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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,312
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Expert
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,312 |
As the live music industry withered away in the 1980s, the then future Mrs. Notes and I were in a 5-piece band.
Two things were happening:
1) Club owners were paying less for bands, because there were more bands needing work than places that used bands. By then DJs, Sports Bars, Comedy Clubs, Open Mic Nights and so on were filling places where bands formerly gigged.
2) Personnel problems further withered our income. In one year, two members quit and we ended up out of work for 3 months while we found and trained new musicians.
Knowing that as a rule, smaller groups make more money per musician than each musician in a larger group, we decided to form a duo.
I bought a Teac A3440 4 track 15” reel to reel deck. Since I play sax, flute, guitar, bass, drums, and some keys, I could make my own backing tracks. This was very new at the time. So I recorded everything but the parts we wanted to play live, mixed to cassette and got gigs.
We got a 3 week with options gig on a Carnival cruise ship. Carnival liked us because our lounge generated all-time record-breaking revenue. We weren't that good yet, but we figured out what the cruise ship was lacking and focused on that. The 3 week options ended up 3 years on the ships, and we gave notice to take care of Mrs. Notes' ailing mother.
By the time we got off the ships, we were well seasoned and as good or better than any duo in South Florida, where we live.
On the ships, we collected requests, and learned the songs that got requested most frequently. We still do that.
Also MIDI came around, so we redid everything with MIDI as we learned new tunes.
We haven't been out of work since, except during the COVID drought.
We had a house gig in a club for 12.5 years, the plague came, the club got sold, and the new owners wanted to pare down to single acts. So we went to a competitor, he hired us on our reputation, and we've been there a year and a half now. He says we have the gig for as long as he owns the resort.
Yes, it's a business.
We are employed because we take the business side seriously.
1) We learn what the public wants to hear. Songs requested frequently or by a regular customer get learned.
2) We are pleasant and easy to get along with. The bartenders, wait staff, management, and owners like us as people.
3) We go over and above what the club hired us for. Crowd having a good time and it's break time? Skip the break. Our shift is over, and the audience wants more? If no one is following us, we play long.
4) We put ourselves in the proverbial shoes of the person who hired us, and make our decisions with that in mind. In a commercial club, anything that we can do to make the club more money is a go. For private parties, anything we can do to make the guests tell the host/hostess they had a great time is a go.
5) We don't do set lists, but read the crowd, play what they need, when they need it, even thought they don't know when they need it.
Besides the business end (above) Mrs. Notes and I really enjoy singing and playing. It's the most fun we can have with our clothes on.
We are very good at what we do, the backing tracks are great. Mrs. Notes is a fantastic singer and she plays guitar and synth. I'm an excellent sax/wind synth player and decent at singing, guitar, and flute on stage, and because I also play bass, drums, and keys, I can make our own backing tracks, in our key, and our arrangement.
I don't know what works for the zillions of songs uploaded that can make you an overnight star, but I do know what it takes to keep working, and as that changes, we adapt to the changes.
Mrs. Notes and I have been in this duo for 38 years now. I tell the audience, “The only band who has been together longer than is, is the Rolling Stones.” After a pause, I'll add, “And we still have all the original members.”
If making a living doing music and nothing but music is the dream, we are living the dream.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
You forgot to boast about how you are the best band in the universe and how you play 15-20 gigs per month... And cruises. Let's not forget how you play cruises.
Do you have all this flexing in a text file somewhere, because almost every post you make contains all of the same "look at us and how great we are" items. All that's missing is that you went to high school with Bob Dylan, as we used to see once a week at least...
More and more I am happy that you didn't come to Herbstock. After reading Eddie's comment, I'm kinda' glad I didn't come to "Herbstock" either.
Bandcamp Soundcloud Win-11; BiaB-2024-latest Beta; Cakewalk; Melodyne-5; Scaler 2; NI Komplete: Focusrite Scarlett 18i20
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!
Paket | Was ist Neu
Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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