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Tour nightmare in Turkey...The details
7 years ago
Hey guys...so if you've been following my twitter you've read that the tour I'm on hit a pretty bad bump...
TL;DR
-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain to crash with friend until I leave to perform at for Eurofurence on August 22nd
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
Heres what happened from the top IN DETAIL
It starts out smooth at first
June 28th at 9am I get sent a call from a friend of mine who played for Cirque Du Solilel (Lets name him Andy) asking me if I can do this tour thats currently going on Turkey, Andy tells me the drummer of that tour upped and quit in the middle of the night and now the music director asked Andy if he could do the tour but Andy said he couldn't do it because he already had some gigs lined up to play in China so now he's asking if I could do it.
At first I was hesitant because I already had stuff lined up, like Anthrocon was coming up in a few days, then I had to play Artscape (a huge music and arts festival in baltimore) there was Eurofurence and then there was the recording of Hashtag #2 with
foxamoore and 
peppercoyote (SUPPORT THE PROJECT HERE https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....read-thy-wings)
Then I did research on the tour, it's legit...the tour has performed sold out shows in Berlin,Australia,China,Russia and so on.
So I asked for the details and Andy said "Well After Turkey the tour hits Australia then New Zealand and then China and maybe Russia and it's paying $1100 a week, and everything (Hotel,food,transport,etc) is taken care of." I said "Let me make some calls, I wanna do the gig I just gotta let people know that they need to find a drummer to fill in for me"
SO this is when the chaos begins, I get in touch with the music director (Lets call him Sean) I'm getting all kinds of unsure responses if I would get to go on this tour or not and I was just pacing back and forth freaking out hoping I would get the gig because I've been struggling since I refused to take another cruise ship contract because I refuse to do another medical exam (a different subject within itself)
Once I got the green light I start packing, making call backs letting the clients know I confirmed a tour and let them know to start looking for musicians to fill in for me for the gigs I had lined up so I can do the tour, in that time I get a visa to perform in turkey and then I get my flight info.
All I pack is a suitcase of clothes, my bookbag and cymbal bag because I didn't get to choose the backline kit and all that was supplied to me was a Tama Starclassic kit, I can work with the kit but if I don't know what cymbals I have that could mean I would have to adjust my technique completely to those cymbals so I don't damage them or myself.
My suitcase is my checked bag my bookbag and cymbal bag are my carry ons.
----
June 29th 3am my dad drives me to the airport, I board my first plane to Toronto at 6am arrive in Toronto at like 7:38am First thing I did was to look for food but Tim Hortons was packed so I couldn't go there so I got a breakfast burrito instead...IT WAS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE after that I buy a Toronto magnet...I'm in Toronto from 7:38am to 6:30pm then theres a slight delay and I leave Toronto at 6:45
---
June 30th
I arrive to Amsterdam at 7:55am
I've never been to Amsterdam and I'm impressed with how quick this airport is the first thing I do is buy a magnet then I get to my gate and wait for the boarding call
Then this is where stuff gets shitty,When it's near boarding time, I go to check in and get my boarding pass the ladies at the gate desk there asked me if I had any baggage, I said "Yes" they check their system and they said they don't see my bag. They asked where I came from I said "Toronto" and there was a bunch of confusion so they had me describe my bag and luckily my bag had a red swiss gear name tag on it so it was easy to identify
I was so stupid, I was rushing so much that I didn't know I had to recheck my suitcase of clothes because I WASN'T NOTIFIED so the ladies that worked at the gate and printed the boarding passes said they would let KLM know that my baggage is missing.
SO NOW I'm gonna arrive into Turkey with NO FUCKING CLOTHES except for what I'm wearing on my back and on top of that I'm broke as a joke, so broke that I can only afford to pay my bills for the month but I thought everything would be okay once I got paid my agreed weekly amount. Boy was I wrong
KEEP IN MIND all of this is going on WHILE I'm learning a 90 minute show
I try not to let a suitcase get me down, all I could think of is making sure my first REAL tour and show goes well to the point that the people on this tour keep me on.
