Whether or not to play for the public is question # 1 for me right now. I have been playing one 30 hour recording gig a week (a sound score for a 20 minute film for Fortune 500 companies), plus 20-30 hours at a country club, for government offices and for area philharmonics.


The 30 hours session pays about 6 times as much as the same number of hours for the public. If the project is for broadcast, points add significantly to the income from the project.

Thing is, I don't miss the public (yet) but the structure and pressure to "get it right the first time".

If you listen, there is a score of some kind on almost anything you see or hear on the radio, the net, TV, etc. But, this work is not a series of tunes, with a head, tail and a bridge. Much is sound effects. There are lots of meterless passages...dead space, etc. It's a completely different mindset. There is generally an advertising agency to work with, and 90% of the time, they're just in the way.The score is being produced at the last minute to coincide with the finishing of the entire film edit.The deadline is always 8:00 AM the day after completion, so there is no room for error, making the pressure to "get it right" horrendous. I LIKE THAT!

I can't do both, so I'll be making a choice soon. I'll still go to Dubai to play 4 times a year and keep up my film production, graphics and research work through my production company.

I get lots of calls, so they're either tone deaf or I'm minimally skilled to play live.


Maybe not for long, though!


R.