Members Shaster Posted February 24, 2016 Members Share Posted February 24, 2016 Lately it seems that if I want to get gigs, I've got to be available almost 24/7. I've got an agent that regularly phones me at 0930 in the morning (after he's booked me for a gig that ends early morning). One of my bandleaders calls around 0900h, usually to ask what key some song is in, as he's putting a set list together for our gig in a wee! Other agents text me, always in a panic, in the afternoon or especially at dinner. I have another agent that emails me or texts me around 10:30 at night, and always needs an answer immediately. This same guy also emails me at 3;30 am, and sometimes if I'm up, we book gigs then. I applaud his work ethic and am grateful he books me, but man, it's hard to get away from the biz. Just yesterday an agent emailed me around 1900h and asked about a date. He said he needed to know that night. I was in a video shoot, and chose to have my phone silent, so I wouldn't ruin a take. By the time I saw his email and got back to him at 2100h (even before I packed up) he had already booked the date with someone else. So I made $150 at the shoot, but lost $250 because I couldn't check my email. Maybe I'll make it up, or maybe I should have been like another fellow at the shoot. He was constantly checking his phone - can't blame him. Anyway I've booked a lot of gigs, by getting back within ten or fifteen minutes, but when I can't, II seem to lose them. Sometimes even ten or fifteen minutes is too slow. This constant connectivity is driving me nuts, but the alternative seems to be no gigs. I imagine this is happening in all kinds of businesses. Bit of a shame really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 24, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 24, 2016 I'm not in that great a demand, unfortunately, but you can easily set some limits with these people as to when it is appropriate to contact you. As for the guys who 'have to know in 15 minutes', that is really a matter of poor business practice, and I tend to avoid the agents who pull that schtick. Experience says that 7 out of 8 times even if you get back to them, the gig is already someone else's, because they called every solo act in their list, regardless of how appropriate, until they got someone actually to pick up. As I'm currently down to 4 projects [from 5 or more], I am not dealing with as much contact as I had been, but no one is calling or texting me at 3 AM, [although if it were a gig for 250+ for my solo, I would be sad to miss it...but who calls at 3AM?]. Pretty much everyone I deal with, including most venue owners, call me in the afternoons, because I have explained that if I get off a club date at 1:45 AM, I'm not up before the crack of noon [not true, as you can tell, I'm in here before 9AM]. They can email me or text me [the phone is off until at least 9]. It is worse if I am doing my 'day job' [consulting], since than can make for early mornings [7AM on site] after said 1:45 pack out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted February 25, 2016 Members Share Posted February 25, 2016 I can't commiserate, mostly because I have never been that busy unless with a recurring house band or cocktail gig that made constant communication unnecessary. But people know to give me a few minutes or more to return their calls. I lost out on a gig last summer when I wouldn't answer my phone in the middle of an unpaid adult daycare gig. Just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted February 25, 2016 Author Members Share Posted February 25, 2016 Yeah, I definitely wasn't trying to make it sound like I'm all that busy, cause no matter how busy I am, I'm still starving by most normal standards. I'm just really curious about the whole instant and constant communication thing that's going on these days. Even today (yesterday I guess) a bandleader called me at 0900h just to check on things for a gig three weeks away.. I get people that email me early afternoon and then call me late afternoon and say, didn't you get my email, what's going on, I thought you were out of town! I can understand this level of connectivity if one is making some big dough, but many of these gigs aren't even scale. I guess people are just working harder and harder, for less and less. I think I mentioned a gig I had a while ago. there were four of us in rotation and I was the only one that didn't have a Juno - this was a nice but lowly gig, and you pretty much needed a Juno to play there. That's like needing a Grammy to play happy hour at the local Holiday Inn. I'm learning though. Now when I answer an email it's "sounds good" or "works for me" "c u then". Oddly enough I don't mind being verbose on this forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted February 26, 2016 Members Share Posted February 26, 2016 Office hours? What are they? Oh, I remember, I had a day job back in the early 1970s. It didn't last long. It got in the way of my gigging. I suppose I could have made a lot more money in my life so far if I had keep up with the electronics field engineer job, but I wouldn't have been as happy or as in peace with the world if I had. