Mark, Jim hit the nail on the head. Dump those jobs where you are not appreciated. I guess I've been very fortunate in I rarely ran into an incompetent AD, but I'm sure they exist around here as well as your part of the country. Ironically, I ran in to more nasties when I was performing the nite club/restaurant circuit. If you showed up and there was a blizzard they would blame the entertainer because no one showed up to dine that night.

One of the reasons I'm able to write with a fair degree of communicative skill is because many years ago I was a freelance outdoor writer for 25 publications, including the Washington Post, Baltimore Sunpapers, York Dispatch, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, Field and Stream, Saltwater Sportsman, and a host of smaller publications. During that time, music was a weekend gig, but when the internet forced many of those publications out of business, or made them cut back on the number of articles they purchased, I decided to switch to full time musical entertainment. I quickly determined that there was no money to be made in the nite clubs and restaurants, which in Baltimore, which is another third world country, they pay the same as they did 50 years ago. Top pay for a single there is still $100 for weeknights and $150 for Friday and Saturday. Most do not have entertainment on Sunday.

Mark, I sincerely hope you stay in the field of musical entertainment because there are a lot of audiences out there that you bring a modicum of joy into their lives and transport them back to a time when their world was far more enjoyable. As Jim (Zuki) said, maybe it's time to be more selective.

Good luck,

Gary