Buddha
486 posts
May 23, 2009
8:34 PM
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I was supposed to have a gig tonight but I got a call three weeks ago and was told they were double booked and didn't want my group to come.
So we went to Warren's Jazz Bistro to see who we lost the gig to... A fucking DJ!!!!
I look at the schedule and there is no more live music just this DJ on fridays and saturdays.
On top of that this DJ isn't even playing jazz. He's spinning classic rock and other bullshit.
What kind of place calls themselves a Jazz Bistro and has a DJ that doesn't even spin jazz?
I have heard similar stories from friends but this is the first time this has happened to me. I supposed to play there next month but I already noticed that I am not on the schedule that is posted at the club.
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jbone
79 posts
May 23, 2009
10:49 PM
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i got one better- some years ago in a small city north of dallas, we got a gig at a joint and were told we had to be finished by 11:00 p.m., we were opening for another act. so we went in, played, tore down- in time for a dj to start spinning his crap. we'd opened for a dj! is that just a bit backwards?
i worked with a band here i9n arkansas a few years ago tha played a racquet club date once, in harrison. now i've been used to off the wall requests for a long time but the kids at this joint ignored us and jumped on the dance floor while we were on breaks, and jived to the dance mix cds the barkeep was putting on. and when we would take the stage again invariably someone would come over and ask if we "played any GOOD music"!
to top it off, as we were loading out, these little punks would not move out of the way, and parked in the loading zone so we got to schlep gear an extra couple hundred feet. i nearly took a kid's head off with a main speaker, shouting excuse me all the way. he looked at me like he expected me to somehow magically go around him in a narrow hallway where he was yakking it up with his friends.
things go much better for us when we do the duo thing in clarksdale MS. we aren't big dogs there, but those who catch our shoow do appreciate the real deal. i have yet to hear of a karaoke machine or dj anywhere close by too.
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MagicPauley57
41 posts
May 24, 2009
4:04 AM
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Bloody karaoke! making disillusioned crap singers think they will be world famous if they go on stuff like X factor,or american idol!
I would rather listen to real musicians than , karaoke wannabes ordj's who think they know about music !
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djm3801
129 posts
May 24, 2009
5:19 AM
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People have no sophistication. Hate to sound like an old fart, but I grew up listening to performers play live. On TV and in person. There were no DJ's. No music videos. Lip Sync? Did not exist. Excuse me - no hip hop or rap. HOw that crap got into a category called MUSIC is beyond me, but I digress. People now days seem to want the same old stamped-out-one-after-the other songs. If it is not exactly like it was on the CD, they cannot handle it. I used to regularly go to a bar where a 2 man band played. Excellent entertainment. They did pop tunes with a little of their own spin and some obscure ones, and a few of their own. ON their breaks, no one fired up the juke box. We wanted to hear them. Maybe people like a DJ because they are NOT REQUIRED to pay attention. to listen. Too much work.
No clue. I would not go out to listen to something I could play in my home.
Dan
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Buddha
487 posts
May 24, 2009
6:48 AM
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When the Jazz Gun group was together we had an every thursday night gig at this place. We had been doing it for 3 months and the cool thing it was over by the local art school so all of the creative types would come in. Being a 100% sonic art/improv band we encourage people to mesh with out creative spirit however they could. Sometimes we would play moods, emotions, colors or play to a painting somebody was working on. It was a cool concept.
Two of the players were members of Peter Gabriel's touring band and so they are obviously playing for pure enjoyment even though the quartet was supposed to be paid $300. We didn't draw a ton of people be at least 20-30 of out own people would usually show up.
The gig that broke our back, we show up, the drums are nearly set up and then the owner comes out...
"hey hey, no music tonight guys. I'm meant to call you but I was busy"
The guitarist was so pissed he loaded up his stuff. Walked behind the counter and took a whole cake. The owner is pissed at him now and the guitarist says "You fucked us so I am going home to have cake with my daughter. Do you want to stop me?"
He was so fed up with Phoenix after that he moved to TX within the following two months.
