I know it's hard to play BS gigs especially when you're playing for next to nothing and there are only two or three people there.
I'm a firm believer of playing for two people as you would if you were playing for 100,000 people. In short, I ALWAYS bring my A game to every gig. I know Jason Ricci does this too.
So why is this important? Because you never know who you're going to meet. A couple of months ago, George Benson sat in with my group. My bassist used to tour with him about 25 or so years ago and they happened across each other at Guitar Center just before our gig and my bassist invited him out.
Today I got a call from my bassist and one other person. Apparently George is calling around and checking me out. I don't know what his plans are if any but one thing is certain, I left an impression on him that night that is deep enough where a guy like that is still thinking about me two months later.
Could this be my "big break"? I hope so.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
Last Edited by on Jan 12, 2010 12:12 PM
Fingers crossed Chris, it's time you got wider recognition.
That same piece of advice is always being given to me by the keys player in my band who is also a pro actor. No matter how bad an evening, no matter how poor the turnout, give it everything. Sometimes that's really hard to do! :-)
Chris, i also firmly believe in the same thing too because you just never know sometimes. I know when I've played at some places for the first time and I make sure everyone on the bandstand is bringing their A game (I don't EVER want anything less than that on my bandstand), even if there were 5 people or less, by bringing the A game, I've kept crowds there that were tiny all through the night and word travels fast and then when clubowners see that, they;re more likely to give you another booking on a better night, and when you've blown those few people away enough to make them stay the night, they often get other people out to see you and that builds a following, and so bringing the A game no matter what isn't just for good entertainment, it also makes good business sense as well.
Chris, I'm a huge George Benson fan for both his guitar playing and his vocals and I wish you luck. About 20 years ago, when I saw the Legendary Blues Band with Louis Myers on guitar, between the shows, i had a chance to speak with Louis (who for those who don't know, was not only LW's guitar player, but a great harp player in his own right as well), and in our conversation, found out that he was also a huge George Benson fan as well. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
I really debate on posting this because the quality is so poor but this is the only recording I have from that night. My wife recorded it with her phone. The harp isn't very audible and it doesn't help that I'm using the octave pedal and the fact that my wife never sits close to where I play on stage.
http://www.harmonicapros.com/chris_music/buddhagroove/bodytalk.mp3 ---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
Along with playing in top form, I always say to dress professionally. I've seen really good players show up to gigs attired little better than a street bum....and they get the consequent lack of respect.
What great advice. I got into a group in much the same way... Nothing on that level, but a guitar payer heard me at a jam and was impressed enough that when we later met he gave me a tryout.
Dressing well is also great advice-- When I was racing bicycles (Velodrome) I wore an aero track suit- I was slow, but I told the kids, "It doesn't matter who wins- it's who looks the best on the infield after the race who is gonna score with the ladies!"
On stage I now always wear a nice hat (either my hand made genuine Panama or my Baily fur felt fedora), a dress jacket over a casual, collared shirt (sometimes even a Hawaiian- it's a look), and either clean denim pants or dress slacks. Other musicians have commented that I "dress for success and take my music seriously." Yes, what you wear really does matter on stage. Folks remember you.
A little talent over and above that doesn't hurt.. ;-)
I was once the executive producer of one of the largest Jazz Fests in the US. The one thing I noticed, the best of the best musicians always seems to dress like shit. Wrinkles clothes that hadn't been washed for awhile. There are exceptions of course but it's something I really noticed.
Bela Fleck almost always wears jeans and a t-shirt Chick Corea Jeans and a Hawaiian style shirt Stanley Clarke - Jeans and a t-Shirt Bobby Mcferrin Jeans, t-shirt and no shoes. Peter Gabriel - Jeans and a T-shirt YellowJackets - Jeans and a t-shirt
When George Benson came out to jam he was wearing a black tank top and jeans.
The mediocre musicians were always the ones that were dressed to the nines. Again there are exceptions.
Dressing up seems to be a blues things. Lots of great blues cats always dressed up.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
Our band is a weird mix of dress...neat but comfortable. I wear a hat because I like hats, usually a fedora of some kind, with a black short sleeve shirt..might be pullover, might be button. The other guys wear a variety of comfortable but not dressy stuff. Sometimes they all wear hats, sometimes they don't. We all wear jeans, black or blue. We usually wear hats if we are doing "give me back my wig" and take them off for that song, revealing some hair challenged heads....I don't think dress matters too much if it's neat and clean.
