How often do you gig?

sometypeofplay · #1 03-30-2008, 11:54 AM

This is something that I've been curious about ever since I stumbled on TB. I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this, but it makes as much sense as anywhere.

Rudyboy98 · #2 03-30-2008, 12:07 PM

I play what I consider to be Semi-Pro...but there isn't an option for that...so I chose Weekend Warrior. I can't see myself totally depending on music to make a living, no matter how good I was!

XtreO · #3 03-30-2008, 12:44 PM

Weekend Warrior in the sense of once a month

Steve · #4 03-30-2008, 12:46 PM

I prefer to keep it under six gigs a month but, I have one thing thats booked by a real glory whore so, it's all I can do to get him to leave dates open for the band I really dig.

Dave Muscato · #5 03-30-2008, 12:46 PM

~20x/month; I'm in 3 bands, about to audition for a fourth band, and I also work as an on-call for sessions & fill-ins for other bands.

I am Domokun · #6 03-30-2008, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XtreO

Weekend Warrior in the sense of once a month

Same here!

driver800 · #7 03-30-2008, 12:54 PM

i do about 5-7 gigs a month, which i guess would be semi-pro. so i picked pro, although I don't rely on it solely as my income.

**butchblack** · #8 03-30-2008, 01:00 PM

Right now the band I'm in does 8-12 gigs a year. I would be very happy with double that number. Back in the 80's the band I was in played out 6-10 times a month. A lot of them were weekday gigs. The thought of regularly going to work, doing a gig, and going to work the next day, doesn't turn me on. The things I could or would do in my thirties I have no desire to do in my fifties.

Groovin · #9 03-30-2008, 01:03 PM

I play between 6 to 10 gigs per month. Weekend Warrior.

Tanglehead · #10 03-30-2008, 01:03 PM

I've always had a hard time limiting the term Professional Bassist to someone who has music as their ONLY source of income. I guess I'd call that a Career Bassist.

While I have a day job (which allows me to support two kids, a mortgage and what I consider to be a decent quality of life) I don't think that means I lack a professional attitude toward music. In addition to my day job in video post production, my degree is in music and I am an adjunct faculty member at a local university, play in orchestras, musical theater companies, and get 1099's from a variety of establishments. Consequently, I pay taxes on everything I earn in music and deduct any appropriate expenses incurred in those endeavors. I feel that it isn't a stretch to refer to myself as a Professional Bassist. I'm proud of the degree to which I've been fortunate enough to work in the musical field and don't take those achievements lightly.

Specifically to answer the OP's question, I gig anywhere from 5 to 20 times a month, depending on the season, bookings and contracts I'm currently under, but I also have 4 to 10 students and teach a class here and there. Add to that several recording sessions each year (all of these endeavors paid, of course) and I think of myself as more than a weekend warrior, even though I have a day job.

Am I getting caught up in semantics? Maybe so, but I think those of us who have worked for decades or most of our adult lives to build a career in music, whether it's the only one or not, should be allowed to have the respect and recognition that comes with a term like Professional Bassist or for that matter, Professional Musician.

Just my perspective...

Tanglehead / Brian Casey

ogrossman · #11 03-30-2008, 01:05 PM

We're trying to work our way up from one gig a month to two or three a month.

seanm · #12 03-30-2008, 01:45 PM

I've gone from 4-6 times a month, to one gig so far this year

LeftyLB70P · #13 03-30-2008, 01:49 PM

Another WW here. 4-8 times a month.

Qvist · #14 03-30-2008, 01:50 PM

Not too often, however we're just starting out

ryco · #15 03-30-2008, 04:04 PM

X pro. Somewheres between BB and WW.
Hardly play out at all any more. Jam on weekends with buddies.
In the summer-fall I have a jazz trio gig on Fri nites.
Too far to go for too little money to play rock covers.
Been asked to join a couple local original bands, but I'm like grampa now - tho I appreciate the offers.

Drifta · #16 03-30-2008, 04:10 PM

NOT ENOUGH damnit!.

I jam with my friends so much(they are my best friends since 4th grade, 20 yr old now) and we could really do some things if they wanted to, but they don't have any drive!!! i wanna gig so bad after i did as a sit-in bassist for a friends --- its like a BUG and its eating me up.

i'm probably going to have to form my own band to start gigging

guess i'm a "bedroom bassist" till i can find some people who want to move FORWARD

pfschim · #17 03-30-2008, 05:07 PM

I picked pro because of my ex-pro status and the level of muscianship and experience in the band I am in these days is all pro level. I don't really think of myself as a WW player. We gig 6-8 times a month pretty steadily, which is pretty good for a non-vocal jazz/blues/world music original thing. Good market for that here in the "wine-lands" of N Cal.

I was a full time pro from the 70's through the early 90's but gave it up when I realized that I could do muuuuch better financially elsewhere. Full time gigging bands, hired gun work and studio work also got to be a constant hustle that I really came to dislike. It became just too work-like. I ended up not enjoying music much anymore (yikes!!), and in comparison to "real work", it did not pay. I made enough in my late teens through my mid 30s to buy a house. have new-ish cars, get married and start to raise my family and such, but I guess I wanted more. So, I went and got it.

These days I feel much more creative and energized by music because we get to play what we want to play and satisfy ourselves first. And, apparently, we do ok by the audiences too, because we sell out our CD's and keep getting asked back. Amazingly, we also get asked to play weddings (shudder) .. and we are really NOT a wedding band at all. too funny.

WillBuckingham · #18 03-30-2008, 05:10 PM

Approx. 24+ gigs a month so I voted "pro"

sometypeofplay · #19 03-30-2008, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Am I getting caught up in semantics? Maybe so, but I think those of us who have worked for decades or most of our adult lives to build a career in music, whether it's the only one or not, should be allowed to have the respect and recognition that comes with a term like Professional Bassist or for that matter, Professional Musician.

I meant no disrespect, I have many musician friends (not all bassists) that either teach, or do studio work exclusively. All of them are better musicians than I am, and they don't have to sit in smokey clubs. But I'm more curious about those that get that rush of live performance.

CapnSev · #20 03-30-2008, 05:18 PM

I probably gig about 4 times a month. In the summer that goes up to 6 to 8.

That's about perfect for me. I wouldn't really want to do more.