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Gas prices and Gig Pay Rates
- Thread starter Juniorkimbrough
- Start date
We've started to renegotiate on some of our dates that are booked further out than I care to think about. Some have responded positively, some have been neutral. Only one got openly hostile- somehow, I don't think they'll be around come gig time anyway! I need to make $100 a night, minimum, for a gig within 40 miles (which covers a lot of turf south of I-10). For gigs 41-60 miles away, I need $125. For gigs over 60 miles, it's a case-by-case basis, starting at $150. I won't play other geographic areas, because I have a job and a fambly, and flying to gigs in this day and age? They are starting to charge $15-30 PER PIECE of luggage. As it is, the security lines are screwed, you may not get your luggage on the other end anyway, and waiting in a line with 100 other people to go through a metal detector/x-ray machine, having to wait while Joe Boardroom empties all his change into a basket, and unpack/turn on his laptop to prove it's really a computer, just plane sucks!
Nowadays, if I have to fly somewhere, I get through security in about two minutes flat. I simply show up at the airport in a Speedo and a pair of flip-flops, ticket in hand, with ID stashed in said Speedo. They'll let you right through! It's amazing, it really is! Clothes and toiletries can be easily bought on the other end, and trashed or donated when it's time to come back. No checked baggage to wait for on the other end, no fighting over the overhead bins...heck, most people won't even want to sit near you!
And yes, it WILL get seriously worse here the U.S.and A. The scene from "Borat", where he leaves his village for the airport, comes to mind.
Nowadays, if I have to fly somewhere, I get through security in about two minutes flat. I simply show up at the airport in a Speedo and a pair of flip-flops, ticket in hand, with ID stashed in said Speedo. They'll let you right through! It's amazing, it really is! Clothes and toiletries can be easily bought on the other end, and trashed or donated when it's time to come back. No checked baggage to wait for on the other end, no fighting over the overhead bins...heck, most people won't even want to sit near you!
And yes, it WILL get seriously worse here the U.S.and A. The scene from "Borat", where he leaves his village for the airport, comes to mind.
We've pretty much decided the only gigs we'll play going forward are festival, wedding and corporate. It's just not worth it playing clubs anymore for what they pay, cover or no cover. It's a damn shame, too. That's the only time our friends and family really get to come out and hear us.
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
- 42
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
mrpackerguy, I really wonder what the live music scene will look like in 5-10 years. We already know that studio recordings are giving way from revenue-generating, saleable products to promotional tools for live events (thanks to the internet and mp3 "sharing"). Now that live shows and touring are barely/not profitable due to gas price increases and general cost-of-living increases (yet clubs and fans are unwilling, thus far, to pay more - perhaps in part due to this mindset that "music should be free," and because of the influx of amateurs who will perform for drinks only, or even for free, or even pay-to-play)... is this the end for professional musicians?
Sounds like its own thread... maybe I'll start one to discuss it...
Sounds like its own thread... maybe I'll start one to discuss it...
really? i am leaning the opposite. if this is the end of our "belle epoque" i wanna enjoy it while i can! course, i don't tell my kids that
Maybe I should have said "party smarter", then, instead of "party less". More cheaply, closer to home. We're making our own fun closer to home, rather than seeking it further afield.
Cherie
- Mar 22, 2005
- 3,718
- 6
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Lakland Basses
Maybe I should have said "party smarter", then, instead of "party less". More cheaply, closer to home. We're making our own fun closer to home, rather than seeking it further afield.
Cherie
yeah, i am trying to keep the image of me, old & gray, living on alpo out of my head. my pro-active step is to fully encourage my 12 yr old's interest (and amazing talent) on drums. though, according to the other tangent on this thread that could be a dead-end. he sure does love that rock'n'roll. and i sure do need him to make a million dollars (i keep reminding him that elvis bought his mama a house, a cadillac, etc).
You should listen to the Tower of Power prescient tune: "There's only so much oil in the ground" Invalid Link Removed
The price of gas has nothing to do with inventory (just like diamonds). The oil producing nations keep a lid on production to keep the price up, extend the life of their finite supply of oil and keep the cash flowing to finance their projects (9/11 hijackers came from Saudia Arabia - one of the biggest oil suppliers).
So with limited supply, concerns about future supply and other nations (China, India) coming on line with huge oil consumption demands, the price goes up (and up).
Basically, the oil consuming nations have an addiction (as per Pres. Bush) just like crack cocaine users. We can't get enough to satisfy our needs. The US oil companies are the last ones to look to for help in solving the problem because of the huge profits being made. It's tough to live in a greed based society.
The corn farmers won't solve the problem because there's only so much corn that can be grown and by switching crop, it drives up the price of other food staple. A lose-lose proposition.
