jewish issue, nor even an exclusively musical one (at least, it can
>>> apply to serious photographers, maybe others), but I wonder what could be
>>> done to get everyone on the same page.  Your thoughts?

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