Function band ! Can you actually make a living ?

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Crusoe said:

I think I know the band you are talking about. I saw Slash playing in the Royal Oak last week and Axl is our local Amazon delivery driver. 😄

And you probably can’t hear him when he asks for you to sign for the parcels.

[diskwave]

5 hours ago, fiatcoupe432 said:

My dream of becoming a full time musician is crushed by you basschatters

Its a just a few home truths. Some of us have done it and we speak the truth. As a side note, technically speaking. The renowned West End bassist Steve Pearce has often said. 'This game isn't about chops (that shld be a given) its about these two things.  'Reading fluently and personality'. If you can read anything without rehearsal and ur phone rings constantly because your the easy going efficient guy everyone wants to be with, then you can earn a very good income from playing bass......anything outside of that....forget it. 

[spencer.b]

5 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Sounds like a very interesting life, and congrats to you for combining your love with your career, but to me it highlights how I couldn't do it, I am not a fan of travelling that much and staying in other places, especially when you have children and I would suspect there are quite a few in the same boat.

It's tough but I will say there are pros and cons to the work life balance with the kids , I'm able do the majority of school runs which is more than most of the 9-5 parents at my school, I haven't taken any tours since they were born just the odd week or 10 days maybe 4 times a year and I turn down a lot on Sundays unless it's particularly good , tbh it's my social life that suffers the most 

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, Mickeyboro said:

But, Steve, I look at some of the gigs you’ve done and they make me jealous. 

If people can play music they enjoy, that to me is living the dream. 
 

I agree though, hats off to Spencer!

 

 

I have a buddy that wants to start an oldies function band. He's retired and keeps stressing " I don't care about the money or if we get paid I just want to gig and play".

 

If you don't care about the money your probably not going to get many gigs 

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

8 hours ago, fiatcoupe432 said:

So not many people do it as a living as I can see. 

My dream of becoming a full time musician is crushed by you basschatters 😅.

I understand the long hours and hard work which I don't mind( spent 15 years of my 40 in kitchens ).as for earnings I would need around 2k to 2.5k(roughly 30k a year)  a month  to be comfortable and as I can see its not the easiest. In tge past I used to be a signed musician and have never actually made alot of money from it but cost of living etc was different and had no family commitments, but I have managed to collect alot of stuff to actually open a music studio which is something I had in mind for a bit alongside playing live. Perhaps is time for me to find a different job and then build from thst by playing weekends etc. 

It's actually really sad that so many of us actually struggle to play bass for a living

 

The guys I envy are the musicians that went to university for teaching. Teach for 25 years played in bands on the side . Then retire at age 50 with a generous teacher's pension then go out and gig full time.

 

Blue

[warwickhunt]

31 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

The guys I envy are the musicians that went to university for teaching. Teach for 25 years played in bands on the side . Then retire at age 50 with a generous teacher's pension then go out and gig full time.

 

Blue

 

Not in the UK obviously!  I taught in school for 15 years as a generalist teacher but with responsibility for the Music curriculum.  I took early retirement at 55 partly due to the stress of the job and I retired with 15/80ths of my average wage... not a very big pension but my choice.  I supplement my present pension income with gigs, supply teaching and casual work.   

[dmccombe7]

After 40 yrs in BOC Gases straight from school up to Engineering Manager i had the chance of voluntary redundancy meaning no pension penalties. Mostly final salary pension plus a a good few yrs of additional voluntary contributions. 

Since i retired at 56 i've never been busier. Money for gigs never used to bother me but now that i'm earning some decent money i'm getting very used to the extra cash. 

I'm not gigging every week but some months i do have a gig every weekend and December is now very busy with both bands. Glam band is now getting offered gigs on Fri and Sat nights with some clubs asking us to do a Sat or Sun afternoon. Same money as a late night gig and i'm home by 9pm latest.

Its a funny old world but i'm thoroughly enjoying playing in both bands. The punk band is mainly pubs at £60-£80 / gig each.

Dave 

[mike257]

I made a living predominantly from playing for a few years, but supplemented it with bits of sound engineering, driving bands about on tour, that sort of thing. 

 

All the full timers I know are doing a mix of functions, more frequent but lower paid bar gigs, bits of teaching or studio work, and various bits to fill in the gaps. 

