what you gotta do to be a musician in this town
heard a coupla interesting stories today.
story 1: so band "a" played at the fw weekly's spring rally thingy. they got no money, but had to sign a contract saying that they wouldn't badmouth the paper or sue if they got killed. they were paying for their own drinks all afternoon, but a couple of the fellas decided they would try using their "performer" tags to try and bogart their way into the "vip area." no dice. not a big deal, but it reminded me of the time when i used to freelance for the paper that i got invited to the christmas party -- _after_ everybody had eaten. (better i should eat the leftovers than the dogs in the alley, i suppose.) would you like a side dish of insult with your entree of injury?
story 2: a few nights later, band "b" played at a local club, second-billed to another batch of locals. band "b," who have become a consistent big draw in the last year or so, pulled the biggest crowd, like you'd expect. here's the thing: the headliners had a $350 guarantee, so band "b" got nada, even though the door was over $600 and they brought most of the paying customers. sure, it's nobody's fault but band "b"'s; part of the reason gig money in the fort is so lousy is that audiences are used to enjoying live music for free, but the other part is that musos who come up in this environment (a marketplace filled with sluts and hobbyists eager to give away their wares) tend to undervalue their own product. the lesson here, i suppose, is something like this: respect yourselves or no one else will.
story 1: so band "a" played at the fw weekly's spring rally thingy. they got no money, but had to sign a contract saying that they wouldn't badmouth the paper or sue if they got killed. they were paying for their own drinks all afternoon, but a couple of the fellas decided they would try using their "performer" tags to try and bogart their way into the "vip area." no dice. not a big deal, but it reminded me of the time when i used to freelance for the paper that i got invited to the christmas party -- _after_ everybody had eaten. (better i should eat the leftovers than the dogs in the alley, i suppose.) would you like a side dish of insult with your entree of injury?
story 2: a few nights later, band "b" played at a local club, second-billed to another batch of locals. band "b," who have become a consistent big draw in the last year or so, pulled the biggest crowd, like you'd expect. here's the thing: the headliners had a $350 guarantee, so band "b" got nada, even though the door was over $600 and they brought most of the paying customers. sure, it's nobody's fault but band "b"'s; part of the reason gig money in the fort is so lousy is that audiences are used to enjoying live music for free, but the other part is that musos who come up in this environment (a marketplace filled with sluts and hobbyists eager to give away their wares) tend to undervalue their own product. the lesson here, i suppose, is something like this: respect yourselves or no one else will.
posted by stashdauber at 11:20 PM
3 Comments:
I'll dog people, but I will also give compliments when they are due.That being said, I wanted to add that 3day pass was very cool to us at the rally.
-band a
Is _that_ what that contract said? Sheesh .. if I'd have known that I would have killed Tony onstage with a rolled-up copy of the Weekly just to see what kind of chaos ensued :-)
Well, as I learned every weekday afternoon at the end of G.I. JOE, now I know, and knowing's half the battle. Let me know if you figure out the other half.
--band b
Post a Comment
<< Home