I’ve jokingly said to my wife that my next edition of The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs may include a chapter on how to NOT render yourself without transportation necessary to show up for a gig. In case you’re reading my blog for the first time, we moved [...]
Getting paid as a pro drummer can be a tough gig in and of itself. I wrote this post to give drummers ideas to consider for making money as a pro. If you happen to be a non-drumming musician, there’s plenty that applies to you too. The avenues and strategies [...]
My impatience as a musician As a gigging musician, I’ve often been challenged by my own sense of impatience. My impatience as a musician has stemmed from frustration with band mates, venue owners and/or myself. Impatience combined with emotion-based decision making can, and most often will, lead to problems. Before [...]
Understanding the Landscape of Local Music Venues In order to get regular paid gigs, it’s helpful to understand the venue landscape. Here I’m going to talk about the venue landscape in my area, and then spend a little time on the bigger landscape for those of you who travel for [...]
Subbing for Other Musicians As I’ve already mentioned, I’m thankful for bands that need a sub now and then. On the flip side, I also stated that bringing subs into a bands performing line up too often can hinder good branding. On the upside, subbing as a musician is a [...]
Use Reputation, Musicianship & Personal Brand to Get Gigs The quality of your musicianship, or your craft as a musician, combined with your personal brand make up your reputation. Obviously a good reputation can help musicians get paying gigs, but building a good reputation breaks down to a few best [...]