 

I went the other way, hung up the bass (from a professional standpoint - I still play for pleasure) and threw myself in to the backstage side of it, and I'm now fairly busy all year round straddling multiple roles in live production on fairly decent sized shows - tour management, production management, sound engineering and backline teching. 

 

There's decent living to be made from music, but it's hard graft, you've got to build a good network of people and a reputation for being decent at your job and pleasant to work with, and be good at sniffing out opportunities to do things. 

 

It's also very tough on family life and if you've got a family, requires huge compromise and sacrifice from yourself and and your partner to make it work. 

 

It's not for everyone, but it's out there if you really want it. 

[borntohang]

There aren't many musicians on the scene without a side job right now - for some the side job might be teaching students and for some it's YouTube channels, or publishing music to spec (I know a few who make a decent wedge from getting incidental music onto Love Island and such). You really can't turn down a gig either - I played with a small orchestra last Saturday and all 22 of us either already had another gig next day or picked one up over the course of the evening. 

 

My foray into full-time lasted about a year, but was derailed hard by 2020. I'm lucky enough to have a side gig that's involved in the industry and the rest of my 'work' is gigs and crewing. We have a mortgage but no kids and my partner also effectively works self employed so we get to pick our time off. Touring was rough on our time together for a while, but I have settled into one or two small tours per year which don't stretch over a week or two. Have to do lots of three day runs though. 

[Bassfinger]

In our band only one has a proper job. Three of us are retired, one is semi-retired.

[casapete]

I’ve made a living from playing music now for a tad over 30 years. I gave up my day job with a local 

newspaper in the early 90’s due to increasing pressure on my workload, and this coincided with me

being offered a position in an 8 piece function / wedding band. Prior to this I’d been resident in 

cabaret and working men’s club bands, working 3 nights a week alongside my regular 9 to 5.  At this

point I was earning good money from the two jobs, along with a company car, so giving up one of

them wasn’t an easy decision. I was married, with my daughter at primary school too, so it was

a massive change for me. Early on I worried about volume of work / paying bills / buying a car etc,

but the band were doing well and it soon settled down.
I stayed with that band for 16 years, through good times and some bad. This was a time when many

pub bands were trying their hands at function work, so we were being constantly undercut and also

seemed expensive as an 8 piece outfit compared to a smaller band. Also the running of the band

was blighted by alcohol and substance issues ( not mine!) so I started to look around for something

else, not easy as in my early 50’s by then. I did contemplate a 9 to 5 again, but then got offered my

current gig with The ELO Experience. I’ve been doing this now for around 13 years, after initially

doing some deps for their original bassist who was sadly battling illness. Absolutely love it, playing

with a great bunch of people and crew and earning a decent wage.

Through all the above I’ve worked with my best mate in an acoustic duo too, so been good to

have that income, along with many deps and one offs as well. I’ve never earned shedloads of

money, which I suspected would always be the case, but have managed to live a reasonable

lifestyle. Paid off two mortgages, holidays abroad etc etc, although by current standards we

still live quite modestly. Would do it all again if I had the chance* and am now facing the dilemma

of when to consider retirement from the band, although can’t ever see me not continuing with

the duo.  

*Only thing I would have altered would have been to learn to read properly, which may

have resulted in more work. 

[diskwave]

I've said this before too, and its something which is rarely considered. As you get older going out nearly every night until the early hrs chasing every penny can loose its shine real quick.

[casapete]

34 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

I've said this before too, and its something which is rarely considered. As you get older going out nearly every night until the early hrs chasing every penny can loose its shine real quick.

Absolutely - my current band has crew to lug my GK rig around, and our gigs in theatres are usually over

by 10pm. This was a major factor in accepting the position in my advancing years!
The only ‘downside’ with all this is the driving really - we play all over the UK. I’m the main driver of our

band bus, and actually prefer driving to being a passenger. I also never fall asleep at the wheel for some

strange reason, even if it’s a long journey home after a tiring few days on the road. What gets me are all

the diversions we encounter virtually every night which make a long journey even longer, as well as all

the bad driving we see everywhere. 

[msb]

I don’t rely on gig money to pay the bills , so I’m selfish now about gigs. If I anticipate any misery , I don’t do it.

 

And it’s nice to stick to it.