So what to do...nothing much you can do personally (unless you are an alternative fuel scientist/engineer) but vote in candidates that will work on the problem instead of catering to the status quo. Buying a smaller car will help some but won't really solve any problems. We need a non-oil based car (maybe hydrogen) help move things along but the bottom line is that most products today use oil in their production.
Maybe there's a new technology that will come along and blow everything up (figuratively) just like personal computers did in the 70's and 80's that will help set us on a more stable long term track.
Imho, of course.
The price of gas has nothing to do with inventory (just like diamonds). The oil producing nations keep a lid on production to keep the price up, extend the life of their finite supply of oil and keep the cash flowing to finance their projects (9/11 hijackers came from Saudia Arabia - one of the biggest oil suppliers).
So with limited supply, concerns about future supply and other nations (China, India) coming on line with huge oil consumption demands, the price goes up (and up).
Basically, the oil consuming nations have an addiction (as per Pres. Bush) just like crack cocaine users. We can't get enough to satisfy our needs. The US oil companies are the last ones to look to for help in solving the problem because of the huge profits being made. It's tough to live in a greed based society.
The corn farmers won't solve the problem because there's only so much corn that can be grown and by switching crop, it drives up the price of other food staple. A lose-lose proposition.
So what to do...nothing much you can do personally (unless you are an alternative fuel scientist/engineer) but vote in candidates that will work on the problem instead of catering to the status quo. Buying a smaller car will help some but won't really solve any problems. We need a non-oil based car (maybe hydrogen) help move things along but the bottom line is that most products today use oil in their production.
Maybe there's a new technology that will come along and blow everything up (figuratively) just like personal computers did in the 70's and 80's that will help set us on a more stable long term track.
Imho, of course.
whoa, too much honesty there, stumbo; stop being so rite on. 
out here in iowa we knew (well some of us knew) that corn to ethanol was a political scam. makes the elected ones look good, but waaay short-sighted. switchgrass is the only real potential bio-fuel, but it won't replace all the oil.
i think touring bands need to become chemists and do the used fryer oil and lye thing. fill up the diesel bus with that and drive away clean and almost free.
last thought: the investor types speak about the future superpowers as the BRIC. brazil, russia, india, and china. the american empire had its run. and ya gotta admit, it was fun (well, for most of us americans at least)
out here in iowa we knew (well some of us knew) that corn to ethanol was a political scam. makes the elected ones look good, but waaay short-sighted. switchgrass is the only real potential bio-fuel, but it won't replace all the oil.
i think touring bands need to become chemists and do the used fryer oil and lye thing. fill up the diesel bus with that and drive away clean and almost free.
last thought: the investor types speak about the future superpowers as the BRIC. brazil, russia, india, and china. the american empire had its run. and ya gotta admit, it was fun (well, for most of us americans at least)
I was talking to my drummer last nite and he mentioned that a friend of his has a diesel truck, and was doing the home-brew thing, but stopped. No more bio-diesel for him. When I asked why, he told me that the restaurants are no longer giving their used oil away, they are charging about $4.00/gallon for it. That, plus the materials used to refine it, makes it more expensive than regular diesel. Some people are paying it anyway, though. That makes it economically unfeasible.
I agree on the switchgrass. It would make a difference.
As far as the American Collapse, get ready for America 2.0, or the Union of North America. It's happening now, see Link Removed, and recent events are lining up to where I can see it happening within the next 2-3 years. I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to move to avoid this...
Seems to me in the 30 years I've been playing, things have been cyclical. Live bands were hot when we started out playing in the mid-70's. Come the mid 80s, there was a great shortage of work. Late 90's into the 21st century, it started turning around again: more weddings, more gigs. Maybe we're heading for another downturn.
whoa, restaurants finally caught on huh? where is this happening? considering the proliferation of fast food joints in this country, i feel like there is probly always some somewhere that would still rather give it away than pay to have it hauled off.
and yeah, the NAU and the amero. i know some john birch'ers who have been talking about that for a few years now. is that why those fences were never really gonna be built?
Remember that your audience has to drive to your gig, too, and they're paying the same for gas. The difference is that it's a luxury for most people to go hear live music, especially if it's any distance away. Club and restaurant owners will fill their rooms any way they can, for the same reason we take whatever gigs we can manage. I think most bands and musicians will avoid passing on the cost to the extent they can, but at some point will raise prices out of necessity. In the long term, it will make sense to move your stuff in vehicle that gets the best mpg. Anyone want to buy an SUV? ;0)
I can't stand gas prices. I quit one band recently because the few venues they gig at are too far for me to justify the expense. With gas at $4.07 at my local Shell and 76 Gas stations I fill the tank and it's approx $60.00. I live in California so you have to drive to get anywhere (11 miles to work one way, 22 miles for wife's school). We we're considering moving to San Francisco, get jobs there, and utilize more mass transit but the cost of housing would take away any fuel savings by far.
