How to realistically get into gigging?

[SciNote]

There's a chance that I may need to find alternate work at some point in the future, and I've always considered playing keyboard for money, but I have never actually done it except for very few one-time gigs over the years.  So, what would be the best way to land a job gigging somewhere?  What kind of places are most likely to hire a one-man-band type of keyboard player?  Where should I start looking?  While I would need to practice and relearn a variety of songs, I feel that, with 39 years of keyboard playing experience, I have the playing ability.

Thanks for any input.

[mikf]

Two things are important in targeting gigs (besides your playing ability and repertoire) -  do you sing and where you live.
If you sing the number of gig venues opens up, small restaurants, bars, personal events like weddings, birthdays etc. If you want to play these venues and don't sing well, you can think about finding a good vocalist to work with you. Of course that has financial implications, but some people make it work.
If you live in the USA and I see you do, best bet for non singing gigs seems to be care facilities. There are many of them in the USA if you live close to high population areas, and they are required to provide regular entertainment. Outside the care centers I do not see many places hiring an instrumentalist on an arranger. Guitar players and piano players can get work though in the cocktail lounge type environment. So if you are a good piano player, you could consider an electric piano and arranger coupled together which works well to provide a nice variation on cocktail piano playing.
Mike

[travlin-easy]

Having been a full-time musician/entertainer for the past 30 years, I know a little bit about booking gigs. Here's a link to an article I wrote several years ago pertaining to obtaining jobs in the senior circuit.

https://www.psrtutorial.com/music/articles/marketing.html

Now, I notice you live in Florida, which is a huge state where pay rates vary quite a bit. On the senior circuit, $75 for a one hour job is about the top pay throughout most of the state. Not bad, bad, but no where near what we get in the northern states.

The nite club/restaurant circuit in Florida pays an average of about $150 to $175 for a 4 hour job - the same as it paid about 50 years ago. The rate in the lower Keys is a bit better.

In all instances, you MUST be a singer in order to achieve the top pay rates - an instrumental player will not get them anywhere I know of.

Hope this helps,

Gary

[SciNote]

Thanks for the info, as this helps out quite a bit.

You are correct in that I do live in Florida, USA.  I live near Orlando, so I am in a pretty high-population area.  And of course, as Florida is a big retirement state, we have quite a few care facilities in the area.  So that definitely gives me a place to start looking, if necessary.  In the mean time, I am starting to relearn and polish a variety of songs and put together some effective registrations for arrangements, so that should the need arise, I will be ready.

I don't really sing much, though I have recorded a couple originals with vocals.  I'll post them on here, eventually.  But even, say, $40-50 for a 1-hour gig would be perfectly fine with me to start out with.

[travlin-easy]

Glad I could be of assistance, Bob and I sincerely hope everything works out for you in your endeavor to become an OMB entertainer.

All the best,

Gary

[SciNote]

As I have been putting together music and arrangements and designing new registrations for possible future gigging, a question came to me.  I believe I have seen it addressed somewhat elsewhere, but I just want to be sure.  If I get a job playing somewhere, such as a senior center, it occurred to me that I'll be playing copyrighted music, and it seems to me that technically, the copyright holders are supposed to be compensated for any public performance of their works.  Now, what I thought I had read somewhere is that there are certain musical organizations (I believe one is called "BMI") that businesses pay fees to if they are going to hire musicians to play cover songs.

Is this the case?  Would a place like a senior center also be paying these fees to these organizations to make sure any performances there are legal?  If I were to work at a place that does not pay such a fee, am I in any danger of getting in trouble for playing cover songs?

I know this sounds kind of paranoid, but I just want to be sure.  Here in the U.S., there is a lawyer ad on TV and radio about every 15 minutes, and people are encouraged to sue for anything, though I don't hear them advertise copyright infringement that often, if ever.