[acidbass]

Here in Norn Iron, you could survive on function band playing but certainly not make what I would call a good living.  Functions here might pay £200 per gig, so after tax/fuel/misc expenses etc you would need to be playing 10 functions a month to pay the same as a minimum wage job would.  10 functions a month might be possible in Summer months and around Christmas but you will be doing virtually nothing in Jan/Feb/Nov etc.  Anyone I know who does this type of work always has something else on the side for bread and butter.

[Stub Mandrel]

There are two big debates going on here:

 

How much do you need to live 'comfortably'?

 

Can you earn enough to live comfortably from a function band?

 

Clearly, some of us are fortunate enough to have very different ideas of what 'live comfortably' looks like, but disregarding that it's clear that you need to address the first question from your own point of view before any answer to the second has meaning.

[Al Krow]

6 hours ago, casapete said:

I’ve made a living from playing music now for a tad over 30 years. I gave up my day job with a local 

newspaper in the early 90’s due to increasing pressure on my workload, and this coincided with me

being offered a position in an 8 piece function / wedding band. Prior to this I’d been resident in 

cabaret and working men’s club bands, working 3 nights a week alongside my regular 9 to 5.  At this

point I was earning good money from the two jobs, along with a company car, so giving up one of

them wasn’t an easy decision. I was married, with my daughter at primary school too, so it was

a massive change for me. Early on I worried about volume of work / paying bills / buying a car etc,

but the band were doing well and it soon settled down.
I stayed with that band for 16 years, through good times and some bad. This was a time when many

pub bands were trying their hands at function work, so we were being constantly undercut and also

seemed expensive as an 8 piece outfit compared to a smaller band. Also the running of the band

was blighted by alcohol and substance issues ( not mine!) so I started to look around for something

else, not easy as in my early 50’s by then. I did contemplate a 9 to 5 again, but then got offered my

current gig with The ELO Experience. I’ve been doing this now for around 13 years, after initially

doing some deps for their original bassist who was sadly battling illness. Absolutely love it, playing

with a great bunch of people and crew and earning a decent wage.

Through all the above I’ve worked with my best mate in an acoustic duo too, so been good to

have that income, along with many deps and one offs as well. I’ve never earned shedloads of

money, which I suspected would always be the case, but have managed to live a reasonable

lifestyle. Paid off two mortgages, holidays abroad etc etc, although by current standards we

still live quite modestly. Would do it all again if I had the chance* and am now facing the dilemma

of when to consider retirement from the band, although can’t ever see me not continuing with

the duo.  

*Only thing I would have altered would have been to learn to read properly, which may

have resulted in more work. 

 

Wonderful story, thank you!

 

I've often wondered how strict a "no substance abuse" policy bands should have, given the prevalence of drugs and alcohol in society and particularly the rock 'n' roll scene? So it's illuminating hearing about the damage it can do, as it's not widely spoken about or shared, but I guess that's a whole different thread and a complete side-track on this one...

 

In terms of your acoustic duo, what is the set up on that in terms of instrumentation and vocals? (Any YT footage?)

[Dan Dare]

6 hours ago, greavesbass said:

As you get older going out nearly every night until the early hrs chasing every penny can loose its shine real quick.

 

3 hours ago, msb said:

I don’t rely on gig money to pay the bills , so I’m selfish now about gigs. If I anticipate any misery , I don’t do it.

 

Yes to both of the above. Like many, I've done my share of playing in toilets to animals who hated me because every penny counted. Now I'm retired and reasonably comfortable and don't have to do it, I don't. I won't play for nowt ("It's for charity", etc) on principle, but as long as I cover my expenses plus a couple of beers and the experience is enjoyable, I'm happy. I appreciate I'm fortunate, but I did do my time/pay my dues back in the day, so I guess I earned it.

 

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, msb said:

I don’t rely on gig money to pay the bills , so I’m selfish now about gigs. If I anticipate any misery , I don’t do it.

 

And it’s nice to stick to it.

I'll be able to pay my property taxes with gig money this year.

 

Blue

[Steve Browning]

It does appear that the strict answer to the original question is 'no'. However, by branching out into other areas you can, and a good few here, do.

[Bluewine]

55 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

There are two big debates going on here:

 

How much do you need to live 'comfortably'?

