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Around 1980 or so I had a duo with a 6 night a week house gig at a very nice restaurant in Calgary Canada. My partner was an Irish singer/guitarist who also was a comedian who could do some pretty good jokes. For the dinner set we would do in addition to the usual Ipanema, Satin Doll etc other instrumentals like Close Encounters or Shaft and they loved it but they were only showcase tunes, it's good when you can do something they don't expect. The bread and butter stuff was the usual Brown Eyed Girl, Sweet Caroline and Eddies favorite, Mustang Sally and some country because Calgary was also known as Houston North.

We were offered a six week cruise ship gig out of Florida. At first it sounded great until we were told the pay. It was half what we were getting at the restaurant and I was told it was because "everybody" wanted a cruise ship gig. It was basically free room, free food and some spending money that's it. It works great if your wife is your musical partner but if the pay is just for you, it's not even close. Maybe tips would have made it up, don't know because we turned it down.

I did get to "play' a cruise ship about 10 years ago when we took a three day cruise from LA to Mexico. I was in the piano lounge checking out the player who sang pretty well and was a decent player. We chatted on his break and he said go up and play something so I did. He said sounds good keep playing, I'll be back and took off for about a half hour. I got a few bucks in tips which of course I left on the piano for him. It's a nice envoronment and I would have enjoyed doing that other gig but not for what they were paying and certainly not if I wound up sleeping next to the engine room. Wow, I can just imagine...

Billy, I hear you about trying to put a band together in LA. Tons of great players few of which are willing to commit to anything or rehearse because they all have projects going with no clue if any will pan out or not. These guys are pros in the true studio meaning of the word and it's called just give me the set list, I'll be there. Typical example, Kenny and Lou the former drummer and bass player for Barry Manilow for nine years. Both monsters and they joked they were known as the band that cried themselves to sleep every night but they didn't care because that gig paid for their homes in LA. Like anybody at his level I'm told Manilow was strict, you show up on time, be straight and do your job. Don't and you're gone.

Lou is the bassist and his wife told me to call her for any gig within reasonable driving distance that paid $50 or more. She said Lou would get occasional well paid studio gigs or maybe a few weeks in Vegas for 5K a week but other than that, it's $50 minimum local LA gigs.

Then there's Kenny the drummer. We did a gig at an exclusive fitness club in West LA and for the end of some tune I can't remember he says "I got it" and proceeds to do a full blown solo and concert ending for a few minutes. This after two hours of him just being a good drummer playing the songs. He blew everybody away. When you get a chance to work with guys like that you think I want to work with them all the time but you can't. They're not interested, they already made their money, they're just doing it for fun now and are not interested in some band where you get to rehearse in somebody's living room. They're way beyond that. Just call them if you have something and if they're available you can get them. Maybe the stars align and you can get him again in two years or something.

Bob