In keeping with Scott's attempt at 'positive' discussions, I thought I would throw this out there ...
Of all the Christmas venues I play, there is one that I look forward to the most ... The last few years of my mother-in-law's life were spent in Senior Housing here in town. These are all self-sufficient living apartments ... my mother-in-law got me a gig there one Christmas and I have been playing it ever since ... it is a small group, about 30 people, mostly women, and they have a Christmas/Holiday dinner in the function room ... Small room, small group, very intimate ... I hand out lyric sheets and it becomes a beautiful sing along - so much so that for some of the songs and carols, they are singing the melody and I am singing harmony or counter melodies ... It is one of the times of the year that I leave feeling very uplifted, and knowing that I LOVE MY JOB!!! ...
t.

My "favorite" Christmas gig has a sad element. It's Christmas eve at a large hotel here in town. I was the house musician there for years.

Sadly, all the same people show up every Christmas Eve. They have nowhere else to go. Lots are long-time drinkers or substance abusers. Most have lost their jobs and families.

I show up (now, for over 30 years) and play until midnight.


Makes me VERY grateful for being able to stop drinking (in 1988) and for the friends and family I have...including some GREAT FOLKS here!

Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-30-2010).]

Christmas parties begin, for me, on December 3rd, with a double--a 1-hour followed by a 4-hour job. Usually, I perform about 35 Christmas parties every year, but the one that always gets to me is the Korean War Veterans Association party of Fort Holabird in Baltimore. I've been doing this one for about 10 years and when I performed at the first one there were about 150 people in attendance. Unfortunately, last year's party was down to about 20 people--all the others that previously attended are either dead or in nursing homes. It tears at your heart to talk with those few who still are able to attend when they tell you what they've been through during the past few years, and in many cases, how they've been abandoned by their families. Most are now in their late 80s and early 90s, and I've been told this may be their last party. I feel honored to have been able to provide their Christmas party entertainment for the past decade.

Gary