[Dixielandjazz] Playing for the Old

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/7/05 8:09:32 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

> 
> Wow, the NY Times now recognizes the musical market at Retirement Homes. As
> Larry in St. Louis has posted, these facilities are a great niche market for
> OKOM if you do not want to play for the young. Here this guy is, a single,
> earning $300 to $700 per show, plus sometimes room and board, traveling to
> make the gigs.
> 
> We do about 25 a year locally from $650 to $2600 per show with anywhere from
> a quartet to a 6 piece band.
> 
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> 
> 

You guys back East must have some pretty big Retirement homes with lots of 
wealthy folks living in them to pay that kind of money.

I have a friend who is a retired nurse and owns two small retirement homes 
and gets $3,000.00 a month for the care of each patient with four to six in each 
home.  She specializes in Altzheimers patients and even though her husband is 
singer and has a group, they have no entertainment program for their homes.

For the ones I have had experience within N. California, in previous years 
booking acts, it was almost impossible to get more than $300.00 from one of 
them, and most pay $50 -- $150.00 for a solo act like a Karaoke singer, or singer 
guitarist.  I have also seen five and six piece acts go there for that, or 
simply fall for the we only use volunteers performance.

Many of the homes here are small older houses with a couple of extra rooms 
added on and house two seniors to a room in many cases with maybe 6 to 12 in 
each home.

The larger retirement community homes that are more like apartments still do 
not pay much above $300.00 and most have an entertainment/activities director 
making more money than what they pay out for entertainment all year long. :))  
 The more Free entreatment the director can suck in the longer he/she keeps 
their job.



I have not booked or tried to book any groups in that circuit for many years, 
just not worth the effort.

About 10 years ago I booked a circuit of them for a friend of mine just to 
break him into the circuit, got him $300.00 a gig once a month in each home.  I 
just saw him and he is still doing some of them, but has been cut to $100.00 
and $50.00 a gig because of the line of karaoke singers and solo acts 
undercutting him.

Out here we also have lots of Churches taking singers and such from their 
churches to Minister to the Aged again for free, much to the delight of the 
"Entertainment Director" on the payroll.

Living in the Land of the Free has different faces and meanings to different 
segments of our society unfortunately.

Don't put me in no home, send me on a Round the World Cruise,
The food is better, there is Free Entertainment, folks to serve your every 
need, and if you break a leg they will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of 
your life, free medical with a doctor on board, and best of all if you die they 
will just dump you overboard and save you a bundle of Funeral money too.  :))  
It is also cheaper than living in a retirement home and just rotting away in 
your room till you go.  Now you know why there are sooooo many old folks on 
those cruise ships.

By the way the musicians on them don't make any more money than many OKOM 
bands either and some of them even far less, they also are not allowed to 
fraternize with the paying customers, and their cabins are usually right next to the 
engine room in the bowels of the ship.  Pay scale for most is about $450.00 a 
week less taxes.  Most could make better money flipping Burgers, but then 
again that would not be SHOW BIZ.


Cheers,


Tom Wiggins
When they do put me in a home I hope it's the one where Barbone Street gets 
$2,600.00 at least I will get some good music. :))