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CanadianHarp
3 posts
May 24, 2009
7:04 AM
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I know nothing about the state of Jazz/Blues players in local clubs around here, since there rarely are any. Anyways I know from friends that are in local bands (folk/rock/country/ ect) that alot of clubs now a days are changing to go with DJs over live entertainment, mainly because of cost. A DJ and his turntable only need to get paid for one plus you have a "machine" that will never tire or need rests where as bands typically will be demanding more in breaks/food/equipment things of that nature.
I guess with the whole economic situation the clubs realize they can save money with the DJ and get the same number of people in at night then risking having a band that might bring in a reasonable crowd.
Sad time indeed.
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mickil
203 posts
May 24, 2009
7:25 AM
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It's just as depressing in the UK: DJs playing ear-splitingly loud boom-boom type cr*p; karaokes that are painful to lisen to - once they were novel, but not anymore; and, worst of all, some f*cking, bl**dy EU dirctive creeping in that would make most live music illegal under Health and Safety legislation.
I kid you not. I think the limit is 82 decibals, which is about the same as the ambient noise in London's Liecester Square. Some orchestral conductor was on TV the other week saying that they wouldn't be able to play Beethoven or Wagner anymore because it's too loud.
I really do despair sometimes about the Orwellian nightmare I've been born into. The only good thing would be if the DJs were forced to turn down the mindless drivel that they pump out.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
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MrVerylongusername
320 posts
May 24, 2009
9:09 AM
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Know what your saying Mickil
we get a lot of wedding bookings, but more and more venues are installing sound limiters. Exceed the set level and it cuts your power.
We played one gig where hitting the snare, unmiked was enough to trip the system. No one played a note - just one drum hit and off went the PA. We located the microphone for the system and tried smothering it with gaffer tape and beer mats. Nothing. A frog farting would have tripped it. Finally we discovered that it was only the stage powerpoints that were effected. We took an extension lead from the cooker socket in the kitchen and ran the entire PA and backline from that! Now we always ask if the venue has a limiter when we take the booking so we are forewarned and can discuss things with the management.
As for DJs and Karaoke - we're never gonna compete with that. 1 man with a laptop full of mp3s doesn't need a big paycheck to make the gig worth his while - I bet most of them aren't even paying for their music anymore. A seven piece band plus sound engineer is pretty much beyond most pubs now. If that sound limiter legislation comes in then indoor weddings/corporates will probably be ruled out too. That'll be the death of my band. What's the point if you can't play live anymore? Credit crunch is already hitting us. we lost 4 confirmed bookings last year - the organisers decided to save money and hire DJs instead. Now we take a 20% deposit our contracts specify full fee for gigs cancelled with less than 28 days notice.
Times are tough.
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Bb
51 posts
May 24, 2009
9:19 AM
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Y'all play any Nickelback?
No.
Creed?
Fuck, no.
Hey, actually do alright here in B-Ham. There's a place we play out in the sticks that's a funny roadhouse where we share the night with a DJ. He spins new country and stuff like The Electric Slide and EVERYBODY in the place gets out on the floor to do some sort of highly-choreographed dance. Then we go back on and do our "Blues-rock/rocking blues" formula stuff we do and for the most part the floor clears. Sometimes we get them though, do Low Rider, play some SRV, Stones ...
But during breaks people generally come up to us and ask why we're there. "Y'all are too good for this place."
But free drinks and $100+ a night and fuck it, I'm there.
-Bob
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sopwithcamels266
66 posts
May 25, 2009
3:22 AM
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Let me inform everyone here. The music game has always been like this for ever, it's nothing new.Club owners and promoters do what they do.
Musos at the top end of the scale can be just as bad cementing gigs,and holding ground and bullying others simply because they think that is the way to survive.
It's never been any different.
Around 1980 when Dan Aykroyd and John landis did the original blues brothers film;yes a funny take on everything but there was a CLEAR message in that film
that a lot fail to see.I shouldn't have to point out what that was.
I know it's different cultures around the world and tollerance and diplomatic levels but where I come from you have to tread very carefully with club owners and promoters.The reasons should be obvious.
