Finally saw and Arranger Player --- well almost

Went to the local place near me Zepplins, to hear the band Target https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg9GL7-Lvlo.
They do every Tues--"Target Tuesday" and draw an older dancing crowd. Guitar , Bass , Female keys and they all sing along with their Alesis Drum machine. They sound a lot better than my description and are super tight. Anyway they took off for their annual trip to their old home area area in NY to do some gigs. The fill in band was a DUO http://www.gregrossmusic.com.
I look and the guy is playing a Roland BK5 YEA !! Nope , upon further review he's just doing very simple LH bass. RH piano Chords with maybe two different piano sounds and using just a few drum beats from the BK5. Wife does most of the vocals and played a Keytar with a guitar sound for some fills. They would do five or more songs over the same simple beat ( much like Target does ) to keep the dancers going. I thought it was a bit boring but I listen with different ears. Killer PA which really made them sound much bigger. Bose L1 with bass bin on one side and the new Bose Speaker ( ?) on top of a Behringer sub on the other. Not too loud but really full.
Really got me thinking again. A lot of discussion here about this keyboard has these sounds and this one has these buttons, etc. etc. etc. and I haven't seen it matter yet and theres a lot of music going on here. Do all this work editing sounds and SMFs and the groups that are working the most are the simplest.
Both them and Target are doing a steady 4 nights a week. Talked to them after the gig ( 6-9 PM love the hours here ) Super nice people and very humble. I tell the guy I have the BK9. He says " Wow you must really know how to play !!! I'm and ex drummer and can't do LH chords just one note bass "
So much for the piano studies, makes you wonder.

Bill, a lot of the clubs are going to earlier hours here as well. I believe the strategy behind this is that they can hold the dinner folks for a few extra hours, during which time they buy lots of mixed drinks, which provide a higher profit margin than beer. Just saw on Bar Rescue where the profit margin on draft beer is about 28 percent whereas mixed drinks provide a 34 percent profit margin. The food itself is only about 15 to 20 percent profit because of the labor intensity to produce the product and the cost of the kitchen itself, which is insanely high.

When I was playing in Myrtle Beach three years ago, the lady at the yacht club restaurant didn't want me to leave, but as you know, it gets damned cold in Myrtle Beach in January. I played a happy hour for her that began at 6 p.m. and was only supposed to play till 8, but as the night progressed, she had me stay an extra 2 hours because the crowd was still there from dinner. The pay was lousy, just $150 for the 4 hours, but I made another $200 in tips, so I was a happy camper. I ended up staying 3 days, then moved south, got hung up with Hurricane Sandy and ended up playing a 5 day Hurricane Party at Osprey Marina. It was a tips only job, but the hurricane party folks turned out to be good tippers, which is usually the case with vagabond boaters headed south for winter.

I'm so glad that things are working out for you in the sunny south, and from my perspective, arranger keyboard players in that part of the world, as well as here in Maryland, have an edge over the have guitar will travel guys by a long shot. Having been a have guitar will travel guy at one time, I know that I was never able to provide the entertainment variety and diversity the audiences demanded. I'm confident that as time goes on, you will find more work than you can possibly handle down there. You are a very talented player and entertainer, which I sincerely believe is the key ingredients to success in this facet of the musical entertainment world.

Good luck,

Gary

Thanks Gary
I've been well received at all the gigs I've done here. I try to keep the live component of the music up front and be personable with the people. Trying to nail down something steady so I don't have to keep hopping around.
If I could find a decent female vocalist it would open a lot of doors but I'm just going to take it as it comes
Stay cool and don't cut all that grass in one day

Bill I would think with you talent you should be booked every night in your area for sure?...

Gary, over the last few years, I'm booked as often on just a nylon string or big jazz guitar as I am on keys. 90% of my keyboard jobs are now my new Hammond, left-handed bass and either a drum machine or a drummer. In my mind, this gives me a lot more freedom; particularly when it comes to walking bass with time retards, "pushing the lines", etc.

On guitar, the music is 50% instrumental. There are a lot of guitar players around here (it IS Kentucky, you know) but most are "strummers" who have little or no skill. Sometimes, I'll use bass petals with a large jazz guitar and Leslie simulator.

Of course, these are "niche" jobs; usually for government agencies, horse farms, universities, etc. They're generally dinner only, so I'm competing with a ham sandwich.

Around here, I have no competition on the guitar jobs and little on the keyboards.

I've found my spot!


R.

Russ, you have, obviously, found a niche, one that fits your playing style. In most of the nation, at least in all the areas I have traveled, the Have Guitar Will Travel guys are primarily strummers who sing. Some have drum machines, but most do not. Some can actually do some pretty good picking, but the vast majority just strum and sing. These are the folks that perform at various restaurants, bars and country clubs, they often work weekends only (most have a full-time day job in another field), and while some are quite talented, keep in mind that where they fall short is diversity. Every song they perform, from the first to the last, sounds the same, they are played in the same, strumming style and more often than not, have the exact, same tempo. Sure, they manage to get a few jobs, but repeat jobs are rare.