[travlin-easy]

I've been on stage since I was 17 years old, and I'm now 77. During all that time, I only had one occasion when someone from BMI came into a place where I was performing, an American Legion in Northeastern Maryland. Someone warned me that he was coming, and gave me a description of him. When I saw him come in the door, I fired up a Bossa Nova style, and just played some random crap until he left, then I went back to my usual routine. Never had a problem at ANY senior center, assisted living center, nursing home or retirement community. These guys seem to avoid these places and center their activities around restaurants and nite clubs where they believe they may be able to pick up some money from the owners.

Don't worry about it!

Gary

[SciNote]

Well, DANG, that was a fast reply!  Thanks!  Yeah, I figured that, if it was a major issue, then something would be done -- either the senior centers would stop providing entertainment of that type or they would just pay the required fees.

That was pretty good about seeing the BMI rep and then just playing random stuff until he left.  Did your audience wonder what was going on when you were just improvising?  And that was fine that you got a heads-up about the possible visit and recognized the guy.  I likely would not recognize the person unless I got a very specific description identifying some unique characteristic.

EDIT:  I just now realized that I misspelled "realistically" in the title to my original post!  How embarrassing!  I have corrected it.

[mikf]

You would never have a problem anyway because the responsibility is on the owner of the establishment not the performer.

[SciNote]

Okay, so this all makes sense.  Now... What if someone wants me to play at a wedding or other event?  In this case, I would not be employed by an establishment, but would be more of an independent contractor.

[travlin-easy]

It will still be the responsibility of the venue to come up with the BMI fees - not the musician. The musician is merely an employee of the wedding venue as far as the law is concerned.

Good luck,

Gary

[Pianoman]

I don't know about the U.S.of A.

In most other countries, establishments have to  pay an author's fees flat rate, whether they have a  TV, Radio, CD player, live music, etc.

Some countries ( Italy) may require that the artist  fills in a form detailing his repertoire, and some do not require such absurdities.
I never know what I'll play in the next 5 minutes, let alone the entire evening.

I was a partner in a a Piano Lounge for 6 years in Spain and we, as an establishment, just paid a flat rate that allowed for all kinds of Audio and Media content.

That meant that any musician who performed only had to worry about his music and the ( income) Tax man.
We musicians have to pay income taxes too.
And the establishment took care of the author's rights and copyright issues.

It would be absurd for someone from BMI or any other organisation to walk into a bar and start harassing a performer.

You may have a city hall inspector demanding to see a permit for live music from the manager of the establishment, not the artist.

Over here, as long as your tax and social security status is in order, you have nothing to  worry about.
Wild women perhaps.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

It's the same in the USA as well.

Gary

[Pianoman]

There's a chance that I may need to find alternate work at some point in the future, and I've always considered playing keyboard for money, but I have never actually done it except for very few one-time gigs over the years.  So, what would be the best way to land a job gigging somewhere?  What kind of places are most likely to hire a one-man-band type of keyboard player?  Where should I start looking?  While I would need to practice and relearn a variety of songs, I feel that, with 39 years of keyboard playing experience, I have the playing ability.

Thanks for any input.

Hello Bob.

I wanted to respond to your question since a while back, but then got into the conversation about  the Taxman and BMI, ASCAP etc.

I've been playing for a living for 45 years now. At first I played in bands, till I discovered that it could be dangerous to my health when I almost got shot in the head.

I've been playing alone ever since.

There really is no secret formula to gigging as a musician. But there are some things to consider.

Do you want to make a career out of performing or just the occasional gig as a hobby and to earn a little extra cash?

Most people go looking for gigs in places which already have a musical programme and have many artists, most of them already booked months in advance.

In such places you will be competing with seasoned artists who not only know how to play, but also how to entertain,and manipulate, and who won't take too kindly to making room for you.

What I did when I started playing Piano on my own, was to walk into an establishment where they NEVER had live music before.
I tried to convince the person in charge that hiring me was in his best interest, and would be more beneficial to him than to me.

And this is important, even though it may sound foolish :

I would offer to do the first gig for FREE, you heard that right, for FREE.
But I tell the manager/owner what I would normally charge, and to only pay me if he wished to.

It starts the guy wondering, " why is this man so sure of his art?"
Confidence always imspires confidence.

Some will enjoy the free gig, pretend they didn't like it, and say goodbye.

