Igor And His Foibles

Some years ago when there was a lot of work there was also a lot of problems for musicians. Some bandleaders (not many mind you but a few) had a habit of not paying the musicians that had played for them. Incidentally this situation took place in Omaha, Nebraska where I once lived and worked.

It was as though, once the bandleader got paid by the client, that money was "theirs."  They just couldn't part with it without going into spasms. Even in some cases being threatened with legal action (or worse) wouldn't prompt them to part with the money.

One such character (offender) was Igor  (not his real name). You could call him after several weeks, perhaps months or after a year for the money and still Igor would give you some lame excuse. You would get, "I'm sorry Billy - I meant to send you a cheque but I couldn't find my cheque book or,  I couldn't find my glasses. I couldn't see to write my signature." It was like that old story, "I had an emergency and needed the money because my "sick dog" needed an operation."

Igor had been up in front of the Union Board to address any number of complaints. Most of the time it was because he was delinquent in not paying the musicians the money he owed.

However, one time he was up in front of the board complaining because he hadn't been paid by some client. (That brought a chuckle from the Board Members except of course the musicians that played the gig.)  The Union was well aware of this guy's reputation but couldn't seem to curtail his annoying habit where money matters were concerned.

The problem was that Igor would eventually pay. Most of the time, he would contrive a somewhat plausible excuse why the money was late. He always seemed to be on a safe legal footing, albiet a precarious one. Clients have been known to be tardy where payment was concerned.  Agents could also slow down the payment process. And if you were working for a big corporation, their 30 or 60 day payment policy could also stretch out the payment time frame. In other words there were a lot of trees to hide behind in such situations.

One day, I was talking to a fellow musician who just happened to be complaining about Igor and these exasperating shenanigans.  It appears Igor owned him for a lot of jobs.He went on and on about this guy's reluctance to pay.

After he admitted to being owed for well over a dozen jobs, it begged the question. "But Frank." "Why do you keep playing for him?" He got, "Well, he gives me a lot of work."  

Some people never learn!!

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