[Dixielandjazz] Bag Piper needed for event

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

   This folks from one of the largest Non-Profit organizations in the 
country:
The American Cancer Society:     Who will also have a big self 
congratulatory party at the end of the year and hire a very big over 
paid Celebrity to appear at their Gala Fundraiser for the A list.

They are one of the worst in the USA at this, and it is High time we 
all stood up and started to educate them, or at least negotiate free 
Cancer treatment for ourselves.   Stop rolling over and playing their 
game.   I might march in their walka-thon parade but I ain't gonna play 
  it without getting paid.   If they really want to entertain all those 
hard working volunteers, then they should take some of the proceeds 
they raised and pay for it.   Just shows once again that they do not 
value your time as worth anything if you don't charge them for it, same 
goes for all those well meaning volunteers that they continue to 
brainwash and lay guilt trips on.


 Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8:32 PM
  
  Subject: Volunteer musicians & Bag Piper needed for event  (rohnert pk 
/ cotati)


My reply to their ad for volunteer musicians:
  

  "If I could  play an instrument … I'd love to play for a couple of 
hours for $50. Heck, I'd  even do it for free, I'd just be so happy to 
be playing music. You're so  lucky!"
  
  Sound familiar? It's the voice of the uninitiated  non-musician, the 
fan, the admirer, the "Regular Josephine," the "Regular  Joe." They're 
right. We are lucky that we play music, but it's bad luck that  most 
people look at our profession in that way.
  

  We are  professionals. We chose music as a career, we work hard at it, 
and we want to  make a decent living at it.
  

  Here's another familiar sound: "It's  just not in the budget. Look, 
you love to play, why don't you just do it for  that amount? It's 
better than nothing…" Or these: "Take it or leave it;" "It's  great 
exposure."
  
  Sound painfully familiar? It's the voice of the  purchaser. The club 
owner, the restaurateur, the agent, the promoter. The sad  thing is 
that the purchaser is in the music business to make money, but 
 somehow, they don't want to pay the people who make the music that 
makes the  money.
  
  This article is addressed to the "Regular Joes," the  "Regular 
Josephines," and the purchasers. It's also to us, the professionals. 
 We need to think about this, and remind ourselves of how specialized 
what we  do is, and set the bar a little higher in order to survive 
and--dare I say  this?--prosper. Let's go with the $50 gig. Most of us 
won't take them, and  people are surprised when we don't. But let's use 
that figure
and do a little  math to illustrate why we're not happy to play a 
couple of hours for 50  bucks.
  
  "Two hour gig, $50 each, cash. What's wrong with that?  That's $25 an 
hour." Hmmm-m-m-m. Let's say the gig is from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.,  and 
let's not take into consideration practicing or warming up.  
  
  Start with the drive to the gig. What? Everyone has to drive to  work! 
True, so we won't count the drive. Keep in mind that most people
drive  the distance, and then walk in to work five minutes early, grab 
a cup of  coffee, and start working. We have to pack up the car with 
equipment (half an  hour) and drive to the site. Unload the car, load 
the equipment onto the stage  (half hour), go park the car (15 
minutes), come back and set up (1 hour).  
  
  Let's say that you timed it so you had 15 minutes before the gig 
 starts. That's two and a half hours. Add the gig, and you've got four 
and a  half hours.

  
  Now pack up. If you're lucky, and nobody wants to  talk to you after 
the gig, you can tear down in one hour, go get your car,  load your 
equipment (another half hour), and drive home.
  

  Nobody  counts the drive home, but when you get home, you unpack your 
car, and load  your stuff into the house, another half-hour,
easy.
  
  That's six  hours work, for $50 cash. More like $8.33 an hour, not $25 
an  hour.

  Let's look at making a living with that same amount. To  make $1500 a 
month, you would have to do one $50 gig a day, every day of the  month. 
If you did that every day, every month of the year, no vacation, no 
 holidays, you would make about $18,000 per year, and that's before 
 taxes.

  
  Paying federal and state income tax, general excise tax,  and full 
social security tax (no employer contributions), knocks it down to 
 about $11,880. By the way, you're not eligible for unemployment or 
workers'  comp, but that's okay, it's not really work, right?
  