Arranger keyboard players, who also has a good voices, guys like Don Mason, Uncle Dave, Donny, Bill, etc..., provide their audiences with a huge variety of songs. They readily reach a vast, diverse audience with these songs, and their ability to interact with individual audience members is superb. When I performed in Lexington, KY, which is the only time I've performed in Kentucky, it was a single job at the University of Kentucky. I was asked by dozens of audience members where I played regularly in the area so they could come and see me, and bring some friends. When I told them I was there just for this single job and would be going back to Maryland in the morning, many responded "I sure wish we had someone like you playing here regularly."

Same was true when I played for several months in the Florida Keys - I was the only arranger keyboard player on Marathon Key, and the only other keyboard player that I knew of was in Key West. We both had all the work we could handle. The guitar guys were lucky to get one job a week. There was one guitar guy, however, who used backing tracks, he was a great singer, and he was working 4 nights a week. When I saw him perform, it was almost as if there was an arranger keyboard player working with a guitarist/singer.

In the world of musical entertainment, I sincerely believe arranger keyboard players are indeed rare. There seems to be lots of guitar players and lots of piano players, most of which are also singers. When a guy, or gal, shows up with an arranger keyboard, and is a true entertainer, who also can provide good to excellent vocals, he or she is usually an instant success. And, in this part of the country, the Baltimore Metro Region, there may be a half-dozen at most. They are all very, very successful, work as much as they want and able to support their lifestyles on musical entertainment alone. I've only met one have guitar will travel guy that fits into that category.

All the best,

Gary

Gary pretty much hit it. Thats the scene here too. Unless your a strong duo or trio as I posted. The only differance is I just don't think they "get" keyboards here, they're so guitar oriented. Lots of so so ones too.
Captain we've said this before, you have a golden niche where you can do what you want and work steady. Good for you. Its when you hit a new area and have to sell yourself all over again that it gets dicey. Especially if your an unknown and older musician.
Most places here book the same players year after year and you have to break in doing fill ins.
Had a nice job lined up for the Season on Fridays at one of the biggest restaurants here because the guy they used every year wasn't coming back. Last minute he decides to come back so I'm out. They went with what they knew.
I posted the links just to show what goes on here besides singles.

I think the issue is not the selection of instruments but limitations in ability. For instance, many basic lounge key players only play in one or two keys (sameness in tone) and, because of limitations in ability and types of material, only use one or two very repetitive structures. Lack of ability limits the diversity and degree of difficulty of the music performed.

In every town I've been in, there is a guitar player or two that keeps people actively entertained and involved for 4 hours per night as a single, with a whole lot of variety, both in playing style and in complexity of material.

These guys are miles above the standard crew of "strummers".
Same thing with single key players.

Gary, if you were on the UK campus and got the response you report, you weren't playing for UK connected people. Must have been a private function where the venue was simply rented. From director Miles Osborne to recently retired Vince DeMartino at Center college, recently deceased Jay Flippen from Morehead State to lots of others in the academic field, there is an abundance of national quality talent, including more than a few who regularly go out on tour with top pop and Broadway national and world-wide productions.

There is absolutely no "hole" in entertainment choices which creates an unfulfilled need for arranger based entertainment of any kind.

The material reported here as what's played by members at Nursing homes has no place other than nursing homes in this geography. The well intentioned folks who play nursing homes here couldn't get a job playing anything or anywhere else.

When Dizzy played at the Opera House the last time he came through before he passed, even HE didn't get dozens of people asking ANYTHING. Neither did Tommy Emmanuel, Victor Wooten or others in their skill category.

Maybe you were friends with participants and those participants and their friends were the ones who were showing their appreciation.

We all need positive feedback, but, even when it comes, perhaps we should take it with a grain of salt.

Or, maybe I work in a completely different world. I'm happy for the few folks who compliment me nightly, but, given the number of drunks and tone def folks, don't put much stock in what they say.

But, that's probably just me.


Be well,


Russ

Russ, I performed for my Sister In Law's 50th wedding anniversary, however, they, and my wife, were the only folks in the audience that I knew. All of the others, about 150 or more individuals, were folks that my sister in law and her husband knew from Louisville and Lexington. I never met any of them before that night. So, I assume their responses were valid, however, I didn't research the area to see if there were any other OMB arranger keyboard players/entertainers in the immediate area.

