Bass Player Bother

Here is the situation for the band I am in. There are two guitarists, myself and my friend Paul(who originally advertised for other band members), my dad the drummer. We are all 110% commited to practice and gigs. The trouble lies, however, with the bass player, Gerry, who applied to our advert for a bass-man. He has another band with a gig list running to November-ish but is a damn good player and he's been playing with us for the past few months. Now we also have another bass player who would be 100% commited to us if we want him and he wants an answer as of tomorrow because he dosen't want to be pissed around. All keeping in mind we want to start gigging as soon as poss. Surely some of you guys and gals must have had a similar problem somewhere down the line. So, to sum things up, do we keep gerry and work around him or get our new man Russ in and really get down to business? The clock is ticking and I sort of know what I want to do but what do you think?
Would be interesting to hear some of your stories and any advice.

Damn, this is almost like Jerry Springer...
Thanks for listening.
Luke.

Jer-ry!Jer-ry!Jer-ry!
Jesus?! What am I like?!!!:)

I agree with trendkillah, take the guy who can commit, as long as he can play well. I mean you can't go forward with someone pulling you back...

I say if you dig playing w/this guy keep him.
As a professional musician there were plenty of times I would be playing w/ 3 or 4 bands so I could keep the income I needed to avoid a day gig. You could always use the other guy as a sub for when you want to schedule a gig on a date that the other bass player has a conflict with.
On the plus side, if this guy is gigging w/another band that could have the potential of opening a lot of jobs for you. Club owners like dealing w/people they know, so if he's in tight w/a couple of these owners they may book you sight-un-seen on the reputation of this bass player. Just something to think about.
BTW, I think it's pretty cool your dad is playing drums for your band.
Play w/people who inspire you and bring out the best in your playing. It's inevitable that a good bass player is gonna come w/some baggage, it's like dating a really hot chic, everybodys' gone want her and try there damnest to steal her away.

Get with Russ, it will not work out with the other guy whos in the other band. Trust me

Russ said he could give us 110% then the other day he won full custody over his kid son and says he may not be able to put in all the practice for the next few weeks. So, 'ol Gerry is looking likely to be our contingency man while Russ goes away with some material and a 3 week break so his son can get back into a normal routine. We'll have to work something out with the both of them and when the gigs start flowing in it might give one of them a kick up the arse to make up their mind.
Ho hum.
Will we ever get out gigging at this bloody rate!:)
And demos are a pain in the backside....
Bloody hell!!

That's my rant over for the day.
Thanks lads.