Last Edited by on Jan 12, 2010 1:43 PM
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Buddha is absolutely right and i am rooting for him to get the recognition he so richly deserves. But there is another reason to always play your best: Respect for the music and respect for the stage. Neither one should be taken for granted.
Btw, I think a lot of big time musicians dress very casual because laundry and dry cleaning are such a logistical problem when touring.
Last Edited by on Jan 12, 2010 4:39 PM
Chris, please keep us posted! That would indeed be a huge break.
I just found out that a guitar player and singer I knew in NYC--and terrific at both, I might add--named Scott Sharrard has recently become a part of Gregg Allman's band. Stuff like that does happen.
Satan & Adam were discovered in a lebsian bar in Greenwich Village. The woman who discovered us was, ah, gay. She managed Bo Diddley, The Village People, Wilson Pickett. And us. I had totally given up hope of getting a date at THAT gig, but I played hard anyway. Heck, hopelessness is what breeds the blues! And then we were discovered and hit the big time. So you never know who is out there, and it pays to bring your A game, as you say.
Oh thats awesome! Good luck with that Chris, good fortune and success to you. I'm not really experienced at all, I've only been serious about music for like a year and a half now, but that attitude is kind of how I look at things with one key difference. I mean I've only played in front of people probably ten odd times or so, some times it was for a couple of hundred people, and a couple of times it was for the bar owner and staff and that was it (and it wasn't an audition haha). When I play in front of people, I find that if I start thinking "did they like that" or whatever I start second guessing myself and get down on myself. Then it just goes downhill. I just try and isolate myself in my mind and play for myself and the people I'm playing with. To me when you say bring your A game it means that you are trying to impress people and that doesn't work for me, I normally fall down and shit on myself when I try to impress people haha. Am I taking what you said in the wrong context here? In order for me to really bring it, I can't think about bringing it. I have to get lost in the music and let it flow, thinking hinders me. Is that kind of how anyone else (Chris, you particularly) is? Maybe it just my lack of experience talking right now, I've never yet been in the position to feel like burned out or like I have to play and not want to be there.
I just ran into Benson's music couple of months ago when I heard him on the radio. I had "shazam" application in my mobile phone that can record and compare the music you hear on the database and sends you the name of the artis, song and album. It was George Benson, can't remember the song. But anyway, I've got two albums of his now..
Best of Luck Chris. Thinking selfishly, your gain will be our loss, as I'm guessing touring means we'll be hearing little or less from you on this board. But despite that, I sincerely hope this is your break. You've given so much to this forum, how could anybody here wish anything else for you. Couldn't agree more with the "always bring your A Game" philosophy. It's what....professionals....do.
Wallyns: I don't think playing for yourself or your bandmates means that you're not bringing your A game.
On the contrary, that exactly the advice I got from the guitar player in a band I was in a couple of years ago. He is a long time local blues guitarist that was good enough to be in a band that won the regional blues battle of the bands, and went to Memphis for the bigger blues challenge. Not nationally known or recognized however. I was (and still am) far below an advanced harp player. I was totally nervous about playing with him (in a different band) and the other musicians who were far above me. I was telling him this and he just said, "well you've done some practicing right?" I said yeah, and he said "well just get up there and play and don't worry about what anyone out there thinks." In effect, I think he was telling me, play for yourself and for us and the rest will take care of itself. This philosophy is heard from competitive athletes a lot too (I play for my teammates).
The bottom line is once the gig begins you can't let the indifference (if it happens) shake your confidence or effort to play well. Note: this does not invalidate chris' "you should assess the mood of the crowd" philosophy. Still very valid. Just that once the music starts, you can't let your confidence wax and wane with every crowd reaction.
The one exception to the above: If you're a blues band playing in a country western bar behind a chicken wire fence; and the packed house crowd starts throwin' beer bottles at you?
Play the theme from the TV show Rawhide. Quick. ;-)
Last Edited by on Jan 13, 2010 5:40 AM
I had a short conversation with the man himself this morning. Not quite the break I was hoping for but he's producing an album for a friend and thinks a little blues harp would sound nice.
BLUES harp!!!! UGH. Sometimes I really hate fighting the reputation that comes with the harmonica.
Anyway, I'm on his books for a project that starts in sept. He asked about my fee. And stupidly, I said whatever... his response? "have you done session work before?" I said "of course", and I have but not with somebody like him. "Ok so what's your fee then brother?" "$1000 per day." "Good, I'll take you for a half day."
