Well I've missed a few months...

So after months of not writing a post I decided today was the day,

After coming back from my second trip (which you can find out about in my other blog) I had ended up settling down I guess, I felt pretty steady in myself after starting college and in my relationship, which is a good thing! I ended up changing job again to a local bar and restaurant which was going well... until the time came for payday and low and behold I hadn't been paid. Day 1 no pay. Day 5 no pay. Day 15 NO PAY. In a job where you get paid monthly you expect to get paid on time. Especially when you work your arse off over Christmas for your bosses. Not only that but I had been told I didn't fall into the bracket to make the first months pay so ended up having to wait for the month after. Great right? So around 17 days into the 2nd month of employment I finally get paid, and at this point I can't just walk out because I'm already 17 days in hand for next months pay!

So after countless staff chasing their pay (why the hell should you have to chase your own money?) we get promises that this month (month 3) it won't happen and we will get paid on time. I walked in the morning of payday to find all the staff sat around, I looked around at all those unhappy faces and can you guess what the chorus of voices said? Yep. That's right. "No ones been paid." Again. For weeks we all chased our money eventually I received my pay nearly two hundred pounds short.

I've had enough of this sh*t. So with that little gem of a revelation, I got my shizat and I walked away. Weeks flew by with the freedom. It was actually great! However in those weeks that last part of my paycheck never materialized... Seriously! Do you have any idea how hard it is to not write very offensive words in this?! I ended up having to go into the restaurant and get my money in cash from the safe with the help from my friend and coworker!

Now call me old fashioned but not paying your staff is one thing but bills to keep the restaurant open? Well that's another thing. We received countless calls with threats of cancellation of internet and phone line, deliveries refusing to leave until we paid cash and from what I've heard since leaving deliveries will not even bring stock anymore from lack of payment and not to mention council tax hasn't been paid either.

So where was all the money going? Well it turns out the owners have bought another restaurant and are putting all their money into that, funny that isn't it? What kind of f*****g idiot does it take to realize that if you stop paying your staff at your current business, who are making you the f*****g money in the first place they're probably going to walk out. How these people run businesses is beyond me. People in the service industry work long hours, some do Christmas, some do New Years Eve and still not an ounce of thanks is ever received.

So if you're wondering which sh*thouse of a restaurant this is it's "21 Mediterranean Kitchen" in Knutsford in sunny little Cheshire. If you do decide to dine or drink there remember to tip the staff because it's the only way they're going to get paid.

WHERE IS ALL THE BASS?!

So for any other musician readers you will probably find the same problem as me and my band Arcanist, the lack of Bassists. Or Drummers for that matter, however me being lucky I managed to find two brothers, Richard and Adam Corrie who are both ridiculously talented at their instruments. And not to mention their Dad who has the "go for it" attitude meaning he doesn't mind us playing loud to keep up with the volume of Adam's acoustic drum kit. We've been searching unsuccessfully now for a Bassist for about 6/7 months! And if you've been in that situation you may know that sometimes the engines of writing can come to a halt. I think location is a huge factor when it comes to music, especially living in smaller towns or rural areas like we do, although saying that I've made a point of posting ads as much as I can around Manchester and even online band sites to try and find someone to complete our lineup. During the writing and recording section of music a full band is not always essential, that being said it's still a huge help to have another creative input, however once you get to the performance stage of things its starts to get a little harder, involving playing to various clicks, tracks and click tracks! With all that being said we are still hoping that one day soon the right Bass player will come along, if you or anyone you know is from the area around Manchester in the UK and is particularly skilled at playing please get intouch with us! Even if you'd only like to be a session bassist or even just performance it'd still be great to hear from you. If you're feeling generous you'd could click here and follow us ok Twitter to find out when we find what we're looking for or even like us on Facebook by clicking here. We look forward to sharing our unusual blend of music with you guys!
Hazz