On 18th June 1815 the World was very nearly turned upside down by a little Corsican General.He could have sat down crying when he saw 89,000 Prussians appear on a flank, but simply chose to ignore it and get on with the business at hand.
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MrVerylongusername
326 posts
May 25, 2009
6:19 AM
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No I disagree. These are the darkest days for live music that I've experienced.
I'm talking about pubs and bars. The grassroots. Places where bands could cut their teeth before they'd even considered agents and promoters.
Just 5 years ago there were about 20 or so venues locally that put on live music. It was a thriving scene. Now, apart from jam nights, I can think of only 3 venues. I have nothing against jam nights, but in essence they are the same as a dj for the landlord. What he is paying for is the PA and a few courtesy drinks, so it's a much cheaper option than booking a live band for a whole set.
We spoke to a landlord a few weeks back after he told us that it would be the last time he'd be having us (this guy loves our music and has been really supportive). He explained that the brewery gives him £400 a week for entertainment - that's pretty much the minimum we can gig for and make it worthwhile. So he can either book one band for a saturday night and blow his whole ents budget, or he can have an open mic night on Thursday, karaoke on Friday and a DJ Saturday. Simple economics. He said he has only been able to keep his entertainment budget, because he has been able to keep his profits up on Thursdays and Fridays - he has to spread it out. Other venues tied to the same brewery have had their ents budget halved or taken away completely.
So pubs can't afford to put on live music. Hotels and larger halls will have to have sound limiters that exclude everything except acoustic players. Outdoor festivals will be the only place for amplified live music - maybe 2 or 3 months a year? if we get a good summer.
Do the public care? mostly no. Taste in popular music is now being dictated by TV shows. X-factor, Pop Idol. It's all just karaoke. There are some talented people who get their break from those shows, but they are given 'safe' material to record. Simon Cowell sends scouts out to karaoke bars to find out what songs people sing most. Those songs are what gets released by the next crop of one-hit wonders. There is no room for failure. The 'life-expectancy' of a new artist is now so short that noone takes chances - it's all safe and familiar stuff. Same with radio stations, they aren't breaking grounds for new acts. If you thought payola was illegal, well just consider that 50 years is plently of time to find loopholes and ways around the legislation. The public hears what the labels want them to hear. Anything else and they are on their own.
Some of this is old news, as Sopwith pointed out, but soundlimiters are new, karaoke is relatively new. Ten years ago a DJ would have to buy new music every week or to keep in the market; AND the gear was more expensive. Now all you need is a laptop full of mp3s and a portable PA. Download all you music illegally and stay up to date without ever having to pay a penny. We once played a gig where the DJ boasted he could play any track. He had a wireless connection and spent the whole time downloading the songs people wanted that he didn't have.
I agree we shouldn't just roll over in defeat, but it is so much harder these days.
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Buddha
495 posts
May 25, 2009
6:31 AM
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yes these are dark days for music. from 2003-early 2007 I was making about $800 a week playing music. Now it's not even $100 a month. We're not playing out and many of the club we played are closed or no longer having live music or they no longer want jazz.
I gig I lost over the weekend was a $600 gig. That's for the band but it's good money for a trio but it seems this JAZZ BISTRO is no longer having live music. I spoke with a friend yesterday and the owner told him they are on the verge of going out of business and so they can't afford live music. As far as I know, I have four more gig booked with him.
There was another club were I scored the houseband gig Thurs-Sat. It was going to run from Sept through Dec but when I went the week before the first gig to scout the place for play, they were out of business.
That was the gig that forced me to start building harps. I was counting on that money to make mtg and other bills but it was suddenly gone.
