The last few threads on chord structure, crowds, equipment got me thinking...

I'm 66. I started playing in bands at age 16 but it's only been in the last year that I started doing a solo act, and doing that with an instrument that really is new to me...the keyboard.

This got me to start asking myself, what are the things that are important to me now?

I know, for instance, that I'm gigging about as much as I can handle right now. However, I'm not making as much as I think I can per gig just yet.

So to make more per gig(on average), I think I need to focus on broadening my venues. Right now, my main focus is seniors...assisted living places etc. Income though is limited at these places with one hour gigs around $50 an hour(and up)to the best groups.

Parties, dances and resorts are seasonal but pay more.

So, what should my plan be to improve income? Here's what I came up with in order of importance.

(1) Advertising, getting the word out. YouTube, Facebook, personal contacts. Gary had good ideas here.

(2) expanding my repertoire, to do a broader range of music. Right now I'm doing mostly music from the 40's, 50's and some 60's. Country music is big here and goes over well...need to do more of that.

If there's anything I've found out from friends in music, it's that folks remember if you do songs they like. They generally don't seem to care how well they are done..just concerned that they hear the songs they like.

(3) Good interaction with the crowd(entertaining). I do pretty well here, at least that's the feedback I get. Still there's room for improvement with crowd involvement etc.

(4) Keep equipment that gives me the most flexibility. That doesn't always mean the best equipment. I'm finding that even my musical friends don't hear much difference when I use my PSR S970 vs the Tyros 4 I have.

I'm not sure about a light show...probably a bigger deal for DJ's.

So here's the start of my list as I try to build this solo business.

Your thoughts?

Great list, you've got it. doing a lot of the same thing myself her at my new home. The only thing I would add is make sure you can do decent vocals. That's more important than the latest model Arranger's sounds.

Just my 2c.

Good luck

I agree with Bill - quality vocals are a must in order to demand the higher pay scale.

A couple things that came to mind include: Keep in mind that most nite club and restaurant entertainers work an average of 3 to 4 hours a night, and some work up to 5 hours a night on Friday and Saturday nights, for an average pay of $150 to $175, and that's pretty much the same rate of pay nationwide for OMBs and duos. So, that $50 an hour you are currently pulling down isn't any less than working the nite club or restaurant circuit. Of course, working the senior circuit, you usually work weekdays, middle of the day (no traffic jams to contend with), have weekends off for the family things, and no getting home at 3 a.m., driving home with the drunks and dodging deer. All those things are a big plus.

Now, in order to move that pay scale up on the senior circuit, this must be done gradually, which is what most of us that currently command the higher rates have done. We all started out at $50 per hour (some less) and over the span of a decade or more, increased our rates to where we are today. When I went from $100 an hour to $125 an hour, a lot of folks on this forum said I would probably lose lots of jobs. In reality, that did not happen. In fact, the reverse happened. I guess some of the new ADs thought that because I cost more, I must be much better than the guy that only charged $50. Fortunately, in most instances, and I'm not being conceited, I was a better entertainer and people person, while in many cases, they were likely better musicians. Those things do make a difference.

The few places that said they could not afford to pay $125 per hour for a performance once a month, I told them to cut back to every other month in order to be able to retain me on their schedule, yet still stay within their budget constraints. In many instances, they did this for about 6 months, then went back to having me perform every month again.

Private parties: I only perform at one or two private parties a month, which is fine. I charge the same rate for them, with a $500 minimum. No one has ever balked about the fee in all the years I've been playing. So, that 4-hour private party pays $125 an hour, same rate as the assisted living center, nursing home and retirement community. This keeps everyone happy.

One of the big advantages of being an OMB entertainer and singer performing the senior circuit is you get to do do lots of 50th anniversaries, birthdays, wedding vow renewals, and most of them come in the form of referrals from the locations where you regularly entertain. Some of the events even take place at those locations, which makes it even better because you are aware of where to set up, and what PA system to use for that particular venue. In some instances, the AD of the facility will take care of pretty much everything, including paying your fee from a special budget.

Every year, the assisted living centers, nursing homes and retirement communities usually hold what they refer to is Open House, a day when they try to attract new clientele. They often have an open buffet that is catered, free drinks and musical entertainment. Talk with the ADs about when they will be doing this and you can usually land a nice job for that day. They also have special, seasonal events, Halloween parties, strawberry festival, wine tasting parties (sponsored by a local vineyard), October Fest, Christmas Party, and of course a New Year's Eve party. All of these provide you with more and more opportunities to play.

