[Dixielandjazz] And what do you do for a living?

[Katie Cavera]

Hi list!  I get the DJML in digest form and I'm a little slow this week catching 
up on the old posts.  But I wanted to share a "...and what do you do for a 
living?" story that I think is a real topper!

This big band leader flew in from out of town to play a swing dance.  He needed 
someone who could play both rhythm guitar and banjo.  And a couple of my other 
musician friends who knew him and had worked with him were kind enough to 
recommend me for the gig. It entailed an afternoon rehearsal and an evening 
performance and I was a little late coming to the rehearsal because I had 
another job (I'd cleared this with the leader and he said it was fine.) When I 
got there I realized that I didn't recognize anyone in the band which is unusual 
because I generally know the guys that do this sort of stuff down here, but it 
was no big deal and I'm always up for meeting new people that play the same kind 
of music I like.  

On our dinner break before the performance I was sitting in the break area and 
realized that all the other guys were union musicians and that the band leader 
had probably just put a call in at the local union and assembled this band.  The 
pay on the gig was good but not great and depending on when the leader put the 
call in...well let's just say I also got the impression that these were not "A 
List" union guys...

So I'm sitting there quietly eating a sandwich and one of the trumpet players 
starts peppering me with questions.  Pretty mild stuff at first: "Where are you 
from?  Do you go to school out here?" - typical things like that.  Then things 
start to get nasty... "Why were you late getting here?" he asks and I say I had 
another job.  "So what do you do for a living...?" And I respond that I play 
full time and I was coming here from a long standing gig I have and I'd cleared 
it with the leader.  He wasn't really satisfied with this answer and he 
continues to ask me about where I play and who I play with.  Now mind you this 
is another *musician* asking me this... But I guess since I'm not in the union 
and these people hadn't seen me on the 'scene' I couldn't possibly be a pro?

But wait it gets better! The guy then stops and thinks a second and says, "So 
what does your HUSBAND do for a living?"  Now that's just downright insulting. 
And the way he said it was pretty loaded and NOT nice.  Did I mention this B or 
C list union guy was wearing a beret, tiny round glasses, and a tie with a 
trumpet on it? He had a little "soul patch" goatee too... I swear I'm not making 
this up!!  I felt like I was in a bad Hollywood film...  So I smiled at him as 
if he'd just asked the nicest question in the world and I said, "He's a 
magician."
(pause)  "...he's a magician??"  
- "Yes he does magic tricks for a living."  
I guess I was supposed to say that he was in some kind of high paying profession 
that allowed me to gallivant around and play little music jobs for fun. What was 
so great about this was that he was totally flabbergasted now.  AND he kept 
questioning me only now it wasn't nasty - it was just as if he were truly 
confused and had to sort this out in his mind. 

I actually had a really good time playing the gig.  I knew the songs and I enjoy 
taking reading jobs - it keeps me on my toes. And the leader was happy with how 
I played.  As you can guess, trumpet guy turned out to be a pretty bad player 
(but he *looked* like a musician!...right...?) 

For me personally this is a matter of pride.  I'm very proud of the fact that 
I've sorted out a way to eek out a living in the business.  It's not an easy 
route: There are people that haven't figured out how to do it, there are people 
that are afraid to try. I'm not a performer at the level of my heroes like Bucky 
Pizzarelli but I've managed to carve out a little niche for myself.  I don't 
usually mind when regular fans ask these sorts of questions but it really burns 
my biscuits when someone claiming to be a fellow musician does this.  And I have 
another story where one of these so-called musicians and someone I actually know 
made a similarly loaded comment.  But that's another story and I've gone on long 
enough here.

If you see me playing sometime and notice that I'm smiling and really enjoying 
myself . . . one of the reasons is that I'm truly grateful that I can make my 
living doing what I love.  And people can say or think whatever they want - I'm 
just happy I can do what I do.

- Katie Cavera
Having a cool sunny day in
Los Angeles, CA
 http://www.katiecavera.com
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera