Diki, after I went solo, only one band member continued to perform on stage. The others became home players other than the times we got together as friends and jammed for a few hours, which was usually about once a month at my home. The one that continued to perform on stage performed about once a month at most. I, on the other hand, performed 7 days a week, and often did doubles and a few triples. I managed to make a damned good living at being a musician/entertainer. I was the guy in the band that booked the jobs, kept the books, owned the PA system(s), took care of the equipment repairs, etc..., which is what a good business person does. For the most part, to the other players, being in a band was just something they did for recreation and having fun with old friends.

As for the intros, well, the vast majority of good arranger keyboard players that I knew played their own intros, though there were some canned intros that were song specific that pretty much introduced the song, thus urging the dancers in the crowd to get on the dance floor. I always figured I was playing for the ladies, which proved not to be the case. Some of the biggest tippers were folks vacationing in the Florida Keys and for the most part were men. And, some were trained musicians. I was working every night, and they managed to work one day a week on the weekends, mainly because music, which they trained for at locations such as Peabody in Baltimore, didn't pay enough to support their family. They were great players, piano, guitar, etc, but they never approached music as a business. To them, it was an expensive hobby, which is the case for most members of this forum.

As you are well aware, I thoroughly enjoyed playing music, but from day one, I looked at music as a business and way to support my family. I was never a purist, even when I played solo guitar and sang to an audience. The very first time I encountered a duo performing with an arranger keyboard and the other person, a 12-string guitar, I took note of everything they did. They were very popular in the Baltimore Metro Area, booked solid, and charged top prices, which at the time, for nite clubs and restaurants, was $150 for a 4-hour performance on weekends and $100 for weekdays. Now, that was a very long time ago, but the pay scales in those locations has not changed very much, and damned sure has not kept up with inflation. I chose to go the senior circuit, which paid me a living wage, better hours, no long commutes and new locations opening up nearly every month. Yes, I did it for the money!

Diki, for the most part, people that go somewhere to listen to small bands and OMB performers go there to be entertained. By and large, the folks in the audiences are not highly skilled or professionally trained musicians, however, they have likely been enjoying listening to music for majority of their lives. Otherwise they would not go to those places. Most of the time, they listen music on the radio while driving to an from work, on TV, attend concerts, go to bars and restaurants where they have some form of musical entertainment they prefer listening to. They really don't give a tinkers damned if you are a professional musician that has been trained at an institution that specialized in this field of endeavor. It makes little of no difference to them if you play your music on a Steinway or a Korg, just as long as it's well played and entertaining. You, of all people should be well aware of this. The bar and restaurant owners are keenly aware of the value of having good ENTERTAINERS at their place of business, and how much more each individual is willing to spend because of the entertainment. They know that if those chairs are filled with folks that came to dine, they tend to stay much longer, buy more of those overpriced drinks and for the most part, spend more money during their outings.

I came to this forum, the General Arranger Keyboard Forum, to learn from others that treated music as a business while playing an arranger keyboard. I didn't come here to be entertained or to improve my musicianship, though it has been entertaining at times to be here. I came to learn about the inner working of an arranger keyboard, a task that I took very seriously. Additionally, I went on the road, traveling thousands upon thousands of miles to watch these individuals perform. I traveled from Maine to the Florida Keys, west to Texas and up the center of the US stopping in every location where someone was performing with an arranger keyboard to a paying audience. I sincerely believe that I learned more from DNJ, Uncle Dave, Don Mason, Eddie Shoemaker, Bob Lee, Jimmy McKinney, Bill In Dayton, Fran Corango and a huge number of others that were NOT professionally trained musicians than I could have ever learned from those that claimed they were.

My only regret was that I didn't spend more time with my wife and children, sailing and fishing in Chesapeake Bay and the nearby offshore waters of the mid-Atlantic Ocean. I still get to see my daughter nearly every day and evening, but that is in conjunction of taking care of my wife and her debilitating medical conditions. My son lives about 2 hours away, and we get to see them once or twice a month, but my love of boating has kept him exploring the waters of Chesapeake Bay with his family and enjoying the outdoors. And, while he is a fantastic musician, he does not depend upon music for a living. He has a wife and 3 step-daughters to support.

Finally, Chas and I only agree on one thing - need I not say more.

All the best,

Gary