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Playing Old Folks Homes


sventvkg

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I've done it, both as a volunteer and as a paid gig. The volunteer thing was 1 set, and the paid gig was two sets. Sold a ton of cd's at the paid gig, which was not an old folks home as much as a retirement complex for old timers who were mostly still mobile bit wanted to live in a place where there were more services. I'd think Florida would be covered with those places, and they have entertainment budgets. If memory serves, we got paid about 1k for a four piece and made almost another 800. selling cd's. Sold about 40 at 20. a piece. We played in a really nice theatre on the property. Usually they are day time gigs so you can gig at night too.

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I get $40 to play at one nursing home for one hour. Around here old country goes over better than anything else. They love Elvis too. I like playing '40s Jazz and they like it, but 50s and country go over better. One hour is plenty long enough.

Retirement homes would be better, as the residents are in better health mentally and physically. And they could lead to birthday parties etc.

 

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I've done a couple [freebies at the homes owned by the people who take care of my mother], and I find that the older they are the less rock and roll is going over, but 1930s to 1950s novelty tunes are huge....anything from the Three Little Fishies to Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie[yellow polka dot bikini]. They want to clap their hands and shuffle their feet. They want bouncy music and catchy lyrics, with the occasional serious ballad thrown in. Nat King Cole, Sinatra, Dino, Tony Bennett, Ella, Torme, all go over. Johnny Cash even...If the yrecognize the song, they are into it...gotta remember many of these people are losing their memory, but songs typically spark something.

TAH [Graeca] was the master at this, sadly, he is not available to point the way.

Typically they only want 45 minutes to an hour max, and they have offered me money, but this is kind of a 'pay it forward' thing for me.

I know a few kb players who work the circuit here, some do a whole 60s thing and it works.

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I live in Florida. They used to say, "Florida is for the newly wed and nearly dead" - and although it more than that now, there is still a lot of that around.

 

I do a lot of retirement developments, from condominiums to mobile home parks to gated communities. These people are a often little younger and more mobile than those in an assisted care facility.

 

When we started that end of the business, it was mostly big band music from the 40s, then a lot of 50s, and now mostly 60s and 70s -- and always with some contemporary songs that appeal to the older audience.

 

The gigs are good, they pay well, thank you for a lovely evening, often send you home with food, and they really appreciate the music. We play memories for them.

 

We also volunteer to do the nursing home at the VA hospital in West Palm Beach (about an hour away) every year. It's in the wheelchair-bound section and we get paid by the smiles from the veterans who cannot go out to be entertained. We usually come early and stay late so we can meet a lot of the gentlemen and talk with them.

 

We haven't done any local nursing homes, but my mother-in-law is in an assisted care facility, and I've seen the entertainers still do some 40s music. Music gets to the people, even those with dementia end up tapping feet and often singing along.

 

I think the thing to remember is that when you play those kinds of gigs, you are playing memories - that will help you choose material.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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My family rents a cottage for a week every year from my cousins. This year, Diane came up for a day to rehearse and we played for my Aunt Verna. She's 89 and stays at an assisted care place several hours away but she's still quite sharp and spends the summers on the lake as she has done for 89 years now. She was born in 1924 and we were playing songs from 1922 and before. She knew and could sing along with every single one.

 

We're not yet playing elder homes. Around here, the pay is pretty dismal for a duo ($50 between two people -- oh, come on!) and the game seems to be price-driven for the owners. And there are a good few musicians who are delighted to be the low-cost option.

 

Aunt Verna said "Oh, I wish you two were closer to where I am. We get people performing but half of them can't even sing in tune!"

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I live in Florida. They used to say, "Florida is for the newly wed and nearly dead" - and although it more than that now, there is still a lot of that around.

 

'God's waiting room...' ;)

 

I think the thing to remember is that when you play those kinds of gigs, you are playing memories - that will help you choose material.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

Exactly, it is all about the memories. They don't want to be challenged, they want to hear material they associate with their lives.

