Russ...
First of all...13 years at the same place? Congratulations...you should be getting a gold watch. Your employer doesn't seem to be interested in replacing you and I bet you have an excellent rapport with him/her/them and the customers. My guess is you could probably stay there another 13 years if you wanted.

The last "full time" restaurant gig I had lasted 18 months, 6 nights a week. In that time I saw a parade of singles, duos and larger groups coming in to apply. That is normal. If we don't make outselves known and do some prospecting, we would never work.

But, what bothered me was just one guy, who I thought I knew very well, who wrote a letter to the owner detailing how much better he would be at the job than me...and offered to play at a ridiculously low price. The owner showed me the letter and said he could never trust a guy like that.

On the other side of the coin, a regular "one-nighter" client called for a date I couldn't do. She asked if I could recommend anyone. I put them in touch with a duo I knew was good...and they ended up getting a number of the gigs I usually got there. Then, the hammer fell when they failed to show up one night. Now I am back in the regular rotation and the entertainment director is tripping over herself thanking me for my professionalism and not getting upset about being replaced before.

I am not a booking agent. I seek no commissions for placing anyone else in a job. I take no finder fees. I just put the client first and try my best to satisfy their needs, whether it be me playing or helping to find them another appropriate act. But, I will never recommend any other musician who has proven to be a snake.

Eddie