Gigs with big paydays

[clinthopson]

Since I'm not a player, working in the caves of Mammon instead plus not having any talent, I'm always curious about how musicians survive.

The other night we were visiting with singer/booker Judy Charmichael about what it's like. For her real livelihood, Judy puts together bands for private events - weddings, bar mitzvahs and the like, she also books for some LA area Clubs - Spazio, Shelly's, etc. She has many first call LA musicians at her disposal, guys like Plas Johnson, Marty Harris and Al Viola. Naturally, a lot of the music that is played has nothing to do with jazz but Judy says that these senior cats can play anything including stuff like "YMCA," "Havanagela," and the fucking Andy LLoyd Webber stuff. These old cats can play anything.

She tells me that they are paid big bread for these gigs, a helluva lot more than jazz club dates.

The odd thing is that Judy has difficulty in hiring younger players. Many of them have the attitude that this kind of work is demeaning.

I assume they'll grow out of that.

In the liner notes to his CD "Only Trust Your Heart," Toots Thielemans notes that his whistling gig for the Old Spice commercial only took a couple of hours work and paid his rent for a year.

[Fluter]

Not everyone grows out of their distaste for "general business," "casuals," "cocktails and ceremony," or whatever they call those gigs out your way.

I know several musicians who would rather do other non-music jobs than play those kinds of gigs. They aren't uppity about it, or I wouldn't be spending so much time with them -- the "O my life, O my art!" types get boring quick -- it's just a deliberate career choice for certain musicians.

One cat I know is an excellent teacher of guitar, bass and composition and supports himself that way. He plays with jazz groups or other kinds of groups doing original music. He doesn't play cocktails and ceremony, and he's not a kid, either.

Live and let live.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Some musicians will outgrow the attitude that doing music they don't want to do is demeaning. Some will do it on their own, once they know how to live with it, and some will be forced into it by economic reasons.

Some will never outgrow it for any reason. And sometimes, some very great non-boring musicians come out of the "O My life, O My art!" camp. There are as many possibilities and attitudes as there are people.

Oh, and when I read the title of this thread, I hurried to open it up...I thought it said Girls with Big Paydays!

[Jim Sangrey]

It's ALL "somebody else's" music in some form or fashion.

You gotta serve somebody, so choose wisely!

[Henry Mars]

A working musician can't be too picky. Work is work. For years I made a marginal living playing what I wanted to play.
I was about 30 when I realized that Jazz, Fusion, Avant Garde = poverty. I took a job playing bass in a three chord wonder wedding band. Made more money than I ever made, even from concerts. My friends say I sold out. I told them that I was buying in. That gig put me through school ..... I was making more money then than I make now.
The cool thing about being a musician is that it is the only job I have ever had where I was expected to drink .... and nobody cared that I smoked two packs of smokes before the third set started. I could have done without the tux but what the hell, I bought in. Three- four nights a week and two gigs on Saturday .... and getting paid well. Bored as hell .... but the booze and cigarettes filled the creative gap, so I was cool.

[Jim Sangrey]

On December 31, 1999, I made $1000 for providing 4 hours of harmless entertainment. A few weeks afterwards, I made $2.50 on a REALLY burning Quartet Out club gig on a night when the weather was really lousy and nobody loved us but our mommas.

I went home happy both nights.

[Tanager]

Some buddies of mine with whom I played in our college jazz band formed a funk band and played parties, local gigs, and the like. They covered EWF, War, some blues stuff, etc. They had a "real" name, but for a while, they considered just calling themselves:

"Hippies Trying to be Black"

or

"Jazz Dudes Looking for Cash"

[graypencil]

Now were talking about basically my whole musical life ..wherin I decided that just because I'd never be able to play like Elvin or Tony there were other ways to look at music as a living ..

Most of the real good studio guys I've had the privelege of working with could play anything ..and with a smile ,providing the cash register was working.

I can attest that my AFM pension and my ASCAP are NOT derived from jazz sources ..

..and now that I'm "retired" , jazz is a great and satisfying hobby .. one that I happen to be more than passably good at ( as a writer, anyway )