Sometimes I feel like I’m spinning plates, I can hear the circus music with ever increasing tempo, I hope I’m the lion tamer, but I’m most likely the clown. It’s hard to pick me out of the “clown crowd” however, because 17 of us just managed to climb out of a volkswagen on one of the side stages to the main or center stage. Center stage is where the most amazing acts are because they are a most spectacular draw and the side stages are merely a diversion while the sets change constantly in the center. Of course this is one of the primary plates the Indie musician must spin, along with all the phone calls and work it took just to be a footnote on the side stage with all the other clowns.
I performed in West Baden Indiana at the Hotel and Resort there Saturday evening. It’s a beautiful place built in the early 1900′s, (was the largest “dome” ever built in the US until the famed “astrodome”). It was an odd gig, as gigs go, but that seems to be the norm these days. A 16 piece “big band” jazz ensemble with the capability to perform everything from Frank Sinatra standards to Dwight Yoakam, we even horrified the hotel management by actually playing “Freebird”. I’ve recently gotten tired, or overtired I suppose, with the jovial heckling of audiences who have been yelling “play Freebird” at any band that performs at any function with live music they’ve ever attended. So, I decided to heck with it, and I played and sang “Freebird”. Of course everyone including the band was stunned at this point because the majority of the horn sections in the ensemble had endured the barrage of jokesters yelling for Freebird over the years but many didn’t even know the song. (Or perhaps couldn’t remember it for one reason or another). Many of us have selective memories from the early to mid 1970′s, but I digress. So, after being told to turn down by hotel management (which really was a nice sense of accomplishment on this gig), we immediately got back on track with Michael Buble’ and Willie Nelson. (?) Yes, that’s right Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson have released a cd, but that’s another story for another day.
Basically this is the story of making a living out of playing music in the new millenium. I had no idea the smartest thing I ever did when I was a kid was to ignore my parents. I was always told to have something to fall back on like a “real’ job, but these days I feel pretty fortunate that I have a job as a musician. Since most of my friends with “real” jobs are being laid off, and having a tough time. The strangest thing about that to me is that most folks with “real jobs”, don’t really understand or appreciate what the “fun, joyful, and glamorous experience” of being a musician actually is. I don’t mean to sound like it’s not fun to be a musician, it is truly a blessing that I appreciate beyond measure, but it’s not necessarily the easiest path to pursue either. This is my “spinning plates” analogy. Just to maintain some semblence of instrumental skill most of us have to practice a couple hours per day, of course learning new material, recalling older material, writing songs, developing lyrics, etc, and on and on.. Not to mention the business of finding, booking, and dealing with the contracts and obligations of performing, publishing, and trying to find new ways to market and promote your musical projects. Learning where to spend the time is critical, and being organized in the process. On top of that, just trying to stay physically capable of traveling, and performing. You know eating healthy, going to the gym, or the doctor (if you’ve been lax in these area’s). Then of course if you’ve done what you should, you’ve gotten the contract, assembled the band, prepared the music, travelled to the job, (in this case 3.5 hours) performed a cocktail party, a dinner set, then three dance sets (including the shear joy of Freebird), then since several of us had “church” gigs Sunday morning, drove home, the 3.5 hours again, and got to bed about 5am or so, to get up and go perform again at church. As you may or may not know I suppose, we then have the rest of our gigs to “keep the wolf from the door” as my dad used to say such as: teaching private students, recording sessions, producing other artists, maintaining the instruments etc. It seems as if the tasks are neverending but they are all necessary plates if you are going to make a living in music. So, I guess if this is really what you want to do start practicing your multi-tasking right away, and don’t forget to mow the lawn in the morning, after feeding the dog, and cats.
This weekend a country club gig with a 7 piece group, hmm I wonder if I need any new charts to keep it interesting?
