In my case, and a lot of OMB entertainers in this area doing the NH circuit, we book our jobs a year or more in advance. Usually, sometime in late September or early October, while I'm performing at one of the locations I booked the previous year, I show up early, bring the AD a new calendar, one that has all the holidays and special events listed on the days they take place, one that also allows lots of room for appointments - a wall hanger that on the bottom says:

Enjoy The Music Of
TRAVLIN' EASY
With Gary Diamond
(my telephone number)
(My email address)

I also give them a high-quality pen with the same information on it. About half of the ADs hang the calendars on their office wall, the other half take them home. The calendars cost me about $2 each and the pens cost about .39 cents each. They provide a great bang for the advertising buck.

At the time I meet with them, I sit down and put together next year's schedule, usually one or two jobs a month at each facility. I have a master calendar with me, so they can readily see the dates that are booked, and which dates are still open.

After booking the dates, I then take my master calendar back to the office, sit down at the PC, and compose a confirmation letter that lists all the dates and times for next year's appearances. This is sent to the AD, and just to be on the safe side, I keep a printed copy in a file folder for next year's contracts.

Now, being somewhat of a backup nut, I have a duplicate calendar in my office, my master stays in my van (unless I need to update something), and my wife has a duplicate in the kitchen hanging on the frig - just in case someone calls and wants to book a job on one of the few days that are still open.

At one time, ADs were not paid all that well here, so consequently, the turnover was fairly high. By booking a year in advance, there was never a problem because the previous AD just turned over her calendar to his or her replacement and everything continued as if there had not been a change in command.

Now, in this part of the world, the Mid-Atlantic Region, ADs are highly paid, they have pretty good budgets to work with, and the pay rate for OMB entertainers is probably the highest in the United States. Regions where there are lots of retirees, west coast of Florida, Florida Panhandle, and other similar locales, the pay is considerably less. There are loads of retired musicians, guys and gals with absolutely nothing but time on their hands and all looking for something fun to do. Well, they'll play pretty much for little or nothing, which is a real problem for those of us who depend upon music for our full time income. No one in their right mind would retire in the Mid-Atlantic Region, so here, it's not a problem.

There was a time when I performed at more than 50 locations in and around the metropolitan Baltimore area. And, like Deane, I often spent at least two hours a day behind the wheel of my van driving to and from the job. As traffic conditions worsened, and fuel prices shot through the stratosphere, I decided to concentrate on the locations closer to home, places that were less than 30 minutes drive time each way. To date, I'm down to 35 locations, none of which are more than 20 miles from home and most within 10 miles. The only one I play at that is an hour from home pays me a lot more to compensate for the additional drive time and distance. In fact, they even changed the performance time so I wouldn't have to battle rush hour traffic - can't beat that kind of deal.

I try not to perform more than once a day, but sometimes that's not possible. Like Don Mason, I can set up my gear in less than 10 minutes, and nothing weighs more than 26-pounds, and that's my Quick-Loc folding seat. Everything fits on my R-10 Rock & Roller cart and it's one trip from the van to the venue. I've turned down high paying jobs that require lugging the gear up a flight of steps, and I NEVER bump a lower paying job because someone wants to book me for one that pays significantly more - even if I could get someone to fill in for me. I know a couple guys that do that regularly, but IMO it's just unethical.

Most of the facilities I deal with are owned by major, out of state corporations, some as far away as Houston, TX and Los Angeles, CA. This requires the submission of an invoice for each and every performance, which I hand deliver to the AD at the time of the performance. Consequently, it can take 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes more, for a check to come in. It's a real PITA, but it's something that you learn to live with. At any given time I have anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 in pending invoices hanging on my bulletin board. Eventually, there a cash flow becomes steady, but you have to keep a constant vigil on who is on time, and who is more than 4 weeks without paying. Invoices sometimes get lost, some ADs don't do the job they are paid to do, and in either case, after 4 weeks I usually give them a polite phone call. The results are always positive and in all the years I've been doing this I've only had one job that I was unable to collect on, and that facility went bankrupt.

I sincerely hope that the above information is helpful, and apologize for the lengthy post, but as anyone can plainly see, there's a lot more to the OMB NH circuit that meets the eye.

Good Luck,

Gary

I agree with you but the micro arr is just too small keys are just too small I could not work with a unit that small.