 

 

Also, the first couple of times you work with the elderly, especially in the 'homes', you need to NOT see them as 'old people waiting to die'...harsh thought but there it is.

You need to see them as an appreciative audience, an audience that does not get a lot of choices for entertainment, so bring your 'A game'...one lady told me, 'you were like a whole big band rolled up into one guy...'; and that was exactly the effect I was after...just me, the looper, the vocal harmonizer and an acoustic electric guitar. That show I also did a couple of medleys I wasn't sure would hit, the first was all Everly Bros., the second was a mix of Only You, Since I Don't Have You, Unchained Melody, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes..both seemed to not go over, yet the applause at the end told me they were listening to it all.

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Shane Douglas took me with him to play one that he does a couple years ago (he doesn't put them on his site or FB). I made $40 in 2 hours in the middle of the day. Played mostly Elvis era Chubby Checker type stuff (will probably be classic rock in the next 10 years). I suspect it is a $300 gig (they were a 3 piece). I do not know the frequency of the booking, I assumed it was once a week once a month. It was more satisfying than playing to drunks in a bar on their smartphones checking the sports scores.

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Around Vancouver BC, the old folks homes seem to pay a solo performer between $60 and $100 for a short gig, but prices can vary. I've done one with a duo where it's one hour and $200 ($100 each). It depends on what your act is. I imagine the Elvis impersonators do okay.

 

As far as tunes go, I agree with the posters who mentioned that Elvis and Elvis era stuff goes over. I've found that as long as it's popular stuff from the fifties or sixties most stuff will work. Anything from Harry Belafonte to Beatles to Frank Sinatra to Bill Haley can work. A novelty tune or two is also a good idea. Naturally, there will be regional and national differences in song selection.

 

A few things I've noticed.... Don't play too loud. Don't talk too fast, older people have a harder time processing conversation. Don't make obscure jokes about ultra current topics, unless it's to somehow poke fun at them. Also, don't dwell on the people's age, but on the other hand, realize that their life is a little different than yours. Do ask about birthdays and such. Do be courteous and patient - especially before and after the gig, when you might be saying hello and shaking hands. Maybe above all, be yourself. Older folks can get turned off by a phony.

 

In addition, if you're not bringing in your own gear, be prepared for the worst stuff you've ever seen. It isn't always that way, but usually it's pretty bad.

 

Stay in touch with the activity director (or whatever they're calling themselves), and try to maintain a good relationship with them, and perhaps one other person in charge. I've found that these employees jump around a lot - YMMV.

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I've played senior center gigs as a solo and as part of a trio. Pay is usually $50/man for about one hour. I've been told more than once that the reason they keep hiring me back is because I put on a show and play stuff the audience wants to hear.

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We are playing a nursing home this Wednesday. The pay for one hour is actually quite good (more than the Elk's pay for 3 hours).

 

We did some work at a condo for the daughter of one of the residents, and she recommended us. We did an 'open house' for doctors and other medical professionals a few months ago, and they loved us.

 

We'll be doing one for the residents (I think) this week.

 

We'll start with Sinatra to Elvis and see what works and go from there. Yes they are old, yes they are fragile, yes they have hearing problems, and yes they were once young, vibrant, productive people (even sexy). They are the lucky ones, so many people don't get to be old. So we will treat them with respect and a big smile, do our absolute best to entertain them, and have a great time doing it.

 

DaddyMack, we used to call the entire city of St. Petersburg (near Tampa) God's waiting room ;) but most of them got called, and younger people took their places.

 

Shaster;s advice: Don't play too loud. Don't talk too fast, older people have a harder time processing conversation. Don't make obscure jokes about ultra current topics, unless it's to somehow poke fun at them. Also, don't dwell on the people's age, but on the other hand, realize that their life is a little different than yours. Do ask about birthdays and such. Do be courteous and patient - especially before and after the gig, when you might be saying hello and shaking hands. Maybe above all, be yourself. Older folks can get turned off by a phony. Is right on the mark.

 

The only variation I see I see is that many very old people get very proud of their advanced age. They like to let the world know they made it into their nineties (of course, this varies person to person so be careful with that).