But almost all, after that first gig, would offer me endless employment.
And the place would soon be the talk of the town.
The place where everybody wants to be seen in.

People always want to discover and check out new places, and to belong. Every human has a need to belong.

In my case, it was no big loss for me, to sacrifice a few of hours of my life playing for free, in order to reap bigger rewards later.
At the very least, it got me off my couch for a few hours.

Of course, to do this, you have to be sure of yourself and confident in your abilities.

And also confident that what you are offering is high quality music, and that the manager would be a fool to let you walk away without pay, and without offering you more gigs.

Attitude: No Fear.

Never fear your audience. Never go play with a mentality that you are average and will play average music.

Play with the conviction and intention of blowing everyone away. And play stuff that YOU like and that would make you really happy.

When you are genuinely happy and enjoying yourself, it shows, and can be quite contagious.

There are times when I literally drool as I play a particular song that really fires me up.

I have seen artists playing wooden faced and just staring forward, then left and right, and then back at their keyboard again. Not even a blink.

They avoid looking at and making eye contact with their audience.

Others had a fake smile plastered on their face, that resembled more a grimace from a painful hernia, than a happy face.

It is very important to connect with your audience. It starts with eye contact,  a smile, a chat, encourage people to come over to you, ask them what you can play for them. Connect with them.

Every human likes to made to feel special. That's why you order a 100$ birthday cake in a restaurant, that costs 5$ at a bakery just down the road.

The waiter walking down the aisle with all the candles lit, and people watching. That makes the cake worth a 100$ to you. It makes you feel special, even for a fleeting moment.

Practice, practice, practice, always. I have played the Piano since I was 13, and played professionally since I was 17.

I still practice at least 4 hours or more, every day. Two hours in the morning, and 2 or more hours at night before I go to sleep.

No matter how well one plays, it is never good enough, there's always room for improvement.

Practice playing, for as many hours as you can, everyday.

Not pushing accompaniment buttons, or voice buttons, or any other kind of buttons or tweaks for that matter.

Just choose your favourite Piano on the keyboard, for the length of the whole keyboard, and practice.

I can't say this enough. Practice!!!

Athletes practice every day, so do Footballers, Boxers, Gymnasts, Motorsports drivers, etc.
Even Horses and Racing Dogs practice every day.

And so should every serious musician.
Music is a pleasure but also a very competitive business.

You wouldn't bet your money on a horse that you know hasn't practised for ages.

It is important to be a musician first, and not a button pusher first.

There are no shortcuts and no way around it.
Only practice will make you perfect your trade.

Avoid Midi files like the plague. They may bring a short term solution, but in the long term you will forget how to be a musician.

Last but not least, is the  point that Mike and Gary brought up already.

You need to sing. If you can't, then find a singer, with presence, confidence, and a good voice and personality.
He/She may get the limelight, but hey, you'll be working.

I sincerely hope that these ramblings will be helpful to you in some way.

Good luck and good hunting.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Bob, I fully agree with everything Pianoman posted above. You could be the best musician on the planet, but you must first and foremost be an entertainer or you will not make it in this business.

Additionally, you mus, as he stated, be a singer, and if not, hire one that has great stage presence and interacts well with all audiences of all ages. This is critical.

Finally, you must be able to seamlessly go from song to song, with little or no dead time between songs. I have seen so many guys on stage spend up to two minutes pushing buttons, turning pages, and scanning their I-pads that I just want to scream at them "What in the Hell are you doing?" And, you MUST be diverse. You must be able to perform flawless renditions of Jimmy Buffett, Sinatra, Zach Brown, 50s, 60s and 70s rock, ZZ Top, Latin, Italian, and even some ballroom stuff. If you do not have that variety at your fingertips, you will not make it in this business. If you can do all of the above, you will have more work than you can handle.

And, like Pianoman, I did a few freebees to get my foot in the door, but I made the club owners fully aware that I expected to get paid X number of dollars for my performances and this would be the only freebee they could expect from me. Most of the time, it worked and I had a job for as long as I wanted. After I built up a reputation I no longer had to do the freebees to get my foot in the door.

