[Overtaxed]

Heh....maybe you should plan 2 programs for every gig: one with and one without.

In the professional freelance musician world, my sister either says "sorry" to second-comers or finds someone to substitute for the first commitment.

[RosieCotton]

It just frustrates me to no end, though. It's unprofessional to drag things out without giving the asker an answer. And if he ISN'T going to be there, I want to know ahead of time so I can either say no or plan accordingly.

He doesn't see the problem, because the guy who mostly runs the band is the same way - just kinda does stuff on the fly, and so far they haven't gotten in trouble for that. But at some point, Bill either has to figure out the bagpiping schedule more ahead of time OR say that whichever is officially scheduled first has priority. Can you imagine a big name band turning down gigs because they MIGHT get something better?