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After reading about John's problems with his new gig, I wonder how long it will be before it becomes uneconomical to play music anywhere.



It already is, for the most part. Bars that used to look forward to having bands in now see a band as a necessary nuisance and an expense they would rather not have. Every week the stories make the rounds of how the band that was supposed to get $500 for their work was told "Here's $300. Take it or leave it. We have a slow night."

Yet that same band, so desperate to play, will go back there again and again and again.

Here in northeast Ohio, we have mostly singles and duos, because they are cheap entertainment for the owners. There are really no more "music clubs" like 25-30 years ago. Now it's all restaurants with a little stage that will only hold that single or duo, or they move the pool table to put the 4 piece in there, most of which are really a trio with a girl singer, and she is only there because none of the guys can sing. All the players around here play in 3-4 bands so they can play more often and not have to get conventional jobs. However, that also means they never rehearse, and 60% of the "bands" are not really bands, and on Thursday they are calling around to find someone to play bass Saturday night. As a result, all of these pickup bands play the easiest 40 songs they can bluff their way through. That leads to 75% of the set lists being the same 40 easy songs that require no arrangement no matter where you go and who you hear. And the boring ten minute 12-bar-blues jams where the players are pointing at each other for who solos next. I think that looks totally bush league, but they are playing for $200 and beer. I don't drink, so what does that do for me?

Totally dead scene here.

And get me started on "jam night" where all the basement studio heroes who don't really play in a band go out and give club owners music for free. And then complain that there's no place that pays. Why would they pay when these idiots are giving them music for free?

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.