From k2mojo@groovedaddies.com Fri Oct 10 09:36:53 2003
Subject:RE: Gigs everywhere

I have to join Tony in apologizing for the wedding band slur. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with playing in a wedding band; in fact wedding
bands are not only providing a valuable service, but every wedding band gig
is one less DJ gig and that can't be a bad thing (ALWAYS support live music
in any form!). The real issue is just the personal decision one makes about
what kind of music you want to perform. Our band is heavily R&B/Rock/Blues
with a lot of well-known covers and just enough 'songs we want to play' to
keep it interesting for us. This is the genre that I prefer to play and
playing in this band keeps me reasonably sane. We also have a songlist of
over 100 songs so it's easy for us to switch to wedding band mode when we
need to and the higher paying wedding gigs we occasionally take on help
supplement the less lucrative club dates. Nonetheless, for us it's still
all extra money. If I didn't have a good paying day gig and my sole income
depended on playing music, I would definitely be playing a lot more wedding
gigs because to me playing music for a living in any band is still better
than digging ditches. But I still wouldn't chose to play just lucrative
wedding gigs, because that by itself wouldn't do it for me, just as Doug
admits that his wedding band work allows for him to play in other bands. I
think I speak for most musicians who play just for the joy of playing their
instrument, any gig is a good gig.

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com
www.groovedaddies.com



> Damn... now I'm going to have to tell everyone in my band
> that we really haven't been having any fun. So I wonder what
> it was that we're all smiling about at our gigs?
>
> I play in Funky Little Shack, a corporate wedding band based
> in San Francisco. The SF Bay area is another place that is
> stuffed to the max with musicians who "don't care about the
> money." So most bands are lucky to make a percentage of the
> door, along with the tip bucket.
>
> Club owners *love* those artistes who don't care about
> getting a fair compensation for their talent. Me, I got tired
> of playing in one of the top jam bands in the area and making zilch.
>
> FLS is comprised of top-notch musicians who play in original
> and/or jazz bands. We all got together for the express
> purpose of making money - so we could continue to play in
> those other bands without having to apply for foodstamps.
>
> We've been together for just about two years, and are
> climbing our way up the wedding circuit. We can put together
> anything from a jazz trio to a 9-piece full band w/ horns
> (and go-go dancers). We make anywhere from $1000 - $5000,
> plus expenses.
>
> We also get to play some beautiful locations (Carmel, Napa,
> Tahoe... even got flown out to Winter Park, CO) instead of
> some nasty club. Tho we do play the occasional club gig -
> we'll be at Bimbos on the 21st (for a private affair). We're
> in Tahoe this weekend. The gig will be over by 10:30, and we
> can either stay in the hotel, or drive home (around 3 hours).
>
> On the weekends when we're not out gigging, I play in our
> church band. Playing organ in our church has made my Mom very
> happy :-) Plus it too is made up of excellent musicians, so
> it can be quite a kick "gigging" at 9:30 on Sunday mornings!
>
> -Doug