  Let's double  that to $36,000 gross, which is $23,760 after taxes. For 
that, you would need  to do two of those gigs a day. Two gigs taking up 
6 hours each is 12 hours a  day, every day of the year.
  
  It's a simplistic formula, but it  makes a point. The point is, that's 
why we're not "happy to play for a couple  of hours for $50," even
though we are lucky to be able to play  music.

  
  The next time someone says something like the opening line  of this 
article to you, turn it around. Say: "If I could be a dentist, I'd 
 love to do it for $8.33 an hour. I'd just be so happy to be able to 
practice  dentistry. You're so lucky!" I'm sure the reply would be: 
"What do you
mean,  lucky? I studied for years, and I still study. I worked long, 
hard hours to  perfect my craft, and still do.

  
  My equipment cost me an arm and  a leg, and it's very specialized 
work. I'm a professional!" Just smile and  say, "Me, too."

  
 Sincerely,

Tom Wiggins


Her response:

 On 5/2/07 10:20 AM,   Her response:
Tom:

  Thank you for your response... confused by it, but thank you for 
responding.
  
  Had several responses and position was filled within hours of my post. 
 

  
  Some people are willing to donate services for the fight against 
cancer
 since it touches 1 in 3 people in their lifetime.

  We have singers, dancers, food vendors and an all-day DJ. All are 
professionals.
 None are paid.

  
  They just want to help entertain those that have worked so hard to 
raise money for cancer research.
  Relay for life money has supported over 30 scientists who've won Noble 
Prizes for inventing early detection tests that have saved many lives.
  
  May you live healthy and not ever have to experience the horror of 
cancer.
  
 1 in 3 people WILL face cancer in their life.
 If it weren't for those who volunteer and donate,
  Relay couldn't happen and funds wouldn't be raised to support the 
fight.
  
 Blessings,
  
 Heidi
 Volunteer Luminaria Chair
 AND a Cancer Survivor!



My response to her:

 Hi Heidi:

  Congratulations on beating it,  I have lost many friends to it in the 
past few years, and more on the way out and fighting it now.



  While yes it is a noble cause, my point is that Musicians almost never 
get any respect from Non=profits doing fundraisers to pay very wealthy 
Doctors and administrators, expenses and salaries,, and when you look 
at the money breakdown I showed about musicians wages how could they 
possibly afford health care coverage and medical treatment from those 
folks you folks are raising money for.

  I too run a non-profit organization and it EMPLOYS and Pays all it’s 
Musicians and performers because without them the public would not come 
to the event to just look at us and hear us talk.   They are the 
ATTRACTION and the key to the success of your events,  all I am asking 
is that you take a moment to educate your organization about this 
generally ignored factor.   Most musicians other than the
Symphony players also have no medical insurance.   They are a large 
segment of our society that continually fall thru or are pushed through 
the cracks.


  It is simply cheaper for us to just write a check and mail it than to 
go out and perform for free, nobody gives us free gas, meals,
insurance, rent, automobiles, musical instruments, repairs,  telephone, 
or anything else much less medical care.


  Just trying to create some AWARENESS just like you folks about Cancer. 
  Everybody knows about Cancer, but few folks know about this kind of 
CANCER that afflicts 98% of musicians  and it is a real shame and a not 
much short of a crime.   How you gonna have a dance with out a Band? 
 Oh easy!  we will hire a DJ  and he will play CDs !   Cool what will 
you do ten years form now when Musicians no longer record music for Cds 
because they can’t get paid and make a living.


  Cheers, and I do wish you success on your event, but hop you find some 
understanding in my response.
  My mother is a cancer survivor as well, so far, but yes I have lost 
many family members to it, and also saw them pay every dime they had
ever made and saved out to Doctors to try and stay alive.   So you see 
the issue is, that it is way out of balance here not that your
organization is not doing some good.


 Sincerely,

 Tom Wiggins

 Ambassadors of American Culture
 1234 Laurel Lane
 Lafayette, California 94549
 http://www.sonicbids.com/StGabrielscelestialbrassband
 http://www.ambassadorsofamericanculture.com





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