Theme Park Musician...?

RawB103 · #1 01-23-2007, 09:10 PM

Okay a local amusement park is auditioning here at school in a week for musicians to play all the shows they have every day over the summer. I am just wondering if anyone had any similar experience doing this kind of gig and if it is worth what is sure to be not a whole lot of pay and a whole lot of repetition.

From my understanding the park houses everyone in a dorm like setting (which would be kinda cool). Then you get bused to the park and do your shows (and get to ride everything for free, but that probably gets old...). I intend to grill the representatives about everything who audition me....

Munjibunga · #2 01-23-2007, 11:26 PM

Hey, it's how the Carpenters got their start.

BassChuck · #3 01-24-2007, 05:06 AM

I did that for a summer. I didn't live in the dorm since the park was close. Once you get the show down, its not really hard work, but it does do a trip on your mind to play the same thing over and over. In my case, we played the same 15 minute show 6 times a day 6 day's a week.

It gets boring from a musical standpoint and you can get into stuff you normally might not.... drinking, smoking, drugs etc. Make sure you have something to keep your mind going. You'll have a ton of time for personal practicing. All in all, it can be a summer of tremendous personal and musical growth, or a big party and a total waste of time. With luck you can find a balance.

**Freddels** · #4 01-24-2007, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RawB103

I intend to grill the representatives about everything who audition me....

I wouldn't suggest doing that. Why do you want to be known as the PITA? Do you want to play music? Then just do it. I knew many people at NT that used to do the Disney gig in the summers and they had a lot of positive things to say about it.

I'm sure there's not a lot of stuff to "grill them" about. The pay scale will be set and (more likely than not) the same for all the musicians.

The pay probably won't be great but you'll gain a lot of experience and probably have a lot of fun. I'm going to venture to say that it beats mowing lawns.

Good luck on your audition.

Lazylion · #5 01-24-2007, 09:47 AM

I say go for it. It'll be a great experience. A little repetition won't kill you. Think of it as an exercise in discipline.
I heard that brilliant guitarist John Jorgenson, currently a member of Elton John's band, got his start playing the clarinet at Disneyland.

PS many fabulous babes at any theme park! Dudes, too, if that's your thing.

MichaelVee · #6 01-24-2007, 09:53 AM

It's worth a shot, at least.

Find out everything you can on the front end about the audition process, and prepare for it. Chances are, it's going to be very competitive. There are only so many good amusement parks who have live bands anymore. Most of them have gone to canned music or have quit offering live music altogether. Therefore, you may be up against some pretty heavy competition from players who are willing to relocate. On the other hand, if they are auditioning at the local high school, maybe not. What park is this?

You might want to ask them if there are actually bass chairs available for this season. There may not be.

I found out about parks stuffing their resume' files a few years back when I auditioned at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN. Dollywood auditions all instruments every year in January or February, but they have a handful of musicians who've been there for years and they seldom have turnover in the show bands, particularly on bass. I worked with a theatre music director who'd been at Dollywood, and he said that it was probably a losing cause because of the low turnover, coupled with some pretty well-known bass players who are in the loop there for vacancies. This is despite the fact that they play about 200-300 shows in a season.

If you don't get hired this season, I would ask them if they will keep your audition info and resume' on file for next season, or if you'll have to reaudition. I bet you'll have to audition again each season.

jsbach1982 · #7 01-24-2007, 10:08 AM

Do it. The pay's not great, but waaay better than anything else you'd be doing over the summer (fast food, retail, etc.). Plus the pay kinda balances out with the amount of work you do. I mean, are you really going to find 6 hours a day of paying gigs, 6 days a week?

And plenty of time off to practice. Or whatever.

Victor Wooten played at Busch Gardens for years.

-Jono