Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
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I've been in the bands that had the attitude that we're strictly a country rock band, and we don't play pop country and heck no we don't do MOR pop. That's a hard, lean road because you run out of places that will hire you pretty quickly and those one time gigs are not the road to success. <...>


It helps to be a chameleon and learn to play many different styles unless you are in a big enough city where there are enough venues asking for the same kind of music.

I played in a jazzy-pop band and somebody came up and asked for Patsy Cline's "Crazy". The keyboard player refused to play it. We didn't get fired, but we never got re-hired there. Not for that one song, but for his general attitude.

And of course, you have the musicians who won't play "Brown Eyed Girl", "Mustang Sally" or "_____________".

Some people think playing songs that are beneath their self-valued artistic integrity is a sell-out, and they have every right to think that way.

Others think that taking a day-job so that you can play your 'art music' once a week for drinks and tips is another form of selling out, and they have every right to think that way.

But if you want to make a living at this, you must be commercial.

Of course commercial depends on the market. Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Stan Getz, Wes Montgomery, Led Zeppelin, and just about every other successful musician or group is/was commercial.

If you are a great chef and you want to open a restaurant in a small, unsophisticated, rural town that loves it's hamburgers and BBQ you might not be able to make a living cooking French Cuisine. The choice would be to move to a town that supports your art, or start cooking burgers and perhaps put a special of the day with your art food.

We play commercial music. We save requests, and the songs that get requested most frequently get learned first, that is as long as we can cover them. Why? I have fun playing music, and it really doesn't matter to me that much what I am playing. I just put on whatever attitude I need for the song, and give it the best I can while losing myself in the music.

On the other hand, we do sneak in an occasional song for us. Once you have the audience on your side you can slide something in as long as it isn't too hard-core in the wrong direction.

A few suggestions if you want to make a living at playing music (in no particular order):
  • Show up on time - the manager knows how to tell time more than how to judge artistic integrity
  • Don't take long breaks, in fact, if the crowd is jamming, consider skipping your breaks or playing a little later - give a little more and you will likely get more in return. I've played many a club where we played straight through and late when the club was jamming and the manager sent us home early on dead nights.
  • Be nice and pleasant with the management, staff, and the customers -- even if they don't deserve it. The staff will be on your side if you work nicely with them and if you p1ss off customers, you aren't coming back
  • Remember, whatever is good for the house is good for the band. They hired you to help them make a profit, and never forget that's your job. Knowing a customer's favorite song, remembering their name, promoting the special of the day, skipping a break, or whatever. I repeat, what is good for the house is good for the band.
  • Be commercial for that club. Play what the audience wants to hear and do your best to pace what you play and when you play it to fill the needs of the audience.
  • Dress appropriately for the gig, whether it is torn blue jeans or a tuxedo
  • Play at appropriate volume levels, that can be loud or soft depending on the demand
  • Make sure your gear is in good shape. Nobody wants to see you struggle with equipment. Of course, things happen (it's usually a cable) so carry spares of whatever you can, cables, extra mic, if your act depends on a synth - an extra synth module, guitar strings, and so on. The show must go on.
  • Smile and/or look like you are having a great time playing music - it's contagious.
  • Promote yourself - but that's the subject of an entirely different post


The market for musicians are shrinking, the competition for the entertainment of the public has many new entries, I see live music as a declining market right now, so get creative, give extra, be commercial, and do a better job than your musical competition. Or get a day job and play what you want to when you want to if you can find a place to do it. There is no wrong answer.

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