Via Mike Finnigan on Facebook. He’s been on the road for 45 years playing keyboards and has a tale of his own. There are many other such tales on The Worst Gig!
When I was starting out I used to play in nightclubs for weeks at a time. Then they might pick up an option and hold you over. I remember being forcibly held over by a mobbed-up joint — guys that were part of the broken nose club. I was a young guy, and these guys were legitimately gangsters. They weren’t like faux tough guys. Like in Youngstown, Ohio, it was like Crimetown, USA. The guy who owned it was a known guy. I told him in advance we had another commitment back in Kansas City. It was just before Christmas and we’d been out in the East for a couple of months. I said, ‘There’s no option on this. We can only do the two weeks.’ He said, ‘Fine.’ After a couple of days he was like, ‘We really like your band, I’ve decided to hold you over.’ I said, ‘What about this other commitment?’ He said, ‘Kid, you don’t get it. You’re staying!’ So we stayed another two weeks.