Last Edited by on May 25, 2009 6:33 AM
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jbone
81 posts
May 25, 2009
6:54 AM
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there was a time a few years back- say mid 90's, when i started doing this whole live music with band thing- that i had aspirations of going somewhere with it. my previous post explains some of what happened that began to wake me up to hard reality.
then for a time there were almost too many venues paying live bands, duos, solos, to come in and keep patrons happy and drinking. to me it was the old guard making a stand against electronic drivel. the drivel has stuck around and gotten even bigger. this has affected the bottom line for joints struggling to keep the doors open and have a living at the end of the week.
after i had resettled in arkansas, a good friend in texas kept in touch. we decided to do a project even though we lived 6 hours' drive apart. the logistics were difficult at best but we made it work out of love for the music and for each other. eventually we came to an impasse as creative minds will. we dissolved the band just after cd #2 went in the can.
our first cd was an exploration mainly. we used drum tracks on the original material we'd written, he played guitar, bass, and sang, i played harp and sang, and we recorded it right where i'm sitting now. we co-produced it and did the art and sold it at gigs for a while. cd #2 was co-written and then recorded by pros locally. never released. he went one direction and i another. he is heading a texas guitar slinger band and i am half of a blues/roots duo. he gets gigs around dallas/ft. worth, pays the rhythm section most of the take and he and the other guitarist survive on the tip jar. in my case, wife and i have the blues/ blues duo. we play for tips, the door, sell a cd or 2, and occasionally get a guarantee gig. if a place we are considering has any mention of karaoke or dj's on the door, we head to the next place.
as for sound limiters, we either play acoustic outdoors, or use small amps and p.a., and turn up only as much as necessary.
music has more or less paid for itself. we saved all our proceeds and bought her an amp or 2, and the p.a. and accessories. sales of our first cd also contributed. when we play out of town we justify it as a vacation weekend and still try to be optimistic that we'll bring home a few bucks.
the main reason we do this is, we love it. and we do reach people, a few each time we get out. we play stuff that hits deep in the guts. people remember some of it from childhood. or it's just the elemental nature of what we play. a dj can't do that quite the same way. live music is a spontaneous act, seldom the same twice in a row. there is an attraction there that can't be put on a karaoke cd.
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MrVerylongusername
328 posts
May 25, 2009
7:16 AM
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Did you read my earlier post Jbone? The level that soundlimiters are set at would be triggered by an acoustic snare hit. Yeah we could play acoustic, but we've put a lot of time, money and sweat into putting together a soul/r&b showband. Why should the Government dictate what music I and my friends are allowed to play? Why should beaurocrats decide what kind of band you have at your wedding?
Secondly your closing comments are accurate from a musicians perspective, but generally speaking the punter and the client are not musicians. The death of live music is as much about the apathy and lack of discern from the audience, as it is about economics. The average Joe it seems is content listening to karaoke or recorded music.
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chromaticblues
100 posts
May 25, 2009
7:54 AM
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One other thing that has dropped out of existance is the college bar/night club. Back in 60's and 70's most medium to big shcools had a bar on campus and had live acts regularly. That was a big part of how touring bands of the day made it!
The information age has changed everything!
I started playing music professionally in 1986 as a singer/tamberine/harp man in a classic rock band. It was easy to make money then! That lasted about ten years.
This thing that is in front of you is the big problem. The internet!
Yes video did kill the radeo star!
Live music has gone full cicle. When blues first started people played solo or as a duo. Not much more than that. Now the best way(that I can see) is to play as a 1, 2 or 3 peorson band and don't ask for much! I've been on both sides of this so I'm just going to say it. Get gigs anyway you can. If you can captivate on audience. The club owner will make money. Now let me make something clear. This doean't have as much to do with how good you are, but more your entertaining skills! You see that is the cultural problem we all have to deal with. Most people want to be entertained visually more than musically. We are all products of our invirenment. MTV, VH1, YOUTUBE!
This is the exact reason I started playing the stomp box 2 1/2 years ago. Half the people stop and listen to me play the harmonica and relize I'm really good! The other half stop and goof on me playing a stomp box! Either way I got them to stop!
I've noticed that about half the people that stop to goof on me will never give me a tip no matter how good I am, but they stop! You see thats the ticket. finding a way to give you a chance. Remember just because someone is a great musician doesn't mean the world owes you shit! That's how club owners see it. If that's how they see it. Then that's how it is.