10:20am I leave Amsterdam and then arrive into Antalya, Turkey at 3:05pm I HAVE NOT FULLY SLEPT since the 28th the first person I meet is the "Promoter" Ayhan the reason why I put Ayhan's name in quotes is because...well you'll find out within this essay of a journal.
He asks the typical questions "How was your flight, have you been to turkey before,etc." there was a slight language barrier but we conversed quite fine.
We head straight to the Venue...didn't know it was a Outdoor venue but it looked like it sat a few thousand people, soundcheck is at 4:30pm and everyone is there watching me...then after I finish my first song the Frontman (Lets name him Wes) is floored and blown away...like damn near tears.
So this makes me happy, the frontman takes me to his dressing room and asks me what my schedule is like for the rest of the year, I explain to him I have to play 2 shows in Berlin (Eurofurence) and record for a week in Nashville.
He's like "Oh man...I wanted you on the next leg of the tour but I understand that you have other obligations" Imagine how I feel now lol
SHOW TIME
There are some bumps but no one in the crowd notices and everyone yet again is still floored I learn the show in 1.5 days, the music director and dancers told me the old drummer had 3 months to learn the show and he couldn't play it and then I come in and play the show damn near perfection.
I was NOT used to all of this attention.
We get on the bus to the hotel, and it was a fun ride to the hotel.
----
July 1st
I get emailed my contract and I go over it and everything seems to be in order, plus Wes bumps my pay up a extra $100 so I get paid $1200 a week instead of $1100...cool I ain't complaining
Keep in mind though if you think this is a lot for a tour...it really isn't...I have friends who are playing with MAJOR household name artists and getting paid minimum $5000 a show if not more.
But for me it being my FIRST official tour...no promotional tour BS this is a good way to start imo.
I head to the mall with Sean and bought some shirts...
I get asked if I wanted to go to a club and hang out with everyone...I was tempted then I asked "how long will yall be out?" I was told "4am" I said "Oh Nah...I'm good I need to get more sleep plus I can't afford to go anyways lol"
They completely understood
----
July 2nd
I get told theres a meeting later in the hotel lobby during the afternoon I head down and Sean says "Oh don't worry about coming you just got here, Wes is going to fill you in on everything later.
----
July 3rd
I get a email from Wes saying this:
"Hope all is well Brother and your settling in, I want to run a few things by you,
We will only be doing one show per week for the next three weeks, I will pay you $900 per week for the one show, I will also talk with Ayhan about a better per diem situation as well.
I want to meet with you later today or tomorrow to discuss the future with me, I understand you have some other commitments but I’m sure we can work something out, you need to think about your long term future and not short term projects, your on to much bigger and better things in your life now and opportunity like this does not come around often, we’ll talk about all of this when I see you.
Thanks again for being here Brother and let me know if you need anything."
Now am I disappointed with the pay cut? Yes but am I mad? No...why because it's still more than what I would make at home or on a ship...however there was a alarm going off in my head on why the pay cut was happening.
I responded with this:
"Hello Wes, First of all thank you for having me on board your turkish run of the tour, it’s a huge honor.
So for the show I just did I will be paid $900? That’s fine but after that I’ll be paid the agreed 1200 as per the contract? [Yes he bumped me up $100 yall]
Thank you so much for the per diem as I am financially in the red right now it would help a lot.
As far as the future, after my gig in Berlin and album recording in Nashville’s Oceanway studios I will be in the clear and I’m 100% on board to stay on board if that’s okay.
Also I got your second email about the live streams. Firstly I do apologize for going into detail, I’ll make sure I’ll be more careful about what I discuss on there when it concerns The tour.
Also quick question before I close, did you happen to capture any video footage of me performing in the soundcheck? If so I would love to have a copy for my personal files and if it’s okay with you I would like to post a snippet onto social media.
Again thanks for letting me be a part of this!
Cheers!"
