Me personally on a solo OMB gig don't mind as long as they get an OK from the person who hired me first & even then I rarely let them do more then one or two songs with me either singing or playing another instrument so not to let them Bogart the stage good or bad, especialy when people are payng good money to enjoy the evening & music, or to put a kabosh on it becoming an open mic night......in my band days same thing, plus the ok from band members also...

How do you feel about it?

It all depends on ..how HOT she is..

No....this is MY gig, get your own...

Seriously, in 15+ years I've allowed two people to sing with me. In both cases, they did a fine job, but after one tune...away they went.

Typically, its us making them sound rather good-which we should do-But you can push your luck just so far and then the professionalism of the whole things crashes down.

I'm biased of course, I no longer even let my former sidemen on the same stage because they wouldn't rehearse. So maybe I'm the wrong one to ask, lol...

I prefer not ... But it depends a lot on the situation and other factors- like whether it is a 'pubic' venue or a private party ... At a private party, the guest is probably a relative or friend of the host, so it may be difficult to say no ... whatever the situation, I want to at least be able to work out the tune -key, tempo, ending etc. During a break ... The problem always exists that if the 'guest' is BAD, it is going to reflect on the muscian ... and then, no matter what, there is ALWAYS the possibility of opening it up to 'open mic or karaoke night' ...

On jazz gigs, it's the honor system. COMPETENT players are welcome, with rules. I call all the tunes. If you can't cut it, STAY OFF THE STAGE! That's ONLY if the format is "jam-like".

On other jobs, sit-ins are not allowed, with rare exceptions (like John Entwistle, Lou Rawls, Rosemary Clooney, Bootsey Collins, Ray Price, some of the guys from Exile and quite a few others over the years).

I worked in one duo where it was nothing but sit-ins. The "star", Preston Weber, was almost a non-player. He called up all the regular "performers to do their one or two tunes. I had to find the key and back the "talent" on keys or guitar. It was part of the act...a 4 hour sing-a-long...awful, but the cash register kept ringing, and we kept working for 20 plus years!

To me, it's just part of managing the process! I played once a month for the Governor's mansion and the governor's daughter thought she was a singer. Guess what? I just shut her off (awful) and planned my trip to the bank with the check the next day!


Russ

Guest singers on my gig? Not if I can help it. They might sound better than me. And many have.

Private house parties, family reunions and the like...no problem. Those kind of jobs tend to be "Loosey-Goosey" from the get go.

It would be nice, however, if they asked before just jumping in. Over the years I've had a few liquored up jerks just grab my mic and start belting. At a recent house party a fella came up while I was singing and told me he was going to be my "back-up" singer. With that he positioned his face next to my left ear and started bellowing. I had to bite my lip from going off on him.

Its not much of a problem when on a stage...but performing at floor level seems to be more inviting than some can stand.

Eddie

For my personal gigs, which consist of all instrumental music, and usually for corporate dinners and restaurants, the answer is "no".

No exceptions.

Ian

For my gigs, generally no, unless it's been pre-arranged.

NEVER! And, they can't grab the mic because it's a headset mic. When the ask to sing, which is rare, I tell them that I don't have an extra mic, and no one but me uses MY mic.

Gary

Depends on how secure in your job and profession you feel!

And on how well you know the 'fill in'...

Honestly, thought this topic was going to be about 'replacement' players when you are sick or double booked... round here, visitors to the stage are 'sitting in' and replacement players are 'filling in'.