Community Update

I was very upset to hear that Jeri and The Jeepsters were shorted on their pay after playing several scorching sets at The East Providence Yacht Club, last weekend on 7/27/13. It's been a week since it happened, and it's still really bothering me. I had never been to The East Providence Yacht Club before. I attended with three other friends for the sole purpose of hearing Jeri and The Jeepsters play. Two were regulars who attend shows at the club frequently, another was a potential repeat customer, like myself. We danced, as did many others. We bought quite a few drinks, as I recall. We tipped the bartenders pretty generously, too. We posted about our evening on Facebook and Twitter... Free advertizing for EPYC... Because we love the music, and we know when we go to hear Jeri and The Jeepsters play, we are going to have a great evening, no matter the venue. That evening was soured when we learned that they had been shorted on their pay and given some lousy excuse about it having been "a slow night..." Since I was there, I can say with some authority, it was anything BUT slow. The crowd that came that night was substantial, and very enthusiastic. They were clearly there specifically to see Jeri and The Jeepsters play. Had we known they were going to cheat the band at the end of the night, we would have saved our bar money and put it right into the deserving hands of the musicians, instead of the bartenders. The band should be paid for the music they played, for the crowd they drew, and for the publicity they generated for the club with their presence and promotional efforts. It's the club's duty to pay them, per their agreement. Sadly, they gave them the bait and switch. After hearing about how the band was treated, you can rest assured that I will never patronize The East Providence Yacht Club again. As a singer, I know what it's like to be treated that way by a venue. It's a rotten, lousy way to do business, and I refuse to spend one red cent in a place where I know that to be the practice. It's called a show of solidarity. And you can bet there will be many others who feel as I do, who will no longer give EPYC dime one of their business. Jeri is one of Rhode Islands premier vocal talents. She and The Jeepsters deserve treatment befitting the quality of their music, the atmosphere, energy, and devotion of the crowd they bring to an establishment. Word travels fast in Little Rhody…when it gets around that this is how The East Providence Yacht Club does business (and it WILL get around), quality bands won't be eager to play there any longer. People like myself won't be knocking down the doors to see live music, or buy drinks, or tip the staff while they're doing so. Then it will resume being a sorry little dive joint, with some brusque, broke bartenders, wondering where they went wrong. Here's a little business lesson: When you hire a band to play, the band gets paid. They get paid the FULL amount agreed upon. Nothing less. And in case the message is unclear, here's a simple equation for the club manager: Bad business practices = Lost $$$ + Lost Patronage. Mistreatment of those who make you successful will come back to bite you, in the end. Ethics count. The East Providence Yacht Club might want to consider that next time they choose to cheat someone what's owed them. I would sincerely like to believe that this was an error or an oversight on their part, and that they will make the effort to make amends, reparations, and restore good faith. If not, the loss is theirs. Their actions have lost them a customer. I trust that I am not alone in that sentiment. *Word to the wise: Patronize only if you're into dive bars, with mediocre service, who cheat their musicians out of promised pay. Any charm the venue might have had was lost because of how they conducted themselves. The waterfront location does little to wash away the bad taste that unethical business dealings leave in one's mouth.