Let this experience be a lesson for you guys. It is for me. ---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
the lesson is act like you've "been there done that"
Maybe he was testing my negotiation skills? maybe he wasn't. The point is, if you ask me how much a harp cost, I would have said $200 but he asked how much my talent costs and I gave him a wishy washy answer.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
Buddha, it's George Benson, for Pete's sake-let him call it what he wants, be it 'blues harp' or whatever. He's not a geek for proper harpterminology and classification like we are ;-). Besides, he knows what you sound like, and if that's how he describes your playing, go with it...IT'S GEORGE MUDDAF*&%IN' BENSON! Ride it for everything it's worth!
On the price issue, look on the bright side:at least you didn't lowball yourself or say, 'I don't know' when asked how much you charge.
Last Edited by on Jan 14, 2010 11:39 AM
A very good point. Sometimes, it's hard to gauge your market value at a specific moment in time if you haven't been closely or recently checking. Sometimes, you hesitate and your brain tries to quickly tailor your answer to the person asking the question and all the factors that are swirling in your brain at that moment. It's tough. I used to go through it a lot when I was a gun-for-hire. I do think that your answer was pretty good. Now that you've hindsighted yourself, what do you think would have been a better answer?
Congratulations, Chris!!! ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
...the lesson is act like you've "been there done that"
I see.
I liked your answer too, honestly. Most of us are fortunate to get $300 for an hour and a half split 5 ways.
This is a very cool opportunity for you. I'm sure you can hang for the rest of the day and make a good impression. I really hope this pans out for you in future sessions or gigs with him. Who knows, maybe he REALLY liked your answer!
Anyway, congratulations. Well done. Soon, you're on a George Benson album! Sweet resume' line.
there is another possibility. Maybe He will decide he needs you for a day and either way, you get what you quoted him. $1000/day is $500/half day...I'd welcome either one and your chances for the former seem pretty good to me..foot is in the door!
Given the verbal exchange above, i believe it does. I see no wiggle room there except in the definition of a day...half day can be no more than 12 hours, by definition of a day. Minimum of 41.67/hour worst case scenario. More than likely it will be fewer hours than that and the definition of the day will change the hourly rate. 8 hour day=$125/hour. The exchange is clear..1000/day...I'll take (pay) you for half a day (at 1000/day implied), or $500. Verbal contract if I ever heard one. Question is, are there witnesses? I doubt it will come to that.
Last Edited by on Jan 14, 2010 3:01 PM
Buzadero, I know but I wasn't about to be a hard ass about it. I figure he either was testing my negotiation skills or simply had a figure in mind. Who knows, he might pony up the full $1000 but I'm not going to make any demands other than there be no popcorn or nuts in the green room. And I'll need Peligrino and donuts with little sprinkles on top.
Who knows, for all I know he won't even be there as I understand it, I'm not playing with him on, I'm recording a track or two for somebody where he is playing producer. Then again he might be the guitarist on the album too.
All I know is, I'm going to work my ass off between now and Sept to make sure I'm solid with reading charts. ---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
"Um.. HELLO!!! May I speak with Chris?" "This is." HELLO Sir Chris, this is MIIISSSSTER George Benson."
Who calls himself Mister? I thought it was funny that he had so much emphasis on the word Mister.
10 years ago when Stevie Wonder called my house. My answering machine had harmonica only. Stevie calls and plays exactly what I played on his keyboard. MIIIISTER CHRIS!!! I am so delighted to be invited to your show! Then he starts to sing Thank you, THANK YOU MISTER CHRIS...." And I never heard from him again.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
I respectfully don't see your point Buzadero. 500 dollars is what i expect Chris will get...is there any confusion on that? I did mention the definition of a day. It makes no difference according to the conversational terms other than the length of a day...Chris gets a minimum of $500 bucks worst case scenario. His hourly rate is subject to however long the day is, but I also covered that.
In the business world, a verbal contract is binding (if difficult to prove sometimes)and this one is about $500 dollars, not an hourly rate. If Chris decides to ask him how long a "day" is, he can be compensated for hours beyond 1/2 of that day at the rate of $1000/day or x/hour based on the hourly rate when computed on $1000/number of hours in a work day. Otherwise, he can be a stickler and leave at the 1/2 day point, take his $500 and leave whatever is left undone undone..and kiss the next gig goodbye.