I get notified my bag was found in Amsterdam so I head to the airport with The PRomoter's assistant to fill out a claim for my bag so the bag can get to Antalya
----
July 4th
I discussed how much I want to stay on the tour and then I talk to peppercoyote to discuss things to let him know I'm gonna take the tour and he completely understood and was supportive of my choice.
So I let Wes know I'm completely committed to the tour...
----
July 5th[b/]
I get a email saying this:
"Hello everyone,
Due to circumstances beyond my control the show has been canceled, because of the Billy (the old drummer) situation and having to make that money back and spend more money they decided to cancel the whole thing because they've already are in the red,
Im waiting now to talk with Ayhan about how we will settle all of this, my apologies but i hope you all can now understand why i need you on your best behavior at all times, Billy really did me in with this and his actions of just leaving like, it also caused huge problems with the hotel because he left without paying his bill.
I will contact you all as soon a si know whats going on, again my apologies for this.
Wes"
The first thing I do is message Sean saying: "So are the rest of the shows cancelled or just tonight?"
He says "I think it's the whole thing, waiting on word of a meeting to work out logistics. I've never been in this situation in a foreign country before. This sucks for everyone, waiting to hear"
All I responded with was "Wow..."
Why? Because I haven't gotten paid yet...I'm literally too afraid to check my bank account because I'm beyond the red at this point. (Cue song by Louis Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAH4zGd_W1s)
I ask Sean about Australia and he says "Australia is already booked, DIFFERENT AGENT ALL TOGETHER, Nothing changes with Oz and New Zealand, just trying to wrap my head around eveything else. The main guy (the investor) is a Millionaire and they told us the other night, and not to worry, and now this."
I said "The fact this happened, made me look stupid, like I was really starting to push this tour" Sean responded "You're not the only one, Australia can't come quick enough"
Then he adds "Wes must be devastated, can't be believe a drummer couldn't learn 16 pop songs, seriously you can read my last contact with him,I asked him to write up charts so he can get through the show, I was very nice about it too, he came into that show played it worse than ever, then he runs away!"
This is where my anger begins to build "I would call all your contacts and make sure billy doesn't get a gig again, because of him my bank account is overdrafted, I really needed the money PLUS I lost my luggage"
He says "I'm not that type of guy to bad mouth even him, karma will do it's work"
I said "Same my name rhymes with petty though...Billy being bitch and giving no warning threw everything out of whack...I'm kinda in my feelings right now I'm sorry"
ALSO TO ADD what I was told about this drummer is he was the original music director on this tour, he got all the musicians together on this tour because he knew them. The KEYBOARDIST even told Billy "If you're gonna leave give us a week to find someone else"
Also Sean tells me he's in debt and has $170 to his name...now that I look back at it, that shouldve been a flag...Then we discussed lawsuit potentials
----
[b]July 6th
No luggage yet but I get told by the promoter he has my stuff (cymbal bag and kick drum pedal) but there was 1 thing missing...my ipad clamp (iklip xpand for the ipad mini http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iklipxpand/ )
however I was told my luggage did arrive into turkey so The promoter hired a taxi driver to take me to the airport and to go inside the airport to translate the situation...you guys had no clue on how uncomfortable I was with this...but the taxi driver was nice at least...drove like a MUHFUKIN G!!!
Anywho I get my luggage then I check my bank account, I'm overdrawn by $316....around that same time a friend of mine calls me to check in on me...I explain what happened and he sent me some money to just get food and things I need.
Then I get a message from Sean saying "10pm meeting with the promoter"
The promoter pretty much pointed his fingers at Wes...saying it was his fault for not bringing enough people to the show...he paid Wes a deposit to pay US....
Lets pause there,typically a deposit is for props,clothes,renting instruments and other things...anywho lets continue
...I recorded the entire conversation...the keyboardist and bassist was on the side of the promoter and then I also found out no one got paid since the Turkish run of the tour started...my jaw hit the floor and I got angry and sick to my stomach.
AND THEN I said "Look, I just got here, and I'm still trying to process everything right now but SOMEONE IS LYING and I DON'T FUCKING LIKE IT"
thats all I can remember but it was a doozy of a night.
