Economy and your gigs

rdmjazz · #1 02-06-2009, 08:01 AM

How's the local scene doing for everybody? Anybody still able to make a living doing fulltime freelance work, keeping your band working, or teaching? Give us a status report on your area.

My area has taken a big hit due to the lack of tourists traveling now and locals tightening their belts . Gigs are drying up and cutting pay left and right.

I think I need some bailout money!

Phalex · #2 02-06-2009, 08:09 AM

The pay hasn't changed, (it was never all that great to begin with) but I'm booked Three weekends a month (more than I'd really like) through September, and we have jobs lined up into 2010.

The bad news is, this could turn into my real job in a month or three if things don't get better economy wise pretty soon.

pointbass · #3 02-06-2009, 08:13 AM

We mostly work in higher end restaurants that have older (45+) clientel .... these people still have free coin to spend, so we've not seen any slowdown yet. Gigs remain active and we actually got a bump in pay at two locations this season. But nothing is guaranteed and we could see the bottom drop out really fast.

On the private gig side of things, while we have maintained the same number of bookings we have seen the size of the band decrease ... where we usually worked a 6 or 7 piece at club dates (or weddings, corporate gigs, whatever), people have been booking us as a 4 or 5 piece.

For now, we consider ourselves lucky ......

shamus63 · #4 02-06-2009, 08:41 AM

I usually take the winter months off to (ahem) chill, but I did notice a slowdown almost immediately after last September.

We'll see what happens come Spring time...

Dertygen · #5 02-06-2009, 12:58 PM

Economic slowdown?

For many old folks here... sure as s--- forgot history.

This isn't nothing.

rdmjazz · #6 02-06-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dertygen

Economic slowdown?

For many old folks here... sure as s--- forgot history.

This isn't nothing.

You are correct, this is just the begining.

Dertygen · #7 02-06-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdmjazz

You are correct, this is just the begining.

ROFL, the bottom will occur at Q1 of 2010, then recover.

This is nothing.
Since the Iraq Occupation has become blase' with a 'new' president (Obama is absolutely no different politician), we need some other supposedly dire scenario to focus on like ADHD pessimistic paranoid children.

Excuse me while I

rdmjazz · #8 02-06-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dertygen

ROFL, the bottom will occur at Q1 of 2010, then recover.

This is nothing.
Since the Iraq Occupation has become blase' with a 'new' president (Obama is absolutely no different politician), we need some other supposedly dire scenario to focus on like ADHD pessimistic paranoid children.

Excuse me while I

My point was only that it usually always gets worse before it gets better. Sorry, no paranoid delusions of the world's end here. I could care less who is in office, they are all politicians, nuff said.

Lets get back to how the gig staus is in your local area.

J.D.B. · #9 02-06-2009, 02:25 PM

Crowds are way down in this area. I've been out doing some recording in a few clubs, and if there were 50-60 people on a Friday or Saturday night there were a lot. Pay is scraping, too. Sad..

Josh

CamMcIntyre · #10 02-06-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phalex

The pay hasn't changed, (it was never all that great to begin with) but I'm booked Three weekends a month (more than I'd really like) through September, and we have jobs lined up into 2010.

The bad news is, this could turn into my real job in a month or three if things don't get better economy wise pretty soon.

+1. I've been playing nearly every weekend since August. I've got a major bread gig this week [ends Sunday]. Between this coming Sunday and the end of February, however, I only have 1-2 gigs per weekend...my next show run doesn't start till the first week of March.

The strange thing? Music has paid February and March rent. The gig I am playing this week is paying March's rent + a few bills.

There is a very high possibility that music will also pay a large chunk of April & May's rent.

I'm looking for a new day job as hours have been cut back.

IanStephenson · #11 02-06-2009, 05:28 PM

We just did our busiest ever week. We were booked 5 nights out of seven. The last being Thursday, and the place was jumping by closing time. I was just in the process of packing the kids off to bed and looking forward to a quiet night in when I got a call for an emergency fill in gig! 6 gigs in 8 nights is a record I don't want to break... I just got back.

That is very unusual, but we're booked more or less every weekend for the rest of the year. We try to keep things to 1 gig a week, so I'm not sure what happend this time!

Of course as has been noted the pay sucks, but that's how it's always been. Fortunatly my day job is doing OK.

lawsonman · #12 02-06-2009, 06:05 PM

We try to play no more than twice a month so everything is normal around here.I've turned down more gigs than usual for this early in the year.

tycobb73 · #13 02-06-2009, 06:45 PM

I live in the same parts as Phalex and I've called a couple places that said love your band but we're not doing live music at the momemt.
When things pick up we'll start again.