Members ido1957 Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm on call (24/7 except vacation days) and it prevents me from gigging - plain and simple. Can't travel too far away from my laptop/wi-fi and can't have the pager go off in the middle of a set. Anyone else have that kind of problem that prevents gigging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Not quite like that, but we've been presented with a lot of Thursday night gig opportunities (and very well-paying), but we all need to get up at 5 or 6 AM the next morning, so we have to turn them all down. If it wasn't for my health insurance, I'd probably be in a different job with more flexible hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted October 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 21, 2011 Well, I work 8-4/M-F, so, basically the answer would be "no" in that it's very rare for a show to ever pose a conflict with my normal work hours. In the sense that it really sucks if I have to get home from a show around 2am and get up around 7, then occasionally "yes". It also makes "serious" touring pretty impossible, but I think I'm past the point of wanting to do much of that anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm on call (24/7 except vacation days) and it prevents me from gigging - plain and simple. Can't travel too far away from my laptop/wi-fi and can't have the pager go off in the middle of a set. Anyone else have that kind of problem that prevents gigging? I had one of those gigs. After running the numbers, I concluded that the paycheck wasn't worth the bull{censored} - and took a stance with my employer by drawing a few lines to delineate the difference between my time and company time. Fortunately, my employer was reasonable and worked with me (and others) on the issue - so I stayed. I was however, fully prepared to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicmanmu Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Well, I work 8-4/M-F, so, basically the answer would be "no" in that it's very rare for a show to ever pose a conflict with my normal work hours.In the sense that it really sucks if I have to get home from a show around 2am and get up around 7, then occasionally "yes".It also makes "serious" touring pretty impossible, but I think I'm past the point of wanting to do much of that anymore. Everything you just wrote applies 100% to me. I loved gigging with my original band, and we hit it hard, but to no avail. It was actually as much hard work and trouble as it was fun. Glad I did it, but I now know on what side my bread is buttered, so to speak. I take the occasional Thursday gig, either solo or with the band if the money is right. But I almost always get that Friday off so I don't have to worry about being in bed by 2 a.m. and being up at 6 a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Good post. It seems that the two unsaid magic tricks around are : 1) How do you co-ordinate "job" with gigging? and then once you're working / making money 2) how do you go from weekend guy to full time? I was "off the road" for a few years and did a 3 day (12 hour a day-paid 40 hours) day job Mon, Tues, Wed. (401k full benefits blah blah...) and I would still gig (out of town) thurs, fri, sat or fri, sat, sun. It was almost 100 dates a year (mostly travel) with a full time day job. Nothing up the sleeve and out pops the rabbit. who plays on a Mon or Tues anyways?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicmanmu Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 who plays on a Mon or Tues anyways?? Don't you live in Nashville? :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Don't you live in Nashville? :poke: HAYep, point taken. ...(something ALWAYS happening around here). I guess I should rephrase:Who makes money on a Mon or Tues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have the good fortune of a job that, when I lock my door at 5pm, stays behind that door (mostly). I do take occasional calls after hours, particularly if something big is afoot, but if I have a gig or family plans, I'm just not available. Thing is, there is a distinct possibility that future changes in the business structure could put me "on call" during some or all my off hours. If it is 'some' and well structured, I have a price at which I'd consider it. If it is a 24/7 deal, I'll tell them "you don't want to know how much that would cost you." Schedule conflicts are very rare. The only ones being for the occasional offer to play a party or event that starts at 5:30-6 but is across town 30+ minutes away. I'll take an hour off at the end of the day for premium pay but not for the pikers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm on call (24/7 except vacation days) and it prevents me from gigging - plain and simple. Can't travel too far away from my laptop/wi-fi and can't have the pager go off in the middle of a set. Anyone else have that kind of problem that prevents gigging? I actually decided NOT to go into the IT field specifically because I knew it would hinder my playing in a band on weekends. Can't exactly stop in the middle of playing "867-5309" and say, "Sorry, guys, I gotta fix a networking problem!" It was probably a stupid decision on my part (missing out on a good amount of $$$), but I wouldn't want to live without having a band as an outlet. But to answer the question, no. It's pretty flexible. I can put in more hours on some days or take off a couple of hours earlier here and there as needed. I'm pretty dependable and put in the time, so they are more willing to let me do that as needed. I also sometimes play at a 4-night/week club (Wed-Sa), so Thursday and Friday mornings for those weeks are a bitch, but I grin and bear it anyway. I just take naps when I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeniorBlues Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm self-employed . . . I could take any gig, any time, anywhere. Now all I need is a band. (Actually, I have one, but the singer/drummer seems to have hit a wall in the learning curve, to mix my metaphors.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members troyguitar Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Given that I play in an original metal band that is very European-sounding, my job basically prevents any serious gigging as that would involve festivals and/or tours in Europe/Japan. Even playing local support for weeknight shows is tough as venues often want us to load it at 4-5 and I normally leave the office at 5. That's the main reason I'm only playing a few gigs a year - that and not having an album finished that I'm happy with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackbird 13 Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 Seeing as how gigging is my FT job, I would say no, it doesn't interfere at all! Any other work or hustles I might do (recording, running lights, sideman work, etc..) is all around our band's schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 21, 2011 Members Share Posted October 21, 2011 I'm fortunate, I have a pretty good shift. It rotates every 4 months, 4 days on, 3 days off, 10 hour days. Right now I'm working Tues - Fri, until January. Then I'll be Mon-Thurs for 4 months. God I love 3 day weekends. For sound, this one place