Working musicians & the ecomonic "downturn"

[PeeWee]

Though that I'd throw this out there and see how things are panning out for others who make their living through music. Has anyone been effected by the current state of the economy; either positively or negatively?

Personally, I'm having one of the best years I've had in probably a decade in terms of bookings. On average I'm working @ 15 nights per month and have had instances where I'm gigging literally every other night for two weeks or more at a time. I think the last time this happened was during the early '90s. All my work is local and within a 30 minute drive in most cases.

Financially, the gigs are fairly consistant in pay with the lone difference being in my regular Tuesday and Thursday night gigs where we get a base pay plus tips. Sometimes it works out well but in the case of last Thursday, the guys and myself only received our guarantee. That was the first time in 5 months that we failed to make at least something in the tip jar. Could it be a sign of folks tightening their budgets again or just a fluke? Hard to say really. DC is usually pretty "recession proof" but I have noticed less street traffic over the past two weeks which equates into fewer patrons and less revenue for the various clubs along 18th Street.

With gasoline constantly on the rise (we just hit the $3.80 + mark for regular unleaded here) and inflation of everyday goods, will this negatively impact the entertainment industry as a whole or will people still find the extra money to somehow maintain their lifestyles? I can say that I've noticed far more credit card transactions at the places I work and I've been getting paid in checks at night's end rather than in cash - that used to be something that happened far and in between but has been a bit more frenquent the last few months.

Anyone else have a similar observation or noticed a change to the overall nature of your work? Please share and compare..........

[PeeWee]

HA! I just saw my typo in the title.........too funny! I guess that we could call it "ecomonic" as in a combination of "demonic" and "economy" - it's getting pretty hellacious for some folks.

[sliding-tom]

Demo-knock it!:D
I'll give you my account when I'll have a little more time on my hands, but so far: $ 3.80 / gallon is peanuts compared to gas prices in Germany :eek:

[PeeWee]

Oh, we're on the low end of the scale compared to where I used to live. We're already paying over $4.00 for a gallon of premium; my wife's Subaru Forrester XT requires 93 octane due to the turbocharger. My guess is that regular will hit the $4.00 mark by the weekend; Memorial Day weekend , ya know? Hell, it's already costing me $56 to fill my truck tank which is only 16 gallons.....wish I still had my '70 VW Beetle!

[tonefinger]

While I am currently not a gigging musician, I thought I would give my two cents. Living in the Atlanta suburbs, we are currently at the 3.75 mark for regular unleaded, which is freaking ridiculous. I certainly have less income to entertain myself with, as I'm sure most others are in similar situations. Peewee, your upswing in paying gigs is surprising to me. Noone wants to call it what it is, but we are in a recession. I recently lost my job due to a company closing, which forced me to take a lesser paying job, I currently make about half of what I'm used to making. There are very few jobs available, at least in this area, unless you are willing to work for 9 or 10 bucks an hour. This has put a damper on my gear buying, for sure. I am struggling to pay my mortgage and have a little left for food for me and my son.
It will get better, I just hope it is soon.

[PeeWee]

Peewee, your upswing in paying gigs is surprising to me.

You and me both, my friend! I was certain that I'd be working far less this year than last, however I'm only 4 gigs away from last year's total and it's only the end of May! From what I've gathered by talking with others in town, I'm one of the fortunate few who's working steadily. Go figure.

Noone wants to call it what it is, but we are in a recession. I recently lost my job due to a company closing, which forced me to take a lesser paying job, I currently make about half of what I'm used to making. There are very few jobs available, at least in this area, unless you are willing to work for 9 or 10 bucks an hour. This has put a damper on my gear buying, for sure. I am struggling to pay my mortgage and have a little left for food for me and my son.
It will get better, I just hope it is soon.


May the powers that be watch over and protect you both, man. We're feeling things tighten on the home front as well and I have to say that it does have me a bit worried that if things start to go "south", just how will I contribute to our monthly expenditures? Due to being a full-time player as well as a stay-at-home dad, the options are extremely limited for me to take on extra work not to mention that I've been out of the normal work force for 7 years now. Keep the faith, TF.

[tonefinger]

You are truly lucky to be out of the normal "Ratrace". I envy you. Don't take it for granted, it could be gone in an instant. My whole lifestyle has been radically changed pretty much over night. My wife of 23 years bailed on me and my son, for no apparent reason. I am now a single parent, providing for myself and my 16 year old son. Tough economic times make people do crazy things, but I am pretty confident that the economy will improve and all will be better.

[PeeWee]

Damn, bro'....I feel for you, man. I know what you mean about life radically changing - happened to myself 4 years ago next month. I experienced everything that could be thrown at you over a period of 6 months: the unexpected loss of my dad and the nightmare of tending to his estate, learning that my then girlfriend was 5 months pregnant just two months later, marriage a month after that and then the birth of my son 3 months later. You'll come through this a stronger and more determined person because of the adversity - trust me. Nietzsche was absolutely correct.

[MelvinDale]

Demo-knock it!:D
I'll give you my account when I'll have a little more time on my hands



Me 2
Here's a hint - playing in bars hasn't changed since the 60's - they still pay the same, but . . . .


MelvinDale

[Steve Lowe]

I've not played out much, doing most of playing as a Sunday Morning Warrior at the church. That hasn't changed much.

Forgive me if this is prying, but how much can you make at a gig? I'd give up the day job.... :)

[PeeWee]

Well, to be quite honest, if my wife didn't have the killer j-o-b that she has, there's no way possible that I could make a living here in DC as a player. A number of the dates I work pay fairly well - $100 or more a pop - but my Tuesday and Thursday gigs are a flat rate plus whatever we can muster in the jar. We've had some pretty stellar nights but we average about $100 in tips and split 3 ways works out ok.

In an odd contrast, we did quite well this past Tuesday. You'd think that Thursday would be the better night but it's proven to be the opposite. Tuesdays have been outperforming Thursdays nearly every week; better draws, better tips and repeat customers. Thursdays seem to be a crapshoot.

I'm leaning towards making the Tuesday night gig an organ trio night where I play bass instead of guitar and the band plays everything from Booker T. to Nat & Cannonball Adderley. The room has been traditionally a Jazz room and I believe that this format would work to our favor. How hip would it be to come to a club and hear a band play "Hip-Hug-Her" or "Time Is Tight" and then follow it up with "Pisces Soul" by Don Patterson or "Work Song" by Nat Adderley?

[Steve Lowe]

Cool, thanks PeeWee - the secret is getting the wife a good job: I could hang with that! :D

She might take issue with it... ;-)

Once my son's off to college or otherwise moved on I'd like to get back to gigging. Haven't really played out since my early 20s. I love doing the church thing, keeps me playing with people and my chops up, but musically, it's not my passion.

[ZeyerGTR]

The only real gig I do now is occasionally sub for the Norwegian band at Epcot, and the frequency of those hasn't changed, although it's about 30 miles each way, so gas prices are taking a bit bigger chunk. Orlando/Central Florida seems to have a lot of opportunity for cover bands, although I've noticed a lot of groups playing w/ a computer instead of live drummer. I'm not out there looking for many gigs since my "day job" is really a "day, night, weeknd job," but just observing as a customer I see a lot more 2-3 person groups. Eg. you can hire the two people w/ a computer to handle drums/keys for only $250, as opposed to the 5 person full band for $500. Pure speculation on my part, though.