Question:
....after 4 years of gigging for a living, I give up.
I'm sick of playing covers of songs I don't like, playing to audiences who'd rather listen to the tv and no-one listening to my original stuff.
I'll still play at home, of course because I love guitars, but playing out has lost it's appeal for me, it's gotten less viable over the last year or so, and here where I live, generally the summer is a busy time for muso's due to the tourist trade.
This year the bookings are getting scarce, the hotels are half empty and alot of the bars are closing down.
Also there is a wave of new "musicians" on the scene who seem to have figured out G,C and D chords, and use them badly to cover songs that have them in, even if the exclude the parts where there might be a different chord.
It's heartbreaking to see how some of them demand the same money as people who've worked hard at their playing/craft/sound, but it's happening, and I believe that people are avoiding live music venues due to the new wave of terrible musicians on the scene.
Not that I am particularly any good, but I have worked at it.
So it's time to admit that I'll never "make it", even if "making it" was just feeding myself by playing guitar....and get a real job.
Oh well.

Answer:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
don't do it Jake, you are just having a bad day.
Tell you what. Don't do covers anymore, just write music and play that. Then you can make it big and do the whole touring thing.
Don't give up!

Answer:
Yeah welcome to reality. Making it as a musician is tough, and doesnt seem to be affected by talent so much as luck, determination, and who you know. Playing covers gets really old, and the mosy useless feeling in the world is realizing that no one is really listening, you are just the "background".
But I doubt if you give up gigging, once it is in your blood it is almost impossible to quit.
I remember my Dad telling me once that "the only thing a musician is good for is playing music and screwing". Well I knew right then what my life's calling was. Alas - too many musicians, too few venues.

Answer:
Music- it's a far better avocation than vocation in my estimation.
sorry it didn't work out.
hope you find a tolerable day job.
not too many Americans traveling to the UK and Europe these days. the $ is down too far.

Answer:
Oh, man, good luck. That's a tough decision to make.
After about 10+ years of gigging for a living, I quit for about 4 or 5 years and went after other kinds of work (taught college, sold suits, etc). Doing that made me sick on every possible level and I realized that the straight world was a bit toxic to me.
But now I'm back in the musobiz -- though my music empire is mainly centered around private lessons. I still do a few gigs with a cover band that I've played in for over a decade, but in my solo shows I just play whatever pops up on the radar. I don't even like to put up a tip jar (yeah, I know ... stoopid) -- a tip jar seems to encourage requests of really hack songs.
I try to avoid the "play to their backs" gigs ... you know what I'm talking about, right? I'll play those if the pay is really, really dear or I get absolute free reign on material.
All the best.

Answer:
I know how you feel man...:cry:
I have been in Vancouver for less than a month and have been to a couple of places to see live acoustic music and it sounds like the same thing. The thing is here they don't actually pay anyone to perform...it's just for tips...like "pass the hat". At least in my home town I would get a "guarantee"...like $60-$100 for a night. It's not so here.
Maybe you could work a part time day job and play music part time too?
I would love to just have one or two "house gigs" and work a part time job than try and make an actual living off of playing live in this city.
Have you made a CD of your own stuff? What about festivals?
I have heard you play and I for one say don't give up just yet.:thu:

Answer:
Yah do you have an album? Then you could sell that at your shows and make some money.

Answer:
Old news.
This audience sucks! Let's get a new audience in here!
...if you want to play originals you've got to start with originals and stick to your guns. Word gets around that you'll play shitty covers and everyone will expect that from you. You end up booking whatever gigs you can get, playing places you never should've played in the first place.
If you want to play originals: 1) you better be darn good. 2) know how to deliver your songs with conviction regardless of how they're recieved. 3) and play only at places where better musicians get booked. This does'nt include "bars".
People in bars applaud because they recognize the song you're playing. Not because you're doing a good job of playing it. For the most part they can't tell the difference. Yes, the audience indeed sucks. Find a better audience.

