i figured i owed anybody checking an update of sorts that i don't typically do with email.  i lived in Chicago for 6 years and loved every minute - i was a window washer for those years, working for a great small company and had a blast.  I played music on week nights and weekends at Borders Books, Starbucks, various indie coffee shops, and bars around chicagoland.  I released 2 albums while living in Chicago thanks in very large part to 2 friends Scott Jacobsen and Mike Meaney.   I tried 2 different cd production companies - for "B" i used discmakers.  They were great and that's the company i've stayed with.  I send them the master CD (this is the final copy of the audio) and all the artwork - 4 weeks later they send me my CD's :)  I've tried a number of things with both albums, radio promotion, press reviews, getting it in the right hands . . .i've opened for people, played solo shows and played with friends, played for the cat.  As far a gigs went - i figured if i could get back and sleep in my own bed at the end of the night, i wouldn't have to spend the money i had made that night from cd sales on a hotel room (Borders, Starbucks, and most coffee shops don't pay their musicians - it's not a bad thing it's just business) - so gigs in Madison WI, Indianapolis, IN, and any town in between were totally possible.  So that's what i did - worked during the week, and played music any chance i got.  There were good nights (10 CD sales) and not so good nights (No CD sales, and gum wrappers in the tip jar - haha).  Regardless of the outcome on any given night I usually met someone really cool, hungout with friends, made new friends, and usually got a free drink.   The truth is there were nights I did terrible in the tip jar, but had a blast hanging out with patrons in the cafe or bar.  It's never been about the money 1st, that spot was reserved for the music, but i get a lot of questions about the music business side of things - so i figured it was time to start talking.

I think there are 2 ways to look at gigs.

1st:
I've got friends in bands that will play one show every 2 months at a club like the Metro, Hotel Cafe - they'll promote and promote the show.  They'll go to other clubs during other bands gigs and flyer for their upcoming show.  Then play the show and lie low for a month or 2 - and resurface a month later.
2nd:
There were weeks I played 5 shows - 3 nights at different Borders, a starbucks, and a college during the week.  It's good on the one hand because you get to play a lot, bad because no one wants to hear you play 5 nights a week - haha

I think both kind of gigs strategies have the good and the bad.  i don't know which one is better in the long run, I'm still trying to figure that out :) - maybe you have an opinion.


(friends at Uncommon Ground)

Next blog:
In 2006 I tried something new - playing gigs to far away to make it back home to sleep that night in my bed. . .