Are tips a big part of your income?

No - Not in the sort of places I play. But I sometimes get offered meals in restaurants which I never take and generally get offered at least a couple of drinks during the course of an evening but I only accept one of these as I will be driving and you can't really say you'll have the money instead - LOL.

KF

When I played the nite-club circuit there were times the tips exceeded the salary. That's not the case with private parties, senior centers and assisted living facilities.

Gary

I generally get $100.00 plus in tips per week at my regular restaurant job, and that's surprising, since I don't use a tip jar, cup or anything of the kind. I always give my tips to the wait staff. I find thre person with the worst night going and give tips to that person.

I have several on-going corporate jobs, for companies owned by individuals. The owner
of one company generally gives me an extra $100.00 at the end of the evening.I KEEP that one!

Russ

I don't take tips. The IRS likes to take some of your tips.
I accept "gifts" though. They are mostly for my kids and their futures. It's never for me.

I used to be a "tip-snob" of sorts - I'm not sure why now. It may be because most of the places I play are fairly upscale and pay well enough so I thought maybe I was doing the wait staff a favor by not competing with them. So I didn't put out a tip jar, but people would just throw money on my keyboard while I played (which I hate) and I realized that I was neglecting part of my responsibility: people NEED to tip when they feel motivated.

Then I cultivated the idea (as mentioned in another post) and now I print out a sheets of 200 songs (I call it a "song menu") so that people can make requests without badgering me for things I don't know. On my breaks I visit tables with the song sheet and introduce myself, then visit again on my way back to the stage to get their requests... this has the dual effect of making them feel confortable and conversive with me, and they get to interact with the musical selection. The only thing I have to watch for it that people will ask for slow sappy selections by the dozen (Unchained Meleody, The Rose, The Way We Were, Send in The Clowns, zzzzzzzz) so I won't do more than two slow songs in a row.

Anyway, tips are part of this business and there's nothing like a little gratuity to say "good job". Anyone who says there's no such thing as a free lunch hasn't worked for tips!

The pre-printed song list is a great way to do things. It takes the emphasis off of what you don't play to the positive...all the great tunes you do know.

A long-time friend and great entertainer I knew, Ronnie Holliman did just that. He was a master at controlling the pace of a room. H had a 55 year career working in Nantucket in the summers and Kentucky in the winters.

Russ

When I did this, I did title only but I wondered if I need to put artist on there. Because someone could choose another by that same artist. What do you print on it? (You only have so much room on the sheet, front and back.)

play louder
play softer
play slower
play faster
play it more like the original hit version
play it less like the original hit version

Title only - front side. Back side currently is blank but I may add info about CD's and contact info soon because a lot of people take the song lists with them.