Go to your local Chamber of Comerce and tell them you'd like to play at what ever festivals they have. Get creative!! Play for tips! Anything
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sopwithcamels266
67 posts
May 25, 2009
8:37 AM
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Mrverylongusername: Very interestings points you make
Budda: yes I agree with both of you in that currently there are dark days in live music for sure.
Some how I am trying to think positive.Positive action
In jazz we have a saying (optimism in the face of adversity )
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XHarp
57 posts
May 25, 2009
9:04 AM
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Agreed, Agreed and Agreed.
We've been able to get some private parties but the regular bars that take live music will not pay for it anymore at all nor will they let you set up a cover charge at the door.
You can use the stage and in some cases even use their PA and then have someone roll around the bar and solicit "donations" to cover the expenses. If they don't want to pay you don't get paid. We now are going to use our CD to get interest by donating some of the proceeds to the local sick kids hospital. That will usually get some people to pay up but there is no way you could ever make a living like that.
Can get some paying gigs in TO but its highly competitive and a tough entry.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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rustywater
48 posts
May 25, 2009
2:42 PM
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I don't know how the average jobbing musician makes any money at all. I'm speaking from a punters point of view, I love live music & my interest is blues.
I live in Germany and last year went to see Buddy Guy at his only concert in Germany. Now he may not be a household name but in blues circles I think we would all agree he is one of the top men.
The venue was a club, I doubt the maximum audience was more than 1000 probably less, the entrance fee was under 25 Euros,
The previous gig was 900 km/560 miles away and the next was 500km/310 miles away.
The band was 3 strong and whilst I did not see the stage set up I did see Buddy Guy arrive half hour before the show and cant imagine for one minute that he set his own gear up. So there must have been roadie costs.
I cannot see in my own mind that it was a financially viable gig, under any circumstances, unless the venue gave him all the ticket income and relied solely on bar profits them selves Maybe someone can explain.
I feel sorry for you budding/jobbing musicians who play minority music. Reading this thread I dont know how you do it, but we all lose out, musicians and punters alike.
In the last year I have been to 5 concerts, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Walter Trout, Joe Bonnamassa and Eric Sardinas but I have traveled 1100km/680 miles to do it. Who is crazier the musician or the punter????
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The Gloth
56 posts
May 25, 2009
2:56 PM
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Maybe it's like you say : if it's a regular venue, their interest is to fill their program of concerts, for some they win less money, it's balanced by the times they fill the club...
Making a living by playing music is always a challenge. For me, I have a regular job and play music aside, I don't see the money as a goal. I'm happy if I can play somewhere with cool guys and sometimes earn 50 euros and the beers.
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Aussiesucker
288 posts
May 25, 2009
6:06 PM
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Only an observation as I have never personally been involved frontline in the live music scene ie my harp playing is more of a hobby :-
Would it be fair to say that the live music scene has suffered greatly due to the booming noise that is too often generated by over amplified electric bass guitarists and drums? Personally I have been to too many concerts where really good musos and singers have been drowned out by 'doof doof' that can even be heard blocks away. I believe most sound guys must be deaf?
Also many of the areas that years ago flourished musically have been transformed into precincts that now offer high density apartment living side by side with entertainment. Much of this entertainment was, because of noise, totally incompatible with living and a sledgehammer approach was taken by some authorities ie it was outlawed or toned down.
One would have thought that this would have been seen as an opportunity for accoustic blues as a genteel, more sophisticated, low impact form of entertainment?
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Buddha
499 posts
May 25, 2009
6:39 PM
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I think it has to do more with the economy than noisse level Aussie.
