I found that if one played well and played most of the requests, there was no need to tell bad jokes and mindlessly chatter. I made great tips every night as a solo. The first night I had a tip jar on the piano which filled up very quickly and the hotel director told me to remove the jar. People started putting tips on the piano anyway then the director said get the money off the piano right away. Passengers had to tip everyone else on the ship, why not the musicians? I tried to make the gig more like a concert than just playing tune after tune like muzak. There were small groups who had to incorporate jokes and chatter into their routines because the music wasn't that good. I feel that joke telling should be left to the professional comedians. There was a very good reggae group on the ship and they hardly ever said a word to the customers, yet people had a lot of fun with that group. The group was a big draw. The better the musicians were, the more they were appreciated by the passengers. Later, Ray

Last edited by raymb1; 04/08/10 06:25 PM.
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