walterharp
164 posts
Jan 07, 2010
1:36 PM
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Hi all,
The recent threads on who owns the blues, on 1960 rock bands earning tons while the old masters scraped by got me thinking. Who is it who earns the most money playing blues right now? If you discount Clapton and Blues Traveler, I bet BB King and maybe Buddy Guy are at the top, and most white blues players make nowhere near as much..maybe Walter Trout? SRV did very well for a while, his estate probably makes more than most living musicians now. What do you think and why?
Walter
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hermonica
3 posts
Jan 07, 2010
3:23 PM
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Is Jason Ricci making any money? that guy is good.
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nacoran
721 posts
Jan 07, 2010
3:40 PM
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Jason seems to be at least making enough money to keep his cats fed. I think he also has a special heated table for them!
(That will make no sense unless you saw the video.)
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jonsparrow
1602 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:11 PM
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with 300 shows a year he has to be making some good $$$. enough to have a full set of joe spiers harps, an hg50, an all the pedals and road cases etc he could want. a house in nashville, etc...
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Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 4:12 PM
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RyanMortos
551 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:17 PM
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I'll bet Joe Bonamassa and Derek Truck's Band should be up there as well with the current top earners.
I'd venture to say B.B. King makes the most for doing the least amount of playing at his shows, lol. Last time I seen him I felt like it was story time with grandpa. But hey it was still great and he's just a wonder to witness.
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
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Tuckster
332 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:18 PM
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Well,Jason might be comfortable,but he sure ain't getting rich. If you consider all the traveling time involved, he makes just above minimum wage.
Our local blues society was searching for a "big name" act to play our New Years Eve party. Joe B. was easily the highest-he wanted $25,000!
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 4:21 PM
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jonsparrow
1605 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:21 PM
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i bet john nemeth, james cotton make some paper.
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rbeetsme
109 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:25 PM
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I hate to say it, but the ones making a good living are probably pop or rock artist who have on occasion recorded a blues tune. It's all about exposure. We can all think of an artist or band with very little experience and maybe uninspiring playing who have gone to the top quickly. It doesn't seem fair,but the public votes for the top performers with their wallets, not their years of musical expertise.
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Stickman
55 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:29 PM
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I kinda doubt these guys are making bank. It costs a lot of bucks to tour. Gas, air-fair, lodging. There are advertising costs and have to pay for the venue and any roadies. Then you split the profits from the show (if there are any) with the band. I imagine it pays the bills. If you want to make big bucks, get into Hip-Hop those dudes all have mansions, platinum rings and Bentlys. They are always drinking courvoisier and waving benjamins around. I know I saw it on MTV.
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 4:31 PM
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jonsparrow
1609 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:33 PM
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it depends on what you consider makeing enough. for me if i made enough money to tour have all the gear i want an have a house, id be content. i dont need a mansion an a fridge filled with $500 bottles of bubbly. i think making enough with music that you dont need anouther job is considered good in my books. like i dont think john nemeth is walmart clerk by day bluesman by night.
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Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 4:33 PM
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Tuckster
334 posts
Jan 07, 2010
4:38 PM
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nacoran- Yes,that would be sweet. I'd have one by every customiser.
I think about a no talent bum like Kanye West vs. Jason. There ain't no justice in the world of music.
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waltertore
67 posts
Jan 07, 2010
5:08 PM
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I sure can't speak for any of the above mentioned players, but I can tell that doing it full time for 20 years almost killed me. I was driven to play and that made the negatives worth it till they started taking over more than the joys. I am perfectly happy today working full time and playing on the side. Here are some things most armchair quaterbacks forget about. Why? because they are sleeping in their own beds, have steady jobs, insurance, pensions, etc, and play their weekend gigs within driving distance to home.
you will probably never have health insurance
you will probably never own a house
you will probably never have a pension
tours fall through often
clubs often will cheat you out of the agreed to price
band members will leave faster than you can replace them
you sleep in hard, funky beds
you are changing time zones all the time
you drive insane amounts of miles
you get sick and play - no sick pay
your vehicle breaks down more than you would think
weather messes with you alot
often times you drive from after the gig till the next one
often up 20 hours or more at a time with the traveling
your food is usually garbage quick crap
you have to do laundry in laundromats
god help you if your suits need dry cleaning-that could take a day or more
touring overseas and not speaking the languages can stress you out big time
pormoting yourself, booking the band, running your own label, fronting the band, can just about kill you
dealing with drunks and jammers can test your patience beyond reason
playing from 10-2 is a sure way to die young
inhaling the smoke in the clubs makes everything in the van reak of smoke, let alone the damage to your lungs.....
when you get sick and are far from home with no insurance, you just keep going and hope the problem fixes itself
stuff goes wrong at home and you are hundreds or thousands of miles away
Such is the life of the guys below the bb king level. I toured with albert collins and saw him get ripped off by club owners all the time - cheated on pay and backed out of hotels. I connected with Louisiana Red a few summers ago when we were both touring the pacific northwest. He was in the smallest rental car money could buy, his 80 year old wife dora was driving and trying to navigate with maps everywhere. They had no roadie, or driver. He was covering tons of miles between gigs. They were stressed and tired. He is one of the bigger names in blues I would say. So, I reckon most pros today at the blues level, are really struggling to make it through the month finacially. That is my 2 cents worth. Walter
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 8:15 PM
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jonsparrow
1620 posts
Jan 07, 2010
5:13 PM
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smoking is banned indoors.
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waltertore
68 posts
Jan 07, 2010
5:15 PM
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not in all states and countries. When I played it was like not smoking was banned :-)
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2010 5:16 PM
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jonsparrow
1621 posts
Jan 07, 2010
10:49 PM
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whats wrong with Axl Rose?
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Jfllr1
94 posts
Jan 08, 2010
9:53 AM
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Id have to earn over £100000 for all the touring and late nights to be worth it.
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"Blow as thou pleaseth"
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JimInMO
34 posts
Jan 08, 2010
10:59 AM
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I took in almost a thousand dollars playing last year. Let's see, expenses, equipment, gas, etc. UhOh I feel a migraine coming on.
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belfast_harper
89 posts
Jan 08, 2010
11:24 AM
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Seasick Steve is doing very well in the UK,his last album got to number 4 in the UK albums charts.
If you look at amazon UK, 3 of his albums are currently in the top 100 for best selling music.
If you go to the blues category, he has 4 albums in the ten 10 best selling albums with 3 of them in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
I have no idea how much money he would be making thought.
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walterharp
166 posts
Jan 08, 2010
11:48 AM
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Hmm Seasick Steve is a really interesting story. I suppose Watermelon Slim is doing ok for himself as well. Probably neither brings in what BB King does in a night, though BB certainly paid his dues. At least Watermelon Slim plays harp!
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belfast_harper
90 posts
Jan 08, 2010
12:12 PM
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I don't know how popular Seasick Steve is an America, but he plays at a lot of big festivals in Europe, UK and Australia.
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Bluzdude46
355 posts
Jan 08, 2010
12:13 PM
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I could actually live with most of what was on Walters list. Gods I need Help!!!
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phogi
166 posts
Jan 08, 2010
1:16 PM
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The people making the money are probably the people who own the rights to the most popularly sold recordings.
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nacoran
752 posts
Jan 09, 2010
12:14 PM
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Jon- Nothing was wrong with Axl Rose. He was one of the greatest hard rock front men. But then he started kicking out all his band members, blew out his voice, took over a decade to finish an anticlimactic album, got fat (not that I should say anything)... I could go on. I guess I couldn't hate what he's become if I didn't love what he was.
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