2.25.2004
(Lille rewrote my long and emotional blog regarding last valentines gig. salamat dear sis)
Beware of Crateri Café:
Last Feb 14, My band (Rai and I) did a last minute gig at CRATERI, along Tomas Morato. The show was set up on the day itself, and we were told that we were going to be paid 2500 for two 10-song sets. When we arrived at the bar, there were only two customers. The management didn’t seem to care that we were the night’s entertainment and weren’t given instructions on how to set up; and when we did, the PA system was faulty. (the waiters didn’t know how to mix, there was feedback all over, and rai's guitar was giving out a low humming sound).
The owner first accused us of having faulty equipment/guitars, then shook his head and said “Well,you guys are good, but technical difficulties talaga, I have to cancel tonight. Don’t worry I’ll get you guys another time.”
Imagine trying to cancel a gig when the artist was already there! Usually we'd have contracts done before the gigs, but since it was set up last minute and we did it partially as a favor for a friend, we weren’t able to do it. Luckily I thought fast and told him that we could try with our own cables. Mr. Owner was almost hesitant, like he really didn’t want to continue the show. But he was trying to weasel out of it. Was it because there weren’t many customers at 10pm?
After we plugged in our own gear, we found out there was no humming: which meant that CRATERI’s equipment WAS faulty. So the owner said, “Okay, lets just wait.” For what? More people?
After more customers came in, we were told to “Just do one set”. We interpreted it as the band was supposed to combine their two 10-song sets into one. As we were promised a certain amount of money, we didn’t think it would make a difference. We did 21 songs, and took in about 3 requests… we basically made a lot of people pretty satisfied with our performance. After the set, a waiter gave us the talent fee: it was HALF OF WHAT we were told we would get!!!
Rai and I came in good faith Crateri management would transact fair business with us. We played for nearly 2 hours straight. I sang my ass off! Why weren’t we compensated properly? The manager kept saying he wasn’t the owner and he was instructed that he only release half the promised money.
It was very sleazy: to cheat a band out of hard-earned money. We did a two hour set, with A LOT of people coming to the bar ordering A LOT
food and beer. Even our party had a 400 bill for drinks.
Apparently, Crateri does this a lot: cancel BOOKED gigs last minute when there aren’t a lot of people at the bar. That’s just wrong. You can’t promise
an artist money, then cancel at the last minute when there is no crowd. That’s the risk a bar takes, otherwise you make it clear to the artist
that the talent fee is a percentage of what the bar makes that night, or the door. If you want to cut the talent fee, you can at least speak with
the band beforehand to tell them. There are many ways to treat artists fairly—you just don’t sneak out and swindle them after they’ve performed for the benefit of your establishment.
In fact, if the Phil justice system weren’t so slow, I would’ve sued CRATERI, and its owner MARK BANTIGUE. My voice is still sore from the 2 hour performance & it doesn't help that we're recording a song with BMG & JAM this March. Do yourselves a favor: don’t eat, drink or even play there. You’d be supporting swindlers. Copy paste this entry and pass this on to all your musician friends, anybody potentially doing business with them and everyone who should be warned.
Beware of Crateri Café:
Last Feb 14, My band (Rai and I) did a last minute gig at CRATERI, along Tomas Morato. The show was set up on the day itself, and we were told that we were going to be paid 2500 for two 10-song sets. When we arrived at the bar, there were only two customers. The management didn’t seem to care that we were the night’s entertainment and weren’t given instructions on how to set up; and when we did, the PA system was faulty. (the waiters didn’t know how to mix, there was feedback all over, and rai's guitar was giving out a low humming sound).
The owner first accused us of having faulty equipment/guitars, then shook his head and said “Well,you guys are good, but technical difficulties talaga, I have to cancel tonight. Don’t worry I’ll get you guys another time.”
Imagine trying to cancel a gig when the artist was already there! Usually we'd have contracts done before the gigs, but since it was set up last minute and we did it partially as a favor for a friend, we weren’t able to do it. Luckily I thought fast and told him that we could try with our own cables. Mr. Owner was almost hesitant, like he really didn’t want to continue the show. But he was trying to weasel out of it. Was it because there weren’t many customers at 10pm?
After we plugged in our own gear, we found out there was no humming: which meant that CRATERI’s equipment WAS faulty. So the owner said, “Okay, lets just wait.” For what? More people?
After more customers came in, we were told to “Just do one set”. We interpreted it as the band was supposed to combine their two 10-song sets into one. As we were promised a certain amount of money, we didn’t think it would make a difference. We did 21 songs, and took in about 3 requests… we basically made a lot of people pretty satisfied with our performance. After the set, a waiter gave us the talent fee: it was HALF OF WHAT we were told we would get!!!
Rai and I came in good faith Crateri management would transact fair business with us. We played for nearly 2 hours straight. I sang my ass off! Why weren’t we compensated properly? The manager kept saying he wasn’t the owner and he was instructed that he only release half the promised money.
It was very sleazy: to cheat a band out of hard-earned money. We did a two hour set, with A LOT of people coming to the bar ordering A LOT
food and beer. Even our party had a 400 bill for drinks.
Apparently, Crateri does this a lot: cancel BOOKED gigs last minute when there aren’t a lot of people at the bar. That’s just wrong. You can’t promise
an artist money, then cancel at the last minute when there is no crowd. That’s the risk a bar takes, otherwise you make it clear to the artist
that the talent fee is a percentage of what the bar makes that night, or the door. If you want to cut the talent fee, you can at least speak with
the band beforehand to tell them. There are many ways to treat artists fairly—you just don’t sneak out and swindle them after they’ve performed for the benefit of your establishment.
In fact, if the Phil justice system weren’t so slow, I would’ve sued CRATERI, and its owner MARK BANTIGUE. My voice is still sore from the 2 hour performance & it doesn't help that we're recording a song with BMG & JAM this March. Do yourselves a favor: don’t eat, drink or even play there. You’d be supporting swindlers. Copy paste this entry and pass this on to all your musician friends, anybody potentially doing business with them and everyone who should be warned.
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