I am all too familiar with the nit-picky requests (actually, more like
demands) that performers make in their contracts. The portion of the
contract in question is called a 'rider' and it can make or break the
relationship between the artist & their management with the promoter(s)
at hand. I used to work for a booking and promotion agency in '94 & '95.
Most memorable was the Indigo Girls contract rider, which went on for (4)
pages, specifying meals, elaborate 'snacking foods' to be distributed at
odd times during the day, and several rounds of beer and expensive waters
(!). We often forget that the rider also includes the needs of the bands
crew, so it can become quite lengthy and costly; (no wonder the Indigo's
are swollen these days!). Most notable from their rider was a request for
a certain sort of blue corn chip which, if could not be attained at first
try, the girls humbly provided an 800 # for the distributor to dtermine
the nearest vendor. These people don't leave much room for the word 'no'.
Not specific to the rider persay, but another interesting story - during
the second leg of Melissa's "Yes I Am" tour, she had hired a bunch of
'sharks' to represent her in her new found glory. We had worked with her
usual people before, but this was a new bunch, and they didn't want to
play fair. The negotiation between promoter, venue, and artist AFTER the
show is called 'settlement' and it can get ugly. Melissa's 'new'
representation wanted us to provide receipts for every single thread of $
spent, right down to the cleaning bill for the towels used by the band
and crew. We received a fruit basket and an apology from Melissa herself
about 3 weeks afterward.
As far as Joni is concerned, the only thing I can relate is this; During
the BSN tour, Joni was booked to stay at The Seaport Hotel (my place of
employment, but not at the time) in Boston, a non-smoking establishment
with no openable windows. To my knowledge, Joni's contract states that
wherever she stays MUST allow smoking, and if it does not, a window
should be available (inferring that she will smoke against house policy).
Though I wasn't there personally (I only started at this job in july...),
Ms. Mitchell was apparently in a huff from the get go because of the lack
of an openable window, but then came the problem with the chicken. Joni
wants a baked chicken for her din-din, not fried, not grilled, but baked.
When a grilled chicken was delivered to her room, that was the last
straw. By the time one of my room service cohorts got back up to the 18th
floor with a baked chicken, Joni was already set-a-packing, heading full
speed to The Four Seasons. Can ya' blame 'er? The Seaport Hotel is
located just a few minutes walk from the Fleet Boston Pavillion (former
"Harborlights"), and must have seemed like a good idea to whomever booked
the room. I now have to endure hearing about what a bitch Joni was every
time she comes up at work....
One last note; I find this hard to believe, because by all accounts I've
always heard she's personable and friendly, but apparently Tori Amos has
a codicil in her rider that states venue employees are not to make eye
contact with her. STRANGE! -Chris
NP:Joe Jackson-Night and Day2(also strange...)
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