Semi-seriously just for a second, when I was actively playing clubs and lounges, and got to know a lot of the regulars, many times they'd ask to come up on stage and sing a number or two with the band.

Surprisingly, there were a few who were real good and could have cut it professionally, and we always enjoyed doing old swing standards with them and more often then not we'd end up inviting them up onto the stage to favour us with a tune.

Every so often though, we'd get somebody like Marion described in the first post. Now granted, we were able to transpose on the fly and adapt...but the real challenge is in backing someone up with no sense of time, rhythm or phrasing whatsoever. You feel like suddenly someone slipped some bad acid into your beer....and have trouble making the distinction between operating in a zero gravity environment musically, or whether or not this performer has really taken to heart the concept that there really are no rules.

In those instances, the only thing we could do, was drop the drummer and bass player, and I'd throw in the odd chord from the keyboards, but basically let it turn into an a cappella number. (More effective that way. Shame the things we had to do in exchange for free drinks from the patrons.) *BG*