Florida bass players?

[Snarf]

Hello intarwebz,

Looking for some opinions here. Do we have some members here who are working players in Florida? If we do, got a few questions:

1. How is the wedding and corporate scene there?
2. How is the club date and bar gig scene?
3. Is there a demand for top 40 acts, as well as specialty decades and/or artist specific acts?
4. How far do you typically travel for non-fly date gigs? It's a big state, I'd imagine picking where you live is a pretty big deal just from a logistics standpoint.

Primarily looking for opinions pre-Coronvirus, since we're all pretty screwed right at the moment.

 

[Vince Jones]

I'm in Florida and my band plays over 200 shows a year, even during the pandemic we have not slowed down much, we are a three piece hard rock band and I would say the club and bar scene is doing just fine.. My previous band was a top 40 dance/wedding style band and I did well with that too but it was a 5 piece and I much prefer smaller bands and a bit more energy on the stage. Yes I drive all over the state! Last week I made a 10 hour round trip and that was rough but most gigs are only an hour or so drive and if I have a few nights in a row I'll simply stay in that area and drive back after.. As far as the demand I would say you can make money playing any style of music if you're good at what you do.. See you on the battlefield!

 

[Snarf]

I'm in Florida and my band plays over 200 shows a year, even during the pandemic we have not slowed down much, we are a three piece hard rock band and I would say the club and bar scene is doing just fine.. My previous band was a top 40 dance/wedding style band and I did well with that too but it was a 5 piece and I much prefer smaller bands and a bit more energy on the stage. Yes I drive all over the state! Last week I made a 10 hour round trip and that was rough but most gigs are only an hour or so drive and if I have a few nights in a row I'll simply stay in that area and drive back after.. As far as the demand I would say you can make money playing any style of music if you're good at what you do.. See you on the battlefield!

Very interesting, thanks for the info! I'm still based in the NY metro area, but just doing a little digging around, some due diligence, if I decide to make a change.

What would you say is the demand for large event bands? I'm talking 3-4 singers, 3-piece horn section, etc. Does that kind of thing exist and sell in the market? 5-piece bands to me feel very small.

 

[Vince Jones]

I lived in NY for 40 years before my recent move to Florida and all I can say is I wish I would have left many years ago.. IMO large bands are not the way to go these days, this whole Covid thing has put a spin on things, the main problem is the style of music you're doing with a big band usually has a older audience and that audience is afraid to be in a crowded room, venues also prefer smaller bands now for obvious reasons. Sadly I think the music scene we all knew last year is gone forever..

 

[Lesfunk]

I lived in NY for 40 years before my recent move to Florida and all I can say is I wish I would have left many years ago.. IMO large bands are not the way to go these days, this whole Covid thing has put a spin on things, the main problem is the style of music you're doing with a big band usually has a older audience and that audience is afraid to be in a crowded room, venues also prefer smaller bands now for obvious reasons. Sadly I think the music scene we all knew last year is gone forever..

Vince, I recently discovered you were working with Blistur.
Good for you man. You kick ass.
And I agree with you about Florida .
There are more opportunities to work here but you need to have a streamlined group to make money.
I’m glad that I’m not still up north where nobody is really working from all the restrictions in place.

 

[Snarf]

Yeah, NY is a prison colony. And they're ramping up "congestion pricing" in the city. I'm losing my patience with the northeast. And I don't see any hope of things changing for the better.

Just to clarify, I don't mean a big band as in jazz. The bands that I play with up here that have 10-11 pieces are all doing the usual dance/disco/motown/contemp. top 40 thing, but with horns and lots of singers. It adds a TON to the experience. Is that not something the market wants/supports in FL? Also, do you guys book independently, or do you use agents?

 

[Vince Jones]

Yeah, NY is a prison colony. And they're ramping up "congestion pricing" in the city. I'm losing my patience with the northeast. And I don't see any hope of things changing for the better.

Just to clarify, I don't mean a big band as in jazz. The bands that I play with up here that have 10-11 pieces are all doing the usual dance/disco/motown/contemp. top 40 thing, but with horns and lots of singers. It adds a TON to the experience. Is that not something the market wants/supports in FL? Also, do you guys book independently, or do you use agents?

10 or 11 pieces yikes.. That would probably sound great but I have to get paid a certain amount otherwise I won't show up lol. I'm sure you can get work with that type of band but due to the size of the stage you need I would look into booking at the resorts and forget the bars, my last band played many resorts in central Florida all with huge stages. Both my last band and current band book mainly independently..

 

[Snarf]

That type of band is definitely a private/corporate/weddings/casinos type band, sometimes big municipal concerts, good pay per musician. That group will scale down to 6 people (no horns, two singers) for a bar date, using those gigs as paid rehearsals/showcases for clients. Sometimes we do private events as a 6-piece, but the bandleader hates doing that, lol.

So if I were to visit Florida to check out the live (covers) music scene, which areas should I go to? And is Miami a diverse music town, or is it all Latin music?