[Dixielandjazz] Free Gigs >> A Fact Of Life

[Craig I. Johnson]

BudTuba's note (below) sounds familiar.
At least off tourist season in Maine IT IS DEAD!
Same was true in VT when I lived there.
Got to stay home and feed the wood stove.
&
The ski lodges no longer book OKOM, just ROCK
---- if they don't just use electronic reproduction.

Playing live during the off season beats the hell out of
whole tones in the basement as far as keeping a lip.
 When tourist season starts, on the other hand, one doesn't
need a jazz band to fill the restaurant. In fact the band occupies
the space for 3 large tables that might get filled. BUT
playing there for a pittance is how we get our gigs.
Tourists from out of town hear us and hire us for their next la-de-da
beach party. Without the gig, they wouldn't know we exist.
Do you read newspaper ads on vacation? Huh? I don't.

Not every  place in in the USofA is full of groupie groups
like CA seems to have nor are they like NYC & NJ with Philie and
Atlantic City close at hand. How many folks do you think really
live here during off season? Hell, half the multi-million $$ beach
homes (and the cheaper ones away from the beach)
only get used 2 weeks out of every other year., and the
only time they get used in the winter EVER is at Christmas.
(Not complaining, I love it here.) I wouldn't live in the
Megalopolis again for all the gigs in Atlantic City.
SO:.......
One's business sense has to adapt to the local conditions.
(And no, I don't just sit by the phone waiting, either
but it takes a lot of work for a relatively small return, but we do it.
The only folks we put out of work up here, by the way,
are the ones who ARE waiting by the phone and vainly running
unpaid rehearsals for the very small number of gigs they play every year,
for the same people & for crappy pay.)

 When we DO book a gig other than the restaurant we normally get better
than scale. And at the  restaurant, each time,  at least half the tunes we
play
are brand new to the band. -- no unpaid rehearsals.)
The musicians we hire have complimented us on the type of gigs we ARE
able to get compared to the ones they get elsewhere,
and happily play the cheapie restaurant gig as they also
like the variety in music we dig up, not the same-old same-old Bill Bailey
schtick every gig..

The advice on HOW to work to get more gigs, that we hear here from
Tom and Steve is very useful  when modified for our locale, BUT.....
Please, please, please don't judge every town against NYC megalop
and Californ-I-A.
 -- and the only "Craig's list" I've seen here is my own "todo list."

Regards,
Craig I. Johnson
The Maine Street Paraders
 (in the Nawth Country where it's 9 months of Wintah
and 3 of bad sleddin'.)
(BTW - "Maine Street" had snowplows out last week.) -- Sorry
I meant "snowplow" the othah was in the shop.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <BudTuba at aol.com>

A Fact Of Life


> In a message dated 4/9/2006 10:48:25 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:
>
> Most restaurants are happy with the number of meals they serve without
> entertainment.  A band in today's world has to justify its addition to the
patina.
>  .......
> One of the two restaurant owners (who loves our band) responded when I
> suggested we get $200 said:  "Actually, I'm losing money ........
 > ...... When I flick on the sports'   get people > spilling out the door
and running
 > .........up $20 bar bills."
>
> We justify our appearances as:
>
> 1)  Better'n rehearsing  .in somebody's living room,
................ etc >