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted February 26, 2016 Members Share Posted February 26, 2016 "Electronics field engineer", Notes? Like that Git'r Done guy in the sleeveless shirts, Larry the Electronics Field Engineer? Just messing wit ya Notes! Can't make my phone do a poke- guess I'm not much of a social media messaging engineer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted February 26, 2016 Members Share Posted February 26, 2016 Lately it seems that if I want to get gigs, I've got to be available almost 24/7. I've got an agent that regularly phones me at 0930 in the morning (after he's booked me for a gig that ends early morning). One of my bandleaders calls around 0900h, usually to ask what key some song is in, as he's putting a set list together for our gig in a wee! Other agents text me, always in a panic, in the afternoon or especially at dinner. I have another agent that emails me or texts me around 10:30 at night, and always needs an answer immediately. This same guy also emails me at 3;30 am, and sometimes if I'm up, we book gigs then. I applaud his work ethic and am grateful he books me, but man, it's hard to get away from the biz. Just yesterday an agent emailed me around 1900h and asked about a date. He said he needed to know that night. I was in a video shoot, and chose to have my phone silent, so I wouldn't ruin a take. By the time I saw his email and got back to him at 2100h (even before I packed up) he had already booked the date with someone else. So I made $150 at the shoot, but lost $250 because I couldn't check my email. Maybe I'll make it up, or maybe I should have been like another fellow at the shoot. He was constantly checking his phone - can't blame him. Anyway I've booked a lot of gigs, by getting back within ten or fifteen minutes, but when I can't, II seem to lose them. Sometimes even ten or fifteen minutes is too slow. This constant connectivity is driving me nuts, but the alternative seems to be no gigs. I imagine this is happening in all kinds of businesses. Bit of a shame really. Gene Simmons rule #2 always be available to work, always be available to make money (my paraphrase) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted February 26, 2016 Members Share Posted February 26, 2016 Took electronics in college, got a job for the manufacturer or Cable TV electronics. Field Engineer. Basically a 3 day work week. Monday and Friday were airplane days and 3 days of work. I'd fly out Monday night, take the red-eye home on Thursday and play music on the weekends. It lasted a couple of years. It turned out to be very stressful. Always putting out 'fires' and getting yelled at by customers because the parent company didn't treat them well. I'd have to tell them "You have the right company, but the wrong person. I'm here to try to help you". And then corporate would get in the way of that. I went back to playing music. I didn't need that. Life is short, I want to have a happy life. BTW, I don't know how to poke on my phone, and prefer e-mail to texting (I avoid texting as much as I can). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 26, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 26, 2016 Gene never sleeps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 26, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 26, 2016 Yeah, it really is a 'because I can' thing, all the email, vmail, text...which is why I have not set myself up on twitter, pinterest, FB [the blues band has a FB page, but I do not], etc...I need time to do things, not talk about doing things. oy, I feel a rant coming on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted February 26, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 26, 2016 Yeah, I occasionally get calls for gigs while I'm gigging...and when I call them back, they are angry that I didn't get right back to them or pick up the call...'yeah, well, sorry, I was in the middle of my second set, and I was singing, but thanks for the vibrations...'The modern digital communication / immediacy paradigm has engendered the most egocentric behavior imaginable; we've gone past the 'me generation' to the 'it is all about me' generation. I have acquaintances who are truly shocked that I turn my phone off at night...'but what if something happens?' 'To you? So, you will tell me about it in the morning when I respond to your messages [PLURAL], or one of your FB friends will tell me about it, or it'll go viral, right, if its that important...?''You are such a Luddite!''Thank you, I'm here all week...try the prime rib...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted February 26, 2016 Members Share Posted February 26, 2016 My bad then, Notes. I'm sure you could have found another electronics job that wasnt.as stressful, good for you that you didn't need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted February 27, 2016 Members Share Posted February 27, 2016 Thanks. Yes, I'm lucky to have made a living doing music and nothing but music for most of my life so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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