Diggsblues
348 posts
Jun 15, 2010
11:40 AM
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Here's the usual suspects. I'm sure there must be more.
Adam
Budhha
Todd Parrott
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scojo
27 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:40 PM
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I guess I would have to consider myself a pro... average about 12 gigs per month... play all the positions except #11... OB/OD... play many different genres of music... have played with lots of great people, been reviewed nationally/internationally etc.
Kurt Crandall (KC Blues) is also a (mighty good) pro. Barbeque Bob and Walter Tore are both as pro as you can get. there's more... this is just off top of my head.
Scott Albert Johnson
www.scottalbertjohnson.com
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barbequebob
923 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:42 PM
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Consider yourself lucky to gig 12 nights a month in this economy because a lot of players around here in the Boston area since the econmy tanked are lucky to have 4-5 per month and the money has gotten worse.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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scojo
28 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:50 PM
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BBM: yeah, I know. It's been a slog to get to this point. I'm lucky in that Jackson is a pretty darn good music town that keeps getting better... and I'm close to other places that have gig opportunities as well (MS Delta, New Orleans, college towns like Oxford and Starkville etc.). I get a decent amount of private stuff too, which obviously pays better than the clubs.
I should point this out: even with those 12 gigs per month (which actually varies to as low as 8 and as many as 18 in one recent month)... I still don't make enough to do it as my only job, especially supporting three small children. I essentially have two full-time jobs (music being one), and two part-time jobs (freelance writer and photographer). But I consider myself to be very blessed.
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Buddha
2052 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:52 PM
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don't forget
Brendan Power
PT Gazell
Jason Ricci
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"Musicians are the architects of heaven"
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Delta Dirt
166 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:54 PM
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4-6 gigs a month. $100 - $150 a night.I dont consider that pro. I aint no pro bull shitter either like some on this site. I sing, play alto sax and mainly harp play. People....like to dance...forget their troubles for a few hours. I can help with that. Been doing it quite a few years now. Mainly in the Mississippi Delta. But Professional? Cant make a living on them wages baby.
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scojo
29 posts
Jun 15, 2010
12:58 PM
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Delta Dirt, do we know each other? We're close by...
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barbequebob
924 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:00 PM
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I understand that one all too well. Even the musicians I know who also do GB gigs are having a pretty rough go at it too and they're not paying as well as they used to either.
For those who are reading this and wonder what a GB gig is, GB gigs means general business gigs, where what you are doing are largely weddings, barmitzfahs, corporate functions, and this is where you are NEVER the focus of attention, but largely more background music and these gigs, which can get a tad boring at times, do pay far better than the vast majority of club gigs do and back in the 90's, if you did one of these gigs and got paid anything less than $350 per man per night, you got robbed and worked ridiculously cheap. Many of the bands doing GB gigs have been replaced by DJ's. I've done a few of these gigs myself and most bands who only play club gigs often have a difficult time with these because they're not the center of attention and they also have play much quieter than they would at a club gig.
Scott, actually the siutation is largely unchanged since the late 60's-early 70's and here in the Boston area, the union scale per man for a blues gig is still at the 1969 level, being $42.50 per man a night, and at some other union locals, it's even worse.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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scojo
30 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:04 PM
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BBM: I went to college up your way, but I wasn't playing music as much then (other than some gigs playing bass in a pop-rock band that couldn't have been less bluesy). Please tell me that one usually make better than union scale, though.
I'll say another thing about playing here in Jackson that's really great... people do take artists a little more seriously here than in a lot of other places. (When I say artists, I mean musicians, painters, writers etc.) You're actually considered a valuable member of the community, and your perspective as an artist is taken seriously.
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scojo
31 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:05 PM
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DD: email me sometime at scott@scottalbertjohnson.com.
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barbequebob
926 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:09 PM
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Scott, in the Northeast, there are very few places that look at artists and musicians that way unless they're in the top 1% (big time money) category and too often many club owners look at musicians/bands largely as a commodity more than anything else.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Delta Dirt
168 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:11 PM
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I played back in the eighties in Jax.quite a bit. George Sreet. Hal and Mals. Been out of touch in the Jax scene the last decade or so. I do know who you are though. Been to your site. Good songs. Ill send you a message on email
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harpdude61
213 posts
Jun 15, 2010
1:21 PM
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You are a pro Scott!
A lot of pros post videos playing at home or instructional material. I'm sure a traveling pro hopes a fan or two would post something from a show.
Best way to find the latest videos on youtube is to search the name (not the youtube screen name) and sort by most recent.
When I roll the window down at the stop light and play...well...the kids on the school bus think I'm a pro....
Last Edited by on Jun 15, 2010 1:22 PM
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nacoran
2125 posts
Jun 15, 2010
2:20 PM
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Jason is around from time to time; the whole Harrison gang. Do you count people who make their living in related fields who use their harmonica playing as part of that gig? We've got customizers and amp people around.
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Nate
Facebook
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scojo
32 posts
Jun 15, 2010
2:21 PM
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I think those people are pros in my book. Greg Heumann is definitely a pro... MUCH better player than he gives himself credit for, IMHO. I had a blast woodshedding with him and Bobby Cole at HCH.
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AV8R
13 posts
Jun 15, 2010
2:26 PM
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Deak Harp
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Tuckster
589 posts
Jun 15, 2010
3:10 PM
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Dennis Gruenling-sometimes.
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