What is your job?

[juancaminos]

I'm talking as a band. Make people dance? Sell beer? Entertain? I've watch many posts about making people dance. But I remember the old days when you had to sell beer. There were so many crappy sounding bands out there but the ones that got the gigs sold beer.

Right now our drummer turns down free drinks from drunk patrons. Our guitar player turns down tequila shots. Unheard of in the old days. You don't have to drink it, but you should damn well accept it! In fact we used to encourage it by constantly holding up empty bottles or telling people that we would like to dispel the rumors that the band doesn't drink. Or holding up a bottle and yelling cheers every other song, etc.

There's the story about the bar owner who doesn't understand why sales are down. "I've got the best dance band in town, the dance floor is full all night long but my beer sales haven't gone up". Well if they are on the dance floor all night they aren't drinking. Plus their beer is getting warm so when they do get a chance to drink they blame the bar for warm beer. I could go on and on about this, but back to the original question...

 

[Torrente Cro]

The day my job as a bass player becomes a seller of alcohol I will stop playing.
Fortunately I went to school and have a day job.

 

[TuneSalad666]

I am not in a band currently but am speaking with a drummer at the moment about starting a duo with her on drums and me on bass, possibly eventually expanding to a trio with a vocalist, me, beside running my bass through a bass amp, using an octave up pedal through a guitar amp, where I will be responsible for the compositions mainly being in the hard progressive rock area.

I figure our job will be the same as I always seen our job when being in a band or personally as a composer and musician, to challenge our self to perform our best and to stay true to our musical ideas, which we hopefully will be experienced enough to filter down to the most interesting, relevant and substantial ones and talented enough to execute in a way that will make a positive impression and impact on whatever audience that might be able to relate to them.

Hopefully ending up making and playing music that people will enjoy listening to and feel expand their life somewhat.

In short: Make a difference artistically and musically to our self and to our audience.

Or in other words: Make music for people who actually appreciate and care about music, opposed to spewing out under stimulating generic crap without any personality, character or real substance whatsoever made for the sole purpose of exploiting the general public's musical ignorance to make money out of their need for easily digested background entertainment to distract them from their miserable meaningless life.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Or in other words: Make music for people who actually appreciate music, opposed to spewing out under stimulating generic crap without any personality, character or real substance whatsoever made for the sole purpose of exploiting the general public's musical ignorance to make money out of their need for easily digested background entertainment to distract them from their miserable meaningless life.

Well, good luck! (And don't quit your day job).

 

[TuneSalad666]

Well, good luck! (And don't quit your day job).

Thank you for supporting someone who cares and tries to make a difference.

Hope your cynicism will get you far, I know it's a much sought after quality these days.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Thank you for supporting someone who cares and tries to make a difference.

We all care, and we all try to make a difference. But we also have to have some connection with reality.

 

[TuneSalad666]

We all care, and we all try to make a difference.

As long as it doesn't cost us anything at least.

 

[Torrente Cro]

We all care, and we all try to make a difference. But we also have to have some connection with reality.

When "reality" conflicts with my ethics - I'm out.

 

[Bassbeater]

When you play music for pay you are part of a "program" which may include promotion of objects or consumables in addition to providing musical entertainment. If you don't like or resent that then you might not be cut out for this type of work. That doesn't mean you aren't a good musician, it just means you likely won't enjoy significant aspects of "the job" of live entertainer. So, although saying "don't quit your day job" is jabbing, it's not sarcasm or cynicism at all. It's good advice.

 

[mobdirt]

musician
Types

 

[Paulabass]

If it's a great gig I'm an artist.
If it's a so-so gig, I'm a beer salesperson.

 

[chaak]

I am currently part of two bands, one is strictly studio based working on an album with a new singer , and the job is to write music and lyrics that fit our vision and how we'd like to be identified. The other is strictly free improvisation live performance and the job is to be able to understand and anticipate (feel) each member so that the performances are solid enough and mistake free.

 

[biguglyman]

Bring people to the establishment and keep them there as long as possible. I leave it up to the bar to sell the beer, although I do encourage drinking and tipping several times a night. Have had a similar discussion over the years with other musicians in regards to setlists. IMHO, if you want to be a successful bar band, you need to appeal to drunk women. If the womens come to your gig the men will follow and try to get them drunk enough to put out. Sounds crude spelled out that way but...just an observation from a long time bar band player. And yes, I will gladly play Mustang Sally for you.

 

[tycobb73]

I book bands for an establishment. The goal of any band that plays there is to sell alcohol. I'll give you 2 tries. If the till wasn't good one of those nights there won't be a third.

This place is a distillery wth no dance floor. A sit down and listen atmosphere.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

When "reality" conflicts with my ethics - I'm out.

I'm not a violent person, but when someone try to make other peoples musical taste and interests into a question of ethics, then I pull out my gun.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

I have a lot of different gigs. Afternoon jazz club gigs, bar gigs, gigs with community bands or orchestras, corporate gigs, weddings, christmas parties etc etc. At the end of the day, someone has to pay the musicians. Sometimes it means that if the establishment doesn't make any money on alcohol, there will be no money for me. That's reality. The world is full of musicians with "musical integrity" that drives a cab or flips burgers, and I respect that. Really, I do. I'd rather play music, and most of the time, I play music I like (and sometimes, quite often, I get the chance to turn the audience into things they didn't think they would like. Win win).

 

[Bassbeater]

Ethics conflicting with promoting alcohol at a gig. Hmmm. Is that like working at a pet store and being allergic to cat hair? I assume we are talking about bar-gigs here. As in gigs, at a bar, a place with a special license that allows it to make it's money selling alcohol.
Unless it's a huge music venue, the band and music are secondary. They are what makes this bar a better place to drink than the other bar which also sells drinks. As @tycobb73 mentioned, the band needs to perform on both levels to get another gig.
FWIW I don't even drink alcohol when I'm out. I don't want a DUI, a bar fight, or a headache in the morning. I'll have a beer, but that's it. On stage I would go so far as to drink "virgin" cocktails or water from beer bottles to help the bar sell drinks. If I was a pick player I'd bust into some hot-wings while the guitar player was tuning.

 

[Plectrum72]

If your gig is at a venue that sells a product, your job is to entertain people and promote sales. If your gig is at a venue that does not sell a product, your job is to entertain.

 

[Torrente Cro]

I'm not a violent person, but when someone try to make other peoples musical taste and interests into a question of ethics, then I pull out my gun.

When I said "my ethics", I don't insist that everyone must think the same.
I don't have anything against drinking, I drink a beer or two. I am against encouraging heavy drinking because it often results in human victims, either short or long term.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

I am against encouraging heavy drinking because it often results in human victims, either short or long term.

On that we can agree.