 

Can you earn enough to live comfortably from a function band?

 

Clearly, some of us are fortunate enough to have very different ideas of what 'live comfortably' looks like, but disregarding that it's clear that you need to address the first question from your own point of view before any answer to the second has meaning.

I think being able to cover a mortgage and maintain a late model vehicle alone would be tough for most.

 

Another question  is what kind of gigs are we talking. With pub gigs I think it would be impossible. 

 

Bl I e

[casapete]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Wonderful story, thank you!

 

I've often wondered how strict a "no substance abuse" policy bands should have, given the prevalence of drugs and alcohol in society and particularly the rock 'n' roll scene? So it's illuminating hearing about the damage it can do, as it's not widely spoken about or shared, but I guess that's a whole different thread and a complete side-track on this one...

 

In terms of your acoustic duo, what is the set up on that in terms of instrumentation and vocals? (Any YT footage?)

Cheers.

 

Regarding my duo, it's acoustic guitar / lead vocals and me on acoustic bass / harmony vox. We're called 'Milestone'.

We've been doing it now for around 25 years, and my mate on guitar is literally one of the best players I've

ever seen, let alone gigged with. He can play pretty much any genre of stuff superbly, and has that greatest

gift of all musicians which is knowing when not to play too! He has a great voice and fronts the duo really, with me 

chipping in or singing lead vocals occasionally as and when. We've got that telepathy thing sorted so it really is

a breeze playing with him. I'm considering retiring from being on the road with my main band next year, but can't

ever see a time when we won't be gigging with the duo. We have a monthly residency in a local pub, and 

also regular gigs at a restaurant in Scarborough which is an absolute delight to play ( see pic below). On top

of that we do functions / weddings etc as well as my local pub over the road and others. He's a fully pro player,

so it works pretty well - the main issue being when we get offered gigs is whether we are both available.

(No YT footage I'm afraid, although there may be something lurking I'm unaware of.)

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by casapete

[borntohang]

I find the key is you can't usually afford to be fussy, or only take gigs you feel are artistically rewarding, at least until you've earned a rep. Once I got over that mental hurdle things improved!

 

Luckily I do enjoy nearly everything I play these days and there have been some very rewarding times, but ultimately if the Wiggles called up tomorrow and I didn't have anything booked in then I'd be learning 'Fruit Salad' with all the actions before the call ended.

Edited July 6, 2023 by borntohang

[Al Krow]

20 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

It does appear that the strict answer to the original question is 'no'. However, by branching out into other areas you can, and a good few here, do.

 

I think maybe better to say it's "do-able but bloody hard!".  I'm aware of a couple of other BC'ers, other than @casapete, @spencer.b and @Bluewine from this thread, and a couple of bass players not on this forum (god forbid, haha!) who are managing to be "purely pro" bass players. A few of them are in successful function bands collectively making £60K to £80K PA and one was a session bass player who did 300+ gigs a year, but who's recently decided to get a 9 to 5. 

 

My lot should be getting a decent chunk of cash per head each this and next year from pub and function gigs with a fair wind, and our lead singer can double what she gets from the band with solo gigs, but she would be the only one managing to live off her music performance and then only just; the rest of us have other jobs/sources of income which are still our main income.

 

To the OP: I think there's a romance to being a full time pro musician. But the reality I suspect is that it's often gruelling, bloody hard work, with anti-social hours. Albeit, if it's something we love, it can be some of the best gruelling bloody-hard work we ever spend our time doing.

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Al Krow

[BillyBass]

I have several customers that are professional musicians/singers/conductors/composers.  The only reasonably wealthy one is a singer that does appear on the telly a bit but her husband is/was a doctor so hers is not their only income.  When I say 'wealthy' I mean nice big house in Muswell Hill, North London.

 

The pit players I know from orchestras in London all seem to have comfortable, though not spectacular lives, that includes a relatively well known conductor, married to a soprano that has a few CDs out.

 

One of my customers is a multi instrumentalist that does a lot of work in big hotels in London, mainly on the piano, jazz standards, taking requests from American tourists.  He gets his work via an agent and he gets by ok.

 

All of them were brought up with music, taking exams as kids etc.  Music was their career path from school.

 

I love playing the bass, especially as my band has started gigging but I am under no illusions about it being anything more than a hobby.