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#438048 - 09/28/17 05:29 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: cgiles]
cgiles Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/29/05
Posts: 6703
Loc: Roswell,GA/USA
Originally Posted By cgiles
You can make more money being a home player.....no travel expenses, no special clothes to purchase, no equipment wear and tear, no medical expenses ie. muscle strain from hoisting a G70 onto a stand or a 15" speaker onto a pole, or a heart attack from seeing a drunk spill a drink on your spanking new GENOS. The savings will far outweigh the $100.00 you make on the gig. I can say that personally, I have MUCH more discretionary income since I stopped gigging smile smile smile.

chas


I thought it was quite evident that this post was mostly tongue-in-cheek. To see some people immediately get defensive about it tells me that there's probably a grain of truth in it. First of all, I wasn't talking about the full-time pro. I meant the TRUE 'week-end warrior' who derives most of his income from his 'other' job (aka 'day job').

As far as 'breaking even', does your accountant take into account the time spent preparing for and performing the 'gig'? Being able to afford the new 'toys' (again, for the weekend warrior) is mostly a function of where you are financially at this point in your life. Many here go into retirement mortgage-free and with stable incomes of 150-200k/yr. For these people, weekend gigs are more recreational than income producing and more about feeding an ego than feeding a family.

Let's face it, unless you're a full-timer with a stable gig schedule (if such a thing exists in the lower levels of the music world), you do this for love of the music and for the gratification of being a performing musician. I believe that more than half (again, weekend wariors) would do it for free.
JMO.

chas
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#438061 - 09/28/17 07:30 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: guitpic1]
hammer Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/27/08
Posts: 2397
Loc: Texas
Chas,
I was not being defensive - just didn't get the pun of it I guess. You are really right about several things though. First, I guess I fall into that group of people who play for pay as a great hobby and am able to use the extra income to enjoy life a bit more. I would not like trying to make a living doing what I do and would not do it very long if that was the case.

Deane

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#438064 - 09/28/17 07:56 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: guitpic1]
musicforyourday Offline
Member

Registered: 09/30/10
Posts: 733
Loc: So California, USA
at Age 54 i am young man to most of you guys so it great to hear of all your expearances

one thing to me is the excitement of new gear and the possabilty of what I can do with it keeps me going

I play a very busy calandar and work calendar as well

and I l olok forward to new products the keyboard I have now is awasome but something new just keeps it Fresh and renews interest.

burn out I have felt it surly when that happens I look to clear my mind rest a bit and then get back out there

we bring Joy to people and I am blessed to be able to do that .
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#438069 - 09/28/17 08:09 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: cgiles]
tony mads usa Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/16/02
Posts: 14376
Loc: East Greenwich RI USA
Originally Posted By cgiles

As far as 'breaking even', does your accountant take into account the time spent preparing for and performing the 'gig'?
chas


If ever someone questions the price I quote as being "a lot of money for a short amount of time", I just reply that they aren't paying me just for the performance time, but they are also paying a VERY small amount for the years of practice I put in to get myself to be the performer they want to hire ...

Originally Posted By cgiles
.
Let's face it, unless you're a full-timer with a stable gig schedule (if such a thing exists in the lower levels of the music world), you do this for love of the music and for the gratification of being a performing musician. I believe that more than half (again, weekend wariors) would do it for free.
JMO.
chas


Of course they would, as evidenced by 'open mic nights' or 'open jams', regardless of the genre of music ... I have a very good friend who is an excellent jazz alto player - he LOOKS for places where he might be able to sit in, just so he can PLAY ... I know of good sounding combos of all sizes that 'rehearse' one night a week, just to PLAY ...
When I first moved to RI in 1984 there was a club in downtown Providence called "Allerys" that featured a 16 piece band of local talent playing the best jazz charts for a $2 cover charge ... you KNOW they weren't doing it for the money ...
So yes, I also believe "more than half (again, weekend wariors) would do it for free."
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#438088 - 09/28/17 03:40 PM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: travlin'easy]
guitpic1 Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 04/16/14
Posts: 1950
Loc: Missouri
Originally Posted By travlin'easy


My point is, if you are not having fun and enjoying every minute, then maybe it's time for you to hang it up and take up golf, fishing, basket weaving, race car driving, or sailing - something entirely different. To me, if a job wasn't fun and interesting, I would have exited, stage left.

Something to think about,

Gary cool


Tx all.

Gary, my wife has taken up basket weaving(for real!) and I've taken up fishing. 😊
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#438090 - 09/28/17 03:48 PM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: guitpic1]
guitpic1 Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 04/16/14
Posts: 1950
Loc: Missouri
My wife and I may continue...part time. We have had several AD's ask us to keep our show going....we have been told we are among the most popular acts they get....don't know if they are just saying that.

For us, this is part time, done in the evenings after my wife, and often I, have worked all day. So, fatigue is an issue and entertaining takes a lot of work.

For sure my wife and I love performing. And it's good for us to do something together.

Love this forum. So many good insights.
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#438093 - 09/28/17 04:37 PM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: guitpic1]
travlin'easy Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15556
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
Fishing is good for ya. I should know - I've been fishing since I was 6 years old and never, ever got bored when I had a fishing rod in my hand. I was very fortunate in that while in the employ of the US Navy, I had the opportunity to fish some of the most incredible fishing destinations in the entire world, including the Great Barrier Reef.

Good luck in all your future endeavors,

Gary cool
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#438159 - 09/30/17 06:25 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: hammer]
zuki Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/20/02
Posts: 4716
Originally Posted By hammer
Well, for me it is a God-Send to be a paid performing musician. I have played professionally since 1955 and have been very fortunate to have played with some of the best know big bands in America. I took about 30 years off and never played note during that time. When I started playing arranger keyboards - about 12 years ago I started playing for retirement homes and now I am lucky enough to select the ones I will book and still will play about 250+ gigs this year.

Chas, like Gary, I am sorry to disagree with your idea about extra money.
I keep very good records of miles driven, equipment costs, on the road food stops, marketing costs and anything else that is deductible and it is not very difficult to nearly break even. The money I earn pays for a lot of fun things for my wife and I and we never have to touch our normal income sources for these fun things. Thanks to a very wise accountant I have been able to buy whatever equipment I wanted to try out and nearly break even on it when applied to our overall tax situation.

Anyway, that is how it has worked for me and even at age 77 I am still going strong and have no intention of giving it up in the very near future.

Deane


Dean, at 77, you are my hero. Doing something you love and for the people. Congrats!!!
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#438160 - 09/30/17 06:36 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: guitpic1]
zuki Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/20/02
Posts: 4716
I tell my audiences "as long as my wife works, I can continue doing this".

These residents wait all month for an entertainer, someone, something and we cannot forget about them.

Sometimes, life isn't about money.
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Studio: Korg PA4X/Yamaha DGX670/Yamaha PSR SX900/Boss BR900CD/Tascam DP24SD/MTM Iloud/Senn 935/K&M stand/Shure SM57/Sony C80 (2)/Blue Encore 300

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#438290 - 10/02/17 09:03 AM Re: It does give one pause. [Re: zuki]
captain Russ Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 01/02/04
Posts: 7285
Loc: Lexington, Ky, USA
Chas, a nice, part "tongue in cheek" comment. Sad it was misunderstood by some.

Makes you wonder whether it's worth the time...

See you soon,

Russ

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