Will post/finish this post later or just add a reply further down in the thread. I hit post in error and wasn't finished writing my reply.

OK, as a rule I don't jump into these discussions but will because the OMB my paesano from RI Tony talked about was me.

First some comments about the entertainer showcase. I was invitied by one of the ADs that use me to play their facility for special events. It was a last minute invitation extended to me when I called her to confirm a gig date. Going back 7 years ago I also participated in a showcase sponsored by the same AD Association , a few of us were repeat performers.

The major difference this time only 3 of us used keyboards ( 2 were arranger type) all of us over 62 years of age, 3 were guitarists ( one with a midi set up) the reamaining entertainers all used backing tracks, so out of 20 performers 14 used backing tracks.

As far as talent the backing tracking singers were better vocalists than any of us who played keyboards or guitars. 2 of the vocalists were knock out looking ladies one who seemed to specialize in disco era music the other country music complete with an outfit that looked like something Dale Evans used to wear. The remaining backing track entertainers were men in their 40s. I found that the male backing track vocalists really got involved in audience participation and walked among the tables using wireless mics with the predominantly female AD audience. It was real obvious too which of the male singers impressed the ladies. One guy an old friend of mine Bob is a great entertainer he'll head over to a table of ladies while singing a love song, get down on his knees and hold out his hand to theirs. That melts the ladies, he was the biggest hit there, the line to book him in 2015 was the longest out of any of them.

After everyone entertained ADs got the OK to start booking entertainers and the longest lines were formed by the backing track male vocalists While there I didn't book a single gig but have since gotten a couple of calls to play. I spoke with the other arranger player/duo, they didn't book a single gig that day either. With the exception of the midi guitarist Ray who has been on the circuit since the 80s the other guitarists had no lines either. Wasn't too happy when I left the showcase that day.

After the dust settled that day I thought about my playing and know that's why I never attempted to make music my full time work as in "don't quit your day job." We all have strengths and weaknesses. Some of us are blessed with more musical skills than others. I would not expect a pro musician and who has been gigging/entertaining for years to step into the job I retired from as MIS/IT manager last December and do the quality work I did there, nor should I expect myself to be suddenly playing 5 gigs anywhere per week. I can say this, the last 7 years I've taken every bit of advice on improving and on booking more gigs here at SZ. That also included getting some voice coaching and practicing 4 or 5 days per week.

Marketing? Sure maybe not as agressive as I could be, but I spent 25 years of my early life career in sales/marketing. In retirement from full time work I'm not looking for more full time sales marketing work on the gig front. The point has been made it comes down to working hard at it or being lazy. "Lazy" is not in my vocabulary and that comes from a guy who once upon a time ran tweleve 26.2 mile marathons 3 at the famed NYC Marathon, one in DC at the Marine Corps Marathon, about 40 olympic distance triathlons and hundreds of 5 and 10k road races. Not LAZY, I do know my limitations because I've tested them.

Every market is different, yes the number of assisted living facilities is growing here too. Rhode Island is a very unique market the entire state is smaller than many counties across the USA and there is a ton of talent in this small state. No excuses here just the way I see things. I'll close with saying a good friend of mine a graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in vocal studies is now the AD of a very large and upscale facility. He choose not to perform as a career because he's seen the intense competition here. He tells me he gets 20 calls and/or mailings each week of performers who would like to be booked at his facility.

First of all, I did not say that MY participation in this business is DEAD, just that it will come to an end, like EVERYTHING else in life, whether that is tomorrow, next week or 10 years from now ...
And I am not minimizing the marketing expertise and talent of people like Donny and Gary AT ALL ...
Donny and Gary enjoy a client base and reputation that has been established over DECADES of hard work ...

HOWEVER, if we are going "to be blunt here" then let's be honest and admit that attempting to ENTER this business NOW, at ages of 65 and above, would be TOTALLY different than when people entered it many years ago ... the competition is different, and as stated in Steve's post above, they are not just sitting behind a keyboard, playing and singing - no matter HOW GOOD THAT MIGHT BE ...

Gary, if you say there are no 20 year olds performing the NH circuit in your area, then good for you - they may not be 20 year olds, but the rest of the competition here in RI is 30 to 40+ years younger than I am ... AND THEY ARE TALENTED ...

And how many of US knew how to run a business, at 20? ... we learned along the way and so will they ...

I will continue to 'market' myself as much as I need to try to have the amount of gigs I WANT ... fortunately, music is FAR from what I NEED to do to put food on the table ... 40 years of good work in a different industry has provided for that ... music just keeps me playing better golf courses while smoking better cigars ... AND keeps my ego happy!!!