We looked at using mass transit (bus) to my wife's school but it would require 1 transfer and nearly 2 hours commute as opposed to approx 25 minutes.
I don't know how people who make $8-$10 an hour do it. We make quite a bit over that and it kills. If we end up forming the NAU and Amero. I putting a petition out to try some people for treason.
I think it's time to get a Vespa.
We looked at using mass transit (bus) to my wife's school but it would require 1 transfer and nearly 2 hours commute as opposed to approx 25 minutes.
I don't know how people who make $8-$10 an hour do it. We make quite a bit over that and it kills. If we end up forming the NAU and Amero. I putting a petition out to try some people for treason.
I think it's time to get a Vespa.
Locally I have no problem. The real problem is when we have to drive an hour or more out of town for a show. At that point it becomes less and less worth it.
I agree on the switchgrass. It would make a difference.
As far as the American Collapse, get ready for America 2.0, or the Union of North America. It's happening now, see Link Removed, and recent events are lining up to where I can see it happening within the next 2-3 years. I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to move to avoid this...
Sadly, I don't know where we'd go. Frakking bastages. I don't want this!!! I think most of us don't want this.
Cherie
I can't stand gas prices. I quit one band recently because the few venues they gig at are too far for me to justify the expense. With gas at $4.07 at my local Shell and 76 Gas stations I fill the tank and it's approx $60.00. I live in California so you have to drive to get anywhere (11 miles to work one way, 22 miles for wife's school). We we're considering moving to San Francisco, get jobs there, and utilize more mass transit but the cost of housing would take away any fuel savings by far.
We looked at using mass transit (bus) to my wife's school but it would require 1 transfer and nearly 2 hours commute as opposed to approx 25 minutes.
I don't know how people who make $8-$10 an hour do it. We make quite a bit over that and it kills. If we end up forming the NAU and Amero. I putting a petition out to try some people for treason.
I think it's time to get a Vespa.
If we form the NAU and start using the Amero, there will, and should, be resistance. Treason? How about the people who want to form the NAU and use the Amero, for starters? Their proposal is *treason*. And they should suffer the fate of all traitors for trying to herd us towards it.
Cherie
Yeah, like America would ever team up with Mexico... can I have a hit of that, please?
DIRECTLY quoted from their website:
Myth: The SPP is a movement to merge the United States, Mexico, and Canada into a North American Union and establish a common currency.
Fact: The cooperative efforts under the SPP, which can be found in detail at Link Removed, seek to make the United States, Canada and Mexico open to legitimate trade and closed to terrorism and crime. It does not change our courts or legislative processes and respects the sovereignty of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP in no way, shape or form considers the creation of a European Union-like structure or a common currency. The SPP does not attempt to modify our sovereignty or currency or change the American system of government designed by our Founding Fathers.
DIRECTLY quoted from their website:
Myth: The SPP is a movement to merge the United States, Mexico, and Canada into a North American Union and establish a common currency.
Fact: The cooperative efforts under the SPP, which can be found in detail at Link Removed, seek to make the United States, Canada and Mexico open to legitimate trade and closed to terrorism and crime. It does not change our courts or legislative processes and respects the sovereignty of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP in no way, shape or form considers the creation of a European Union-like structure or a common currency. The SPP does not attempt to modify our sovereignty or currency or change the American system of government designed by our Founding Fathers.
I was talking with the guy that books my bands earlier this evening and we were both talking about how the five dollar cover is ridiculous.
Really, it's one less beer.
People will spend all kinds of money on beer, they'll buy a fifty dollar gram of coke, they'll buy all their friends drinks, and then they'll whine about a seven or eight dollar cover.
We were also discussing how the rising gas prices are probably going to make the touring circuit a little easier in that all of the folks who have no business being out on the road and are just taking up venues and attention are not going to be able to afford to do it. Seeing what touring has become since I started doing it eleven years ago, I can't wait for that aspect of it.
Really, it's one less beer.
People will spend all kinds of money on beer, they'll buy a fifty dollar gram of coke, they'll buy all their friends drinks, and then they'll whine about a seven or eight dollar cover.
We were also discussing how the rising gas prices are probably going to make the touring circuit a little easier in that all of the folks who have no business being out on the road and are just taking up venues and attention are not going to be able to afford to do it. Seeing what touring has become since I started doing it eleven years ago, I can't wait for that aspect of it.
