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Looper's Delight
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Ah yes, everywhere faces the same problem. Strange though, if all of the musicans, no matter what style, refused to play for free, lots of these places would shut down. When travelling, it becomes more difficult. If I travel 1000 miles away to play somewhere, how can I make sure the place is filled? Or that the club advertised at all? I can't bring 500 of my friends (yeah, like I have 500 friends at all!) with me... Many venue owners that I have played for haven't had this attitude- their place is a place that always has people in it, because maybe the food is good, maybe the drinks are good, maybe theres nowhere else to go in the area. In any case, they don't rely on musicians (some would say the most unreliable people around) for their money. There are still some people who think of music as a service they provide, rather than the only way they can get people in there. If you come across a club owner with the attitude of 'how much money can you make me', then run away! Usually they won't pay, bitch about volume and set times, and whine that you didn't bring anyone in (even if you clearly have). Besides, you'll be competing with a loud, drunken crowd who couldn't care less about how you combined that Indian sounding 13/8 beat over the 5/8 theme in 'Tarkus'. And you'll leave thinking 'was it worth all this' and 'am I doing the right thing'? There are lots of options for loopy music, many are not places that normally have music. Museums, art galleries, lobbies of performing art centers, aquariums, etc...if they don't normally have music there, go tell them why they should, and offer your services. Many places like this have $ set aside for 'special events', and the audience you'll find is very receptive to new music. Dave Eichenberger ********************************************************************* 'Future Perfect' - art music - visit our website at: http://home1.gte.net/artmusic/ >I'm glad that you were able to get paid in this manner, but I'm sad to >report that my experience in Austin is that you won't get paid unless you >clearly demonstrate a clear financial advantage for the venue >(coffeehouse, bar, etc). > If people don't come to see you, AND spend money at the venue, the >owner isn't interested in paying you, and is most likely not interested >in booking you. "Every night not spent cultivating a Next Big Thing is a >night wasted" appears to be the guiding principle in most cases. As >musicians, we often expect to be paid for our playing. From an owner's >standpoint, he doesn't care what you do, as long as it brings in paying >customers. > >Travis Hartnett >