... one other thought! I have become, over the years, a jack-of-all trades type musician. I can do a somewhat decent job with most types of music.
I'm not certain that is always a good idea though. It might well be better to find your niche and concentrate on that. For example Russ can play anything, but he markets himself primarily as a jazz artist in the venues where he works for the public. There are quite a number of guys around here that do nothing but Country, or nothing but Blues. Several bands do just 50's, 60's, 70's. They have found their niche and it seems to be working.
I suppose my niche is that I don't have one. I know my reputation on this forum is being a primarily country music player but that really isn't true. I do enjoy doing it and do it a lot, but I sometimes go all night without doing a country song. It all depends on the audience and what I think they want to hear and to what they will respond.
Hope this isn't getting too far off topic, but it's cold and rainy and the house is full of my in-laws!
I'm editing this post because I just checked my Facebook page and found this post from one of my local musician friends.
"Well-- tonite we kick off our new year at Bossier City -- VFW on Jeter St. 7:00 til 11:00 -- join myself, Tom Coty, Berto, and Little Joe Perot, for some hand clappin', toe tappin', finger lickin', country pickin'. If you enjoy GOOD country music-- we promise you a good time. If you show up and don't like country music--- well it's gonna be a LONG NITE."