Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What ever happened to....


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Posted by Wade on May 16, 2003 at 12:36:54:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: What ever happened to.... posted by Jeff Hicks on May 16, 2003 at 09:17:57:

Jeff,

I am guessing that Joe is not in need of any insurance right now. I think what Joe is saying is that no one here is poking their noses into your cubicle and asking why you don't show up to the office for free; or why you are not willing to take a pay cut because some person employed in a totally unrelated field thinks that you should just go to work for free and be more of a *team player* or whatever.

When I am on the stage of Thalia Mara Hall, I am in my office. When I am at First Church of Bubba as a tubist, that is my office. When I am playing at the First Tobacco Chawin' ceremony for the child of Ms. and Mrs. Gaptooth, I am there because I was hired. Therefore, at that moment, that is my office.

When I was first trying to establish myself, I accepted any and all playing opportunities that came my way. At that time I had no real experience with the reality of "music as a business".

After a while, I started to get more and more paying gigs. Eventually, I had so many gigs that I was getting worn out and sick (two or three towns each time that I got in my car). Obviously, I needed to prioritize. So any offers for work that did not help me keep my lights or phone on started getting declined. Eventually, I had nearly NO extra time for ANY freebies at all. That period of my life lasted for a number of years.

When I won my symphony job and moved to a new State, I (as the "local pro") was offered pretty much all of the freelance work in the area. And after a few years of saying "yes" to pretty much everything, I had enough steady income to start weeding out the more ridiculous gigs that made me so unhappy. ("The Pastor thinks it would be really cute if we could have you move up and down the aisles while you are playing in order to let the congregants dump their offerings down your bell.") So I learned to apply standards to potential freelance work by telling people "NO" once in a while. ("I am sorry, but $45 to be "Honko the Clown" for five hours is not enough even if you do provide the costume.")

The first time that I was able to turn down paying work is one of my most memorable. I felt less like a "musical prostitute" and could take control my career path somewhat. I started having enough free time on weekends to get involved with our Youth Orchestra as a coach, and I started playing in all three of our community bands. I started horsing around with an old upright bass in a local traditional jazz band. My wife and I played for free at the local Children's Cancer Center and several nursing homes. The fact is-some of my very best and most pleasurable playing has been done happily from the back row of some *freebie* community group.

But playing for free is not the same as playing for pay. The expectations are totally different.

When in my "office" (as outlined above) I must be able to expect certain things from my employer, such as consistent temperature and humidity control (I have witnessed a violin come unglued on an outdoor "stage" on one particularly hot and muggy Mississippi afternoon.) proper lighting (On one poorly organized paying gig, the fireworks started and the lights went out during "Stars and Stripes" and we were getting screamed at to keep playing while in complete darkness. When we pointed out that we could no longer see our music, the guy got on his mic and apologized to the audience about the "amatures" up on the stage.) and bathroom breaks that come in a timely manner ("Lets just skip both of our breaks and go home early" followed up with "What do you mean by 'go home early'? I never said any such thing.").

You need to learn more about the business of music or stop making comments about other peoples jobs. Please allow us the right to talk about our jobs when needed, and stay out of the conversation if you do not understand the dynamic that is at work.

I NEVER complain on free gigs since there can be no expectations beyond the chance to play for fun.

I am politically active within my orchestra Players' Association because, as my daily job I have a right to expect certain things from my employer when agreed to by them in a formal contract, and I have the duty to remind them of that agreement when those contractual obligations are not met.

You must see that *playing for free* and *playing for a living* are going to generate very different types of threads on this BBS. As a person that mostly plays for fun, you should not try to judge the motives or beefs of those that play in order to buy a house or the occasional can of spam. However, I CAN still talk about the wonderful experience I had out at the nursing home playing duets with my spouse, whether or not it was for pay because music is both my vocation and my avocation.

Thanks for reading this rant. I am hoping that you and many others here will try to understand that people who play for money have a right to gripe about work or to talk about it as if it were indeed work. Just because we are performing for a check does not give anyone the right to assume that we LOVE our art any less than the many who dedicate so much time as devoted amatures. Please do not forget that we are the ones that took the time and risk to dedicate our whole lives to this art.

I am sure that many here will attest to the fact that they file their taxes using IRS Form 1040 SE. We are not mercenaries. We each are the proprietor of a small business that produces live music.

Wade


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