[Dixielandjazz] Playing for free......

[Joe Hopkins]

I have posted this before but I will do it again. I go into a club and ask them what their slowest night of the week is. Once they identify it I offer to bring my band in and play on that night for two weeks (one night a week) for free....then I suggest we sit down and discuss the possibilty of the club owner hiring us on a permanent basis. I say that by then we will both know whether or not we want to form a contractual relationship.

I have done this three times:

First time...we played there every Monday for one year.
Second time...we played another place every Tuesday and Wednesday for two years. 
Third time...we are still playing in another place every Sunday night...it has been four years now. 

This will only work if you have a following and know you can get your fans to show up. (and spend money) I have friends here in  town who tried it and the only customers showing up were the spouses and family of the band members and two or three pals.

When I am asked to come play for free for exposure and cd sales ... I politely decline....we do not need more exposure. If asked to play for free for a charity event (fund raiser)...we sometimes agee if and only if we want to support the charity and if everyone is working for free.....free venue, volunteer waiters, bar tenders, cooks, etc......if anyone is getting paid, we refuse to participate. My musicians are free to decline the offer for any reason.

By the way, I am playing ten Mardi Gras gigs next month...3 in Mazatlan and 1 in Puerto Penasco, Mexico...the other six are in the Phoenix area. These are in addition to my three gigs a week I play every week. 

I hope all the musicians on this list are keeping busy.

Cheers,

Joe Hopkins
www.joehopkins.org