----
July 7th
I'm just still in disbelief with what just happened
I get flown out to Turkey,loos my luggage, learn a entire show in less than 2 days, Play the show as soon as I land into turkey, then I get a pay cut but don't get paid, then theres meetings, then nothing then the tour is cancelled, then I'm overdrawn by over $300...
Theres a meeting later in the evening and more drama ensues, the promoter tells us that the promoter wants us out of the hotel but doesn't say when and Wes wants the investor to rebook everyone's flights home, and book me a flight to where I want to go then they also negotiate to find a hotel to stay at...while flying home the first few cast members home
I'm SO embarrassed and ashamed to go home that I talk to 2 friends, one of them lives in London the other lives in Spain...I told the promoter I'll let him know which one of my friends will let me crash with them.
I get the okay to crash with my friend in Spain so yeah...
Also the keyboardist and bassist came out and complained to me more because they felt horrible on how I was dragged into this situation, and the keyboardist talked about how unprofessional Wes is and things like that...Wes got word and fired the keyboardist...The bassist quit
Also found out Wes worked out a deal to make sure the promoter pays the Keyboardist? Yeah that kinda rubbed me the wrong way but so much was going on that I was just numb at that time....
July 8th
We find out we have to leave the hotel, luckilly since I JUST got my luggage I didn't really unpack so I'm already ready to go. I go to check out and say I only used the mini bar because I was broke coming in on this tour and couldn't afford room service...once I explained that the promoter paid for my tab of 7 lira which is about $1 USD.
However one of the dancers that left didn't pay his room tab...and it was over 350 lira or $73 USD...things got so heated on who should pay that the promoter threatened to call the police on Sean and Wes...
While all of this is happening, the reality of this tour blowing up in my face starts to hit me...REALLY hard
https://twitter.com/teddywynton/sta.....516063232?s=21 <----This thread explains how I felt..
We get to the new hotel, it's a family based hotel and the room is horrible. 3 people in 1 room...luckilly we had 3 twin sized beds...
But there was no room for our luggage...it was just bullshit...the room would've been nice if we all had our own rooms but yeah...
then we meet up with Wes just to hang out...so Wes and I noticed one thing when we got lunch at his hotel...almost every hotel in Antalya is a "ALL INCLUSIVE HOTEL" which means Food, drink,pools,shopping and entertainment is provided by the hotel, meaning YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LEAVE THE HOTEL.
Which lead me to believe the promoter DID NOT KNOW what he was doing, what we could have done was toured different "All inclusive" hotels in Turkey instead of having 1 dedicated venue.
July 9th
The search of new musicians began...then I get my flight info
July 10th
we all go to the airport at midnight and arrive at 1am
My flight was quick but Wes,Prince (a dancer) and Sean's flights were from Turkey then a 24 hour layover in Frankfurt and then a flight to Vegas (thats where they're from) Wes WAS FUMING because the flights were booked so shitty...
I however arrived to spain in one piece but I'm broke AS FUCK now.
It was a fucking nightmare...A FUCKING NIGHTMARE...
----
So since this happened I made a Ko-fi Page to help me stay afloat until the Australian leg of this tour begins in late August
https://ko-fi.com/W7W3GJ6D
----
TL;DR
-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
----
I think thats most of it
Now if you guys want to help please donate to my Ko-fi so my bank account doesn't get closed ;3;
http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
If you want to support what I do please do stick around as I might need help with other things as well but it might not be super active as I kinda have pride issues...lolsmh
TL;DR
-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain to crash with friend until I leave to perform at for Eurofurence on August 22nd
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
Heres what happened from the top IN DETAIL
It starts out smooth at first
June 28th at 9am I get sent a call from a friend of mine who played for Cirque Du Solilel (Lets name him Andy) asking me if I can do this tour thats currently going on Turkey, Andy tells me the drummer of that tour upped and quit in the middle of the night and now the music director asked Andy if he could do the tour but Andy said he couldn't do it because he already had some gigs lined up to play in China so now he's asking if I could do it.
