would/do you play for food? - Page 5

steverosati · #81 12-12-2008, 03:33 PM

Is there a garage out there that will fix your car for a sandwich? or can you pay the DR. with a salad bar?

Thunderthumbs73 · #82 12-12-2008, 03:59 PM

If the economy keeps going like it is, that kind of bartering system might be what we ultimately have to have to fix cars and pay doctors. Uggg...

...but I understand your point vey well, and the answer to both is of course, no.

Easy8 · #83 12-12-2008, 04:02 PM

yugo · #84 12-12-2008, 04:47 PM

if by food you mean beer then yes

Willy2911 · #85 12-12-2008, 04:55 PM

Before I turned 21, I always played for Alcohol, but food would have done the trick 2.

jive1 · #86 12-12-2008, 05:01 PM

I'll play for food if I get to actually enjoy the food.
If they will give me a nice dinner with good food and wine for my wife and I to enjoy before the show then it could be worth it as those outings can cost my wife and I a pretty penny. But, if it's some bar food that I gulp down between sets, then it's not.

As I have told others who tried paying with food, "I have food in my fridge, but no cash in my pocket."

winstonthecat · #87 12-12-2008, 05:06 PM

I play in cover bands, and we do not generally play for free. We have done a couple of fundraisers (really low key, low $$ donations) for free, but those are really just gifts of time. These events usually include food as a perk.

I don't play music for a living, but I believe my band does provide a service for the bars we play, and we expect to be paid.

TerenceSharp · #88 12-14-2008, 05:01 PM

I played for food last friday.

40 (forty) Minutes of improvising with my guitarist got me 1 (one) whole christmas dinner.

Totally wrth it.

Dave R · #89 12-15-2008, 08:55 PM

We play for $$, BUT our booking agent (also our drummer) has specific instructions to barter in food whenever there is food to be had.

Wedding gig=good food.

Recent standouts:
-All you can eat shrimp
-Prime rib
-Salmon in some kind of spicy bread crust. Flippin awesome!
-Steak in a Gran Marnier sauce.
-Cheesecakes of many varieties

Its a good thing the gear is so heavy. Its the only thing keeping me from blowing up like a blimp.

Chebass88 · #90 12-17-2008, 08:52 AM

I don't do chemical engineering for food, why should I play my bass for a plate of mediocre-quality food? That's suggesting that my 3 hours of playing in the local bar is worth nothing more than an overcooked burger and soggy fries that become cold because the wait staff brings it out during sound check, a nominal monetary value of $8.00 at full menu price. No thanks! Bartenders & waitresses don't work for free, and there is a much higher level of skill involved in playing music than pouring liquids into cups and carrying trays of food & drinks.

Playing for church or charity is a completely different kettle of fish. By providing your skills and efforts, you are making the trade of 'donation of playing' for 'fulfillment of altruistic needs'. There is still a transaction that is accomplished, and by accepting it, you agree that that transaction is a fair one. Accepting a transaction that is far below fair market value is not a good business move for one's self or his fellow musicians.

$$ PLUS food means Ian's there & ready to play.

ian

lronMaiden · #91 12-17-2008, 09:13 AM

I'd play even for free, I like playing on stage. So if I would even get some food as a reward, even better

lomo · #92 12-17-2008, 09:16 AM

Our band is a hobby and we play only charity gigs or private parties for our friends. The fee is a meal and drinks for the band. On the few occasions when we play other occasions, the fee is a donation to the charity of our choice.

DWBass · #93 12-17-2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBass

How 'bout a "H&!! No!"

Let me change my answer to 'if it's for family or a close friend'.

Lady Kayri · #94 12-17-2008, 12:17 PM

A free meal doesn't pay for the gas needed to get to the gig...depends on the gig, of course. Charity I believe in, and no one else (servers, chefs, etc.) are getting $$, then I'd play it for free food. At a bar, resturant, other for profit venue, I'd want to see some $$ in my pocket...

chadds · #95 12-17-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SundanceChile

Food! I like food!

I'd rather play for free. Honestly. Call me crazy, but I'm one of the few individuals who believe music should be a FREE art. Kinda like looking at a statue in the park. Should we have to pay to look at it? Nope. Should we pay to listen to something that we could re-create ourselves? Nope. If there's money to made off a gig, it's in merch. Plain and simple, IMO.

(prepares for bombardment.)

What you've missed is that the artist that did that statue got paid. It's not free. Your tax dollars, sales tax etc. pay for that statue. It was selected or commissioned by your local govt. I lived in Santa Cruz. That alone could affect your viewpoint.

Doctors should heal us because we are all people and we all get sick. So how is he/she to feed his/her family? Pay for his/her education? His health care?

Many musicians I know would rather play for free than for chump change.

I agree with the old phrase, "we get paid for cartage". Why? I'm a musician. I'm going to be playing music. You're just asking me to do it where you are. Hence you are paying me to move my gear.

chadds · #96 12-17-2008, 01:13 PM

You voted for or didn't vote or didn't vote for the person who commissioned that giant poop sandwich. Get involved and make the decision that string quartets or kiss tribute bands play in the parks instead of another expenditure on a giant poop sandwich.

Some of the best music I heard as a teen was at Summer in the Parks concerts which were almost every night in the summer at many locations simultaneously. Many local semi famous groups got steady income those summers. Some of these local groups would be paid to practice during the day at an empty high school then get paid to play at night.
The colleges in Wash. D.C. had student unions who would hire small time touring acts like Mountain, Steve Miller, Allman Bros., The Who, The Dead and Procol Harum. Tuition paid for these. Demonstrations would have small time groups like Canned Heat and the Jefferson Airplane. These were free concerts. Who paid? Donations and grants. Where did that money come from. Someone made it to have it to donate.

azureblue · #97 12-17-2008, 01:14 PM

or for food or any other non monetary compensation:

Write a contract that stipulates time start and end and total time played. Add in travel time, travel costs, cartage, gear rent, pay for the band (inflate it), etc.. Make a total of the amount. Then put in a contribution in kind clause- basically this says you would normally charge $xx. but you are donating your time, talent, & efforts to that charity. Then get it signed. This will come off you taxes at the end of the year. It will also mark you as a professional group- you lay it all out in black & white, clearly, and no questions, whether you actually get paid or not. This is the exact same thing as if you give a car to charity- you don't get paid, but you get to write it off.

RobertPaulson · #98 12-17-2008, 01:25 PM

Food is good, but I prefer to get free beer. If I can go out and play a show and drink all night and come home without spending any money... that's a good night.

txbasschik · #99 12-18-2008, 10:16 AM

No.

Did that once, when I was with my first band. Never again. Ever. For so many reasons.

Cherie

txbasschik · #**100** 12-18-2008, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadds

What you've missed is that the artist that did that statue got paid. It's not free. Your tax dollars, sales tax etc. pay for that statue. It was selected or commissioned by your local govt. I lived in Santa Cruz. That alone could affect your viewpoint.

Doctors should heal us because we are all people and we all get sick. So how is he/she to feed his/her family? Pay for his/her education? His health care?

Many musicians I know would rather play for free than for chump change.

I agree with the old phrase, "we get paid for cartage". Why? I'm a musician. I'm going to be playing music. You're just asking me to do it where you are. Hence you are paying me to move my gear.

When people tell me I should do this for love of the music, I tell them that the music *is* for love!!! Its all I want to do! Its my spiritual food, man.

However, having me come to where you are, tote and set up all my gear, work hard to entertain you, then tear it all down at the end of the night...for *that* I expect to be paid!

Cherie