As it stands, Chris is going to make $500 based on the conversation with no further questions asked. I see a win-win for Chris, even if more than 1/2 day of work is involved (which he will be paid for), both from a future work perspective and from a financial one for this session...in the business world. Incidentally, 12 hour shifts are commonplace in manufacturing, retail and increasing numbers of other employment, including management and hourly administrative employees. The length of the work shift for this album will be determined by the studio and the participants/producer I'm sure, and will be easily determined by Chris for his pay purposes.
Last Edited by on Jan 14, 2010 4:09 PM
Folks- it's the music business. It's a pro deal which means you don't play a note until it's in writing, signed, and you're holding a copy- total number of hours, total pay, how it is paid, and when it is paid. it not only protects the musician, but also prevents (or lessens) misunderstandings.
Best is that it is a foot in the door, working with pros, and your name on an album. it has the potential to reveal leads to a lot more.. AND getting paid for it.
Playing harp on an album.. $500 Working with George Benson.. (in this case) priceless... maybe.
I completely agree that Mr Benson was somewhat cleverly setting his own terms by which we all assume that Chris is just happy to be involved with for what will be $500 dollars (essentially take it or leave it). My point is that a quote of a clearly implied "dayrate" is usually not reverse prorated. Hourly employees as you referenced work in hourly units, that's how the Labor system in this country works. However, those of us who work for ourselves (as a musician would be in this case) quite commonly quote dayrates. Had Chris said "a hundred dollars and hour", it is possible that Mr Benson would have said "fine, I'll take five hours worth" or, it is equally possible that he would have merely said "great, that's fine" and left the exchange to close out. Later, when actually utilizing Chris's talents, he would then have the ability to tailor his usage to his budget, or to simply pay what the meter read at the end of the cab ride.
We will never know. All we know is that $500 is what Mr Benson now has in his head as the total price. I work on dayrates all the time. Discounting a dayrate by a percentage of the day never happens. Hourly, yes. By day units, no.
Stevie Wonder called your house? That's awesome! So what exactly is the story behind it? You invited him to one of your shows and he called you personally to thank you? If Stevie Wonder called me and left a message, I'd probably keep it forever, I've loved(in a strictly platonic way of course) Stevie Wonder since I was like 8. Did you keep a copy of the message? I know it's a little lame that I can become so star struck, but I make an exception for certain people.
Last Edited by on Jan 14, 2010 9:38 PM
In 2000 I put together the best harmonica convention ever. No shit... it still stands as the best and it nearly put SPAH out of business. I had all of the best players from around the world come to teach all day long and then there were three concerts per night plus a major blues harp act across the street at a real blues club. There was none of this going to the ballroom of a hotel crap to see a concert. All that jam camp stuff you see people putting on was spawned by my event.
I tried to get Stevie Wonder to come but he's extremely hard to get in touch with. Finally I tracked down some people who had private numbers for him and I got to him that way. At the time he hadn't toured in over three years and I was going to put on a huge concert with him. I even secured $3 million dollars from Target and Best Buy. But his brother Milton is a money grubbing asshole. I have no trouble saying that because it's a known fact and everybody will say the same. He told me to come up with $3Million and then he would talk to me. When I got it with in a week then he changed the terms again, now he wanted $5M and 45% of the proceeds. That wasn't going to happen!
I heard that Stevie wanted to come and might actually come but not perform. I sent him 8 plane tickets but he never used them.
My festival was the birth of the Minneapolis Jazz Fest as well. Anybody who knows me personally, knows I that I go way overboard with everything that I do. I wanted to have an outdoor component to the harmonica fest so I created a Major jazz fest to go along with it. I ran that for a few years than moved to AZ. The festival is still going strong and has expanded from the original stage to 14 stages across Minneapolis and St Paul.
No I didn't keep a copy of the message. Brendan Power was staying at my house at the time and he would help me delete about 300 messages per day. There were so many, I couldn't even listen to them.
I talk about let this or that be a lesson to you... so let that story be a lesson in faith. I started that event in Feb of 2000. It all happened because I was critical of SPAH and the president of SPAH told me I was full of shit when I told him it could be done a 100 times better. So I did it and I did it all by myself and with a zero budget. The whole event cost about $120,000 and I raised all of that money via sponsors and donations and I did it in about four months.
At the end of the day, I go to bed believing that I can accomplish anything. For me, it's a way of being and most likely the reason most of you don't like me.
---------- "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - Joseph Campbell
