Would YOU consider taking a gig like this?

[Bass Viking]

Question: if you went on a charity week to a shelter to help feed the homeless, would you demand they pay you cash?

Does Fire Island have a large homeless population?

 

[lbanks]

No.

 

[gln1955]

I find it unfortunately typical that an organization that supports the arts isn't willing to actually support the artists that make their productions possible.

 

[turf3]

Well, why do y'all think they're advertising on CRAIGSLIST for crying out loud?

Actual bona fide pit orchestra contractors don't advertise on CRAIGSLIST. They start calling bass players on their call list, and go down the list till they find someone who can do the gig. They also offer PAY and ACCEPTABLE ACCOMMODATIONS.

What you've got here is some volunteers who think they're Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland - "Let's put on a SHOW!" - but they aren't.

When you get volunteers trying to do a pro's job, it's gonna be clown show the whole way. My favorite example of this was the charity a friend of mine worked with - one day an entire 53 foot trailer of canned goods on pallets showed up, being donated. At a location with no loading dock, no fork truck, no pallet jack, well, basically nothing but three middle aged women and a two wheel dolly to unload a full trailer full of canned goods on pallets. That was the day she resigned.

 

[el murdoque]

I'd accept a gig like this only if the accommodation was a banger (which it is not) and I had free everything everywhere - like the cocktail bar at the beach and such. I could spend a week in a soft, fuzzy haze and only surface long enough to play the shows.

...but if my ability was such that I could play off those charts without a single minute of practice, which would be a further requirement, then I'd probably decline because I needed the time to play gigs that pay money.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Does Fire Island have a large homeless population?

Yes…and they know how to accessorize.

Riis

 

[coyote1]

Well, why do y'all think they're advertising on CRAIGSLIST for crying out loud?

Actual bona fide pit orchestra contractors don't advertise on CRAIGSLIST. They start calling bass players on their call list, and go down the list till they find someone who can do the gig. They also offer PAY and ACCEPTABLE ACCOMMODATIONS.

What you've got here is some volunteers who think they're Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland - "Let's put on a SHOW!" - but they aren't.

When you get volunteers trying to do a pro's job, it's gonna be clown show the whole way. My favorite example of this was the charity a friend of mine worked with - one day an entire 53 foot trailer of canned goods on pallets showed up, being donated. At a location with no loading dock, no fork truck, no pallet jack, well, basically nothing but three middle aged women and a two wheel dolly to unload a full trailer full of canned goods on pallets. That was the day she resigned.

Again, you need to consider a) your status in the industry, and b) the community involved. This is likely not “volunteers who think they’re Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland”. If you’re unfamiliar with metro NY, Fire Island Pines has lots of show biz folks. Lots of Broadway performers. You know, people who perform theatre for a living.

I cannot guarantee that’s the case with this gig. I know nothing about it. I can tell you that if you a) have reading chops, b) are not a working musician, and c) want a foot in the door with folks who work with professional musicians all the time, this gig MIGHT have a far better chance of getting your foot in the door than does your local bar gig. You might even want to reach out to the organizers to inquire about such things. Research beats speculation every time.

 

[turf3]

Again, you need to consider a) your status in the industry, and b) the community involved. This is likely not “volunteers who think they’re Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland”. If you’re unfamiliar with metro NY, Fire Island Pines has lots of show biz folks. Lots of Broadway performers. You know, people who perform theatre for a living.

I cannot guarantee that’s the case with this gig. I know nothing about it. I can tell you that if you a) have reading chops, b) are not a working musician, and c) want a foot in the door with folks who work with professional musicians all the time, this gig MIGHT have a far better chance of getting your foot in the door than does your local bar gig. You might even want to reach out to the organizers to inquire about such things. Research beats speculation every time.

And you really think that "Broadway performers. You know, people who perform theatre for a living..," are so hard up for a bass player that they resort to advertising on Craigslist? Really? They don't have anyone in the Rolodex to call? Or maybe it's such a sh!tt& gig that they already know ain' no one gonna sing up for this except some sucker off CL?

I mean, I understand NYC is a bit different than the rest of the country, but last time I looked it still takes money to live.

"folks who work with professional musicians all the time..." you mean, like the building super?