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mr sog
23 posts
May 25, 2009
7:37 PM
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chromaticblues has made some pretty valid points. The internet is a contributor. I think that modern music is complete crap and I feel that we are being preached to as to what popular music is by music companies. The good thing about the internet is that it is starting to take power away from the music business. Thanks to the internet I have heard hundreds of songs and artists that I didn't know about. Thanks to the internet I am learning harmonica and guitar. Thanks to the internet I am in this discussion with other people such as yourselves who can debate these sort of issues. We are at a painful stage of adjustment. Hopefully it will get better. Once we get past the stage of doing it soley for the money then true creativity will start to show through more prominantly again. Luckily DJ's will have a limited life-span. If you don't want to pay the musicians because a man with a machine can entertain the crowd cheaper soon the mentality becomes 'why pay the man when you only need the machine. Cheaper still'.
Art and money are in a fine balancing act and the balance has been off for some time.
As for the government (and their puppet masters) intervention that's another terrifying story. That is the downside of the internet It is the eyes and ears of big brother.
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snakes
246 posts
May 31, 2009
10:54 AM
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Hey B flat do you live near Bellingham Washington? If so what is the name of the club you menitoned?
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Bb
53 posts
May 31, 2009
5:22 PM
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Snakes, I live in Birmingham, AL. I played a little honky-tonk out in the sticks last night. Free beers and $100. Not many people there either, but all of them had a good time. My band plays anywhere from 4-6/a month. It's plenty and it pays for my hobby/harp habit. Sometimes there's a little something left over for Mama, too. Gotta keep Mama happy.
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harmonicanick
291 posts
Jun 01, 2009
1:07 AM
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Anyone trying to get gigs today has my sympathy.
In the city I live there is live music, and many open mics which have grown in popularity with bar owners because of the financial squeeze, but they are acoustic!
They just do not want to pay the money and local councils are putting the health & safety bollocks in with sound limiters..
I find myself saying 'good old days' more often!
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Christelle Berthon
25 posts
Jun 01, 2009
4:54 AM
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What has been said regarding the lack of live music is true and it happens more or less everywhere around the world.
My opinion on this is that the last 20 years the music industry in general and the record companies in particular have damaged the way that the creativity and the diversity can express themselves through artists. 1st because of the business: record companies don't want to support promising artists by letting them doing/producing record that sometimes can take a lot of time to make. 2nd because no labels wants to take some risks to produce artists with new style of music or excellence of playing, that THEY think that it can't sell. On this particular aspect we all know that the market share of the jazz/blues music is something like between 3 to 7% of the market share (according to Nielsen in 2008)depending of the type of artists included, which means that the type of music that we love is a small market. But a part from the business point of view, there's no reasons that there're less talents than in the 50's, 60's. The crisis that face the record companies right now is (in my opinion) the constant policy for selling at any cost, never taking some risks, and presenting something really new....Can you imagine an album like "The Dark Side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd right now? No one would produce this kind of music, because it can't sell like Rhianna, Beyonce and so on... These kind of musics sure can sell because since the 90's the "recipe" is known.
Regarding the internet illegal download is that: Yes that's true that a big part of the record companies crisis is coming from the loss from illegal downloads, but this is THEIR fault and responsibilities, they provide formatted music, formatted product, and if by any chance an artist is selling a huge amount of a 1st CD, the contract oblige this artist to produce other ones in a short period of time. In addition they missed the turn of the legal internet downloads like iTunes.
So all that has consequences: people less and less care about the live music, I mean after more than 20 years of a bad education, young people think that the music they hear these days is the only one (I remember this young guy saying in the beginning of the 90 that "Gangsta Paradise rocks and that nothing has been done that good before", and when I played the original by Stevie Wonder he was devastated and shocked.
I could develop more but I'm afraid my English would suffer (and you too)
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ZackPomerleau
119 posts
Jun 01, 2009
5:22 AM
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Regarding record companies, personally they won't publish new artists with radical sounds or 'older' sounds because playing it safe with look-alike/sound-alike bands is just the easiest thing to do.
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nacoran
35 posts
Jun 02, 2009
2:59 PM
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I think the way to look at recorded music today is to think of it as publicity. Give it away to get buzz going about your band and then have a show. You can produce an album a lot cheaper than you could in the past. Heck, if you've got a spare room you can probably make your own studio for what it used to cost to produce an album. It's also easier to publicize. Unfortunately, record and ticket companies still control the big venues; they are dead weight but they are still taking a cut. You may not make as much money putting yourself up on YouTube as you would doing a show, but you can reach a lot more people. The next big marketing trick is going to be seeing if there is a way to turn that into money.