The secret to success with the above events is to go to the facilities, set up a meeting with the AD, and take a couple of calendars with you, one for them, and one for you. Some free pens go a long way, too. Now, sit down with them and book all your dates for the upcoming year - it's that easy. In most instances, they love to book a year in advance, simply because that makes life a lot easier for them if they don't have to worry about who's going to provide the next months entertainment. It also provides you with a job every month of the upcoming year.

One of the advertising post cards I send out says "15 REASONS TO CELEBRATE!

Then I list the following on the back of the card:

1. March - Saint Patrick's Day
2. April - Easter
3. May - Cinco de Mayo
4. May - Mother's day
5. May - Armed Forces Day
6. June - Father's Day
7. June - Flag Day
8. July - Independence Day (July 4th)
9. September - Grandparents Day
10. September - Patriot Day
11. October - Columbus Day
12. October - Halloween
13. November - Thanksgiving Day
14. December - (all month) Christmas Parties
15. December - New Year's Eve

As you can plainly see, there are at least another 45 days of jobs you can pick up just using this list. I had the cards printed by Vista Print, and they cost next to nothing to have printed and shipping was free. Then it's just a matter of mailing the cards out to perspective clients, then following up with a phone call and a visit. Worked like a charm. On an average year, I performed at least 28 to 30 Christmas parties during the month of December, and most years, at least 2 New Year's Eve parties, one during mid day, then my regular, 4-hour NYE gig the same evening. The day NYE party usually only lasted a couple hours and I was done before suppertime.

Saint Patrick's Day, at one time was the most sought after date on the calendar. Sometimes, I would book 4 to 5 Saint Paddy's parties during that week. I have a couple green vests and matching bow ties just for the occasion. Now, when performing for Saint Patrick's day, a dozen Irish tunes is more than enough to keep everyone happy. They are mixed in with your regular routine, which is why they hired you in the first place. And, of course, the rate of pay is the same as any other day.

I sincerely hope this will help, Ron and you will book many, many more jobs at a higher rate of pay.

Gary

Ron, while I agree with about 98% of what Gary has said, there are two points I have a slight disagreement with.
As far as playing restaurants - not clubs, but DINING establishments, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE, the hours may not be as long as they once were ... most restaurants around here - the greater Providence, Rhode Island area - that have live music start the musicians at around 6:30 - 7:00PM and they end about 10:30 - 11:00PM. Now the salary range is $150 to $200 per night, BUT, musicians who work these gigs are looking for the steadiness of the work, not necessarily the high hourly pay. Additionally, musicians who develop a following in one place can increase their salary via the 'tip jar'. Playing requests goes a long way here.
And when working in a nice restaurant you do not usually have the problem of dealing with people who ar drinking a lot, especially these days.



I totally agree with Gary's approach, but get ready - IT AIN'T THAT EASY - especially for someone just trying to break in. What you are trying to compete with are the established players like Gary and Donny who have been doing it for years and get rehired because they are good at what they do and have a well earned reputation; and also with the 'youngbloods' who are really talented, are using NH/AL places to fill in for the gigs that might no longer exist in clubs or restaurants, and might often undercut price just to get some work. What I have found is that a lot of these young people often do not play an instrument at NH/AL places, even when they are capable of doing so. Many just sing with backing tracks, using a wireless mic to get 'into the audience' and 'shmooze' while they are entertaining.
I am pretty sure Donny would say something like "you have to give them something more", but even doing that - IT AIN'T EASY !
As for making $125 an hour on a NH/AL gig, I am pretty sure that is well above the average - but then Gary has been at this for a long time.

Gary's holiday list is a good idea, and you should keep in mind what holidays might be occurring around the date of your gigs, and perhaps have at least part of your song list dedicated to that holiday. Another thing I have done is GOOGLE songwriters born in a certain month and when I find a good one I will play a number of songs written by that person. It helps to developing musical 'themes' to work into your song list.

Along with restaurants and NH/AL places you might also contact country clubs for gigs at members' functions.
Getting music 'jobs' is no different than getting other types of work - you have to 'pound the pavement' and 'knock on doors'.
Hopefully, I have not dampened your spirit, but I just wanted to give you a bit of what I have faced, trying to get into this business at a more 'advanced age'.

