[Dixielandjazz] Steve Barbone and gigs

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Hi Robert and all:

Yes it does seem like a miracle to most OKOM bands,  but especially to 
those who do not get out and hustle like those bands do to find and 
create bookings that pay them well enough to support their BUSINESS,   
You have to spend money to make money and promote promote promote 
constantly to anybody and everybody.

My wife is always ragging on me when we go places and people ask me 
what I do, and I launch into my speech about the band, but I usually 
make a connection and book a date or two from all those encounters with 
total strangers that never heard of us but have opportunities to hire 
bands.

This little light of mine  gotta let it shine shine shine.   All the 
time,  just like the dog food commercials on TV or the great Car dealer 
adds all day and night,  keep telling folks about it you will never 
reach all of them but you only need 365 of them a year.


Heck folks:   go solicit churches for doing gigs at their places, 
adjust your repertoire to be suitable there are 350,000 of them in the 
USA alone.    I have played many a cathedral and church in Europe and 
not for LOVE OFFERINGS either.  Sell themon cultural presentations and 
feel good music concerts.   Be CREATIVE  and don't go in with a wimp 
attitude and ask "You wouldn't be interested in hiring  a Dixieland 
BAND WOULD YOU ?  attitude,  put some sizzle on it and convince them it 
would be a great thing for the congregation, make it a fund raiser for 
Katrina anything but don't take no for an answer.  You need to get your 
band and music in front of PEOPLE  especially people who never heard 
it.   Promote yourself SHAMELESSLY, and if you are just TOO COOL to do 
that then stay home and be a starving artiste' for the rest of your 
life.

There will NEVER be another time in History  in our lifetimes better 
than right now to Promote and get gigs playing OKOM especially if you 
play New Orleans music.



Cheers,,
Tom Wiggins

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Pulliam <starwaterlogo at mpinet.net>
To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 08:22:32 -0400
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Steve Barbone and gigs

   From: <Vaxtrpts at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>



> We have a mailing list of 1400 people who SIGNED UP to be on  it.  We 
are
lucky
> to get more than 200 people.  Again, the musicians  and guest artists 
are
> paid by donations to our nonprofit.
> I could go on and on, with examples, but I think you get the picture.

It seems kind of a miracle that bands such as Maynard Ferguson, Basie,
Ellingont and whatever other "alumni" bands there are, are able to 
actually
keep going in this era when there's so little mention of them in the
mainstream media.


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