Well, I'm 65. But I'm not doing this stuff full time. It's a hobby business for my wife and I. Kudos to those of you making decent $$$ playing..I have friends that make pretty good money around here.

My first thought when reading this thread is that this is all about entertainment. The folks that I know that get the jobs are good entertainers...despite whatever music they use.

I book for a local entertainment place called the Dalton Opera house. The big names(for us anyway)we brought in throughout 2014 all used some sort of Karoke system. Most of our audience are grey hairs and they could care less about the fact that it's karoke. But what these folks could do was entertain...and they did it well.

My wife even commented about us going to a karoke style and maybe someday we will do that and use the Tyros to make tracks.

I'm not crazy about a Karoke system for what we do. Here's why:

(1) We still have to bring in a PA, mikes etc.

(2) With Karoke you need a laptop and hopefully some words co-ordinated with the music...in case you get lost and that happens. With Karoke, the music doesn't care if you don't know where you are.

(3) Karoke can't be spontaneous. When we go to assisted living places and play music halls, some times, if the crowd is small enough, my wife or I will go out, get a partner, and dance...then a number of folks get up and dance. Try doing that with a Karoke program.

I do admire those folks that try to make a living doing this. It ain't easy. I've got a second cousin in a town about 40 miles away who plays 4 - 5 times a week...hauling equipment etc. He works hard but he also makes some pretty good $$$. He uses a three piece, guitars, bass, and drum machine.

Hi Gary,

Well, since Steve is doing a “tell-all“ confession, then I’ll do one too. I don’t think I ever mentioned a lot about myself here as I can be a very private person sometimes.

I’ve been playing almost five decades now as a full time professional musician. There were many periods where I’ve done almost 7 days a week and periodically 2-3 in a day. I’ve worked the whole tri-state area and every country in Western Europe.....as an arranger player, an accordionist, a pianist, a disc jockey, a Karaoke jockey, lectures in libraries.....heck, I was such a hustler I was even doing singing telegrams in my spare time for about a year for $50 a throw. I even played for 12 years in a huge shopping mall every Saturday for nothing for the exposure.

I guess you could say after all that time playing in all those areas of entertainment, I must have something going for me. I do! It’s called “talent” and more important I was blessed, like yourself, with a good understanding of how to market that talent. You and I both know you couldn’t sell $10 bills for $5 without marketing skills. And, like you, I was also “blessed” with an enthusiasm for music and a good work ethic that helped me to dedicate hours to practice and memorization of songs and lyrics and keyboard technique and still take the time “in-between” to hustle work.

Having said all that, the point I’m trying to make is.....the changes I’ve seen over five decades! It’s simply not about “talent” anymore.....it’s strictly marketing, youth, and budgets.....but mostly BUDGETS!

So who suffers? The audience does. And, audiences are comprised of people…..and people make up the world. I tend to be an idealist and an altruist. I never cared about the money.....I cared about giving as many people as I could great music and great entertainment and that would be my contribution to society.

Now, I’m not saying that the current crop of entertainers are all bad. There are a few good apples in the lot, but in the old days there weren’t just a few “good apples” in the lot.....there were just a few “BAD apples.”

Anyhow, to get back on track.....what I’m going to say is probably unique to me (hopefully not others).

I’m just plain tired of the never-ending marketing, trying to compete with young kids, weekend warrior musicians who lost their day jobs and are playing everything from harmonicas to kazoos for a ham salad sandwich and the chance to get out of the house, volunteers who play for nothing, high school jazz bands seeking experience, unscrupulous booking agents (one booked me as a “world-class” DJ into an African-American Xmas party!), obnoxious clients who try and chisel you down on your price, the lack of respect for professional musicians (and professional “anythings” these days!), the traffic trying to get to a job, the constant trying to keep up with technological advances (?) in music equipment, the never-ending paperwork required for each job, and I can go on and on but I’m depressing MYSELF now!

I remember the way it used to be. You had a gig, you put your accordion, your Ampeg amp, your rhythm machine and your tuxedo into the trunk and you drove effortlessly to the job (today you need a moving van). Did your 4 hours, 2-3 hours in overtime, collected a good paycheck and everyone was happy.

Sure, I could still make a great living by “adapting” to today’s requirements but all of the above takes the joy of making music out of the equation. There’s just not enough time or energy any more to do both.

To be fair, this is the way it is in MY neck of the woods. I’m hoping where the rest of you live, it’s not the “free-for-all” that it is here. Frank Sinatra sang.....”If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!” He wasn’t far off the money with that phrase.

Yes, one can transform themselves into “Super-Entertainer” (and maybe even have their own reality TV show), but does the END justify the MEANS? Does the law of diminishing returns come into play here? It was so much easier when “talent” was the only thing you needed and mature adults ran the world!

