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Advice in playing for a living

sknubmallone

sknubmallone

Mar 11, 2014
20
1
medford oregon
#1
I am at the point to where I can pretty much play any style and sound pretty good. Jazz will be my next area of focus. However, I am not getting any younger. My step children are all on there own now, I never had biological children because I am shooting blanks. I can live on the road if need be and my income level does not have to be that high. I can get by on 19k a year.

I have been looking at craigslist tallent adds in every major city. You would think that Nashville would be full of adds seeking bass players. But all I see on craigslist is b.s. I am willing to relocate anywhere in the world to play.

I just don't know where to start. Any advice from my TalkBass family would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all, and btw it's my 37th Birth day today. So be nice.
 
#2
i think you've gotta check out portland, press the flesh, have a basic website, and research what guys in a similar circumstance to you are doing that works commercially(i'm a visual artist, but the cash is mostly coming in from my full time professor job and sales of art)
 
#4
The trick is to gig a lot. You have to live in a major city or one of the smaller ones with a thriving live music scene. No matter where you are, there will always be someone better than you. So the secret sauce is made up of:

Reliability - when they call, there's no question that you'll be there, on time, ready to play.

Reading - If the part is written, you can reproduce it immediately.

That's pretty much it. Play everything, everywhere, and talk to everyone. Make sure that they know who you arex what you're trying to accomplish, and how to reach you. The people who can help you are bar owners, managers, producers, folks who put on plays, run cruise ships, hire the people in tuxedos playing classical by the escalator at Xmas, etc. Musicians for the most part can't help.

If you don't have an AFM card, you aren't serious. So, nobody will take you seriously.

Playing for a living is a job. A profession. Get a thousand professionals in a room and the odds are that none of them are in rock bands except for fun. Act like you'd like your accountant or doctor to act - professionally. Most of us started out living in the cramped van with dreams of stadium shows and bathtubs full of groupies, but that doesn't happen to the vast majority of us. Get past that and play whatever whoever is paying wants played. Stick with it, develop good contacts and a reputation for problem-free reliability, and you can make it.

Good luck!
 
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#5
happy birthday!

If you haven't had luck getting solid work on your own you could consider using a talent agency. Cruise ships, etc use them to find musicians. One agency that sources musicians for cruise ships is proship (Google them). there are others.

agencies will take a cut of your paycheck, but the getting your foot in the door is sometimes worth it.
 
#7
Always return phone calls, even if it is to politely decline an offer.
Be polite to everyone, even total jerks. "Please" and "Thank You" matter.
Arrive as prepared as possible and with enough time to hit the stage on time.
 
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#8
If you average the standard 100 bucks a night you would need to play 4 nights a week to break above 19,000 a year. Book restaurants, VFW, bars, clubs, private parties.

Then you gotta think about no benefits, gas costs, food on the road, gigs that WILL BE CANCELED due to weather/other reasons, and being sent home early due to no crowd. I know a guy that does this as a sole provider for his wife and 3 kids. It's the saddest thing I have seen in my life but he wont give up.

My recommendation is a part time day job where you still have your thursdays-saturdays free. And I would only recommend this if you are a solo artist only. It's hard enough keeping a band together. Relying on the band as your sole income with people you barely know is crazy. There is a HUGE difference in playing music because you enjoy it and doing it for a job.

Many members of major touring bands STILL have day jobs.
 
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#9
Realized late that this is 2 years old. I'm curious as to how it's been going.

But anyway, people need bass players. If you're good then the gigs will come due to meeting people and playing with people, networking ect...If you actually know what you're doing and you never fail to impress those you play with, you're name will be on their tongue. You will get recommended to people by other people. You will be on the upward path.

If you're just pretty ok then you might just get swept up in this sea of wannabees, bs'ers, people who have talent but aren't developing it to their greatest potential, ect.

Are you a natural musician, or are you a regular dude who learned how to play the bass? Does music pulse through your veins? Do you FEEL the energy and emotion? Is it capable of moving you at your deepest core?

Or does it just sound cool and look badass?

If it's the first one then you're on the right path. A lot of it is energy, and having the ability to make people FEEL a certain way. If you can move people then you're in.

Do you have a good ear? Can you improvise on the spot? Can you automatically know how to make the music groove and feel good even if some of the other players aren't playing the "right" part? Tone? Stage presence? Professionalism? PERSONALITY?

Can you SENSE when the music is or isn't working for whatever reason? Or do u just learn the bassline and play it?

You must must must be completely dedicated to becoming a world class musician. Obsess over what makes music "work". Why some songs become hits and others fall by the wayside. Why certain parts just FEEL GOOD. All the ingredients that combine to make great music. All the ingredients that combine to make a great musician.


It also helps to have a spiritual foundation. Believe it or not, it's a very spiritual journey. You've probably already learned a lot about the world, social boundaries, people, and yourself just through exploring the world of music, and how it works.

If you're doing it for ego gratification or worldly desires you may have already "stunted your growth" from the get-go. But if you dedicate your gift to the greater good, you will put yourself on a completely different path, a path of healing and amazing experiences. Surrender the desire to become great, surrender the desire to have anything, and you will surely receive it and more.

Also it helps to be able to sing backup vocals and harmony.


Good luck. And please let us you how your journey unfolds.
 
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