Members Christhee68 Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 http://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/tlg/2602669018.html We are looking for someone to play guitar on our restaurant deck in the early afternoon to early evening. We are a small 2nd story marina restaurant and are looking for inexpensive (read free) entertainment to help draw a little crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 In our area, these pop up about once a week, but they are for coffee shops instead of a restaurant. Not surprisingly, they have no problem getting a full schedule of musicians! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ProToneThinline Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 Actually, I do a gig like this once a month. It's at a small coffee shop near my home. The owners are a couple of really nice young folks, both singer-songwriters, and they're really making an effort to keep live music alive in this area. Even though it's a free gig, I put out a tip jar and usually do okay. They also have decent house sound, so I don't need to bring much gear. Plus, they comp me coffee and snacks (which they make on-premises, and they're great!!!!). Some gigs just aren't about the money. The owners are really nice kids, and I'd like to see them succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 Actually, I do a gig like this once a month. It's at a small coffee shop near my home. The owners are a couple of really nice young folks, both singer-songwriters, and they're really making an effort to keep live music alive in this area. Even though it's a free gig, I put out a tip jar and usually do okay. They also have decent house sound, so I don't need to bring much gear. Plus, they comp me coffee and snacks (which they make on-premises, and they're great!!!!). Some gigs just aren't about the money. The owners are really nice kids, and I'd like to see them succeed. I might would consider a situation like that, however, they'd have to give me free coffee pretty much anytime I walk in the door (not just while I'm gigging) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 17, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 17, 2011 Had they mentioned comped meal, or something to that effect, I think thy would have more success. No one should be expected to play in a for profit establishment for 0 compensation. Sadly this is typical of how little regard the general public has for working musicians in the age of 'everything is free on the internet except porn'... Ask the owners to come to your house and make you dinner for free...or tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 I've noticed that pubs that used to provide a drink for anyone who performs at an open stage have stopped doing that. Starts to get expensive just to hang out and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 Well, it certainly is frustrating for someone with decades of experience to watch some kid who learned a few chords on guitar come in and take on these freebies, thereby cheapening live music's overall market value in the process. The other problem is, non musicians, for the most part, have NO IDEA how much dedicated work it takes for a musician to become GOOD, to be able to play and/or sing whatever comes his or her way, and to entertain an audience... I mean REALLY entertain, not just clam through a few chords and stumble through some lyrics from a sheet of paper while staring at your shoes. I swear, I had some 20-something hipster kid come in to one of my gigs, dragging an honest-to-god entourage in his wake, and all night this punk was cat-calling from his seat about how he was the next Frank Sinatra, and that I should let him come and show me how it's done. He wouldn't even say his name, and INSISTED on being called Frank Sinatra all night (full name, you couldn't just call him "Frank"). So I figured, what the hell, maybe if I let him sing a tune, he'll shut the hell up. Turns out the ONLY Sinatra tune he could recall was "Fly Me to the Moon". Yeah, big surprise. He didn't know a SINGLE OTHER SONG from Sinatra's catalog. So I let him sing the song, and it was f-ing ATROCIOUS! My regular audience was quite literally wincing at his butchered "interpretation". I actually had to yell out "VERSE!" or "CHORUS!", and help him with the lines of the song, all the while his tuneless mangling of that classic made me not want to do that song again for a while. And yet his little fan club ATE IT UP, like he was the second coming. Sorry, I digress, because this douche-baggy incident is still so fresh in my mind. Anyway, the problem is, if we're doing our job right, it looks easy. It seems effortless. But no matter how easy we make it look, or even how easy it might be AT THE TIME, it took a long hard road of blood, sweat, and tears to get to that space. In some ways, we aren't getting paid for the performance itself. We're getting paid for all the years and decades of effort it took to GET to that level of performance. So if GOOD musicians charged what they're REALLY worth, no one could afford them. /RANT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 I just re-read my own post. Wow, when did I become a cranky old man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted September 17, 2011 Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 I just re-read my own post. Wow, when did I become a cranky old man? July 24, 1993 at 3:30pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Christhee68 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 17, 2011 I responded to the post. I said I was interested in learning about the gig. I said "I do not provide my services for free, as I'm sure you don't either." He wrote back and said it was to be acoustic only (no PA or amplification) so it should be an easy setup and asked for a price quote. I quoted him a price (same price with our without amplification) and he said he wanted to get together to discuss it. I'll keep you posted, since I know hundreds of strangers on the interwebs are hanging on the edge of their seats waiting to hear how this all turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ProToneThinline Posted September 18, 2011 Members Share Posted September 18, 2011 Wow, when did I become a cranky old man? It sneaks up on ya, doesn't it????? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Christhee68 Posted September 18, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2011 I talked to the guy again, and the gig starts at 3:00 pm on weekdays. My "real job" prevents me from taking the gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted September 18, 2011 Members Share Posted September 18, 2011 This is a good thread and forum for that matter. I have spent so much time over at KSS that I forgot how it feels to be out there in the solo trenches. I still play live just not by myself. I do DJ and KJ though and guys like that Hipster kid are still everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 18, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 18, 2011 I swear, I had some 20-something hipster kid come in to one of my gigs, dragging an honest-to-god entourage in his wake, and all night this punk was cat-calling from his seat about how he was the next Frank Sinatra, and that I should let him come and show me how it's done. He wouldn't even say his name, and INSISTED on being called Frank Sinatra all night (full name, you couldn't just call him "Frank"). So I figured, what the hell, maybe if I let him sing a tune, he'll shut the hell up. Turns out the ONLY Sinatra tune he could recall was "Fly Me to the Moon". Yeah, big surprise. He didn't know a SINGLE OTHER SONG from Sinatra's catalog. So I let him sing the song, and it was f-ing ATROCIOUS! My regular audience was quite literally wincing at his butchered "interpretation". I actually had to yell out "VERSE!" or "CHORUS!", and help him with the lines of the song, all the while his tuneless mangling of that classic made me not want to do that song again for a while. And yet his little fan club ATE IT UP, like he was the second coming. Sorry, I digress, because this douche-baggy incident is still so fresh in my mind. /RANT well, handling hecklers is an art form; I would never have let some obnoxious pest on the stage! Seriously, all you accomplished was making his boorish approach look valid to his sycophants. You gave him exactly what he wanted, and put your audience through his terrible 'act'...lose/lose situation. The only way to stop a heckler is to either embarrass them to the point they have to shut up...( hey, do I come to Taco Bell and tell you how to put meat in a shell? [there is no right answer to this: neither yes or no will extract them]) or get the management to 86 them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EightString Posted September 18, 2011 Members Share Posted September 18, 2011 ) or get the management to 86 them. Admittedly, I have been accused of being too nice in these situations from time to time. Positive effect was, once he was done proving how "great" he was, he and his friends immediately bailed, leaving me and the legit audience to enjoy the rest of the evening in peace. Also, by me being the "innocent victim" in the scenario, when the venue owner found out about it, he got pissed off enough on my behalf to perma-ban the guy from his place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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