A few weeks after the event, I had a half dozen telephone calls from folks in that area that wanted to know what it would cost for me to perform at private parties and another wedding anniversary in Louisville or Lexington. I gave them a ridiculous price, mainly because I really didn't enjoy the 11-hour drive from my home to Louisville where my wife's sister and her husband have resided for the past 45 years.

And, yes, you apparently DO work in a completely different world. When I was doing the club/restaurant circuit in Baltimore, mostly in upscale restaurants (I performed regularly in three of them) in Baltimore's Little Italy and the Inner Harbor, most of the guitar players, many of which were extremely talented, were not working more than one job a week, and many were working just one or two jobs a month. In contrast, the better keyboard guys and duos, such as arranger keyboard player Jerry & Elsa Burns, a Peabody trained pianist and incredible jazz singer, Larry Scott, Ray Bastianelli, Johnny Walker, Bobby Bassett, Al Rosi, Helmut Licht, Norrm & Carlos and a few others, all of whom played arranger keyboards and were very talented vocalists as well, had all the work they could handle, and then some. Jerry and Elsa were also part of the Zim Zemeral Band, which employed many musicians from the US Navy Band. During the Carter Administration, Zim's band played a couple jobs at the White House.

Ironically, a significant number of these same, talented, individuals eventually transcended into the senior circuit, primarily for the increased income and better working hours. Nearly every one of these individuals worked 5 to 7 nights a week when we were working the club/restaurant circuit, which is far more than any of the top guitar players in this part of the world ever dreamed of working, even those that were highly trained, highly skilled and very talented. So, yes, I guess it's a different world here when it comes to the musical entertainment biz.

All the best,

Gary

Gary,
You sure have had an illustrative career, and that is just counting the music.

Bernie, if I die tomorrow, it has been one Hell of a ride.

Gary

When I first read this, I was expecting to hear some interesting responses. Boy was I disappointed. No one picked up on this remark. Everyone seems to just carry on praising their favorite keyboards and speakers and doing ABC vs. DEF tests.

Bill hit on something here that we should all take note of. No one, I mean no one, in an audience is going to hear the reproduction qualities of any keyboard. And even less people (which brings it down to zero) are going to make any kind of comment about how much better the Tyros sounded in that band last week, or wow! he's playing a NORD and so on.

It hit me about a month ago. One of the musicians I was focused on (in a band) played some nice riffs and improv's. As I opened myself up to the total sound, I realized the instument he was using was probably a vintage 1970's Casio and the speakers sounded like they were drying out from being caught in a thunderstorm. I think the brand name on them was Betty Crocker!

But everyone was enjoying the music. I think about that experience a lot now that I'm considering buying another keyboard. Why would I want to invest $3,000-4,000 in a better sounding keyboard when I'm the only one who will know....."it's a better sounding keyboard!"

I think every musician, in their musical training, should study the psychology of the listening audience along with their Czerny exercises! With all the money you save on collecting keyboards over the course of your music career, you could buy yourself a condo in the afterlife!

Mark

The nice thing about being an Atheist is that with no afterlife to "save up for", you can spend that money NOW (on 'cigareets, and whiskey, and wild, wild, women --- and keyboards ).

chas

My old guitar player ( who has passed away, and was a great guitar player) always said " those who played talked theory ,scales, technique , those whe don't play talk equipment". I guess there are those that use a 3000 dollar keyboard to make them sound good and those that make 500 dollar keyboard sound great. Either one is not a bad thing.

Mark
It's been discussed before. It's about the whole package and most important "entertainment" No one cares what gear you have just what comes out and vocals are the most important.
Even the band I mentioned "Target" the girl plays some keyboard but even though it's a Newer Korg I think it sounds like crap. Maybe it's their PA . They run the whole band thought 3 Bose L1's but have a brassy sound and really pushes the vocals out. When she does an organ part I wonder if she ever heard a real Hammond. They are very professional and do all dance music for 3 hours with no breaks and draw a dancing older crowd so who cares.
Also as we've all said the newer stuff is to inspire us and give us confidence on stage or just for fun at home. If you want a new toy get it life's too short .

Bill.....you don't need to reply to this. Just thought I'd put my two cents in again. I'm at the top of my game right now but it means zilch. What actually happened is the people were dumbed down....that's why bad music (and bad sounds) is acceptable now. No one remembers good music or good apple pie or good anything! Now if a waiter drops a tray of dishes on the floor, people think it's music. That's why people don't care what an instrument or a speaker sounds like now. There's no benchmark to compare it with anymore.

We're both coming from the same background....properly trained, professional, take pride in what we do, etc so I imagine it's as frustrating for you as it is for me. But.....it is what it is and there's no putting the toothpaste back in the tube.

I'm seriously thinking of doing a "Gary." Determine if the bank account will sustain me long enough so I don't have to go back out there in the wilds again. Stick to the nursing homes and that's it!

Mark