Hope this helps,

Gary

[jtrue]

When I was first starting out my piano teacher, who was a professional musician all his life, told me, "If you do something for nothing that's the value people will put on it."  Performing for free can take an unpleasant turn when the beneficiaries discover you were actually serious about expecting to be paid the next time. Many of them think you should volunteer forever, perhaps to be satisfied with tips from customers.  The only thing I can add to what has been said above is to be very sparing with offers of free performances at any sort of for-profit enterprise.

   j.

[Pianoman]

Hello Jtrue,

As a new and unknown person, I offered a free gig/demo to show what I can do.
While making it clear about what I charge, and that I would expect to be paid next time.

I was not only new to solo gigging, I was also new to the country, having moved to Belgium in 1982,
After having resided in Germany for 5 years, and Switzerland before that.

That particular establishment hired me and paid me handsomely, for 4 years.
Allowing me to buy a BMW M3 when I turned 28.
It was followed by a BMW 635 CSi and later a BMW M5. (E34).

The freebie  paid very lucrative dividends for me.
Enabling me to earn the equivalent of 900$ a week, in 1983.
Before I moved on, 4 years later, to more lucrative places.

900$ a week used to be a lot of money for a young guy in those days.
And all I had to do was to get off my couch, where I was doing nothing, and go sacrifice a couple of hours of my time.

Sometimes you have to give something, in order to receive something greater back.
You also have to start somewhere, to be seen and talked about.

I did the same thing in Germany, Italy, and here in Spain.
All in all, maybe 10 freebies over the course of my life, but I'm thankful for the rewards they have brought me.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Most solo entertainers here in the US would be happy to get paid today what you were making in 1984. Here in the US, the clubs and restaurants pay exactly what they did 50 years ago. The average is about $100 for a four hour job on weekdays and $150 for four hours on weekends. That's what I was making in 1961 when I first began solo performances. The senior circuit pays that much per hour, which is one of the many reasons I switched to performing for the seniors.

Gary 

[jtrue]

Amen to that, Gary,to say nothing of fewer boozy customers at the senior center!

   j.

[Pianoman]

The senior circuit pays that much per hour, which is one of the many reasons I switched to performing for the seniors.

Gary 

Good for you Gary.

Better pay, and probably better hours.
I've read somewhere, maybe written by you, that the Senior circuit gigs also start early and end early.
So i guess you could do a gig and still be home early enough to dine with the family.

What's there not to like.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Yes, that's true. Most of the jobs only last an hour or two at most, the rate of pay, for me, averaged about $125 to $150 per hour, and the parties began about 2 p.m.. I had an occasional nighttime party that started at 7 p.m., which usually included a free dinner. Many of those were corporate parties where the corporation officers wanted to see how their investment money was being spent, and they were attended by the residents, employees, and corporate officers, usually lasting two hours or less, but the pay rate was higher and I usually managed to pick up $300 to $400 for the event.

For me, it was the best job I ever had in my life, the audiences were wonderful, no drunks or cigarette smoke to put up with, and you couldn't beat the working hours. Additionally, most of the jobs were within 20 minutes drive time from home and at one point, I was working at 52 locations.

Another great aspect of the job was that I was able to streamline my system so my setup and tear down time was about 7 minutes at most. Everything was compact, including my sound systems, which were Bose L1 Compacts.

To get an idea of my setup, take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmLyw_BGteU&t=557s

Good luck,

Gary

[Pianoman]

Hi Gary.

That setup link led me to a treasure trove of great music by you, that you've been hiding from us mortals.
Great stuff Gary.

I've bookmarked the page, so I can listen again through my headphones, after everyone here has gone to sleep.

Loved the boat too, and the tour of the Morgan 33 interior

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Thanks, Pianoman, I really appreciate the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed my tour of my sailboat's interior. I have posted several hundred songs on Box Net, but I have not found a method of providing a link to the main page so everyone can go through them. If anyone knows has this information, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks again,

Gary

[travlin-easy]

I may have figured it out, but not sure. Hope this works.

