We're talking about background restaurant music.

R.

I'm surprised nobody yet mentioned these holes that host "jam sessions" or "open stages". One way to get a night's entertainment for nothing, I guess. Cheap b******s.

IN LA bands routinely pay to play.....

Looking back, I am grateful that I started using an arranger keyboard for my restaurant/dinner gigs, gradually phasing out the piano.

There are lots of piano players in my area, but there are only two of us using arrangers for these types of gigs, and we both get more than enough work, I'm guessing mainly because we provide something a little different than the usual piano background.

Ian

Same here, Ian. All the folks "sniffing around" this job are conventional po=iano players who have been using a house acoustic grand.

One fellow uses a sequencer, but can't do requests at all. He simply has a keyboard around to "look the part".

There is only one other arranger player in my area. He has a duo, uses massive subs and has a laptop and very structured sets.

Really haven't had much competition in this area.


Russ

Try doing it in Nashville. I played 3 gigs this week that didn't total $150 combined. Lol, luckily I had a couple that were better than that, but still. Try playing in a western swing band with 6 members, all of whom are absolutely ace players, and making $30 a man. It's insane. And, I suppose if I squander all my savings before I manage to make it here, then I'll do like all the other players do. Go on unemployment through the slow months and spend any savings I do make on really expensive instruments and use it as a writeoff.

A laptop and a pair of 802's...and you have it made in Kingfrog's area...

Money I use to live on is not the issue here. $50.00 an hour to play clubs is way below the fee I charge for nearly everything else. I get $150.00 per hour to write copy, $1800.00 a day for industrial photography and up to $250.00 an hour for research implementation and film or print design/production.

Thing is, playing takes as much or more ability than my other activities. It's just a shame that dumbass club owners and
snake" musician wanabees have ruined the business for others.

Thankfully, there are operators here and elsewhere who pay a fair fee and don't let price only dictate who they hire.


Russ

Perhaps those snake music wannabes don't have the fortune of an independent business working with Fortune 500 companies. Maybe some of them are trying to live entirely on a music income...

Put yourself in their position, Russ. Would you starve, so a more experienced player who doesn't even need the money could keep his over-valued job at a restaurant, or would you try competitive means (he's not beating you up in a back alley, just offering to work for less!) to keep body and soul together...?

Yours is a somewhat unique viewpoint on the business... You don't need the gig, you don't need the money, and the owners don't really need high level entertainment. But you are mad (in a nice way) if anyone else goes after it

Capitalism is everybody's best friend until someone comes along that is more cutthroat than you... then it's bring on the bail-out, and the hell with the free market!