Bands wanted for MUSA's Gig Night

[Alkaline]

Thanks for the self-righteous patronising.

That wasn't the intention as you well know and i could say the same about your woe is me bleeding hearts guff about being a hard up musician but i know you aren't actually like that.

[Guest idol_wild]

your woe is me bleeding hearts guff about being a hard up musician.

Sorry if it comes across that way, but I sort of have to draw from personal examples and experiences to justify my views.

[Alkaline]

Edit: And there was no mention in my post at all about the sustainability of music as a "job". The main crux of my view is that if a business (be it a venue or booker) is looking to make money out of bands performing, then those bands should also receive remuneration, and not be expected to incur their own financial costs. You're clearly going to seek every opportunity to try and pick apart any posts disagreeing with your righteous views, so I'm going to try and draw a line under my involvement in this thread. To the relief of most of you, I'm sure.

Not at all. My views aren't righteous, they're just different from yours. You just never come across like you enjoy music, it's always a moan about money whenever this sort of thing comes up, which is funny because from speaking to you in person i'm sure you do.

In an ideal world we'd all break even.

[Alkaline]

Sorry if it comes across that way, but I sort of have to draw from personal examples and experiences to justify my views.

Ditto. Horses for courses.

[Guest idol_wild]

Not at all. My views aren't righteous, their just different from yours. You just never come across like you enjoy music, it's always a moan about money whenever this sort of thing comes up, which is funny because from speaking to you in person i'm sure you do.

In an ideal world we'd all break even.

I like that last sentence.

[kingofdeon]

I'm looking forward to playing Musa on Dec 5th, come doon!

. Been 3 years since i played there.

If you play the right places in town you can make around 100 a gig which aint bad (specially if im playing solo). I don't mind playing gigs occasionally for free cause i honestly get a buzz playing to new crowds etc. It can get a bit boring playing to the same people in Drummonds every week. But i also understand the point of view of getting paid for gigs...

Anyway its a nice wee venue and i hope its a success as i'm sure everyone does. Feel free to come down and have a listen - i hope you enjoy the tunes, free to get in and what i've heard a decent pint.....i also promise that i'll have some hot looking girls there...thats about all the sales pitch i've got i'm afraid!

Hope to see you on the 5th!

[MUSA]

Just so everybody knows, my manager sold the baby grand piano *cry*. Very sad, although it does free up stage space. We've got an electric piano now.

Our first band evening was quiet but had a great atmosphere and 2 fantastic debut performances! Thank you to Bigsby and Fox. :-)

The evening will stay free entry probably for the next few weeks, then, if we manage to pull bigger crowds as the Gig night develops I hope to start charging a small entry fee, which will go solely to the musicians.

Thanks again to Foxhunting and The Malpaso Gang.

[diarmaid]

Just so everybody knows, my manager sold the baby grand piano *cry*. Very sad, although it does free up stage space. We've got an electric piano now.

I'm now entirely gutted. But hey ho. I'll live. Just out of random curiosity, what kind of electric piano you got now, in place of the lovely digital baby grand....sob sob sob.

[Guest Bob Double Jack]

Every band is capable of turning up to a local gig incurring very little expense and enjoy the experience of playing to whoever turns up. If they're not, they're doing music wrong.

no-one does music "wrong" - everyone just does it differently.

[Alkaline]

no-one does music "wrong" - everyone just does it differently.

I'm confused as to the point of turning up with the intention of not enjoying playing?

Of course people do music differently. I'd be very surprised if the common ground wasn't enjoyment though rather than money.

[Guest Bob Double Jack]

I personally would not play anywhere - for 50p or 5000 - if I did not enjoy it. Enjoyment is the key factor, but the extra cash is a nice wee bonus to reinvest in gear / have a pint / etc. I genuinely just love playing guitar, and i've not spent 20 years playing to sit at home and plonk about.

If I got offered a job playing weddings twice a week guaranteed to make 700 cash each weekend or 2 gigs a month with considerably less but guranteed fun, the latter would win by a country mile.

[Alkaline]

I personally would not play anywhere - for 50p or 5000 - if I did not enjoy it. Enjoyment is the key factor, but the extra cash is a nice wee bonus to reinvest in gear / have a pint / etc. I genuinely just love playing guitar, and i've not spent 20 years playing to sit at home and plonk about.

If I got offered a job playing weddings twice a week guaranteed to make 700 cash each weekend or 2 gigs a month with considerably less but guranteed fun, the latter would win by a country mile.

So basically what i was saying then.

[Guest Bob Double Jack]

So basically what i was saying then.

near enough, but i was elaborating - an essential part of any debate

[oxbow lake]

What if your into playing live coz you wanna be punished??

[Alkaline]

What if your into playing live coz you wanna be punished??

I'd guess if you were a sadist you'd still enjoy it

[Alan Cynic]

Agreed...I punish the audience...so it's fun for me

[Bigsby]

Saw this on another forum and found it quite amusing.

Originally Posted by An anonymous band on Craigslist

To all our friends

I extended my heartfelt thanks for your friendship over the years. That being said, I would like to clear up a few things.