Nope, don't work without my email and password. I gotta figure this darned thing out. 

https://app.box.com/folder/0

Gary 

[Pianoman]

Hi Gary.

You're welcome.

I really liked the songs, the videos, and the setup as well.

It is true that you could actually set up in seven minutes, do your thing,
another 7 minutes to get the stuff in the car, and you're on your way home,
or to the next gig.
You could actually do at least 2 gigs a day like that.

And the boat!! It has always been my dream to own a boat like that. I was born next to the sea, and am actually  living next to the sea right now.

I could see that you really love the sea. A few days ago, I listened to you singing Rod Stewart's I am sailing.
I showed the video to my wife. She said that the song, coupled with the lmages of family, sea and boat, brought a lump to her throat.

Oh well, maybe when my son's future is secure i can retire, and who knows,  maybe get myself a small boat.

Best Regards,
Pianoman.

[travlin-easy]

Actually, there were lots of times when I performed two jobs a day, and on rare occasions, three times in a single day, usually on New Year's Eve. Doing three jobs a day is total insanity, but I was much younger back then and considered there was no such thing as to great a challenge. Now that I'm old and infirmed, the pace of life is a lot slower.

Now, if I were just 20 years younger, I would have no qualms crossing the Atlantic and sailing through the Straits of Gibralta and to your island. I have visited a few of the Spanish and Greek Islands when I was a young man in the US Navy, and enjoyed them immensely. The atmosphere was very relaxed, everyone seemed to love to party and dance, and they loved music of all genres. Back then, I played an acoustic Gibson guitar with a 5 piece band of sailors from the USS Newport News and although we primarily performed American country and rock and roll music, it was very well accepted at every location we performed in the entire Mediterranean area.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Gary

[Toril S]

Hello Although I am just a hobby musician with an occasional gig, I have followed this thread with great interest. Always something to learn from the proffs

[MarkF_48]

Any of you folks that have done routine gigs, did any venues require you have liability insurance? I used to do wedding and event photography and a few of the venues required that I have liability insurance in case something I was doing or using may cause injury to a guest or damage to the facilities.

[travlin-easy]

Toril, one of the things I did many, many years ago was to travel up and down the East Coast of the US and see as many one man band entertainers as I could. My wife and I drove more than 5,000 miles, saw dozens of individual performers, and learned a lot just by watching each and every one of them perform. Now only did I learn how and what to do to be a better entertainer, but additionally, I learned what NOT to do, which is equally as important.

My dad used to say pay careful attention to successful, old folks. They have been there and done that, got the tee shirt and hat. If an old man reaches up and scratches his right ear at 4 O'clock every afternoon, you should do the same thing. He probably has a very good reason for doing this. Of course, he was just kidding, but he was also making reference to why that individual was successful.

There are several, very, very successful performers who frequent this forum, and for the most part, they will all be more than happy to provide assistance to anyone who asks for help in the wonderful world of musical entertainment.

All the best,

Gary 

[travlin-easy]

Mark, in the US, many facilities require that entertainers carry a $1-million dollar liability policy, which can be quite expensive, depending on how it is set up. My policy cost me about $500 a year, which, fortunately, never had a claim against it, or me.

Some of the extended care patients, particularly those with mild memory impairments, had the tendency to get out of their wheel chairs and dance like they did 50 years ago to an upbeat song. This often resulted in near tragedy because they no longer had the ability to safely stand, let along dance. Fortunately, I had some very attentive activity directors and staffers that responded to the situation before something horrible happened. More often than not, the AD would dance with the resident, holding them up so they did not fall, and they loved it.  Had that patient fallen and became seriously injured, their family would have likely contacted a lawyer to sue the facility and everyone involved, including the guy behind the keyboard because he instigated the matter by playing upbeat, fun songs that the injured person used to dance to. Unfortunately, this is how the US functions when it comes to liability legal actions.

Now, depending upon the insurance company, some players have managed to obtain a relatively inexpensive policy by attaching it to their home owners insurance as a rider. I was not able to do that because I was a full time entertainer.

Hope this helps,

Gary