sometimes has Sunday shows, so if I get home at 2, I get to sleep in on Monday, so it's not bad. I 100% leave work at work. Never get call-ins, so it's a pretty sweet deal. The only thing, karaoke is Thursdays, so it makes for a tired Fri, if I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 I'm on call (24/7 except vacation days) and it prevents me from gigging - plain and simple. Can't travel too far away from my laptop/wi-fi and can't have the pager go off in the middle of a set. Because I value MY OWN time/life/interests/priorities/etc., I would never/could never take a job like that.Ever.I don't care what the pay is. Never mind taking one and trying to work a band, including rehearsals and gigs with it. Was in an originals project years back with a guy like you. His laptop was with him everywhere, and this was before WiFi, so he had the full modem rig with sat phone as well, welded to his hip at every moment.He took that {censored} on his HONEYMOON...I guess money is that important to some folks. For me...I have a 15+ year career, relatively successful, work at a large (6k+ employees) multi-billion company. It's as real a day job as they get.When it's crunch time, I'll stick at the office late here and there as needed, but not as a regular occurrence, 'cause that's not what I signed up for. And when I leave work, I leave work; I want to take a day here or there to get to an out of town Friday gig earlier, recuperate from a Thursday night gig, or leave at 3:00 to make an earlier load-in, I do it, and couldn't have it any other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 HA Yep, point taken. ...(something ALWAYS happening around here). I guess I should rephrase: Who makes money on a Mon or Tues? I do, when I play... at least a hundred bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 Because I value MY OWN time/life/interests/priorities/etc., I would never/could never take a job like that.Ever.I don't care what the pay is.Never mind taking one and trying to work a band, including rehearsals and gigs with it.Was in an originals project years back with a guy like you. His laptop was with him everywhere, and this was before WiFi, so he had the full modem rig with sat phone as well, welded to his hip at every moment.He took that {censored} on his HONEYMOON...I guess money is that important to some folks.For me...I have a 15+ year career, relatively successful, work at a large (6k+ employees) multi-billion company. It's as real a day job as they get.When it's crunch time, I'll stick at the office late here and there as needed, but not as a regular occurrence, 'cause that's not what I signed up for. And when I leave work, I leave work; I want to take a day here or there to get to an out of town Friday gig earlier, recuperate from a Thursday night gig, or leave at 3:00 to make an earlier load-in, I do it, and couldn't have it any other way. ^^^^^^ THIS I've always remained a carpenter because it pays well and it allows flexibility. I have worked for the same company now for 20 years. We all set our own hours, we go to work when we want, go home when we want, take breaks when we want, take days off when we want, and so on. I have never had any issues saying "I need Friday off to go to Portland (or wherever) for a gig" or "Don't look for me the week of _____because I'm taking a motorcycle trip to California." The down side is I don't get paid if I don't work and I get no real benefits like insurance or retirement, but I get all that through my wife's job so I really have it quite good. At this point in my life, I don't think I could work where I have to be there at a certain time every day with X number of days off and X number of vacation days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members YeahDoIt Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 I quit my FT job about six years ago, no regrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dan88z Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 I'm an IT guy, midrange server stuff. My job isn't 24x7 but I do work a lot of after hours and weekends because that's when you can get down time to do maintenance, etc. I'm on call about once every 6 weeks for a 24x7 shift, but we have a backup person, so if I have a gig or rehearsal, I just let my backup know I'm going to be gone and he'll cover for me. The worst part is having to pull a 7am Sunday morning after a 3am bed time from a gig, but nothing a couple cups of coffee won't fix. I guess the answer to the question is, no, my job doesn't interfere with the band. I've never had to cancel a gig because of something work related going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted October 22, 2011 Members Share Posted October 22, 2011 Generally my jobs allows a LOT of flexibility that allows me to gig more. However, I just had to make a call yesterday to cancel a gig because I have some unexpected and short notice travel for the FT job next week. No way I could make the gig - FT job has to come first. I mean, I'm not gonna put shoes on the kids with my gig money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratotastic Posted October 24, 2011 Members Share Posted October 24, 2011 Nope. I'm the boss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ido1957 Posted October 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 25, 2011 I quit my FT job about six years ago, no regrets. So are you retired now? How do you pay the bills? Social Security? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted October 25, 2011 Members Share Posted October 25, 2011 I could use it as excuse, but in reality it is not. The hours are pretty flexible and I have enough time off that I could take time off if necessary. I would say it interferes with me finding additional bands to play with because I do not think it's worth going to jams during the week and either taking time off or getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I won't use time off or get that little sleep just to attend a jam. Just my perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted October 25, 2011 Members Share Posted October 25, 2011 It used to be a problem for me. I've nearly always worked in factories. Before getting an electronics degree I spent nearly a decade working as a machinist. Typically in factories seniority is key and as a low seniority employee I spent a lot of time on night shifts which kills any chance of playing on friday nights. Things have improved a lot though, I've been working days for many years and with over 20 years at my current employer I now get five weeks of vacation per year plus personal/sick time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nijyo Posted October 25, 2011 Members Share Posted October 25, 2011 You can be in IT and not be on call, incidentally. Definitely can't do systems or network support, though (unless you're with one of those rare companies that actually is smart and shells out for 2nd/3rd shift people instead of working a single person into the ground). 2nd-tier desktop support is a good place to go. You get to work normal business hours and since there's a separate tier 1, no on-call Can be harder to find that job, sometimes you have to work up from tier 1, but it's very do-able. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.