I attended a neighborhood Superbowl party last night. The host's father was visiting NC from Upstate New York. He's a private party DJ. He used to do clubs as well. He's older than me..... maybe in his 60s if I had to guess. He started DJing on 1978 and has been doing it steady ever since.
(By the way, he did his first job entirely on a phone last week. He literally had Spotify and Amazon Prime apps going on his phone and took requests as well as having a "set list". The times, they are uh changin'.)
Get this......
He told me that it's "getting harder and harder to find work". Wanna know why?
He said that "Little bands are springing up everywhere all over the country. Not only are people getting tired of DJs. But these little garage bands will play for LESS MONEY THAN I CAN DO IT FOR."
You read that last part correctly.
We have had this discussion here before. Yes, it's been beat to death. But coming from a DJ who has been in the biz for decades it really hit home for me.
Two things struck me.
1) The whole time we live musicians are pissing and moaning about not getting work because of DJs, they're out there pissing and moaning about not getting work because of "hack bands" (his words).
2) But I'll say it again. If you are playing GIGS with a full band for a few hundred bucks, you are actually HURTING the market for the rest of us.
Do us all a favor and just jam in the garage if you can't demand more than a DJ with nothing but two speakers on a stick and some fancy lights gets.
If we all told club owners we would rather stay home than play for $300, the price WOULD go up. Sure, we would lose some to DJs. But not as many as you think.
Just my two cents.
Speaking as a guy in a “hack band” happy to play for $100/band member:
1) I’ll do you a favour when you do me a favour. Not sure what kind of favour you can do for me, though.
2) I work in a day job and raise a family, but I’ve been playing since 1982, have half of a music degree, and have played in bands and combos covering the ground between jazz, country, metal, classic rock/pop, and blues. If I can get a gig, I’ll get a gig, I’m not asking your permission unless you’re paying me.
3) I’d play for free so long as I had a good drummer, a good set list, and an audience, and will play for free if I can’t get paid. But in that case I’ll drink more beer and take more breaks. I recognize that nobody is entitled to get gigs. Nobody is entitled to be a full time professional musician. I get gigs at least in part because I know this is true.
4) I have fun jamming in the basement, but that’s not where I’m leaving it, I want gigs, and if I can get gigs, I’ll get gigs. Oops, I said this one already.
5) rural venues like community halls, fire halls, Legions/VA centers, and house parties are always looking for bands to play. I play those places.
6) I also play small pubs where four people can jam themselves plus a drum kit onto a tiny stage and not bitch because there’s no sound guy or lights.
7) The bar and the band both recognize we are there to sell beer. If they’re not turning a profit, they’re not booking bands - or DJs - and there’s no gig, free or otherwise.
8) we can and do get gigs because we play what gets people on the floor and gets them buying beer. We don’t do 18 minute Jazz odysseys or “play what we like.” We are doing Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl, and Honky Tonk Women, and we are making the 45+ year old girls scream and woohoo. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s why I want to play gigs. [EDIT: ok, maybe not literally *scream*, but holler.]
9) if you want more gigs, maybe do an attitude check and see what beliefs and opinions you have that are preventing that from happening. Maybe there are songs you won’t do, venues you won’t play, or people you won’t cater to. Then you can blame your attitude instead of things outside your control.
