A trivial, superficial fact is assumed to be indicative of a much more substantial concern. For Van Halen, the candy dish indicated adherence to contract terms; here, pluralization indicates the integrity and values of an entire company.
It’s a cute idea that suggests an easy way to understand something complex. But there’s no free lunch. If you want a free lunch, you’re asking to be taken for a ride.
Van Halen was playing giant stadium shows that were massive logistical and coordination challenges and used this contract language as a canary for more important aspects like the scafolding setup. If they didn't read the catering closely, did they also skim the electrical schematics? Their concerts were perfect scenarios for heavy-weight process, defined procedures and scientific management. A lot of software is punk rock DIY; get something of value out there asap and then iterate. If you don't release until your pluralization is perfect you've waited too long.
I think we're in agreement, just highlighting these are very different approaches to essentially management at different phases of the project lifecycle. Van Halen probably didn't have that rider in their contract at their first show.
This is the excuse Van Halen used much later after to explain his extreme princess behavior.
I have never bought it.
If you want to make sure the venue is set up right you probably need to send an electrician to check on it before your tour arrives. The M&M thing may show if the venue operator read your contract not if they bothered fulfilling the parts that would be expensive (upgrading a building's electrical is expensive, making an intern pick the brown M&Ms out is not).
It probably didn't even prove that the venue operator read your contract. More likely the first time Eddie stormed out after seeing a brown M&M word would get around to everyone that "Eddie will flip his shit if there's a brown M&M so get rid of them. Yes, Seriously."
> If they didn't read the catering closely, did they also skim the electrical schematics?
This is dumb pop-psych stuff, like the "make interview candidates wait then reject them if they don't know the other candidates' names" type hiring "tricks". It's barely different than judging someone based on their handshake grip strength, imo.
Perhaps these companies prioritized the work properly, and determined that electrical work and scaffolding- both things that could kill people- were more important than M&Ms.
> If you don't release until your pluralization is perfect you've waited too long.
But I put making sure the pluralization was perfect in there to see if you're the kind of people who pay attention to detail! ;P
> This is dumb pop-psych stuff, like the "make interview candidates wait then reject them if they don't know the other candidates' names" type hiring "tricks". It's barely different than judging someone based on their handshake grip strength, imo.
Wait, what?
How are these related? One thing is putting a canary clause in a contract between companies to check if they actually read all the clauses (which had to be followed due to technical requirements that could make a stage collapse, for example), and another is your example.
Why are people in this sub-thread (including the grand-parent that started it) try to read between the lines of what David Lee Roth said? It's pretty clear and a solid way of doing businesses. Could they be just lying to justify their rock-star attitude back in the day? I highly doubt so.
> One thing is putting a canary clause in a contract between companies to check if they actually read all the clauses
Not following the letter of a canary clause, especially if you don't recognize it as such because it's inane and prima-donna-esque, doesn't mean you didn't read the clause. It's an assumption that Roth is making which he falsely believes has given him special insight into the contractors, when in fact it's entirely possible and even probable that the meaningless canary clause requirement was ignored in favor of actually handling the real, important requirements.
The best stage technician in the world could very well say, "he can get his own damn M&Ms", and that would not detract one iota from their skill or legitimacy.
Ask most professionals to do dumb shit outside their job description, and that's the response you'll get, rightfully so.
They added it because they routinely had issues with venues not doing the mandatory things. He also explains that their show was bigger than the other ones in terms of installation size (9 trucks vs 3). So, saying that it was just a primadonna caprice it's actually going the "easy way" here: following the rockstar stereotype we all have in mind.
My sister has worked as the operations manager for a large concert venue for several years and she has some great stories about contract riders. She regularly needs clarification on whether she needs to provide what preposterous thing they ask for. I think Lady Gaga asked for a goat, which ended up being in there to verify she read the whole thing, so no goat procurement was necessary. However, Sharon Osbourne (i.e., Ozzy's wife) didn't want to see walls. My sister needed to have production hang up curtains everywhere in the dressing room. Some of these people have become completely detached from reality.
As a result of this, over the course of her career, my sister has accumulated the weirdest contact list I could imagine. If I needed a bouncy house, chainsaw juggler, Russian interpreter, and a blimp, she could probably set that up in 30 minutes without ever needing to search online.
Missed opportunity to procure a goat. When I’m doing project management like this, if I ever have a minute to come up for air between getting all the essentials in place, I will absolutely prioritize little things like that for my own amusement and, hopefully, that of the client. I would at least have gone as far as lining up a supplier, getting a quote, and letting the client know we’re locked and loaded with a goat if they really want to pull the trigger.
Haha I bet there's a story out there about how this one venue was hosting the state faire the previous weekend and had goats left over or the venue owner's brother had a goat farm or something, so they didn't question Lady Gaga on the goat thing, so they just went and did it. Baby goats are the cutest!
A trivial, superficial fact is assumed to be indicative of a much more substantial concern. For Van Halen, the candy dish indicated adherence to contract terms; here, pluralization indicates the integrity and values of an entire company.
It’s a cute idea that suggests an easy way to understand something complex. But there’s no free lunch. If you want a free lunch, you’re asking to be taken for a ride.