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sopwithcamels266
86 posts
Jun 02, 2009
3:41 PM
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Christelle:"more than 20 years of a bad education"
I like that statement.
May I say your English is very good far better than a lot of members on here whos English is there first language.
However no one has yet picked up on it after my original post about a film made in 1980, which suprised me.
Its not rocket science but there is the answer to
everybodys worries.
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nacoran
36 posts
Jun 02, 2009
9:57 PM
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"May I say your English is very good, far better than a lot of members on here for whom English is their first language."
Sorry, I was an English Major. My grandfather used to tell a story about a father and son who were both musicians. One night they had a fight and the son stormed out. When he returned home that evening his father was already in bed. The son angrily went over to the piano and played a IV chord, followed by a V chord, and then went to bed. The father tossed and turned, and then stormed downstairs and played the I chord.
Last Edited by on Jun 02, 2009 9:57 PM
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nacoran
37 posts
Jun 03, 2009
1:28 PM
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I am the very model of a modern major general
With punctuation skills that sometimes come across as quite anal.
:p
Last Edited by on Jun 03, 2009 1:31 PM
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RyanMortos
188 posts
Jun 04, 2009
9:19 AM
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I think the appearance of more DJs & disappearance of live music has more to do with the state of the economy & what businesses can afford versus whether or not people want live music.
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~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
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oldwailer
749 posts
Jun 04, 2009
9:47 AM
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I think live music is mostly only interesting to musicians. Most average Joe's prefer canned music played quietly enough so that they can be heard when they put the moves on other people's wives.
It's not a sign of the times or an economic thing--it was that way in the 60's too--many times I was pissed because I was trying to hear some good music and some asshole was yelling at the barmaid to turn the juke-box back on. . .
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Preston
397 posts
Jun 04, 2009
10:47 AM
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Oldwailer, I think you are very correct about live music being mostly interesting to musicians. I'd venture to say you hit the nail on the head. Although my wife has recently become a Jason Ricci and New Blood fan, she gets bored when they jam for 11 minutes on the same song. (I on the other hand freakin love it!)
I think people who are not musicians go out and want to be entertained by music they know. i.e. the stuff that's on the radio all day. A small local bar and grill/night club owner obviously can't get a successfull act like, say, Nickelback to come play on a Friday night, so he gets a local band. People who are not musicians don't appreciate the talent of the local band because they don't have a familiar sound. They want to hear Nickelback.
Last Edited by on Jun 04, 2009 10:53 AM
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XHarp
63 posts
Jun 04, 2009
12:30 PM
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Recently said to me while trying to get a local bar gig.
"As long as you play music that the crowd wants to hear and not what you want to play we can do something for you"
Of course we had to generate payment from cover charge and we had to set it up and collect it after 9:00 p.m. and we couldn't get it from anyone who was already in the bar when the music started
This was a bar that always paid for blues bands traditionally but has since made the jump to DJ's.
Man that's just cold. It's just like live musicians are dirt right now.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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rustywater
51 posts
Jun 04, 2009
12:46 PM
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I would agree with Oldwailer too, but had a strange experience a couple of weeks back on a bank holiday. The weather was fine and sunny and I went to a local park area where they have two pubs, both very similar.
That day both were serving drinks and food in the gardens and both had a marquee. One had a disco with dance area which was empty, while the other had a couple of guys playing Creedence songs and such like. There were loads of dancers there and a far bigger crowd listening.
Maybe the tide can turn, I would never describe myself as a musician but give me live music any day of the week, lots of friends of mine feel the same.
My gripe as such is that to see decent music of any genre I am forced to travel miles to do it even though the town I live in has a population of over 350000.
One thing I have noticed since living on mainland Europe instead of the UK, is the amount of festivals there are and in many cases visiting musicians from the States will only play at these events. Must come back down to money.
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