As we all know, NH's are not cheap establishments when it comes to the cost residents pay..... and we have several high-grade NHs around this neck of the woods. We have this one local guy who plays the guitar and sings quite well, and...Not sure if he does it for access to the ladies or what, but he plays all the local NHs for gratis. He's very good at playing and singing and he also works in some of the local watering holes for pay... Yet he chooses to do the NH gigs for nada.

I agree that plumbers and carpenters shouldn't be expected to go around giving their services away, yet there are those musicians who have no problem providing music services for free. I am not currently plying the NH circuit but if I were, I would definitely be bothered by what this guy is doing as it has to be impacting "expectations" from the ADs around town.

When you get right down to it, just like good plumbing, good music doesn't come without many many hours of practice and studying (not to mention equipment investment and transport). It's a shame that guys like this (and some AD's) don't see it from that standpoint.