[Dixielandjazz] TIPS

[John Farrell]

Steve Barbone said :

" Like all those underpaid bands in England. Should we
 not tip because we think management should pay you an adequate wage? Not
 bloody likely. There would be no OKOM in England if management had to
 pay a decent wage to all those Dixieland Bands working in clubs."

Tipping bands in the UK is simply not done, thank goodness. They do not have
the begging bowl mindset which, according to recent posts on the subject,
appears to be the normal thing with American outfits. Here in England a gig
is offered and if the money is acceptable to the bandleader the gig is
taken, if the money is not acceptable the gig is turned down. Apart from CD
sales no attempt to extract further financial reward in respect of that gig
is made, indeed the proprietor of the venue would probably be very annoyed
if the musicians he hired solicited his customers for money. The band
concerned would probably never work there again.

England does not have a monopoly on underpaid bands, they exist all over the
world.

The notion that "there would be no OKOM in England if management had to pay
a decent wage to all those Dixieland bands working in clubs" is nonsense. It
suggests that the survival of OKOM here is dependent upon bands being poorly
paid, which taken to its logical conclusion means that if management could
not pay a decent wage (whatever that is) and as a consequence all British
jazz clubs closed down tomorrow, OKOM would disappear from our shores. Next
we shall be hearing that the moon is made of green cheese.

Practically all the British jazz musicians I know play primarily because
they love their music, money is of secondary importance to them, they do not
allow the acquisition of money to become their reason for living. Long may
it remain so.

John Farrell
stridepiano at tesco.net
http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm