RUI Musik wrote:Solo acoustic can be fun but it won't pay the bills.
Actually it's the ONLY way you can pay the bills these days.....
Check out reverberation and see how many of the successfully working artists are solo or duos that travel very light. It's upwards of 80%
Going small is the key to cutting expenses enough to have an income. A soloist can hire a pick-up band for a few gigs if he absolutely needs it.
I sometimes hire local guys where I'm going and don't have to house/transport/feed them. It's a stressful few hours before the gig to get them ready, and quite often I have to adjust my setlist to accommodate their strengths/weaknesses (which I have figured out at the very last minute during rehearsal).
In the last few years I have used a Polish/Israeli band for recording and we tour together with most of them in a band for a month or two each of the last three years. I can get more of them in the band if I go to Europe or Israel than if they come here. All of them are solo or duo artists already, so our concerts would include each member doing a few songs from their own CD with the rest of us supporting them in the band.
So, imo, that's the best way to get a great band...find soloists who can work together in detachable units.
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It is what it is until it isn't
