time crunch here

he said his guitarist left for vermont, he has 3 songs that are done with him, the others are to be done by me. and honestly i am no steve vai, but i like to think that i can hold my own. i usually draw a couple of people to watch me play when im there. i didnt bother with talking to him last nite. didnt pick up the cell. it sounds like he is all over the place,like ohio, canada, he says he has the right connection to make it happen. if i did take it that i would stay here, in ny and just being doing gigs 3 hours away. i know that everyone is like laughing at me. i mean im really worried myself. but say this is ok and they make it. wouldnt you regret it for the rest of your life? i mean has this ever happend to you where somone comes to you and wants you to play and talks about a contract tha whole time rather then playing?

Do as most people have said. How about have him bring the band up to Guitar Center so you can meet them?

But seriously don't go to some private location. Make it public.

i mean im really worried myself. but say this is ok and they make it. wouldnt you regret it for the rest of your life? i mean has this ever happend to you where somone comes to you and wants you to play and talks about a contract tha whole time rather then playing?

Absolutely not.

See, here's the thing, the way this guy is approaching you is unprofessional.

Given that he's being unprofessional now, say you do make it. He'll be even more unprofessional when he has the money to hire lawyers.

The song goes multi-gold, you're ready for a big tour, and he walks in and says "Sorry kid, but I rep'ed you with some other guy I heard at Guitar Center.. man he's got some chops!"

But, I'd also be willing to bet a lot of money this entire thing leads nowhere If you manage to survive it.

Why do I bet that?

Because the entire way he's approached you has reaked of unprofessionalism.

If this band is this good, you should be able to get the name of the agent and producer and talk to both of them. You should be able to call up places where they've had gigs and talk to the managers about what the crowd reaction to the band was like. You should be able to call up the former guitarist in Vermont and talk to him about his experience with the band. You should be able to meet the band in public and they should have no problem letting you listen to the songs they have completed already, as well as demo cuts of the rest of the tunes.

You should be able to do all of that without going to some guy's house in the "not so good part of town."

But my bet is there is no band. It's some guy who is trying to pick you up and prey on you because you're a gullable kid.

People here aren't laughing at you . . . we were all young and gullable at one point or another. Rather, we're telling you that this sounds more than shady and that you are likely endangering yourself if you don't listen to us.

But hey ... don't believe us .. go to this guy's house in the not so good part of town. Make sure you go alone, and only at night. Don't leave his name or number with anyone and make sure no one knows where you've gone or when to expect you home. Eat and drink whatever he offers you. I'm sure you'll have the experience of a lifetime.

You won't make a million as a musician doing this . . .but if you live you can probably manage to get yourself on Opera or Dr. Phil as a male rape victim.

Well... did you get shot up, or are you rolling in the Benjamins? 8)

Here's the thing... he says the contract is for $1.4 million.

$1.4 million. The fixed dollars spelled out in contracts are advances - for 'advances against royalties'. They cover the costs of recording, and whatever is left over the artist keeps; it's deducted from future royalties.

Perspective: Mariah Carey's 2002 deal with Def Jam is for four albums. The industry press valued the contract at $20-28 million; her advance was reported as being between $5 and $8 million for the whole deal. That's $1.25 to $2 million per record.

Nothing's standard in contracts, of course, but the average royalty works out to somewhere around $1 per CD sold through regular channels. $1.4 million advance = platinum album before the artist gets more money. Labels do not bet that on unknowns; they rarely bet those amounts on folks with a row of Grammys on the nightstand.

I'm not saying it's impossible; recording contracts are usually multiple-record deals. That doesn't mean they'll record several albums for you - it just means they have the right to do that (all the Jimi Hendrix lawsuits that took 20 years to settle were because earlier companies had signed him, then never released what they had rights to)

So maybe it's a 7 record deal, with $200K for each one, and the guy you met is doing the math. That's possible for a new artist... Wishbone Ash made industry headlines when they got $250K in advance money for their first recording in the 70s. That's when the typical new artist was getting $30-100K.

Joe raises the best point - the cost of a studio musician will start at around $2K for a complete album, based on the union contract rates and 15 minutes of finished recording in every 3 hour block. Even if the producer is a real perfectionist, a $6K budget should cover it. Pay that and you're done; there are no residuals for studio musicians on records. Sign a member to the band, and there's probably going to be some royalty share - most recording bands are corporations, legally, and the band members stockholders.

I sincerely hope it ends up furthering you towards your goals, but I'm thinking he's blowing smoke. Be careful.

Drop it like it's hot man. No matter how tempting the million-dollar contract is, it's way too farging obvious that it is a totally lame and insane story, and no good can come out of it.

Tell him you got another gig and that you can't and see how hard he trys to get you back. If he starts making insane offers, then he's a low life pedophile who wants to get inside your pants. No offense, but if I was about to land a million dollar deal, I wouldn't walk into a guitar center looking for someone who can smoke. I'd be hiring the best studio musician I could find. This is so sketch man. Meet him, but in public, ask for the band to come along. If he starts making excuses then just walk away while you still have your dignity and a butthole of normal diameter.

Yeah, go with the public place idea. Bring a friend, its worth having a look into. Even if you don't "make it", you will still be meeting more musicians, and getting more connections. But make sure you bring a friend, and its public!