[Dixielandjazz] Playing for free.

[Stephen G Barbone]

>  "Joe Hopkins" <jazzclarinet at cox.net> wrote:
>
> 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.

Way to go Joe!!!! Nice to hear about US bands that know how to get  
paying gigs. Nice to hear about what's happing now, rather than what  
happened years ago. Nice to hear about what a little band marketing  
can do, instead of hearing negatives like why playing for free is  
always wrong, or why there are no gigs for OKOM bands.

I admire your energy. I've cut my schedule back to about 100 gigs a  
year. Not because there are no gigs around, but because I am aging and  
want a little time to do some other things. After about 15 years of  
band marketing, I now de-market by raising prices.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband