No Giggity

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Oh, and happy birthday @Bluewine. Hope you had a great day.

[Mykesbass]

Happy birthday @Bluewine

[asingardenof]

We were supposed to have a gig yesterday but that was postponed until who knows when owing to the death of the father of our singist and drummist. After that we have a grand total of three confirmed gigs in the diary, in May, August and November, with a possible two more in June and August, but that's it.

 

Why don't we have any more? Because nobody apart from me is actively looking for any and are relying on getting places we've played before to rebook us. No agent, just us. We aren't in it just for the money, but it is nice. I'd like to have a gig once a month or so, but I think I'm in the minority.

[Bluewine]

On 03/02/2024 at 16:32, Rosie C said:

 

5.How much do you want to gig? - very much, I love the buzz from live performance 4 or 5 summer gigs and 1 or 2 Christmas gigs for our renaissance band. But I also dep. in a friend's cover band as needed 2-3 times a year and perform at folk clubs.

 

 

 

For us, we always slow down in the winter. The real bread & butter comes in the summer, festival and fair season. 

 

And how much I gig now at 70 is a concern. I guess I'd rather play 2 really good gigs at a top notch venue than 4 run of the mill gigs.

 

Daryl

 

 

Edited February 5 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

19 hours ago, JapanAxe said:

 

5. How much do you want to gig?

I love a good gig, but I won't do just any old gig. Yesterday I turned down a dep gig where the money was low, plus I knew there was nowhere to park legally within at least half a mile of the venue - just not worth it.

Agreed, how much I want to gig depends on the type and quality of the gig.

 

I'll definitely pass on " low end" offerings 

 

Daryl 

 

[neepheid]

1. Why you don't have any gigs?

 

Singer quit our covers band at the end of last year, he gave us notice but we had the most dreadful time unearthing every poseur/wannabe/timewasting so-and-so under the sun from September-now.  Only just now found someone with the requisite skills and more importantly attitude to move forward.  Getting her up to speed now, next gig is in April.  We've had to cancel/sub a couple of gigs at the start of this year because of the lack of singist talent up here.

 

Originals band has a gig in March, but it doesn't gig very often, currently cooking up new songs, hopefully get some recording done this year.

 

2.Do you rely on an agent ?

 

No, just another pocket to stuff.

 

3.Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs?

 

Covers band - usually the guitarist.  For the originals band, it's usually me.

 

4.  Are you or any band members in this for the money?

 

No, we've all got jobs, this is a side hustle at best.  I personally use the money for guilt free spending on gear etc.

The originals band - what effin' money?

 

5.How much do you want to gig?

 

A few times a month, 2-4 times, average 2-3.

Edited February 5 by neepheid

[bassbiscuits]

Currently only about 10 gigs in the diary for this year but I’ve gone back to university to retrain, so while the extra pocket money would be good I also don’t want to overcommit myself to too many gigs until I’m clear what I can manage.  
 

I do a mix of dep gigs, solo gigs and my own band each with their own arrangements for booking gigs.

 

Its never been my full time job so the money is welcome rather than vital. 
 

First gig of the year next weekend. Happily do two or three gigs a month but much more than that starts to get too frantic juggling it all. The exception is summer (wedding season) and Christmas (party season) when I take as many gigs as I can! 

[Bluewine]

On 04/02/2024 at 04:09, JapanAxe said:

3. Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs?

I don't care as long as it's not me. I have done this in the past, and found it a soul-destroying slog.

 

 

 

I'm with you. I tried my hand at booking and it was an  utter disaster. 

 

Daryl

Edited February 5 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

10 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

 

Its never been my full time job so the money is welcome rather than vital. 
 

 

 

Dang, Am I the only guy here where the money is vital?

 

Daryl

 

 

[Bluewine]

On 04/02/2024 at 12:54, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

For about as long as I can remember, January has always been fairly quiet on the gig front in whatever bands I’ve been in. This year was no exception. Our first gig of this year was Jan 27th and we’re consistently busy for the rest of this year. I’m cool with having most of January off. It gives me a chance to chill and refocus looking at new material. 

 

I feel the same way about winter gigs unless it's something really cool. I'll be busy enough in the summer.

 

Daryl

[Al Krow]

On 03/02/2024 at 22:01, Bluewine said:

I'll start.

 

I'm really ok with a month off. I'm not worried . Our summer schedule is starting to fill up with some good gigs.

 

The reason we don't have any gigs this month is, we've slowed down by choice. We use to play around 70 gigs annually.  We've cut back to about 50.

 

Here's the main reason, we no longer play late night bar gigs. I'm not sure why. However, I turned 70 today and I've really played enough bar gigs for my lifetime.  Give me theatres, festivals and special events.

 

Daryl

 

Belated happy birthday Daryl! You're an inspiration and an encouragement to many of us.

[Bluewine]

12 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

No, we've all got jobs, this is a side hustle at best.  I personally use the money for guilt free spending on gear etc.

 

 

Most of my gig money was used to pay my property taxes. Not much fun.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Belated happy birthday Daryl! You're an inspiration and an encouragement to many of us.

 

Thanks AI,

 

I'm just one of those guys that never recovered from Beatlemania.

 

I'm 70 but I think I still have a shot at becoming rich and famous. I'm well suited for that type of lifestyle. I'd be good at it. Lol

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

This just came in for Maple Road:

 

" Hey everyone! Brian Anderson asked about Maple Road for an event in Mukwanago on Wed. 7/3, 2:30 slot. It's a larger amphitheater and production provided. Good money too."

 

This sounds good. However I wonder what "larger" and "good" actually mean? Lol 

 

Daryl

[BassAdder60]

My belief is a life / family / relationship balance is important to how often you gig 

 

We limit it to two gigs per month max and virtually none in Aug ( holidays etc ) 

 

Bands have a natural life expectancy and working everyone too hard generally results in folk leaving !

[Paul S]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'm with you. I tried my hand at booking and it was an  utter disaster. 

 

Daryl

 

Amen to this.  I have tried but simply don't have the correct temperament to deal with the people who take bookings for pub gigs.  One example - some years and many bands ago now, I phoned in between xmas and new year and was told they don't start doing the diary until after the new year.  I phoned again on 2nd and was told they were fully booked.  Telling them that they were a lying jobsworth wasn't necessarily the best way forward but made me feel better  

[DaytonaRik]

1. Why you don't have any gigs?

Weekend work commitments was the usual show stopper - trying to find dates on which everyone is available that tied in with gig availability.  Drummer worked alternate weekends, I was on call 1 weekend in 4 which made for narrow windows of opportunity.

 

2.Do you rely on an agent ?

No

 

3.Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs?

Usually myself or on occasion another band member booked the gigs

 

4.  Are you or any band members in this for the money?

Not at all - an escape from reality and a bit of fun

 

5.How much do you want to gig?

These days - not at all!  Running a band is like trying to herd cats...you should try it and see just how hard it is!  When you have to book the gigs, own/transport/run the PA/Lighting, play the gig then it really all gets too much!  I'm glad to be at home at the weekends for a while, or join a band where I turn up with a bass, amp and go home with something in my pocket and not be unloading the van at 2:00am!

 

Edited February 6 by DaytonaRik

[jimmyb625]

1. Why you don't have any gigs?

 

We haven't been pushing that much. As we're an originals band, the pub scene isn't a particular option for us (although there are some places that would suit). We've also apparently come to a decision that we're not looking at small gigs.

 

2.Do you rely on an agent ?

 

Not an agent, but we do have a manager of sorts, who has good connections in the folk world.

 

3.Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs?

 

Mainly the manager, although the drummer has a few connections as well. We all look out for potential festival slots though.

 

4.  Are you or any band members in this for the money?

 

Fortunately not! I'm lucky enough to have a job that covers the bills, so my share of the pot usually goes back into paying for studio time. 

