Too many gigs..

[slugworth]

I put a few ads out for a bass player for hire...I'm getting
so many calls I can barely handle them all....How do you freelance bassists handle all your bookings? So far Im taking them "first come, first served", which I think is the most fair way...How do you guys do it? I'm now booked into January with 17 dates....How do you guys handle it?

Slug

[NJL]

Playing 5 nights a week almost cost me my marriage. I'm down to 2 nights a week. For me it was a balance issue.

This is the only advice I can give you, if you happen to be married, just be careful.

If you are not married, use the demand you created for yourself to go to the highest bidder for the night.

[iriegnome]

Originally Posted by slugworth

I put a few ads out for a bass player for hire...I'm getting
so many calls I can barely handle them all....How do you freelance bassists handle all your bookings? So far Im taking them "first come, first served", which I think is the most fair way...How do you guys do it? I'm now booked into January with 17 dates....How do you guys handle it?

Slug

I would do it if I was in CA> I have never been able to play enough. I was playing 5 nights a week all over the midwest and on my 2 nights off I was at local open mic nights.

[Commreman]

Slug - where did you post your ad? In the local music rag, on line, or a pster in a music store? I would love to see the ad copy that got you the huge response!

What you have is what I would call an excellent problem. In weeding out what you take vs. what you pass on, don't only look at the money. Look also at the quality of the gig and the level of players you will be with. The better quality guys with good heads on their shoulders will be able to open doors to better gigs for you if you click with them.

[pointbass]

As a guy who does almost exclusively freelance/for-hire work, my best suggestion is to really find out who you're going to be playing with ..... are they kinda crappy bad players looking for a root-five-root thing, or actual established pro-level musicians? Once you know that, are you comfortable with the style of music? Is your sight reading up to speed?

I get a lot of truely horrible requests that I turn down flat. I guess it helps that I don't need the cash to pay the bills, so I can afford to be fussy.

Just a suggestion, but if you don't desperately need the cash, try to avoid the bad-band dates. Those bands can quickly spread a negative rep about you that will ultimately cost you other jobs, possibly other jobs with good groups paying nice money.

Also, it's just a quirk with me, but once I take a date I don't back off of it just because a better paying gig comes up. I've managed to keep a pretty good reputation going over the past 5-6 years of free-lancing by being very up front with people .......

[Ryan L.]

I had to cut back on hiring myself out for the same reasons that NJL stated. And now that I am back to working full time and not doing the musician thing full time, I can't play out as much any more.

[brianrost]

I also take freelance bookings "first come first served", it's the only fair way, not to mention the only manageable way. To repeat employers I sometimes hand out my calendar for the next few months so they know when I am already booked.

Over time I've developed a feel for whom I'm willing to work with and will turn others down or at least not enourage them to keep calling.

The hardest part is dealing with the dry spells. I already have some stuff for January and February but here's hoping the phone starts ringing again in the next week or two. Right now I have NO gigs booked for November and only two for December...but just two weeks ago I played six gigs over a 3 day period. When it rains it pours