 

We bring a sound level meter, and will start out in the mid 70db levels (A weighted, slow response), ask the management to let us know if they want it up or down, and watch the audience.

 

It'll be fun.

 

Notes

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The late great TAH used to do a lot of nursing home gigs. As martin pointed out there are a lot of gated communities, RV parks, HOAs in FL. I live on the deep south texas gulf coast and those parks and communities are the good money shows. Big rec halls that hold several hundred, covers at the door and the band gets up 80 to 100 percent of the door. The polapa bar scene typically is limited on what you can charge due to no covers, and small venues but working Q tip shows in FL and places like it can get you steady bookings. One thing I see is those big dollar gigs are going to be rock and roll and the old country , family string bands and pro kereoke singers are going to get their ears pinned back by rock and roll bands in the near future. I give it a couple years before the old guard will have to up their game or get run over. The rockers are gearin up to take over those shows.

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Actually, Notes, the whole State of Florida is generally referred to as 'God's Waiting Room'...outside of Florida ;)

 

Here if Florida, we have finer distinctions between areas, but then, we live here.

 

We have "Gods Waiting Room", "Sugar Plantations", "Redneck Riviera", "South Georgia", "Lower Alabama", "Northern Havana", and "The Everglades".

 

No insult intended, each section has a market for a different kind of music except The Everglades.

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Out here, Palm Springs used to be called 'God's Green Room' (showbiz reference because of all the big band musicians, old movie and TV actors who retired there), now it is better known for its burgeoning gay community. At one point, some referred to it as 'Sonny California' when the late Sonny Bono was mayor there.

This thread has reminded me to get back to trying to crack the local DAV center. They are booked a year in advance.

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I live in what we call northern occupied Mexico down there in the tip of texas. Watch border wars or the news were all those young people are sneaking across the border because they think Obama is going to hand them the keys to the country and that's where I live. To be honest if they go to work and not on welfare I don't have a real beef with it. We finally got some national guard on the border to help with the work load. To be honest all they would have to so is shoot a couple dozen of them and the flow would stop. I can assure you that we treat them way better than US citizents who get in trouble in mexico get treated.

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But they aren't all Mexicanos...they are coming from all over Central America because their local economies are in the crapper, and their governments don't provide them any security. Shooting them won't matter...they come from societies where life is cheap, and dying is, sadly, not something unexpected...

The National Guard also has no arrest authority, and likely were not issued live ammo. More than anything, Gov. Perry is grandstanding, as his mobilizing the Texas Guard units will just get them in the way of the INS staff, making their job even harder.

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Drifting off topic here. People come here for the opportunity, just like my grandparents did. My grandparents came legally though.

 

And I guess since Bush II signed the law, the present influx is coming almost legally.

 

If you take away the opportunity, they won't come and taking away that opportunity would be easy but neither political party wants to do that because the corporations that finance both political party candidates like the cheap labor. So instead of fixing the problem, they just go through grandstanding motions, propaganda campaigns and whatever else then can do to keep the population of the US divided on the issue (divide and conquer -- or suppress).

 

Anyway, the nursing home gig went well. We played our two hours straight,a resident then asked for a song we knew when we were done, so we were more than happy to play it for him, they thanked us, told us they would have us back again, we packed up and went home.

 

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I live near the front lines of this stuff. As far as everyday life the border being a little loosie goosie is nothing new. My biggest concern is with things like TB and Terrorist making us a port of entry. The border is not secure.

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My grandparents came here legally too. It was easy in those days, though. We essentially had a open-border policy until 1924.

 

I say just put these kids on a boat and pretend they are coming from Cuba, and then a lot of the people who hate them now will welcome them with open arms.

 

Everyone is just playing politics here, which is sad because they are real kids with real lives. Gov. Perry is just grandstanding for an upcoming presidential candidacy. The only "message" he's trying to send by putting the National Guard at the border is a message to GOP primary voters.

 

I wonder what songs he'd request at the nursing home, though?

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