[Dixielandjazz] Artist Demographics.

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

It wouldn't blow my mind at all.

 snip "Musicians" who play for little or nothing deserve their pittance.

I wouldn't care what anyone gets except that it damages all musicians and me 
personally when people are giving away what I am trying to sell.

For you civil war buffs this is the exact same reason why the workers in the 
North couldn't tolerate slavery and why you can't have it in a free 
enterprise system.

The exact same forces are at work in the music community today.  You have 
one group trying to sell their labor and talent at a fair price while there 
are those who are giving it away free and are slaves to their desire to be 
cool.
Larry
STL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "1-DIXIELAND JAZZ POST" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Artist Demographics.


>
> On Jun 12, 2008, at 3:38 PM, Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis 
> wrote:
>
>> snip -There are 140,000 singers/musicians in the USA according to  census
>> statistics.
>>
>> yeah and they are all in St. Louis working for drinks..............
>>
>> Speaking of that I got a call from a friend who was called by a  local 
>> Big band.  They are working a gig in Indianapolis (248  miles).  The pay 
>> is $125. Now let's see how that works out.  The  drive is about 4 hours 
>> one way and the gig is three hours.  That  comes to 11 hours and maybe 
>> they will want to eat along the way.  So  that puts us up to about 12 
>> hours then there is setup.  Roughly  dividing that it comes to $10 an 
>> hour.  Never mind the $100 or so in  gas money.  Let's hope they car 
>> pool.
>>
>> Holy Cow, what are musicians thinking?  My advice - Get a life!!!   No 
>> wonder they are out beating the bushes to find subs for this  gig.  The 
>> leader of this band is a retired Doctor.  I just can't  believe that he 
>> would ask people to take this kind of work but then  there are 
>> politicians that don't know how much a loaf of bread costs  either.  The 
>> sad thing is that this band is pretty good and  shouldn't have to go hat 
>> in hand begging for scraps.
>>
>> My friend didn't take the gig.  I am breathlessly waiting for my call.
>> Larry
>
> I hear you Larry.
>
> I just booked a gig 246 miles from home, a distance we rarely travel.  It 
> is a High Society Wedding in Southampton, Long Island on the  Atlantic 
> Ocean this fall. I won't tell you what we are getting because  it would 
> blow your mind, but I will tell you about the travel  expenses. We will 
> take 2 vehicles.
>
> They are $300 per vehicle, plus $60 for tolls.
>
> 1st Class Hotel Rooms on the Ocean (singles) No round trip the same  night 
> for us.
>
> $75 per man meal allowance for the trip. Plus dinner and drinks at the 
> reception at the band table which will be in the midst of the other 
> guests..
>
> In other words, what we make at the gig, we NET. Plus, I expect  a 
> substantial tip which has happened historically with these type gigs.
>
> This is one of those gigs where we will be treated as guests because I 
> shmooze our clients, treating them as equals. (Been doing that ever  since 
> Henry Ford 2nd sat in and sang "Up The Lazy Liver" with me at a  party my 
> band was playing 50 years ago)  The bride and groom are in  their early 
> 30s and currently working in the Philadelphia area, but  she is from a 
> Long Island family.
>
> Music will be Condon Style Dixieland. Plus some Small Band Swing
>
> Gig came about because of an 80th Birthday Party we did at a large  home 
> in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. (Old Money) Once  the old 
> folks, who enjoyed it immensely, left at 10 PM, the younger  set danced 
> their shoes off, past midnight in a large room cleared for  dancing, to 
> the music you can hear on our myspace page. And you can  bet we played 
> loudly. Prospective bride loved it, hence the wedding  booking.
>
> There are lots of these type gigs for us in our area and I suspect the 
> same is true in every large city in the USA.  We seek them out, find 
> them, and seem to be moving in social circles that are totally ignored  by 
> most OKOM bands.
>
> "Musicians" who play for little or nothing deserve their pittance.  IMO, 
> OKOM bands that cannot find a young audience for this music are  neither 
> looking hard enough, nor in the right places.
>
> It all starts with realizing that jazz musicians are creatures of 
> wonderment to the rich and anonymous. They seek you out and once you 
> become a part of their "art" world, you get all sorts of gigs, and  royal 
> treatment, because of who they think YOU are.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> www.barbonestreet.com
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
>
>
>