Still trying to figure this one out, quite frankly. I've spent a lot of time on the road this fall, and I've been home for a little over a week now. I've been ever-so-slightly under the weather since September. With as much flying as I do, I am often keeping weird hours (due to the need to get to the airport at the ass-crack of dawn, very often), so sleep is a real issue. I guess I'm sensitive when it comes to that, because the wrong bed/pillows in a hotel, being too close to the lobby/elevators, etc. can ruin your sleep, especially when you really need it the most. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping because I don't want to be late to the airport and possibly miss my flight.
So, that's one thing...
The other thing is eating healthy on the road. Also very difficult. It's too easy to get to fast food, for one thing. It can be difficult to find good food, much less something that is remotely healthy. Try eating breakfast at the hotel breakfast area. They're often the same wherever you go, and rarely good (or healthy). Now, I'm no health-food freak -- honestly! I love what would be considered "really bad food". But you just can't do that too often. It takes a concerted effort to avoid it. And then, there's the expense of eating properly. Quality food ain't cheap, and my per diem only goes so far. And don't get me started on airport food - mediocre eats at 4 times the price!
And then there are the germs...
They're everywhere! The uber to the airport? You don't know who/what was in that car before you. Commercial flights? Gross. After-show meet n' greets? Shaking hands with all sorts of nice people who didn't wash their hands after using the restroom? Hey, they're out there! You try not to use your right hand for anything until you can wash it off after, but that's difficult to do sometimes.
When I first got into "the music biz", I wondered why many of the folks I'd met/worked with prefer to hug you hello. Maybe the "gross right hand" phenomenon is the reason why! I wasn't much of a casual hugger before, but I am now!!!
...and I still can't stay healthy.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
When the Universe Tells You Something, You'd Better Listen!
It's been pointed out to me that I haven't updated this blog in quite some time -- about a year, in fact! Sorry about that! Man, a lot can happen in a year. Where to begin...
When I last posted, I was looking for new opportunities (what musician isn't?). Luckily, over the summer, I got a cold call from a composer that I didn't know, who had just worked with a director that we'd both worked with on separate occasions. As it often goes for me, lo these past several years, he needed "a rock player that can read". And that, ladies and gents, is my calling card -- the rock guy who can read. Most of my work these days comes from musical theater people who want authentic rock playing. You'd be surprised at how many musical theater guitarists just don't have the right feel, or can't come to grips with certain styles of rock playing, or the ability to nail a specific tone.
So, I added this guy to my roster of employers, and as of summer 2016 could count 3 or 4 different companies that were hiring me regularly.
And, then, in November of 2016...
IT. ALL. STOPPED....
[Cue sound of crickets]
I had nothing. Not a single gig on my schedule. Everything dried up, all at once. "Oh, crap!", I said to myself. "Is this it? Is this the end?". Let's face it, folks, almost every musician reaches a point where it must end, at least as a profession. Well, I wasn't ready to go quietly. I'd been working with enough Broadway pit players to learn a little something about that game, which is somewhat different than what I've been doing. It's a small, tight circle that is incredibly difficult to break into. And, you have to be in the musicians union to get that work.
So, I joined the union and sent out cold emails to 5 pit players in shows and asked about being a sub. One got back to me immediately and asked me to meet him at a gig he was playing. So, I arrived there to see a few folding chairs set up on the floor of this place, with a few set up opposite for the "audience". I take a seat right in front (there were only about 7 or 8 chairs, anyway, so it was easy to sit in front). Knee to knee with him (and Oz Noy, actually. Both amazing). I didn't approach him until after their first set, and introduced myself. He offered me a spot on his sub list, and sent me the book [the score for his instrument(s)] the next day.
And just like that, I'm a sub in one of the most popular shows on Broadway.
So, I've been 'shedding this harder than I've ever 'shedded anything, ever, because there's a LOT riding on this. It also happens to be the hardest guitar book on Broadway (although I didn't know it at the time), and it's 5 different instruments (often 3 in the same piece of music). Definitely a challenge, but also the kind of challenge I enjoy. And, let's face it -- definitely a step up for my resume'! While I know the guy who's "chair" it is has no intention of leaving, he gets calls for some amazing gigs that he often turns down. The goal, then, is to be the recommendation, as in: "I can't do it, but I know someone who can...". He's turned down some pretty amazing gig offers, too.
Since then, I've done a nearly month long tour, and I'm booked for fly-date weekends for the next 2 months straight. That is not including the pit sub gig!
A few months ago, I thought I was done. The universe had other plans for me, obviously, and I got another half a year of work out of it. I don't know how this happens, but I'm riding this wave as long as I can. Stay tuned. Maybe I'll still be working in another few months! Gotta go. Catching a plane to Detroit soon....
When I last posted, I was looking for new opportunities (what musician isn't?). Luckily, over the summer, I got a cold call from a composer that I didn't know, who had just worked with a director that we'd both worked with on separate occasions. As it often goes for me, lo these past several years, he needed "a rock player that can read". And that, ladies and gents, is my calling card -- the rock guy who can read. Most of my work these days comes from musical theater people who want authentic rock playing. You'd be surprised at how many musical theater guitarists just don't have the right feel, or can't come to grips with certain styles of rock playing, or the ability to nail a specific tone.
So, I added this guy to my roster of employers, and as of summer 2016 could count 3 or 4 different companies that were hiring me regularly.
And, then, in November of 2016...
IT. ALL. STOPPED....
[Cue sound of crickets]
I had nothing. Not a single gig on my schedule. Everything dried up, all at once. "Oh, crap!", I said to myself. "Is this it? Is this the end?". Let's face it, folks, almost every musician reaches a point where it must end, at least as a profession. Well, I wasn't ready to go quietly. I'd been working with enough Broadway pit players to learn a little something about that game, which is somewhat different than what I've been doing. It's a small, tight circle that is incredibly difficult to break into. And, you have to be in the musicians union to get that work.
So, I joined the union and sent out cold emails to 5 pit players in shows and asked about being a sub. One got back to me immediately and asked me to meet him at a gig he was playing. So, I arrived there to see a few folding chairs set up on the floor of this place, with a few set up opposite for the "audience". I take a seat right in front (there were only about 7 or 8 chairs, anyway, so it was easy to sit in front). Knee to knee with him (and Oz Noy, actually. Both amazing). I didn't approach him until after their first set, and introduced myself. He offered me a spot on his sub list, and sent me the book [the score for his instrument(s)] the next day.
And just like that, I'm a sub in one of the most popular shows on Broadway.
So, I've been 'shedding this harder than I've ever 'shedded anything, ever, because there's a LOT riding on this. It also happens to be the hardest guitar book on Broadway (although I didn't know it at the time), and it's 5 different instruments (often 3 in the same piece of music). Definitely a challenge, but also the kind of challenge I enjoy. And, let's face it -- definitely a step up for my resume'! While I know the guy who's "chair" it is has no intention of leaving, he gets calls for some amazing gigs that he often turns down. The goal, then, is to be the recommendation, as in: "I can't do it, but I know someone who can...". He's turned down some pretty amazing gig offers, too.
Since then, I've done a nearly month long tour, and I'm booked for fly-date weekends for the next 2 months straight. That is not including the pit sub gig!
A few months ago, I thought I was done. The universe had other plans for me, obviously, and I got another half a year of work out of it. I don't know how this happens, but I'm riding this wave as long as I can. Stay tuned. Maybe I'll still be working in another few months! Gotta go. Catching a plane to Detroit soon....
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