At first I was hesitant because I already had stuff lined up, like Anthrocon was coming up in a few days, then I had to play Artscape (a huge music and arts festival in baltimore) there was Eurofurence and then there was the recording of Hashtag #2 with
foxamoore and 
peppercoyote (SUPPORT THE PROJECT HERE https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....read-thy-wings) Then I did research on the tour, it's legit...the tour has performed sold out shows in Berlin,Australia,China,Russia and so on.
So I asked for the details and Andy said "Well After Turkey the tour hits Australia then New Zealand and then China and maybe Russia and it's paying $1100 a week, and everything (Hotel,food,transport,etc) is taken care of." I said "Let me make some calls, I wanna do the gig I just gotta let people know that they need to find a drummer to fill in for me"
SO this is when the chaos begins, I get in touch with the music director (Lets call him Sean) I'm getting all kinds of unsure responses if I would get to go on this tour or not and I was just pacing back and forth freaking out hoping I would get the gig because I've been struggling since I refused to take another cruise ship contract because I refuse to do another medical exam (a different subject within itself)
Once I got the green light I start packing, making call backs letting the clients know I confirmed a tour and let them know to start looking for musicians to fill in for me for the gigs I had lined up so I can do the tour, in that time I get a visa to perform in turkey and then I get my flight info.
All I pack is a suitcase of clothes, my bookbag and cymbal bag because I didn't get to choose the backline kit and all that was supplied to me was a Tama Starclassic kit, I can work with the kit but if I don't know what cymbals I have that could mean I would have to adjust my technique completely to those cymbals so I don't damage them or myself.
My suitcase is my checked bag my bookbag and cymbal bag are my carry ons.
----
June 29th 3am my dad drives me to the airport, I board my first plane to Toronto at 6am arrive in Toronto at like 7:38am First thing I did was to look for food but Tim Hortons was packed so I couldn't go there so I got a breakfast burrito instead...IT WAS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE after that I buy a Toronto magnet...I'm in Toronto from 7:38am to 6:30pm then theres a slight delay and I leave Toronto at 6:45
---
June 30th
I arrive to Amsterdam at 7:55am
I've never been to Amsterdam and I'm impressed with how quick this airport is the first thing I do is buy a magnet then I get to my gate and wait for the boarding call
Then this is where stuff gets shitty,When it's near boarding time, I go to check in and get my boarding pass the ladies at the gate desk there asked me if I had any baggage, I said "Yes" they check their system and they said they don't see my bag. They asked where I came from I said "Toronto" and there was a bunch of confusion so they had me describe my bag and luckily my bag had a red swiss gear name tag on it so it was easy to identify
I was so stupid, I was rushing so much that I didn't know I had to recheck my suitcase of clothes because I WASN'T NOTIFIED so the ladies that worked at the gate and printed the boarding passes said they would let KLM know that my baggage is missing.
SO NOW I'm gonna arrive into Turkey with NO FUCKING CLOTHES except for what I'm wearing on my back and on top of that I'm broke as a joke, so broke that I can only afford to pay my bills for the month but I thought everything would be okay once I got paid my agreed weekly amount. Boy was I wrong
KEEP IN MIND all of this is going on WHILE I'm learning a 90 minute show
I try not to let a suitcase get me down, all I could think of is making sure my first REAL tour and show goes well to the point that the people on this tour keep me on.
10:20am I leave Amsterdam and then arrive into Antalya, Turkey at 3:05pm I HAVE NOT FULLY SLEPT since the 28th the first person I meet is the "Promoter" Ayhan the reason why I put Ayhan's name in quotes is because...well you'll find out within this essay of a journal.
He asks the typical questions "How was your flight, have you been to turkey before,etc." there was a slight language barrier but we conversed quite fine.
We head straight to the Venue...didn't know it was a Outdoor venue but it looked like it sat a few thousand people, soundcheck is at 4:30pm and everyone is there watching me...then after I finish my first song the Frontman (Lets name him Wes) is floored and blown away...like damn near tears.