Best of luck and much success.

Yes, don't rule out dinner clubs, restaurants. I work 6:30 to 10:30, sometimes later if I choose and the circumstances are right. My gear stays set up for four nights, I get a fine meal. . .
Travel time is 20 minutes each way. If you work four one-hour nursing home jobs, you have to travel to and from four times per hour worked, plus set up and tear down each hour worked.
I actually prefer nursing home audiences, but as a full-time entertainer, I can't afford to work them here. Besides, I prefer my days free for fishing, golf, whatever. Nothing worth watching on tv that I can't record to see at my leisure.
I'd better add that you'd better be able to play a wide variety of music, what the audience wants to hear, not necessarily your favorites all the time. I get 10-25 requests a night. I never get tips.

My southern counterpart is right on the money about playing a variety of music. You have to be able to do it all, and, as stated above, you absolutely need high quality vocals. If you have a Yamaha arranger keyboard, I have uploaded a link to my USB drive, which contains thousands of third-party style files and registrations, and also uploaded my MFD to the same thread at the PSR-tutorial site. This can make life a lot easier for anyone interested in performing the senior circuit.

All the best,

Gary

Another avenue to consider may be entertainment agencies. Many states require NH’s include entertainment in their budgets. Here, in the metro Phila. area, agencies are aware of this fact, and swoop in on facilities like vultures, and it is a very competitive. In October, I had 18 gigs, 14 at NH’s or ‘over 55’ communities. 13 of the 14 NH gigs were through agencies. I’ve told the agencies that I will only work for $125.00 net (after agency fee). There are times however, an agent will ask if I will do something $115 net or $100 net, usually in a poorer neighborhood or affiliated with a religious denomination - I either accept or reject depending on a whole host of variables. Then again, some of the center city high rise facilities pay $200 for an hour, and they only book through agencies. I think Donny gets some gigs from my agents’ competitors, we sometimes play the same venues (at different times). One of the agents I work with books a chain, and in half of July and all of August I played every Friday at one of the chain’s facilities in Delaware and Eastern Pa. Of course I’d rather book my own gigs and not have to pay the 20% fee, but …
Ciao,
Jerry

Gary and Jerry are in the best locations. No one else brags about 150 to 200 dollar NH gigs. It seems very few are willing to admit that like me, they too can only get 50 dollar NH gigs. I raised my priced to 75 dollars and hadn't gotten a call from folks in over a year that I played for a few times a year now for 12+ years. I wonder if Gary and Jerry realize how lucky they are to live in the right spot at the right time.
Won't some others please step forward and tell us if they do 150 dollar NH gigs. What about DNJ, Fran, Dave they seem to be very talented at what they do. Come on tell. It also would be nice for you others to own up to the fact that you can only get 50 dollars too. Speak up. I'm sticking out like a sore thumb on this one and everybody here knows that I never stick out like a sore thumb! I wonder why?

Standard in RI is $85 ...

If I go to small towns, out of the Shreveport area, I can get more money, but usually for special things, like Nursing Home Week, holidays, special parties, etc.
When I was doing lots of nursing homes, with my friend Dean Mathis, we didn't charge them anything. We did a printed program and sold ads to local businesses to finance it. We got an endorsement/introduction letter from the NH and went to the business and sold small ads starting at $35. each.
I laid out the program, more like a small newspaper, on my computer, had copies printed, and took them to the Activities Director. They would mail a copy to each family of each resident, and to each advertiser.
In this way we could get from $500. up to $2,000. per show, and this was a number of years ago. After expenses and splitting two ways (there were two of us doing it), we made very good money doing nursing homes. We usually did each town twice a year, and after a couple of years almost all the ads were repeats. We did something like 40 nursing homes in 25 towns, so that's around 80 shows a year. If there were two or three NHs in one town, we'd try to do them all in one day. When you figure in an extra trip or two to sell ads, there is some overhead, but still very lucrative.
We found that this program does not work well in bigger towns. It works great in small towns with lots of mom and pop businesses. EVERYBODY knows someone or has someone in the Nursing Home. Dean started doing this 40 years ago and is STILL doing it when he needs a little $$!
Here is remnants of a website I made for this endeavor.
http://donnymason.tripod.com/
There is more than one way to skin a cat!