[Dixielandjazz] Big Bands

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/4/04 12:55:07 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
sign.guy at charter.net writes:

> Everyone has fun and the band sounds pretty
> good and they donate their proceeds to charity each year .
> 
> 

IF they were all that Charitable minded they would consider donating that 
money to an organization that strives to HIRE professional Musicians to play and 
promote live music events.

Who the Hell needs charitable contributions more than the millions of 
unemployed and underemployed musicians in this world.


The point is there are a lot of guys, because of the musical climate, who
want to play but because there are more musicians than demand will work
cheap.   It's all the bottom line.

That is certainly true all over the country Larry, but this could be changed 
if they and all the others did more promotion and marketing of their 
respective groups and went out and SOLD themselves and convinced buyers of all kinds 
that they are worth what they charge and then go about proving it.

The richest folks I know got that way by buying everything they wanted Cheap 
except for their Mercedes and Ferraris and mansions and Heart Transplants etc.

They will eventually pay for quality, as I have said many times before , 
"There are always GOOD and Well Paid Gigs" for those who seek them and know how to 
negotiate for them, and when you do so and then deliver what you sold you get 
the repeat calls for meeting their expectations even if they know nothing 
about or care about the music you delivered.

We must all realize that there are millions of folks out there who simply are 
not thinking about music like we do day and night, and many of them think 
that they don't have to because that is our job not theirs and just expect us to 
know how and what to do to make their events successful.  And sometimes they 
are correct.

We need to continually educate ourselves and hone our marketing and 
promotional skills to stay on the top of our game.  Being an awesome or wannabe awesome 
player really has little to do with it.


Cheers,

Tom Wiggins
Another thought to think about.