ANECDOTE - 4 buns for the band

About 4 years ago, I got a gig for my band (5 of us) at a high end restaurant in Waterloo. It was actually in the lounge upstairs beside the dining room. The agent had negotiated a meal for out of town bands because the gig started at 7pm and bands coming from Toronto would have to leave town in the early afternoon to get to the gig, given the heavy rush hour traffic.

However, when it came time to eat, the owner's wife, there in lieu of the owner that day, flatly refused to feed us. No reason, just "no". This was quite disturbing as we hadn't eaten since lunch and were facing the whole night of playing, till 11pm with no food. I practically begged for a bowl of soup, or something, but was flatly turned down. Unbelievable.

Then, to the rescue, the bar waiter said he would help us out and get us some food. He said he'd go to the kitchen and come back with some food for us. Yay!! Saved.

A few minutes later he came out, with a small basket containing 4 small dinner rolls. 4 buns!! for a 5-piece band. He put the basket down in front of us and acted as if he'd done us a favour.
We were stunned.

So the band had 4 buns for dinner. Sax player Carrie Chesnutt (who was on the gig) and I often make fun of this situation, but really we're just remembering how pathetic it was.

This is how working professional musicians are treated today.