Mark

Steve…….apart from you being a genuinely nice guy, I’m really impressed with your background! I didn’t know you had such a colorful history behind you! And that you were such a ball of fire in days gone by.

Just running those marathons alone would leave you somewhere between a migraine headache and a root canal. It could make you feel like you slept in a paper shredder! I ran 3 miles every morning for years. One day I entered just a 6.6 mile marathon and at the end of it I almost swore off running. Good that you know your limitations ‘cause I didn’t. I jumped from a height and tore the muscles in both knees.

So, my impression of you is different now. I can see you’re not the Clark Kent you portray yourself to be. That underneath those street clothes is a Superman costume waiting to be revealed! And Gotham City waiting to be swept free of crime!

Mark, I agree with a lot of what you stated above - it's a lot of work, and there will come a time, in the not too distant future, when I will no longer be willing to compete in this market. I offered my jobs to Don Mason, but he said it sounded too much like work to him. To be honest, I think retirement may be just a year or less away. Too many physical problems cropping up lately.

Gary

Gary, if you were down here where it's warm I would do it for a while! :-$
As it is now I can cherry pick the jobs that pay well and enjoy a little home life for the first time in many years.
I am playing something like six to eight nights a month at the supper club, which is still about the best gig in the area.
I also do private parties and quite a few political fund raisers.
These are all through contacts developed over many years of building a good reputation.
I'd hate to have to start out cold in an area where no one had heard of me. I'm certain it would be tough for a fat old greyhair to break in!

One thing that comes through loud and clear in these NH gigs, is that lugging a $2-5000.00 Arranger keyboard offers you no particular advantage over the Laptop/singer competition (whether they think you're playing it or not). So unless you're Donny or Gary, who are able to make a sufficient living at it, how do you justify, or rather, why do you even bother, to spend all that money to not only purchase, but constantly upgrade to the 'latest/greatest', if it doesn't enhance your presentation.

It seems pretty obvious to me that what is REALLY important is the singing and 'entertaining' part of your act.....that, and your good looks. I can see buying an Arranger for one's own personal pleasure, but why risk damaging it, incurring all the wear and tear, and going through all the hassle of song preparation and gig setup, if it matters not a whit to the appeal of your act?

Of course I'm only referring to NH gigs here (re above). Obviously, you need to carry your instrument/s to a club (or similar) gig. But, truth be told, I think Tony and Steve's posts above, are a testament to the growing acceptance of Laptop/DJ/KJ performances in venues where 'live' music use to prevail. It seems like THEY have adjusted, maybe WE need to. Maybe (gasp) Donny is right; maybe Arrangers ARE dying. Personally, I don't think so, I just think the NEED for them (or perhaps even the whole concept of the OMB) may be diminishing. JMO.

chas

Bingo! Spot on, Chas!

What you are saying certainly applies in my surrounding area...typical arranger performers at NH are generally guitarist/vocalists/entertainers with the Arranger being relegated to the role of a fancier, pricier SMF player.

The use of laptops with background tracks as mp3's is becoming very prevalent, and most of the NH, and, also a lot of the nightclub/bar performers, are using them as well.

The audience simply is there to be "entertained".

Over the past several years, my own gigs were steadily decreasing, not helped along by the fact I don't sing, so when the opportunity for retirement came up, I took it without hesitation. The larger restaurants in the area that booked the occasional background music keyboardist have all either shut down, or no longer have any music other than a central CD player piped throughout the venue.

My primary use for my Tyros4, besides being my own entertainment here at my apartment, is as a recording studio tool, and, a friend of mine and I carved out a small but fairly lucrative niche where we do music demos for aspiring local artists/songwriters, or just other retired musicians wanting to make a recording of some of their old "hits", which are generally old mainstream commercial tunes they used to sing in their former bands. They usually want a CD they can give to their family and/or friends.

That's where the T4 (or any arranger, for that matter) really shines as we can lay down bed tracks really quickly, generally using edited styles, or in some cases, song specific styles. These people can't afford the big studios, so we do pretty good at charging less and getting things done quickly (as time in any studio, is money) and therefore attracting more clients.

It's also a lot of fun, and keeps the old brain workin'....ha ha!

You know me...I've always maintained that Arrangers were originally designed as "Home Keyboards" and I suspect that they will continue to be sold as such, and, the once already small OMB/Arranger player/Singer/entertainer population will become even slimmer.

I feel I was lucky to have the opportunity to retire when I did, as I wouldn't be able to survive on gigging alone, even when supplemented with studio work.

Ian