So this makes me happy, the frontman takes me to his dressing room and asks me what my schedule is like for the rest of the year, I explain to him I have to play 2 shows in Berlin (Eurofurence) and record for a week in Nashville.
He's like "Oh man...I wanted you on the next leg of the tour but I understand that you have other obligations" Imagine how I feel now lol
SHOW TIME
There are some bumps but no one in the crowd notices and everyone yet again is still floored I learn the show in 1.5 days, the music director and dancers told me the old drummer had 3 months to learn the show and he couldn't play it and then I come in and play the show damn near perfection.
I was NOT used to all of this attention.
We get on the bus to the hotel, and it was a fun ride to the hotel.
----
July 1st
I get emailed my contract and I go over it and everything seems to be in order, plus Wes bumps my pay up a extra $100 so I get paid $1200 a week instead of $1100...cool I ain't complaining
Keep in mind though if you think this is a lot for a tour...it really isn't...I have friends who are playing with MAJOR household name artists and getting paid minimum $5000 a show if not more.
But for me it being my FIRST official tour...no promotional tour BS this is a good way to start imo.
I head to the mall with Sean and bought some shirts...
I get asked if I wanted to go to a club and hang out with everyone...I was tempted then I asked "how long will yall be out?" I was told "4am" I said "Oh Nah...I'm good I need to get more sleep plus I can't afford to go anyways lol"
They completely understood
----
July 2nd
I get told theres a meeting later in the hotel lobby during the afternoon I head down and Sean says "Oh don't worry about coming you just got here, Wes is going to fill you in on everything later.
----
July 3rd
I get a email from Wes saying this:
"Hope all is well Brother and your settling in, I want to run a few things by you,
We will only be doing one show per week for the next three weeks, I will pay you $900 per week for the one show, I will also talk with Ayhan about a better per diem situation as well.
I want to meet with you later today or tomorrow to discuss the future with me, I understand you have some other commitments but I’m sure we can work something out, you need to think about your long term future and not short term projects, your on to much bigger and better things in your life now and opportunity like this does not come around often, we’ll talk about all of this when I see you.
Thanks again for being here Brother and let me know if you need anything."
Now am I disappointed with the pay cut? Yes but am I mad? No...why because it's still more than what I would make at home or on a ship...however there was a alarm going off in my head on why the pay cut was happening.
I responded with this:
"Hello Wes, First of all thank you for having me on board your turkish run of the tour, it’s a huge honor.
So for the show I just did I will be paid $900? That’s fine but after that I’ll be paid the agreed 1200 as per the contract? [Yes he bumped me up $100 yall]
Thank you so much for the per diem as I am financially in the red right now it would help a lot.
As far as the future, after my gig in Berlin and album recording in Nashville’s Oceanway studios I will be in the clear and I’m 100% on board to stay on board if that’s okay.
Also I got your second email about the live streams. Firstly I do apologize for going into detail, I’ll make sure I’ll be more careful about what I discuss on there when it concerns The tour.
Also quick question before I close, did you happen to capture any video footage of me performing in the soundcheck? If so I would love to have a copy for my personal files and if it’s okay with you I would like to post a snippet onto social media.
Again thanks for letting me be a part of this!
Cheers!"
I get notified my bag was found in Amsterdam so I head to the airport with The PRomoter's assistant to fill out a claim for my bag so the bag can get to Antalya
----
July 4th
I discussed how much I want to stay on the tour and then I talk to
peppercoyote to discuss things to let him know I'm gonna take the tour and he completely understood and was supportive of my choice. So I let Wes know I'm completely committed to the tour...
----
July 5th[b/]
I get a email saying this:
"Hello everyone,
Due to circumstances beyond my control the show has been canceled, because of the Billy (the old drummer) situation and having to make that money back and spend more money they decided to cancel the whole thing because they've already are in the red,
Im waiting now to talk with Ayhan about how we will settle all of this, my apologies but i hope you all can now understand why i need you on your best behavior at all times, Billy really did me in with this and his actions of just leaving like, it also caused huge problems with the hotel because he left without paying his bill.
