[Dixielandjazz] Pay Scales

[David Dustin]

Steve wrote:
Yes, the press kit is an important part of the band "aura". How you are
perceived to prospective clients makes a big difference. Press kit, musical
performance, reputation, audience connection, etc., is all part of the
business. If folks expect you to be good, they will perceive you to be good
before you play one note and yes, they will pay you more.
====================
I agree with SB that perception is a major part of the equation, at least
off-off-Broadway.  You have to go with what you have. My band doesn¹t have
strong players (including myself in that verdict) so I knew we would have to
look like a trad band (whatever that is) and we quickly worked up some
uniforms that seem to work well with our relatively unsophisticated
audiences. Haven¹t had too many complaints, unless I count the guy who got
indignant because we couldn¹t play ³Scrapple From the Apple².  So I will
propose the Dustin Corollary to the Barbone Hypothesis: If you look like a
trad band, a lot of folks will perceive you to be a trad band before you
play one note and yes, they will enjoy the performance as long as you try to
keep the energy level up.

David Dustin