If I ever get back in the business, my wife will be doing my bookings (she did most of them before). For a while I had a group of older ADs lined up who would book me regularly. After they retired, the young kids (who looked like they were 12 years old to me) moved in and it went south from there.

Volunteer work is fine, but I had lots of people that wanted me to play for free because they allegedly had no budget. I don't know about you, but when I go to these places I see a building full of people, most of whom are getting paid. I know there are volunteer musicians, but with all the time invested in learning how to play and all the money invested in equipment, I don't see how they can do it. Just my opinion.