 

5.How much do you want to gig?

 

Personally, a lot more than the rest of the band seems to want to! We've got a few festivals in this year, but there are still some more we'd like to do (if anyone has an "in" for Black Deer, that's one I'd really like)

[Bluewine]

8 hours ago, DaytonaRik said:

 

 

4.  Are you or any band members in this for the money?

Not at all - an escape from reality and a bit of fun

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, it's official.  I'm the only bass player here that's " hard up" for money. Lol

 

Daryl

[casapete]

4 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

Ok, it's official.  I'm the only bass player here that's " hard up" for money. Lol

 

Daryl

Well if that’s the case Daryl, you’ll soon be joined by me - I’m retiring from my main band end of April.

I’ll still be playing in my acoustic duo, and maybe the odd dep here and there, but my pension 

kicks in this week so I’ll no doubt be in a similar position to yourself! 😆

 

Oh, and a belated happy birthday too Daryl. 🎂🍾🎊

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, casapete said:

Well if that’s the case Daryl, you’ll soon be joined by me - I’m retiring from my main band end of April.

I’ll still be playing in my acoustic duo, and maybe the odd dep here and there, but my pension 

kicks in this week so I’ll no doubt be in a similar position to yourself! 😆

 

Oh, and a belated happy birthday too Daryl. 🎂🍾🎊

 

Thanks Pete,

 

We did confirm 3 more summer dates this week that sound good. And I have an acoustic gig this Saturday at The Ziegler Winery. Very expensive and upscale. 

 

Daryl

[BigRedX]

The problem with playing music with the intention of earning money to be able to live off, is that unless you are very lucky you will need to take pretty much any gig that is offered. That will normally mean playing music you don't like in dodgy places with people you don't really get on with.

 

I've said before I do something creative for my day job - graphic design - and while I would love to be able to spend all my time working for one or two clients who are keen on cutting-edge designs and think everything I do is fantastic first time around, the reality is that most of what I do is an exercise in trying to get the logo, the product shot and the USPs as big as possible without it looking too horrible, for people who wouldn't know what good design was if it slapped them around the face. Because what I do earns me enough money to live and have some fun, I put up with it. If a client wants something that I think is seriously wrong/bad, I'll politely suggest what I think would work better, but only once and if I'm over-ruled then the client gets exactly what they have asked for.

 

However I like music too much to treat it in the same way. Having to treat playing music in the same way as I treat my design job, would mostly likely kill off any interest I have in playing or composing. No wonder the "giving up" thread is so busy!

[dclaassen]

I have on both sides of this story. When I was playing for my living, I did play full time, in every bar and club that would hire us, and made good money, but it is a young man's game, IMHO. Now, I love playing with other good musicians, and will be looking for opportunities to dep in as I find that an interesting challenge. I am turning down anything I am not going to have fun doing. 

[Woodwind]

I'm in the process of booking dates around the UK to tie in with my next album release, due in late April.

 

It was tricky booking shows last year and it's proving even harder now.

 

The loss over the last few years of many venues that catered for the music I'm involved with has certainly had a big effect.

 

Getting back into EU countries to play some shows is now a complete pipe dream as well.

 

However I not overly pessimistic about this.

I've just had to accept the reality of playing live less.

I had mused with the idea of joining a band or ensemble to satisfy my desire to play live as much as possible, but realised I'd rather concentrate even more on my own music and make those fewer shows even better.

[Bluewine]

37 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

I have on both sides of this story. When I was playing for my living, I did play full time, in every bar and club that would hire us, and made good money, but it is a young man's game, IMHO. Now, I love playing with other good musicians, and will be looking for opportunities to dep in as I find that an interesting challenge. I am turning down anything I am not going to have fun doing. 

 

Agreed, I guess I'm lucky to be in a band that's been gigging steadily since 2007. At this time we can be very selective about what gigs we will accept .

 

Daryl