It's a catch 22 when you talk about bars.

If you want to play private parties, then you can meet lots of potential clients in bars. If you are single, you can often meet other singles there, but as soon as you're attached - you tend to run down the bar "scene". Weird thinking, but true.

Simple truth - the bar is a gathering place. The community watering hole, you know - where everybody knows your name and all ......

I'll share a curious observation with you all. Last night at my steady Thursday restaurant(going on a year now)we were MOBBED. We had three private functions happening at once, and one of them was a rehersal dinner for a 20-somethig couple...maybe 60 people in their crowd alone. Try to tell a few dozen 20 yr olds that Game 7 of the NLCS will not be shown tonight because Uncle Dave is singing.

N*O*T!

The room was loud, crowded, hectic and fun all night. The crowd went back and forth between cheering for the Cardinals and filling my jar with Sinatra requests ( It's an Italian place, remember !)

Bottom line - the room was alive, the ca$h register played the owner's favorite tune, I played the customer's favorite tunes and we all had a great time. And two former Phillies All Stars are now headed for the World Series. Life is good.

As much as we all love attention, the local watering hole is not a concert venue. It's a shared space for community gatherings, and if you are fortunate enough to have an owner that supports the arts by having music, then count your blessings, count your money and entertain your audience as best you can. We're all capable of doing many things at once.

Heck - it's the very ESSENCE of the OMB concept!!!

Well, the audience likes variety and that's why there are often times, several TVs on. It gives the people a "buffer zone" in case conversation drags. Remember ..... this is a MEETING place. People come to mingle, chill out, blow off steam, eat, drink, flirt, whatever ...... our job is to give them something to listen to and respond to ..... IF they choose to.

The bar "scene" may not be for everyone, but for THIS entertainer ..... it provides a vehicle to allow me to support my family and mantain my sanity!

Most of my private partie$$$$$ are booked because of the contacts in bars. The rest come from referals from the partie$$$ ....

See what I mean - Catch 22 !

No. My beef is that I am always asked to keep the volume of my music to a minimum, which I'm always willing to do - but I won't compete with the TV. The music is meant to set the mood and allow people to relax and converse over dinner, which is impossible if suddenly a small group of people let out an unexpected SCREAM. Rowdier bars I can understand because they already have a high noise level, but a quiet restaurant should not become a sports bar... not everyone cares about the damn game.

Well, I don't work in a sports bar, but the (silent) TVs generally DO attract some attention during playoff seasons. The masses determine the mood of the room whether it's diners or bar patrons. That's just the nature of a room that features both areas.
I would never fault some patrons that cheer for their team in a good natured way, especially because it puts them in a better mood for the rest of the night as they continue to listen to MY addition to the evening.
If the Philly teams are out of contention, I don't care about the damn game either, but our patrons are from all over and you never know who's going to come in.

If there's a bar, there is almost always a TV. If it's only a restaurant, then you get lucky and you just have to deal with the volume requests. I generally work rooms that have both.

A few years ago I played at a 50th Anniversary in a High Style Catering Hall during the NFL playoffs...The Older couple rented a GIANT 6'SCREEN TV to watch the game during the affair .....while I was playing too.....
My point is.... You make the choices of your gigs...
They Hire You, You do your job, You get paid, You don't tell them what to do because You work for them, You can always quit or refuse to play there if your not Happy, You can always check out the venue before you ever start playing there and at that time make a decision to play there under those conditions to see if its worth it to You.
You can also sit home and make NOTHING there



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-22-2004).]

Gary. You are lucky to be able to choose. I wonder what you would do if you had no alternative circuit to perform (and make a living from that). The kind of market you are in (retirement centers, assisted living centers or nursing home) is extremely limited if not inexistant in Portugal, for instance. -- José.