Hey guys, we moved to Ontario 2 & 1/2 years ago from Montreal & have since been getting more & more gigs that pay better & better as time goes on. I think the key is to try to present yourself as professional, play your best & build a good rapport with both the club owners & their patrons. If you do, you will most certainly be invited back to play again & will develop a following. If you can help the club owners make money, they will cut you in on their action. The more you make for them, the bigger your share of the pie. How do you do this? By playing for the PEOPLE. And by playing from the heart with feel & passion. Also, when you get off stage, go party with them! I see so many bands that keep to themselves, leave to the band room, or leave the bar altogether. We get off stage & go hang out with everyone. We have drinks with them, sit at their table & often times end up making some new friends in the process. We're all there to share in the good times. These are the people who make us or break us. They are the ones who will be buying our CD's/T-shirts & eventually tickets to our shows when we're no longer are able to play bars cuz they aren't big enough to hold all the people who want to come out & see us play. People we meet & talk to every weekend at our gigs. People that we took the time out to get to know because they're important to us. And not just as "fans" but as fellow human beings. Brothers & sisters. (I use the terms we & us collectively, as in ALL of US - not just my band) I hear some people say that they make music for themselves, but for me, if there's no one around to hear it, no one around to be touched & moved by it, then it has no purpose. When it comes from that place of purity, people can't help but be taken by it. That's when the magic happens. When it's no longer "the band" playing for "the audience" but rather a feeling of everyone being part of the one bigger thing - The MUSIC. I believe that if you're in line with the true Spirit of Music, then good things will always come your way. True musicians don't go to school & "learn" how to play, their born into it. knowing from almost their very first cognition that they want to play. It's a calling not a profession. If you want to be all about money, go study criminal law & become a defense attorney or get into big business or politics. I'm certainly not saying that we shouldn't be able to make lots of money, just that when the focus is shifted away from what's important, which in this case is the music, then the music will begin to fade. And eventually it will be replaced by something else. Think of it this way: A man who lives for his family & always puts their needs before his own, will in all but the most extreme circumstances live a very satisfied, happy & fulfilling life. Full of Love, Joy & abundance. A man who lives for himself & neglects to see to the needs his family will eventually end up alone because his family will fall apart. Stay focussed on the Music!
Peace - J.