1. If you dont mind paying $1200 for a wedding cake, $1500 for a dress thats gonna be worn ONCE, and $1000 for a photographer, then dont ask my band to play at your wedding for free.

2. Just because were friends, please dont assume that the BAND will play your event for free, You may be MY friend and as such I would most likely play your gig for free. However, there are SEVEN other people in the band who dont know you from Adam and they need to be paid. I wonder how willing you be if I asked you to do some free mechanic work for each of those same seven guys?

3. In the rare event that the band agrees to play your event for free, were still gonna require a written contract and a deposit of at least half our normal rate. Why? Unfortunately Weve learned the hard way that the band is treated differently by the host if there is money on the line. Remember the last free show we did for your class reunion? Because several of the speakers/presenters went way over their allotted time you decided to limit the band to 20 minutes because you had only booked the ballroom for 5 hours and had also promised your aunt that her 15 year old son could bring his laptop, his $50 software, and his $100 Radio Shack PA speakers and try his hand at being a DJ for the night. So the time we spent learning specific songs for your event,packing up the equipment from our practice location, transporting and unpacking and setting it all up at the hotel, soundchecking and then sitting quietly through the speeches and awards, was essentially wasted time. We cant help but think that if you had paid us our going rate, you wouldve made @$%# sure that Mr. Class President with the bad comb-over didnt spend two incredibly boring hours regaling the crowd with his fond memories of his glory days as editor of the school newspaper and that your cousin didnt waste another hour with his awful impression of a real DJ. We put together a kick-ass two hour show just for you and your guests (per your request) and you allowed us to present a mere 20 minutes of it. By all accounts (even your wife's) , we really had the crowd going until you turned them over to your "DJ in training" cousin. So thats why we now now require a deposit to at least compensate us for our time and effort in the event that your poor planning/lack of agenda control negatively impacts our planned performance and negates all of our hard work. That deposit will probably also help me convince them not to whip your ass after the party.

4. Playing your party in exchange for food isnt as irresistible an offer as you imagine it is. Hmmm.....lets see now..four of five hours worth of work in exchange for $9.47 worth of food. Gee.Im gonna have to really think hard on that one. That baked chicken, rice pilaf and string beans does look a might tasty though. Oh joy! And I can take home a piece or your Grandma's Pineapple upside-down cake? No thanks, I noticed that she coughed, hacked and drooled all night and I imagine she did the same while she was making it.

5. Just so you know, we have a pretty firm rule concerning our performances. IF YOU ARENT A MEMBER OF THE BAND, YOU DONT PERFORM WITH THE BAND. Of course well gladly make exceptions for real musicians but contrary to what the liquor tells him, your drunk uncle Leo isnt one. Yeah, itll probably be real funny and give him a great story to tell at the next AA meeting, but thats not how we want the crowd to remember our performance. We're MUSICIANS not comedians. Comedians love to be laughed at. Musicians... ummm, not so much. On top of that, the last thing we want is a video tape of his drunken performance with us posted on Youtube or Facebook because the general public would likely mistakenly draw the conclusion that he was a member of the band and that the video represented a typical performance for us. Not quite the image were looking for the next time a potential client Googles us, is it? Also I'm real sorry if you somehow took offense to my guitar player not allowing your son to play with his guitar. As strange and selfish as it may seem, 12 year-old kids with Guitar Hero fantasies and $3000 vintage Fenders are not a good mix, capisce?

6. Lastly, In God we trust...but all others now have to pay in advance. Seems to work alot better that way. For some reason, the incentive to pay up a week after the event just dosent seem as strong. In the week leading up to the gig, you called me @$%# near everyday to make sure we had learned your wife's five favorite, but really obscure, songs. But two weeks later I'm still waiting on that call about the money you promised the guys for gas.

Im sure there are a few important things Im leaving out but you get the idea. We would love to play for your next event. We just aint gonna do it for free. You pay. We play. You balk, we walk. Thanks

[FatHand]

Saw this on another forum and found it quite amusing.

Quite right.

I've done a wide range of different gigs: played for free, paid in food, paid in cash, paid in beer. Best ones are where you get paid what was agreed up front. Paid in booze as long as it's an unlimited amount I usually put a great deal of my own personal cash into practices and organisation and the bands I play with are usually of above average standard, I expect to be paid appropriately.

Recently started playing my saxophone in a bar along with a DJ and I get paid reasonably well for that. It is a 5 hour stint, which is hard work! Although it is hard to quantify the impact that the entertainment has on the profitability of the venue there is always a reason venues put on entertainment. I expect they make more because of the act so a portion of that profit should rightly be going to the entertainment.

[MUSA]

Hi Colin! Is Super Six still on the go?

Caitlin

[FatHand]

Hi Colin! Is Super Six still on the go?

Caitlin

unfortunately not really. I'm getting itchy feet so starting a few things that may have a similar vibe but they won't be ready until next year at some point. There may be a chance of getting a funk jam band together but I'd need to speak to some people. Would that be something of interest?

[MUSA]

Yeah definitely. It was ace the last time at Musa when Laura was still there.