You are welcome. Reading all the responses in this thread I think just highlights how complex this issue can be. Unfortunately I'm not sure how we can go about all getting on the same page...
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To ALL working bass players...
- Thread starter soong
- Start date
You are welcome. Reading all the responses in this thread I think just highlights how complex this issue can be. Unfortunately I'm not sure how we can go about all getting on the same page...
A worker does deserve his pay, but playing a charity or P&W gig for free is like making a charitable donation using your time and skill instead of cash. I play two freebies a week. I always have fun doing it and having fun is why I play these days.
There is no "same page" required. We all have different requirements and desires and are free to go about accomplishing our personal musical goals in any way we wish.
While many of us agree wholeheartedly, many do not. There are those who still strongly believe that if there were no lowball bands out there undercutting the pros, that gig money would miraculously revert back in real dollars to what it was 30 years ago. I would love to believe that, but it's way more complex. And thus...15 pages!
I was there 30 years ago, around here it wasn't any better then. Only big names did better at specific large venues.
I think it's like "the music was better in the 70's" - we only remember the good stuff spread out over ten years and compare that against this week in our current lives. Sure, the best of a decade is going to be better than today. That's where nostalgia vision comes from.
Hi eJake 
...and the food is great in New Orleans!
...just have them make you a doggybag and you can eat all week long!
Wise(b)ass
...and the food is great in New Orleans!
...just have them make you a doggybag and you can eat all week long!
Wise(b)ass
I am already fat. This town does not help!Hi eJake
...and the food is great in New Orleans!
...just have them make you a doggybag and you can eat all week long!
Wise(b)ass
Pbassmanca
In the pocket n' thumpy. So woody, so greasy...
The food is great in all LA! I saw a recipe yesterday for Real Deal chicken gumbo with andouille sausage. As soon as I find me some andouille sausage I'm going to make it!
This is just based on personal experience, but the only people I know who have similar complaints as the OP all have two things in common. They only like classic and hard rock, and they primarily focus on taverns and food places. I had a conversation with an acquaintance a few months back along these same lines. I was telling him that I was thinking about buying an acoustic bass and a small 25-50w amp and trying to get a few opportunities to play the folk rock/alt country music I'd been listening to. The Dead South, Poor Mans Poison, Lumineers, that sort of thing. He was pretty dismissive when I asked if he was interested. I mean to me it looks like it would be pretty easy to just grab his single guitar and go play, no amps, cables, etc. You can't really DJ events in that genre of music. Its popular. And it's far more diverse then people think. In my eyes he was like a plumber who refuses to do work on condos and then complains that jobs aren't around anymore.
Good post!
IMO, I don't think there's a *need* for all of us to be on the same page on this topic. We are all different and are in differing situations in life. So IMO, it's perfectly normal, and actually expected (and welcomed) for us to have differing views and opinions on this topic. I think it's healthy when differing views and opinions are brought to the table.
That is an *excellent* reason to play music! In fact, I can't think of any better reason!
I can imagine. The drummer in one band I'm in is originally from N.O. And no matter what else he does or doesn't know, that guy KNOWS FOOD!
I definitely don't have "nostalgia goggles" for that period, it certainly wasn't the "good old days"
We don't have to be on the same page, but we have to consider the fine print... Your demeanor leads me to believe you don't play much jazz do you? You come across as a "Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap" Kinda person!
(Just teasing again! 
)Then again, Jazz peeps want to know what's on your mind.
So, if you do play Jazz, I'm going to that gig fo' sho!
You don't break or get into those venues. You get invited in by word of mouth... And the bottom line.
