[Dixielandjazz] Steve Barbone and gigs

[Russ Guarino]

You would have made a hell of an insurance man.

Russ Guarino

tcashwigg at aol.com wrote:

> Hi Larry and all:
>
> If you applied the same amount of energy and efficiency and persistence
> to you music career as you do your Sign business it would be just as
> lucrative, :))  I have noticed over the past year or two that you have
> mentioned from time to time about getting good ideas from mine and
> Steve's posts about marketing and gone out in your market place and
> turned them into gigs and money.  :))    Just today I slipped you
> another very lucrative market to tap into,  "Churches"   The world is
> out there guys, you just gotta go Create and market constantly.
>
> I do play gigs and so does Steve Barbone, and Jim Kash and we have
> money too.   I can't speak for them but I can tell you that I did not
> get mine from an inheritance or winning the lottery, I got it from
> making, playing and selling music, often to folks who did not even know
> they wanted to buy it.   much less where to find it :))
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tom Wiggins
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Larry Walton Entertainment <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> To: Vaxtrpts at aol.com; dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Sent: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:42:12 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Steve Barbone and gigs
>
>     Music is a business like all others.  The more aggressively you work
> at it
> the better you do, usually.  Some of it is what you want to do to book
> jobs.
> Personally I have never wanted an "on the road" job.  I would have to
> work
> everyday just to equal my sign business income.   Everything is a
> compromise.  This way I can play gigs and have money too.
>
> I don't care how you cut it if you work 250 jobs a year and make $200 a
> gig
> you still aren't making the money a machinist or truck driver makes and
> they
> have no overhead like agents or advertising etc.  Now the leader of a
> group
> or headliner might make more but it's a tough life no matter what.
> There
> has been only a couple of guys in the past 50 years that do or did that
> well
> here or lived well on playing music alone.
>
> The second thing is that groups tend to book the same bands for several
> years running, usually three and with a core of jobs you can get other
> jobs.
> The more you play the more you work.  If you are in  the wedding
> business
> you better have gigs around Xmas and into January because that's when
> all
> the girls get engaged and are looking for a band.  If you aren't
> working in
> that time period you will be seriously crippled the rest of the year.
> The
> same is true with Dixie bands.  Most of the park concerts and municipal
> gigs
> are booked in February and if you aren't hustling then forget it.
>
> I do book old folks homes and I work them as a Duo.  I do OK until some
> group only wants to make $30 or $40 a man.  $200  is just about the max
> although some will go for as much as $350 but around here there's only a
> few.  There are a lot of people around here that will go play or sing
> for
> them free.  The only people who work more are the singles who get about
> $100
> or less.
>
> Obviously Steve has never tried to book regularly in St. Louis (or a
> lot of
> places that we live).  The schools at least in the city have just about
> shut
> down music.  The guy I work with on Sat nights quit his job with the STL
> school system because he had music 2 hours a day and he was to work as a
> teacher aide for the math teacher 4 hours a day.  These guys aren't
> going to
> hire anyone to entertain.  He now plays taps full time in the national
> cemetery here. (people are just dying to hear him ---BOO BOO)
>
> As in any business if you have a good product to sell and have been in
> business for a long time you will build up a customer base or a
> clientele.
> Sometimes that doesn't work though.  The casino's here pretty much only
> book
> through booking agency's.  So if you don't work for agency's then no
> casino's.
>
> Mailing lists are IMHO a waste of money but not a total waste.  They
> are a
> pain to keep and people move a lot.  I was secretary of 2 Masonic
> lodges and
> I chased people around the country all the time.  Mailing lists are time
> consuming and many notices are not going where you need them to go. I
> can
> guarantee that unless you pay for forwarding, which is expensive, your
> notices aren't getting there for about 20%.  Bulk mail. is fairly cheap
> but
> I'll bet if the truth were known, with a list of 1400,  it is costing in
> time, printing and postage about $200.  If you are only getting 200 or
> so
> out to hear you then you are bumping into the law of diminishing
> return.  If
> having that group follow you is important then it becomes a business
> decision.  Personally I'm not in the part of the business (clubs,
> hotels,
> bars) that a following is necessary.
>
> Yellow pages are no better.  The band I work with on Sat. night has a
> budget
> of close to $8000 a year and that gets about 40-45 Saturday nights a
> year
> and a few others.  Needless to say he's dropping the YP but then the
> gigs
> will drop off too.  You get caught in a bind on pricing.  If you charge
> the
> big bucks to cover advertising then you lose out on a lot of smaller
> budget
> gigs.  If you don't hold your price then you can't book the big budget
> things.  The guy I work for handles this partially by having two groups.
> The second group is the Blue Light (as in K-mart bargain sales) Jazz
> band.
> It's the same guys  with a little different format.
>
> I find Steve's hints and ideas to be helpful but for most of us the
> reality
> is far from 250 gigs a year.
>
> Larry Walton
> St. Louis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <Vaxtrpts at aol.com>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:24 AM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Steve Barbone and gigs
>
> > Most of you know that I agree with most of Steve's insights and
> feelings
> > about OKOM and even more modern forms of jazz.  So, Steve, this
> message is
> going
> > to be a little bit of a departure for me.
> > I must admit that sometimes I get a little tired of you're telling us
> that
> > we don't do it "right" as far as promoting jazz music.  You have set
> up a
> > wonderful arena for yourself over many years in a certain area and it
> really
> > works well for you.
> > BUT - out in the real world of the rest of this country, gigs are
> hard to
> > find.  You make it sound like we either don't even try, or we are too
> inept  to
> > be the "booking guru" that you are.
> > Well, I know of LOTS of bandleaders and musicians who do try to get as
> many
> > gigs as they can, but their whole year wouldn't add up to one month of
> your
> > schedule. (or maybe even less)  They do what local advertising they
> can,
> they
> > even play free bees (which I hate) sometimes to try to get into more
> places.
> > The reality out in the real world is not what you talk  about.  Many
> places
> > and people do NOT want to pay even bare minimum wages  for musicians
> to
> > perform.
> > You have talked about old people's homes hiring your band......
> >  I know for a fact that there are many old people's homes out here on
>  the
> > West Coast that have NO budget for entertainment.  They rely on
> friends
> and
> > relatives to come and perform for free for their tenants.  In some
> cases,
> some
> > of the tenants still play a little and that is the entertainment  that
> they
> > have.
> > You talk about booking in schools that are willing to pay you to be
> there.
> > Well, in California, many schools have almost no budget for  ANYTHING
> to
> do
> > with music any more.  They can't afford to buy new  instruments or in
> some
> cases
> > even new music.  How would they pay a band to  come and entertain?
> Also,
> > many schools out here have NO assemblies what so  ever, any more.
> > I book the Kenton Alumni Big Band every year on a tour of high
> schools and
> > colleges. It gets harder and harder every year.  And -- that is with
> donations
> > to our nonprofit that allow me to keep the cost of the band lower than
> the
> > other "road" big bands.
> > My big band in the bay area does a concert series at a wonderful
> theater.
> > 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.
> > You know that I respect you and I applaud you for what you have been
> able
> to
> > do for many years, but please don't say that it is "our own fault"
> that
> the
> > music doesn't have as big an audience as it used to.  Many of us are
> trying
> > our best.
> > OK - I got that one off my chest and I hope we are still friends!
> > Mike Vax
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> > http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
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