[TPIN] amateurs/playing for free

[Allegro69]

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:50:33 -0600
From: Travis Wilson <travisw at pdq.net>
Subject: [TPIN] amateurs/playing for free
Cc: tpin at tpin.okcu.edu
Message-ID: <45CB54D9.9080503 at pdq.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

SNIPPED


> "Your group sounds like fun.  I have to tell you though that I hired 4
bands
> in 2005 and lost money on every one of them.  My students simply do not
> support live music. They would rather pay $5 and dance to DJ music."
and this from a group that LOVES to dance, loves music.

>>now the question. If the problem is his people won't pay enough to allow
>>him to hire a band, and he has made a serious effort to do so, and our
>>band thinks it would be great fun for us to go to his club and play for
>>an evening dance party, and we are willing to do it at a very low cost,
>>is that something that folks think is acceptable?

>>There are many issues here, but one of those real issues is that our
>>guys would have a great time at this place playing. I know the
>>atmosphere and it would be incredibly fun for us to do it. Do we pass
>>that up because the owner has found out he cannot afford to pay a real
>>cost for a band?

>>this is in no way a rhetorical question. I am a bit at a loss on what to
>>do. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated

>>Travis

Fun is fun, but business is business. While it's nice to be on the side of
the owner being that he tried before - but failed, the real sticky wicket is
the students who might enjoy the live band, yet don't want to pay into it.
Let them dance to CD's and let it go at that. Imagine going to any of the
students' places of business and saying that you don't want to pay in full
for their services. I'm sure they'd show you the door. Sure it would be fun
to play in that kind of setting, but bear in mind that the cheaper the tab
is, the more demanding these people get to be. What starts out as fun turns
into something that eventually turns into a FUBAR situation. Been there,
done that! Rather than doing that, why not try to set up a session featuring
the band on your local cable TV station? Not only might it be a fun thing to
do, but also a way to give something back to your community rather than
aiding and abetting a privately owned business. As said in the 'Godfather',
"It's nothing personal, it's only business."