It says I'm a man who speaks up for himself when wronged!

This is my opinion of how to live a life of contentment.

This past year I was WRONGED when I was RIGHT about 25 times. During this same year I was addressed as sir many, many times. I was asked for my opinion by those who needed help. I am blessed by my family by the love they show me, especially this week when my daughter traveled from Jacksonville Fl. to West Palm Beach to spend 4 days with me, one-on-one.

My belief: The positives in my life are bringing joy and contentment. I walk around happy most of the time. When I spend time on the that the negatives of my life, they steel part of my happiness, Joy and contentment. --- and leave me frustrated.

This my belief, it may not apply to anyone else, John C.

Wise man John! And a blessed one.

Just remember, there's a difference between being right and being "dead right"

Glenn

Well, I thought I would add to this thread with my latest experience with booking gigs at Senior Independent Living venues. After reading this thread I decided to send a Promo card to various venues. I hand addressed the pre-printed cards and mailed 100 of them to select senior Independent Living venues. Guess what? After 3 weeks I have gotten only 1 call from those I mailed to. And folks, that is about the way it goes these days. Several years ago I got about 20 calls and gigs for every 100 mail outs.

Another issue has come up - pricing. I got on the phone and called several of the places I sent cards to and much to my surprise NONE of them came close to paying my hourly fee. Apparently there is a group of folks playing these gigs for just about HALF of what I charge!
So, after working at over 100 of these upscale Independent Living places over the last 10 years the Corporate owners of many of them have changed and they want to pay very little for entertainers regardless of the desires of the residents! Very disappointing.

Well, this all leads to me deciding to limit my bookings to those who care about the residents and want decent entertainers for them. Fortunately, this all happens at a time in my life when cutting back is probably not a bad idea. Luckily, I still have enough venues who call me that it will keep me working 2-3 times every week at the price I charge. I guess it is not all that bad because most of the places I now play have booked me thru 2020. Also, through the years none of my music income was needed for our household expenses but allowed me to buy whatever equipment I wanted and treat my wife to many dinners out and several nice trips.

Seems a shame to know that the places elderly folks decide to call home care about nothing but
the money they collect from those elderly folks. Several of my very good Activity Director friends have walked away from these jobs due to severe budget cuts for activities. To put this in perspective - most of the places I play charge anywhere from $5000.00 to $10,000 a month fees and are very upscale and still they are spending very little on the residents.

Well, just thought I would add this to this thread.

Deane

Deane sorry to hear that, but it is only gonna get much worse until it's a totally free entertainment schedule for facilities ....
everyone wants to get in the act and their budget trumps all.
If they can save $$$ they will go for it regardless of talent, upscale, low scale etc, it's a sad state of affairs.....

Donny,
In the 60's and 70's I was associated with many of the well known big bands and was a studio musician until computers started taking over. I also played with dozens of the areas better bands and small groups. All these were union gigs. This scenario of lower pricing reminds me a lot of the "scabs" we felt with in those days because that is exactly what is happening. After spending over a decade of building up prices many of those of us who did this are being undercut by those willing to play for next to nothing.

Deane

Deane, first and foremost, did you address those cards to the AD or just send them to the facility? My experience proved to be much better when those fliers and ad packages were sent directly to the AD.

Next, did you follow up with a phone call or personal visit to the AD within 7 days of mailing the cards? This is key to booking those places, regardless of price.

Now, I know that performance rates are lower in Texas, but top notch entertainers that both play and sing often command much higher rates, at least that has been my experience regardless of the state I performed in. Most of the non-singing performers up here in Maryland are paid about $50 an hour, while singing arranger keyboard entertainers average $100 to $125 an hour at the same facilities. Top notch players who are also great vocalist command $125 to $150 an hour, depending upon the facility. Two years ago, when I retired, my standard rate was $125 an hour, and a half dozen facilities paid me $150 because my commute distance was greater than 30 miles each way.

If you want to make a living in this business, performing on the senior circuit, you need a full package. You need great playing skills, high quality vocals, the best equipment, and the ability to market your product using all the tools at your disposal. You need to be able to read an audience, assess their musical desires, and provide it with a great deal of emotion and feeling in both your playing and vocals. Anything short of the above spells disaster, at least from a business standpoint.

Good luck,

Gary

[quote=travlin'easy]Deane, first and foremost, did you address those cards to the AD or just send them to the facility? My experience proved to be much better when those fliers and ad packages were sent directly to the AD.

Next, did you follow up with a phone call or personal visit to the AD within 7 days of mailing the cards? This is key to booking those places, regardless of price.

Now, I know that performance rates are lower in Texas, but top notch entertainers that both play and sing often command much higher rates, at least that has been my experience regardless of the state I performed in. Most of the non-singing performers up here in Maryland are paid about $50 an hour, while singing arranger keyboard entertainers average $100 to $125 an hour at the same facilities. Top notch players who are also great vocalist command $125 to $150 an hour, depending upon the facility. Two years ago, when I retired, my standard rate was $125 an hour, and a half dozen facilities paid me $150 because my commute distance was greater than 30 miles each way.

"If you want to make a living in this business, performing on the senior circuit, you need a FULL Package. You need great playing skills, high quality vocals, the best equipment, and the ability to market your product using all the tools at your disposal. You need to be able to read an audience, assess their musical desires, and provide it with a great deal of emotion and feeling in both your playing and vocals. Anything short of the above spells disaster, at least from a business standpoint."


Let me add to be 3x better then ALL THE REST !! show them you are worth the MONEY$$$
great post Gary