Well I guess it depends upon who REALLY is a serious musician. I mean, what is the actual definition of a "serious Musician"? In the Mid-Atlantic Region of the U.S. and on the West Coast, there are lot of top, academically trained musicians using arranger keyboards nearly every day of the week and making a good living with them.

And, from what I hear from many of my friends on your side of the pond, there are a lot more OMB jobs available here in the U.S. than in most of Europe. Granted, I've opted to play the nursing home/retirement community circuit, but there are still lots of club jobs in this part of the world, too. I just prefer the higher pay scale and better working hours that I enjoy in the NH circuit. I still get calls from club owners to go to work for them, but I turn them down for the above reasons.

When I was in the Florida Keys, there were loads of fantastic guitar players trying to scratch out a couple bucks a night from the bars and restaurants. Most could really play their butt off, some could sing reasonably well, and I think they were in the "serious musician" category. But, they were not good entertainers, and didn't have the variety available at their fingertips that an arranger keyboard player enjoys. Those serious guitar players were lucky if they found one job a week, and they were paid less than $100 a night.

Cheers from a not so serious musician,

Gary