Everyone has given some excellant ideas, ones that were used starting with my early band days.

I did want to state what I have experienced with my web site.

I felt a good web site in today's age would be a very good thing to do. My thought was mainly either when talking to a new client by phone or in giving a business card with my web site listed and clearly mentioning on the card there was a web site demo that this could be a very fast and easy way to be heard in a world when people who want info want it fast. Especially considering that a lot of people including musicians and even including musicians who play workstations have no clue what it is we do or what we can sound like on arranger keyboards.

As it turns out, most of my gigs have come about because of my web site.

I have gotten many gigs through a sax player who is prominently known in this area and is kind of like the Lester Lanin of the panhandle. I gave him a card, he heard what I could do and has used me as a solo, duo, trio, quintet and big band.

Also, just recently I have become the first call entertainment for a five star restaurant where I have played a few times now already for brunches and will be used whenever they have brunches, wine tasting parties or similar special events in the future. In this case they found my site through a link on the local jazz society. The guy listened to my stuff, knew everything about me from the bio, knew where I had played etc.

So if you plan to use a web site, I'd suggest finding appropriate sites where you can have your link or where they agree to a cross link putting their link on your site.

Best
Scott http://ScottLMusic.com

Sigh ....... I'm all shmoozed out for a while. I'm happy in the role of "musical wallpaper" now. I don;t need the loud crowds, or the drunk women, or the bright lights and late hours. I just sing, and I play ........ as good as i can, and I try to pick tunes that the crowd likes.
No more "shmaltz" for UD ...... I'm calming down and trying to really carve out a newer, less glitzy niche.

Everyone is entitled to my opinion, after all.

As all FULL TIME Pros know....Shmoozing is the "LIFE LINE" without it your dead in the water....


Your getting old TOOOOOOOOO fast, your still a youngster, take a look back at your 8x10 band glossys for a recharge &
"Rock The Casbah Baby!!" !



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-08-2006).]

Hmmmmm, food for thought.
Or maybe, just MAYBE ..... the waters have changed - from entertainer to musician. There has always been a difference in my world, and these days - I fell more like the maestro than the jester.
It's all good.

Dave, I'm with you. I never was an entertainer...just a player, and I've had more work than I can handle. Enjoy watching a good entertainer who can also REALLY play, but they're getting pretty scarce.

Russ

Dave you don't believe that for a minute..A player that doesn't entertain is yesterday's newspaper..or you better have an entertaining front person..

I know, I have been on both sides..

What has made Dave a success is not his playing , but his entertainment value...He knows this as well as anyone..

Stop BS ing us and get back to work...The Entertainment work..

Dammmit... I miss going to Uncle Dave shows with Fran, watching my Uncle D perform taught me many things....!!!!

Fran and DNJ: I respect both of you, but I think that there's much more to the "entertainer vs. musician" issue.

I'm in my 51st year of working at least 4 jobs a week (first paid job was at an officers club in Alaska at age 10). I've had 9 weeks off-total in that time, and have been the highest paid single in the area since I started doing a single about 15 years ago. I have been honored to have known, know and worked with some of the country's top musicians, and learned from every one of them.

I'm a frequent performer at state events for the governors of several states, the presidents of major universities and private colleges, major fortune 500 and 200 corporations and professional performance groups (jazz arts foundations, philharmoic orchestras, etc.). Performance income this year will be in excess of $60,000.00 and I turned down as many jobs as I took.

If that makes me "dead in the water", or "Yesterday's Newspaper", so be it.

Income from film scores for industrial films for major worldwide coroporations will be in excess of $100,000.00 this year. Add to that the production fees for writing and producing the films the sound scores are created for in excess of $750,000.00 (income for my company-not all personal income).

I don't tell jokes, do routines, do novelty songs...I don't even talk at all during performances. I have no PR package, demo CD or headshot...no website, no business card or stationery and don't record any music on an arranger. I don't post work on here, but, If you want to know if I know what I'm doing, ask Nigel or Tony Mads, whom I've shared work with off-line.

This is a serious lifetime undertaking for me, which has generated nearly 50% of my income, paid for an instrument collection worth millions, put myself and three kids through graduate school with no student loans
and made it so that I never have to work another day in my life if I don't want to (but I REALLY do)!(Could have retired comfortably 20 years ago).

I have friends who head music departments, are in demand for Broadway shows, lead orchestras...all individuals who are at the top of their games and who earn 6 figure incomes and much respect from audiences, their peers and the artistic cummunity.

Sorry for the rant, but if you really want to, you can succeed on your own terms if you have enough talent and desire by placing the emphasis on musicianship over entertainment.

And, you don't have to sing show tunes, suck up to drunks or rednecks, do comedy routines or work for jerks to do it.

I laugh a little at the "entertainers" who place style over substance (not my preference, obviously).

Is my approach right and the ones others take wrong? Of course not, but, believe me, to say that a non-entertainer is "dead in the water"
in this business is a little short sighted.

It's all about finding your place, figuring out how to "get over" and working your A** off to continuously improve and achieve satisfaction, however you define it.

I think it all comes down to what the individual needs as a result of involvement in the business. An entertainer needs the positive feedback of appreciative fans...they need to "feel the love".

Others (me included) get their satisfaction from the creative process, the playing of increasingly sophisticated, difficult music,
recognition from their peers and completion of high level performances and projects.

WOW, I'm out of breath!

I feel SO MUCH BETTER!

With MUCH care and RESPECT...

"Boring old Russ"

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-09-2006).]

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-09-2006).]

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-09-2006).]

Russ, you missed my point.. First of all what makes you think you are not an entertainer?
Are you personable, friendly, know how to converse with people, maybe talk about common interest with your customers...If you said yes to any of these..you probably are an entertainer,,,and don't realize it..

I was not slamming you, it just so happened I followed your post...but if you think musicianship alone makes you successfull than I disagree.. I think showmanship is your success..

Even great musicians without personality will get boring..What keeps acts fresh is the individual performer and how people relate to them..

Russ Do you sing? If so it is hard to "sell" a song without being entertaining..

Sorry, I think you are wrong..you must be an entertainer..

Telling jokes is not what a real entertainer does..Being able to be friend your audience is what a entertainer does..

Fran, to an extent, we're talking semantics, here. In my mind, I'm a musician first, a businessman in the music business 2nd and an entertainer last.

This approach has worked well for me. No one plays in a vaccume, so an element of entertainment always exists. It's just not my primary focus.

And it never will be.

Here's hoping we all find our place in the business and achieve success, however we define it.


Russ