I will contact you all as soon a si know whats going on, again my apologies for this.
Wes"
The first thing I do is message Sean saying: "So are the rest of the shows cancelled or just tonight?"
He says "I think it's the whole thing, waiting on word of a meeting to work out logistics. I've never been in this situation in a foreign country before. This sucks for everyone, waiting to hear"
All I responded with was "Wow..."
Why? Because I haven't gotten paid yet...I'm literally too afraid to check my bank account because I'm beyond the red at this point. (Cue song by Louis Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAH4zGd_W1s)
I ask Sean about Australia and he says "Australia is already booked, DIFFERENT AGENT ALL TOGETHER, Nothing changes with Oz and New Zealand, just trying to wrap my head around eveything else. The main guy (the investor) is a Millionaire and they told us the other night, and not to worry, and now this."
I said "The fact this happened, made me look stupid, like I was really starting to push this tour" Sean responded "You're not the only one, Australia can't come quick enough"
Then he adds "Wes must be devastated, can't be believe a drummer couldn't learn 16 pop songs, seriously you can read my last contact with him,I asked him to write up charts so he can get through the show, I was very nice about it too, he came into that show played it worse than ever, then he runs away!"
This is where my anger begins to build "I would call all your contacts and make sure billy doesn't get a gig again, because of him my bank account is overdrafted, I really needed the money PLUS I lost my luggage"
He says "I'm not that type of guy to bad mouth even him, karma will do it's work"
I said "Same my name rhymes with petty though...Billy being bitch and giving no warning threw everything out of whack...I'm kinda in my feelings right now I'm sorry"
ALSO TO ADD what I was told about this drummer is he was the original music director on this tour, he got all the musicians together on this tour because he knew them. The KEYBOARDIST even told Billy "If you're gonna leave give us a week to find someone else"
Also Sean tells me he's in debt and has $170 to his name...now that I look back at it, that shouldve been a flag...Then we discussed lawsuit potentials
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[b]July 6th
No luggage yet but I get told by the promoter he has my stuff (cymbal bag and kick drum pedal) but there was 1 thing missing...my ipad clamp (iklip xpand for the ipad mini http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iklipxpand/ )
however I was told my luggage did arrive into turkey so The promoter hired a taxi driver to take me to the airport and to go inside the airport to translate the situation...you guys had no clue on how uncomfortable I was with this...but the taxi driver was nice at least...drove like a MUHFUKIN G!!!
Anywho I get my luggage then I check my bank account, I'm overdrawn by $316....around that same time a friend of mine calls me to check in on me...I explain what happened and he sent me some money to just get food and things I need.
Then I get a message from Sean saying "10pm meeting with the promoter"
The promoter pretty much pointed his fingers at Wes...saying it was his fault for not bringing enough people to the show...he paid Wes a deposit to pay US....
Lets pause there,typically a deposit is for props,clothes,renting instruments and other things...anywho lets continue
...I recorded the entire conversation...the keyboardist and bassist was on the side of the promoter and then I also found out no one got paid since the Turkish run of the tour started...my jaw hit the floor and I got angry and sick to my stomach.
AND THEN I said "Look, I just got here, and I'm still trying to process everything right now but SOMEONE IS LYING and I DON'T FUCKING LIKE IT"
thats all I can remember but it was a doozy of a night.
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July 7th
I'm just still in disbelief with what just happened
I get flown out to Turkey,loos my luggage, learn a entire show in less than 2 days, Play the show as soon as I land into turkey, then I get a pay cut but don't get paid, then theres meetings, then nothing then the tour is cancelled, then I'm overdrawn by over $300...
