[Dixielandjazz] Getting tired of popular songs

[LARRY'S Signs and Large Format Printing]

It sounds like you have what is called here "a garage (basement) band"
Sometimes that's used derogatorily but I don't mean it that way.  There are
several groups like that here who are very successful.  They all seem to
have about 50-60 tunes and add one every so often.  About two years ago I
got an e-mail from a group that got my name from someone and being always on
the prowl for gigs I tried out for them.

The loved me, offered me the job and I thought they were really a good
group. (no one read music)  I didn't take the gig because they rehearsed
every week.  This isn't a bad thing but it was about 50 miles from my home.
The real reason I didn't do it is they required that I play with them
exclusively.  I would have been joined at the hip with them.  Been there,
Done that.  This takes you completely out of circulation.  Another thing is
that I would have gotten bored with the same tunes over and over.  I asked
them if they had another guy that could share jobs and they wouldn't have
any of it which is kind of dumb because I would have had their routines down
in a couple of gigs with or without their practices since I knew all their
tunes anyway.

Your kind of group requires a lot of loyalty and dedication.  I was in a
group like that for 15 years and besides taking me out of circulation we
almost never got vacations or weekends off because we were 100% locked
together.  We tried a vacation (playing for a resort right out of The Gig).
What a disaster.  We found out we really hated each other.  We lasted about
two more years before blowing apart.

On the plus side we made a lot of money, were very tight and got a lot of
return gigs.  Fortunately our group read music and we weren't limited to the
basic list.

It's a good idea if you really want to do this is to have some depth in
musicians.  Use different guys enough so that you will have at least two
guys for every chair and then more or less alternate them.  I work for a guy
that does that.  The advantage is that he always has someone and I can take
off for a fishing trip every so often.

Sounds like you are starting to do well and have some guys that will play
for whatever you get.  Around here they want $100 or more which prices us
out of a lot of things but you can't blame them when other bands are willing
to pay that.

Larry Walton
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elazar Brandt" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 4:52 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Getting tired of popular songs


> > -----Original Message-----
> > I asked Woody Herman that very question about "Woodchoppers Ball"   He
> > said and I quote "If you had a tune that had been as good to you as
> > "Woodchoppers" has been to me you would play it on every gig too".
>
> Just an upstart talking here, but it seems to me, if any of us are lucky
enough
> to succeed in making a living as musicians, that we have a lot of nerve
> complaining about how many times we have to play a song. Isn't that sort
of what
> we wanted to do? To get paid to play the music?
>
> My little group which is still half students of mine has a repertoire of
some 50
> or 60 tunes, plus a few Jewish party standards that are not jazz but are
> mandatory at many of our gigs. It's enough to cover a 4 hour gig with some
> reserve, and most of our gigs are not 4 hours, so we can vary the play
list from
> one job to another. We try to add a couple of new tunes a month, but they
don't
> replace the old ones.
>
> There are some songs I look forward to and others I just play when they're
> called. We try to do new things with the songs from time to time to
increase our
> skills and the quality of the show. But each venue is different, and each
> audience is different, and each gig is unique, and I like Zorba the
Greek's
> attitude (in his case, about making love to a lot of women) that "each
time is
> the first time".
>
> We play the Saints in almost every show, either to end the show, or to end
a
> set. We do the march whenever the conditions permit. Come on, folks, it's
part
> of the show. It's one of the things the audience pays for. Why complain
about
> it? Do it and enjoy it, and thank G-d you're not working in a car wash and
> playing the song for tips on a street corner. There's still time to play
the
> newer stuff if you want more variety.
>
> NOTE: Between my earlier email and this one we booked 3 more gigs during
the
> coming 3 weeks. Geez... if I have to play one more Bb...
>
> My 2 shekels' worth.
>
> Elazar
> Doctor Jazz Band
> Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
> Jerusalem, Israel
> <www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz>
> Tel: +972-2-679-2537
>
>
>
>
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