[Dixielandjazz] Foreign bands

[Jim Kashishian]

Tom Wiggins wrote:   
>who has played in Catalunya ,, and as Jim Kash says it is indeed 
a different Country than Madrid or even Barcelona.

Actually, Tom, Catalunya is the region in which Barcelona sits.  Call it a
province, if you like.

>I managed to sandwich them in between two much more economically generous
festivals and with their blessing to do so is how we did it.

That is what most of the foreign bands do...they travel a circuit of
festivals through Europe, so their prices may just be on an even keel, or
even less, than we would charge.  

Something no one would understand, if they haven't lived here as long as I
have, is that Spaniards curiously believe everything "homegrown" is less
valuable/important/good as something from out of the country.  And, festival
people are aware that we can be heard at the local club down the street, so
why pay us big bucks to do their concert.

We play local clubs (a lot!), and travel throughout the country for concerts
(normally sponsored by the local City Hall).  I get to most of my gigs with
a 10 minute drive! Back home by 2 or 3am, and ready for work the next
morning at 9am.  (I run my own prof. audio business, and am quite busy.)
Festivals don't form a part of our scene.

Jim