Is it Safe to assume tha Brian Setzer is done touring.

[Teledriver]

Alas, the price of That Great Gretsch Sound....glad I saw him with the orchestra back in about 98 (?).

 

[stiv]

I’d buy tickets for that too, but I’m not holding my breath. There aren’t that many small Jazz clubs, and many of the ones that exist are unimpressive.

A few years ago, someone I know played a solo gig that paid $1,500 for one night, was trying to convince me that I should go back to playing for a living. I did the math, and even for a solo gig, $1,500 isn’t really all that much money, by the time you factor travel and lodging. So if you were going to tour with a trio, at least one support person would be a necessity. If you were carrying a double bass and a drum set, at an absolute minimum you would fill a large van, and probably a cargo trailer. Flying with a double bass sounds like the definition of a living nightmare.

Ok, so is everyone having fun yet? I don’t mean to be facetious, but if you think through the logistics of a trio touring small venues, it gets pretty grim, and if you confine the venues to Jazz clubs, it would be pretty challenging to so much as break even. Go to larger venues and you won’t be able to play Jazz, and attract an adequate audience.

Although I mostly agree with your thoughts (I’ve learned to stay away from the “make a good living out of live music” dream several years ago), 1500 for a gig… I don’t know. It depends how many gigs you could play per year. 75 gigs (to say a doable number, if you have a good booking agency and a good PR company/management team) would gross more or less 33/35K per member plus handling (considering a trio and a do-it-all guy, a thing that’s common in the jazz market for what I saw). You sure not going to get rich, but I’ve seen worse in real life. I’d trade it for my regular, 40+K day per year job.
(I’m talking about regular guys like us, of course. For 1500, I don’t think Setzer even gets out of bed in these days )

 

[Synchro]

Although I mostly agree with your thoughts (I’ve learned to stay away from the “make a good living out of live music” dream several years ago), 1500 for a gig… I don’t know. It depends how many gigs you could play per year. 75 gigs (to say a doable number, if you have a good booking agency and a good PR company/management team) would gross more or less 33/35K per member plus handling (considering a trio and a do-it-all guy, a thing that’s common in the jazz market for what I saw). You sure not going to get rich, but I’ve seen worse in real life. I’d trade it for my regular, 40+K day per year job.
(I’m talking about regular guys like us, of course. For 1500, I don’t think Setzer even gets out of bed in these days )

What is easy to miss is the fact that once you go on the road, the expenses mount quickly. I met a solo artist who toured constantly and had a $3,500 fee, per show, plus merch’, plus I think there were some incentives based upon ticket sales. It took two people to keep him going, himself and a manager, and this was 20 years ago. Now $3,500 sounds like a lot of money for one day, but it cost money to travel to the gig, there’s lodging, car rental, and food. Add in a few off days, and pretty soon the expenses start to mount. Basically, doing the math, I figured out that less than 1/3 of that money actually made it into the artist’s gross income, and by the time you pay income taxes, etc. it was a prosperous income, but not true wealth, plus my calculations are based upon 250 days per year, away from home.

Speaking only for myself, and my modest home, Stately Synchro Manor; being away is costly. You need someone to keep everything operating safely. Two weeks ago, the side-by-side refrigerator that I used as a secondary freezer, decided to fail. Thankfully, I realized there was a problem, and was able to dispose of the food before it rotted, but had I been on the road, and not had someone keeping track of things for me, it could have been much, much worse. Now, multiply this times the innumerable things that can go wrong with a rural home and it becomes obvious that a person traveling 250 days per year would have some serious housing related costs. So suddenly, the annual gross income of 200 kilo-bux might realize from playing 200 dates per year (figure 250 days on the road) doesn’t seem like all that much money. Add in that this model is based upon not sleeping in your own bed 250 nights per year, and it doesn’t sound all that appealing.

 

[Byron]

The world has changed. Quite quickly, recently. I don't think the world of ' a musician on the road' exists much anymore

 

[juks]

Nobody's ever done touring unless they physically can not do it anymore.

 

[stiv]

What is easy to miss is the fact that once you go on the road, the expenses mount quickly. I met a solo artist who toured constantly and had a $3,500 fee, per show, plus merch’, plus I think there were some incentives based upon ticket sales. It took two people to keep him going, himself and a manager, and this was 20 years ago. Now $3,500 sounds like a lot of money for one day, but it cost money to travel to the gig, there’s lodging, car rental, and food. Add in a few off days, and pretty soon the expenses start to mount. Basically, doing the math, I figured out that less than 1/3 of that money actually made it into the artist’s gross income, and by the time you pay income taxes, etc. it was a prosperous income, but not true wealth, plus my calculations are based upon 250 days per year, away from home.

Speaking only for myself, and my modest home, Stately Synchro Manor; being away is costly. You need someone to keep everything operating safely. Two weeks ago, the side-by-side refrigerator that I used as a secondary freezer, decided to fail. Thankfully, I realized there was a problem, and was able to dispose of the food before it rotted, but had I been on the road, and not had someone keeping track of things for me, it could have been much, much worse. Now, multiply this times the innumerable things that can go wrong with a rural home and it becomes obvious that a person traveling 250 days per year would have some serious housing related costs. So suddenly, the annual gross income of 200 kilo-bux might realize from playing 200 dates per year (figure 250 days on the road) doesn’t seem like all that much money. Add in that this model is based upon not sleeping in your own bed 250 nights per year, and it doesn’t sound all that appealing.

I know what you mean and I totally agree. At the end of the day, it’s all about priorities.
One of the reason I don’t play live anymore is… priorities. It seems that in these days making music in order to play live is nobody’s priority, even at a “professional hobby” level, so I just gave up asking.
Said that, if at some point in my musical career someone would have offered me 1500 quids per gig, I’d have called at the office and tell them to set some interview for my position.

 

[Synchro]

I know what you mean and I totally agree. At the end of the day, it’s all about priorities.
One of the reason I don’t play live anymore is… priorities. It seems that in these days making music in order to play live is nobody’s priority, even at a “professional hobby” level, so I just gave up asking.
Said that, if at some point in my musical career someone would have offered me 1500 quids per gig, I’d have called at the office and tell them to set some interview for my position.

Live music is certainly less prominent than it was in the past. A decent musician could make a living from music, at one time. These days, the opportunities are not as common as they used to be. Going on the road has always been an option, but the club circuit isn’t what it used to be.

These days, working as a sideman, even with a nationally known act, might not pay enough to make it the best option. It’s a matter of perspective, and circumstance. it would be a heck of a road gig before it would be worthwhile to derail my career. Realistically, it’s not going to happen.

About the only way I could see going back into music, would be if I suddenly found inspiration and both wrote and recorded several amazing songs, which became durable hits. Realistically, that is never going to happen, but if I became another Roger Miller, or perhaps another Waylon, then maybe. Of course, that is not going to happen, and I don’t think that I even want it to happen.

 

[stiv]

Live music is certainly less prominent than it was in the past. A decent musician could make a living from music, at one time. These days, the opportunities are not as common as they used to be. Going on the road has always been an option, but the club circuit isn’t what it used to be.

These days, working as a sideman, even with a nationally known act, might not pay enough to make it the best option. It’s a matter of perspective, and circumstance. it would be a heck of a road gig before it would be worthwhile to derail my career. Realistically, it’s not going to happen.

About the only way I could see going back into music, would be if I suddenly found inspiration and both wrote and recorded several amazing songs, which became durable hits. Realistically, that is never going to happen, but if I became another Roger Miller, or perhaps another Waylon, then maybe. Of course, that is not going to happen, and I don’t think that I even want it to happen.

I can sign and seal everything you’ve written in this post, Synchro.
Those are basically the reasons why I quit playing music.
I still write, at home. Looking for that perfect song. But I know that even it would happen that I’d find it, that would hardly change a thing. My music days are over and, honestly, I have no regrets.

 

[Synchro]

I can sign and seal everything you’ve written in this post, Synchro.
Those are basically the reasons why I quit playing music.
I still write, at home. Looking for that perfect song. But I know that even it would happen that I’d find it, that would hardly change a thing. My music days are over and, honestly, I have no regrets.

I strove to be a professional Jazz guitarist, until I found out how much a professional Jazz guitarist earns. In the end, I couldn’t afford the pay cut.

If I get the chance to bust loose a bit and play the occasional gig, all the better. You can’t give Jazz away, these days, but I try to work some Jazz influence into the music I play, among the Classic Rock, Surf, Country, Blues, etc.

There was a time when I was very serious about gigging to make a living. I was able to get gigs, but I was not playing the six-night per week gigs that I would have seen as good money. I taught and had some good students, which made for some reliable income.


Teaching put me in the music stores and I took note of something; there seemed to be a class of under-employed musicians that had a lot free time on their hands, hanging around music stores, always waiting for a break that never came. The handful of people that were truly successful in music, usually didn’t spend much time hanging around.

Observing this, I made the decision that I expected more out of my life. I decided to work a full-time day job, and eventually I gave up on teaching, because I just didn’t have time for it. I still do some informal teaching, but it’s Ad-Hoc.

 

[speedicut]

The only way I could make money in music is to rob musicians..and only if they were making good money.
I've never even thought about quitting my day job.

 

[SLICKFASTER]

No… it’s not.