It just goes to show.............

[badhabit]

........it's who you know when it comes to getting gigs.

 

So I'm in a band where we play out somewhat regular: 4 to 8 times a month. The singer and I also do a little duo thing at a restaurant once a month. Nice place, good pay, easy hours, comped dinner and drinks and they really like us. A win all around. So the booking agent dropped by ( we got this through an agent ) and offered to have just me play at another place, a country club, a few miles up the road once a month also. Now, I'm a fair guitar player and have some skills when it comes to playing solo guitar dinner music. But by no means am I great at it. I have been using a looper to ad to the sound in the duo thing, so I'll just work up some more instrumental songs using the looper. It's fun and I enjoy crafting the rhythm grooves and accompaniment, putting them on the looper and playing along to it. I play some jazz standards, bossa and latin stuff, and bluesy, jazzy stuff. But the reason I got offered this was because the agent knew me. And I guess he felt I was up to the job. But I know guys who can play circles around me, and yet it was me that was offered the gig.

 

So there ya go, being in the right place at the right time, and being/acting pro, gets the gig over being a "monster" player: at least at a dinner club

[tim_7string]

I agree with your statement.

 

When I had my own band in 2009, I couldn't get a hold of the entertainment director at the bar we played last night. I would always get the runaround. After hooking up with the guys I'm playing with now, all of a sudden, because the bass player knows so many people, they welcome us with open arms and I have played the place three times now. We even got the third gig before we even played the second one. A week before we were to play in mid-December, the bar called up and wanted us for this weekend since the band cancelled on them. They could have called a bunch of bands, but we were available, so that was nice. And this weekend has been the best of the three gigs, so it's a great feeling to see we are somewhat successful now at that place.

 

I think about this too: I went to an Open Mic celebration this week (just to watch, not perform) and noticed how talented the vocalist/acoustic guitarists were. I mused to myself that competition must be super-fierce and wondered how any of them could get hired? Well, the answer is...it's who you know when it comes to getting gigs. It isn't always the most talented people. It's the ones that have the connections and the people that like you and know you that will do things for you.

[JonChorba]

I think I've said it before on this forum but it bears repeating: You need to network with other musicians/club owners/promoters/agents as often as you practice your instrument.