I got to confess I am surprised at how early the summer season has tailed off this year here in Florida... Kids are back to school early, the resort has new owners that want to cut back on entertainment during the extremely dead 'dog days', and consequently. I've lost about four outside gigs a week (that would have normally run into early September).
And you know what... I'M ECSTATIC! I always dread August here on the Gulf Coast. Unbearable heat and humidity, little sea-breeze, smaller crowds, usually the discomfort of it all gets me and my guitarist biting each other's heads off (we normally get on like a house on fire!), and unresponsive to the customers...!
Now we are down to only one outside evening gig a week, and three indoor house gigs, then corporate stuff and parties to taste... MUCH nicer. It turns out that Apr-July this year was MUCH busier than the last few, so we end up averaging out about the same, and no day gigs outside in August!
It doesn't get any better than that!
Dave... We have a system with our deck daytime gig that, unless they call us up before we leave for the gig (about 11:30am) to cancel, we get paid in full, whether we play or not. But their loss in bar revenues if they call us off and the weather turns out OK basically means they never do it. I've been playing 2-3 days/week on this deck since March, and only lost 2 days, this year. Of course, having a drought didn't hurt...
But stopping ALL outside gigs...? I could never do that! Some of March, and definitely Apr-May and most of June are absolutely a joy to play outside. Plenty of sun, fresh air, cool breezes and all the bikinis you can handle... Worth every hassle, IMO, and you still have time for an evening double, and get home before 10 o'clock. Almost respectable hours!
Best of luck next year if you decide to gig inside only, but I bet, come Apr-May, you'll be wishing you were outside again!
Previous Topic
Index