Answer:
I just spent the last 10 minutes on your myspace page. Good stuff, good arrangements. JT is probably right in that you set the bar by playing covers. But But I disagree on getting a better audience - I started doing much better once I started really listening to and watching the audience.
I tend to love slow dark songs in minor keys. The guitar is perfect for Am and Em, but I lose the audience FAST if I play only the songs that I like.
I look for heads bobbing, toes tapping and conversations stopping.
You have the skill - perhaps dropping covers from your stage show isnt a bad idea. You will lose a lot of gigs, but the ones you keep will be more rewarding. Watch and listen to the audience.

Answer:
Here in Belgium, it's well known that you can't live gigging.
There's maximum one band right here that can live from their music.
But all other musicians are doing fulltime or parttime jobs to get money to pay their rent, and as hobby they're gigging and making music for fun. They see it as extra pocketmoney.
They don't do it for money in the first place because they know they won't be able to do it as fulltime job.
I don't want tot dissappoint you guys, but maybe in other countries it's easier to get audience.

Answer:
I think music makes a better hobby than a living. Full time is a hard row to hoe. I tip my hat and shake my head to anyone who persues it professionally. I personally don't have either the desire, the talent or fortitude and would certainly fail
Jake... chill for a while and just have some fun with it again.

Answer:
Nothing wrong with having a day job and giging in your spare time. Most people do this until they "make it". It just sounds like you're frustrated and need a brake. I think we've all been there at one time or another. Take a few weeks off and get your head together, and you'll probably come back feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world again. Don't let a couple of lousy gigs get you down, it happens to the best of us.
NEVER GIVE UP!

Answer:
I remember the gig that stopped me from taking whatever was available. I was a drummer. I usually played with a jazz trio or a few local rock bands and I played often with visiting bands that needed a drummer for whatever reason. The union knew that and sent me out to play with a visiting country and western band one night. I remember the name. It was called the Big D Jamboree. We played in a caged stage in a raucous crowded country and western bar full of screaming drunks. The cage was there to protect the musicians. I was soaked in beer before the evening was thankfully over and so was my equipment. I remember the band leader asked me if I wanted to tour with them for a while. They were going all over the Western U.S. I declined. I had had my fill of caged stages. I assume their previous drummer felt the same way.
If I had to make a living as a performing musician I would starve. It's nice for a litte recreational gig from time to time but I'm way to fussy at my age to consider just playing anything. If it isn't fun, I don't want to do it. I'm with those who think you should play your stuff and do that exclusively. Do it while you take some other job to buy the groceries. Engage in whatever part of musical performance appeals to you and stay away from "caged stages."

Answer:
....after 4 years of gigging for a living, I give up.
I'm sick of playing covers of songs I don't like, playing to audiences who'd rather listen to the tv and no-one listening to my original stuff.
I'll still play at home, of course because I love guitars, but playing out has lost it's appeal for me, it's gotten less viable over the last year or so, and here where I live, generally the summer is a busy time for muso's due to the tourist trade.
This year the bookings are getting scarce, the hotels are half empty and alot of the bars are closing down.
Also there is a wave of new "musicians" on the scene who seem to have figured out G,C and D chords, and use them badly to cover songs that have them in, even if the exclude the parts where there might be a different chord.
It's heartbreaking to see how some of them demand the same money as people who've worked hard at their playing/craft/sound, but it's happening, and I believe that people are avoiding live music venues due to the new wave of terrible musicians on the scene.
Not that I am particularly any good, but I have worked at it.
So it's time to admit that I'll never "make it", even if "making it" was just feeding myself by playing guitar....and get a real job.
Oh well.
I completely agree but these days I tend to select my audience(that sounds bad!) - I only tend to play at festivals/venues/gigs where I know there will be people who like my kind of music. You sound like you could do the same - it becomes a pain to have to play for the sake of it.

Answer:
Well I didnt mean completely agree - dont give up your too good - anyway I can tell you wont because youve still got passion!!

