Members Bob Dey Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 Most bar/restaurant venues are divided or partitioned from each other. I find the bar side has more audience interaction, with the restaurant side quieter and less engaging. Which side do you prefer to perform at? Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 I set up my gear wherever management tell me to...it's all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 most of the venues I play are restaurants with a bar on one end of it, but it's all the same room. If they have a bar at all. As to which I'd rather play? Restaurant. Less pressure to perform, not as noisy and the tips are usually much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 Doesn't matter. Wherever the entertainment purchaser asks us to set up. Each requires a different kind of entertaining, and I like both kinds, so a nice mix of both in different venues is ideal for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarman63 Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 I will set up where ever the establishment wants, but prefer the bar side (I like the rowdy's!) For me I like alot of interaction Singing along, drinking and dancing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sgt. Rock Posted May 12, 2012 Members Share Posted May 12, 2012 The one joint I play at has the bar separate from the restaurant but he puts a mic infront of my amp and sends the sound throughout the building. I'm still just wallpaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SusieP Posted May 12, 2012 Members Share Posted May 12, 2012 The one joint I play at has the bar separate from the restaurant but he puts a mic infront of my amp and sends the sound throughout the building. I'm still just wallpaper. I like those kind of gigs. No pressure to put on a visual 'show.' You can just concentrate on putting emotion into your singing and playing. And we may be wallpaper, but they ARE listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 12, 2012 Members Share Posted May 12, 2012 Many years ago Leilani and I set up in a club in Wellington Florida. She was in the lounge and I was in the dining room and there was a divider between us similar to a porch rail. So we played in different rooms together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted May 12, 2012 Members Share Posted May 12, 2012 I like those kind of gigs.No pressure to put on a visual 'show.' You can just concentrate on putting emotion into your singing and playing.And we may be wallpaper, but they ARE listening. Yes, they are, which is usually indicated by a nice fat tip jar at the end of the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted May 12, 2012 Members Share Posted May 12, 2012 Many years ago Leilani and I set up in a club in Wellington Florida. She was in the lounge and I was in the dining room and there was a divider between us similar to a porch rail. So we played in different rooms together. Ha ha! That reminds me of playing with my band up in Alberta, Canada in the 80s. A few of the places were lounges on one side of the room and taverns on the other. They had a fence right down the middle of the building and dividing the stage as well. At midnight,the tavern would close, they'd flip the chairs and turn out the lights and everyone would move to the lounge side. So my side of the stage would be playing to a dark empty room and the other side would be hopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 13, 2012 Members Share Posted May 13, 2012 Yes, they are, which is usually indicated by a nice fat tip jar at the end of the night. Damn dude! I'm ALL about money- this is my full-time job. But I've never seen anyone talk about tips so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted May 13, 2012 Members Share Posted May 13, 2012 Damn dude! I'm ALL about money- this is my full-time job. But I've never seen anyone talk about tips so much. Sorry. Maybe that's because tips are as big a part of your income here for solo artists as they are for waitresses. I'm not ALL about money, but I like getting it. Gigs here don't pay that much no matter what you do because there are ten guys that will do it at the drop of a hat if you won't. Play that rowdy solo gig in that tavern full of college kids? Make 50 bucks plus tips, but be prepared for 0- 10 dollars in tips. Schmooze all you want, cater to the crowd like nobody's business, get a great response- still make 50 bucks. Play that gallery for ArtWalk? 75 is average pay. Tips help. Play that nice restaurant where you're sonic wallpaper? 75-150 is the norm with 150 being the upper limit unless you go out of town. But you can make 20-120 in tips. It's awesome you live in an area where tips don't matter as much and you can actually earn more based on merit. Here tips are a big deal so you book where you can make the most of them. I wish it was different but it isn't. I live in a cultural desert, I'm afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 13, 2012 Moderators Share Posted May 13, 2012 . I wish it was different but it isn't. I live in a cultural desert, I'm afraid.Sadly, no, it isn't all about where you are in this instance.. LA has so many top notch players that many soloists/duos (and even trios!) are willing to play for tips only...which I will not. If the venue knows music is an enhancement to their ambiance, then they should be willing to pay for it. Not expect their patrons to pony up extra for it. I tried explaining this to one bar manager...he stared at me like I had a third eye or something...I gave up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sgt. Rock Posted May 13, 2012 Members Share Posted May 13, 2012 I like those kind of gigs. No pressure to put on a visual 'show.' You can just concentrate on putting emotion into your singing and playing. And we may be wallpaper, but they ARE listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 13, 2012 Members Share Posted May 13, 2012 Sorry. Maybe that's because tips are as big a part of your income here for solo artists as they are for waitresses. I'm not ALL about money, but I like getting it. Gigs here don't pay that much no matter what you do because there are ten guys that will do it at the drop of a hat if you won't. Play that rowdy solo gig in that tavern full of college kids? Make 50 bucks plus tips, but be prepared for 0- 10 dollars in tips. Schmooze all you want, cater to the crowd like nobody's business, get a great response- still make 50 bucks. Play that gallery for ArtWalk? 75 is average pay. Tips help. Play that nice restaurant where you're sonic wallpaper? 75-150 is the norm with 150 being the upper limit unless you go out of town. But you can make 20-120 in tips. It's awesome you live in an area where tips don't matter as much and you can actually earn more based on merit. Here tips are a big deal so you book where you can make the most of them. I wish it was different but it isn't. I live in a cultural desert, I'm afraid. Geez that's a tough market huh? I'm sorry but where are you located? We do ok up up here...$150-$200 for solo and $150-250 for duo. That's why I just don't bother playing with anyone else. It kind of sucks not having another player to goof around with but the money is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted May 14, 2012 Members Share Posted May 14, 2012 Geez that's a tough market huh? I'm sorry but where are you located? We do ok up up here...$150-$200 for solo and $150-250 for duo. That's why I just don't bother playing with anyone else. It kind of sucks not having another player to goof around with but the money is worth it. Coeur d Alene, ID to Spokane, WA and everything in between. I hear ya on the solo deal. My band played this weekend and made a whopping $60 a night apiece. There are a few places that play more, but there are 30 bands all trying for those gigs so they are few and far between. And by "paying more", I mean like 400/night rather than 300. In that regard, it's not that much different than Portland or Austin. We used to have a thriving live music scene here, when the drinking age in Idaho was 19 and WA was 21. There were probably 25 live music venues in a town of 15k. When I was a 22 year old kid, I was in a 5 piece band making 400-500 a week just for me, back when a construction job paid 5 to 6 bucks an hour. Now, it's a town of 50k, with maybe 6 or 7 venues, and since they raised the drinking age to 21 everywhere and lowered the acceptable blood alcohol level, and there are tons of musicians who come here to retire and will play for peanuts...well, it is what it is. We have guys like the former drummer for 3 Dog Night Floyd Snead and Peter Rivera from Rare Earth who live here and go play jams. This month I'll make almost a grand playing music, minus tips, but that's playing 9 nights this month, several of which are weeknights. And I'm one of the established guys here. I'd move but the other benefits of living here are too much to give up and at my age, I don't want to move again anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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