Theres a meeting later in the evening and more drama ensues, the promoter tells us that the promoter wants us out of the hotel but doesn't say when and Wes wants the investor to rebook everyone's flights home, and book me a flight to where I want to go then they also negotiate to find a hotel to stay at...while flying home the first few cast members home
I'm SO embarrassed and ashamed to go home that I talk to 2 friends, one of them lives in London the other lives in Spain...I told the promoter I'll let him know which one of my friends will let me crash with them.
I get the okay to crash with my friend in Spain so yeah...
Also the keyboardist and bassist came out and complained to me more because they felt horrible on how I was dragged into this situation, and the keyboardist talked about how unprofessional Wes is and things like that...Wes got word and fired the keyboardist...The bassist quit
Also found out Wes worked out a deal to make sure the promoter pays the Keyboardist? Yeah that kinda rubbed me the wrong way but so much was going on that I was just numb at that time....
July 8th
We find out we have to leave the hotel, luckilly since I JUST got my luggage I didn't really unpack so I'm already ready to go. I go to check out and say I only used the mini bar because I was broke coming in on this tour and couldn't afford room service...once I explained that the promoter paid for my tab of 7 lira which is about $1 USD.
However one of the dancers that left didn't pay his room tab...and it was over 350 lira or $73 USD...things got so heated on who should pay that the promoter threatened to call the police on Sean and Wes...
While all of this is happening, the reality of this tour blowing up in my face starts to hit me...REALLY hard
https://twitter.com/teddywynton/sta.....516063232?s=21 <----This thread explains how I felt..
We get to the new hotel, it's a family based hotel and the room is horrible. 3 people in 1 room...luckilly we had 3 twin sized beds...
But there was no room for our luggage...it was just bullshit...the room would've been nice if we all had our own rooms but yeah...
then we meet up with Wes just to hang out...so Wes and I noticed one thing when we got lunch at his hotel...almost every hotel in Antalya is a "ALL INCLUSIVE HOTEL" which means Food, drink,pools,shopping and entertainment is provided by the hotel, meaning YOU DON'T HAVE ANY REASON TO LEAVE THE HOTEL.
Which lead me to believe the promoter DID NOT KNOW what he was doing, what we could have done was toured different "All inclusive" hotels in Turkey instead of having 1 dedicated venue.
July 9th
The search of new musicians began...then I get my flight info
July 10th
we all go to the airport at midnight and arrive at 1am
My flight was quick but Wes,Prince (a dancer) and Sean's flights were from Turkey then a 24 hour layover in Frankfurt and then a flight to Vegas (thats where they're from) Wes WAS FUMING because the flights were booked so shitty...
I however arrived to spain in one piece but I'm broke AS FUCK now.
It was a fucking nightmare...A FUCKING NIGHTMARE...
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So since this happened I made a Ko-fi Page to help me stay afloat until the Australian leg of this tour begins in late August
https://ko-fi.com/W7W3GJ6D
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TL;DR
-Got offered a tour in Turkey on June 28th
-Had less than 2 days to learn a 90 minute show
-First show on June 30th went flawless
-Was offered to play drums for the rest of the tour
-Paycut on July 3rd
-Bowed out of the rest of my gigs on July 4th
-Entire tour got cancelled on July 5th
-July 6th Had a meeting with the promoter, he explained his view of what happened, drama
-July 7th Wes explains his side of what happened,figure out logistics of getting out of Turkey
-July 8th we get kicked out of the hotel,fire the keyboardist and the bassist quits, get put into a shitty family hotel...3 people in 1 room
-July 9th We get flight info to head home or in my case, to spain.
-July 10th Arrived to Girona, Spain
-I made a Ko-fi page to help recover my overdrafted bank account http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
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I think thats most of it
Now if you guys want to help please donate to my Ko-fi so my bank account doesn't get closed ;3;
http://ko-fi.com/tedwynton
If you want to support what I do please do stick around as I might need help with other things as well but it might not be super active as I kinda have pride issues...lolsmh
I'm sorry that things turned out so shitty dude. I hope that you're able to recover from this.
This is a shitshow beyond all shitshows. I'm really disgusted how you were treated and I hope you can be made whole.