Answer:
You are right...a lot of crappy bands out there...but Tampa, Fl for some reason has its share of real talent. Also, a lot of retired bands that have made it or had their 1 hit wonder and play down here because they want to live here.
But overall, I think Florida must be different from most of the States...I mean, there are Hundreds of Bands in Tampa alone. How you define getting by, may be different though. I probably wouldn't call it a good living. And, I also know a lot of musicians that have second jobs doing all the same things everyone else here is doing to get by.
But Making it BIG is something completely different. One of my good friends down here is Damon Fowler. This guy is phenomenal, yet its really hard to get "Big Venues" to fill out his schedule...Actually, I'm pretty happy about it because I can see him for small cover charges, but in reality would like to see him "Make It". My guitar teacher is as old as I am and gigs 3-4 nights a week while keeping a job teaching and doing guitar repairs. Ed is from NewYork originally and says he came from an area filled with "talented" guitar players. Based on his talent, I would have to believe him....So, where are all these guys?....probably retired or semi retired because of the very things you talk about. I have never had to deal with an audience approval or dissaproval to get by. Probably a damn good thing too.
I really admire musicians like yourself who can go out and do it night after night for what you make and what recognition you get, but mostly don't get...
So let me just say thanks for keeping live music alive...Damon Fowler says it every time he plays, and he really means it...I do too....I hope you hang in there and again........Thanks.

Answer:
Bummer. That's a hard decision to make. I hope you'll still play shows, because someday I'm going to go to the UK and I expect some upcoming shows on your Myspace. ;)
Ellen

Answer:
You have to decide for yourself what is right for you. If you decide to stick with your decision, try going to the occasional Open-Mike to play your original stuff. I haunt the Open-Mikes around here and what I love is the support that the musicians give to each other. No one appreciates an original tune as much as someone who has tried to write one.

Answer:
....after 4 years of gigging for a living, I give up.
I'm sick of playing covers of songs I don't like, playing to audiences who'd rather listen to the tv and no-one listening to my original stuff.
I'll still play at home, of course because I love guitars, but playing out has lost it's appeal for me, it's gotten less viable over the last year or so, and here where I live, generally the summer is a busy time for muso's due to the tourist trade.
This year the bookings are getting scarce, the hotels are half empty and alot of the bars are closing down.
Also there is a wave of new "musicians" on the scene who seem to have figured out G,C and D chords, and use them badly to cover songs that have them in, even if the exclude the parts where there might be a different chord.
It's heartbreaking to see how some of them demand the same money as people who've worked hard at their playing/craft/sound, but it's happening, and I believe that people are avoiding live music venues due to the new wave of terrible musicians on the scene.
Not that I am particularly any good, but I have worked at it.
So it's time to admit that I'll never "make it", even if "making it" was just feeding myself by playing guitar....and get a real job.
Oh well. Take it from a jackass who gave up doing what he loved most, convinced himself he wasn't any good at it, and got himself locked into a "real job": You'd be making a hideous fucking mistake.
I couldn't have known that without throwing away my life over frustration and self doubt just to have a basis for comparison. It's no way to live, yo. If I could step backward, I'd much rather live a life even sucking shit at something I love than being brilliant at something I feel nothing for.
And you are too particularly any good. I've listened to your stuff, and I may not be able to play worth a petrified dog turd, but I know talent when I hear it so STFU with that nonsense and go get a gig playing some original shit.

Answer:
Music- it's a far better avocation than vocation in my estimation. gosh, I gotta agree with this.
more power to those who have succeeded in using music to make a living.....it ain't easy.
Peavey classic 30?
GT-6 inserted as effects with Amp MIDI Head?
OT; MicroKorg?
professor satchafunkilus and the musterion of rock (satch appreciation Thread)?
help with a homebrew demo?
Gibson Helpdesk are idiots (Or I am) Can anyone tell me the specs of Sheraton Bridge?
Got my Warmoth body & neck?
Berkhampsted?