Am I being too dark? - MusicianWages.com

This topic has 7 voices, contains 11 replies, and was last updated by ajhmusic 165 days ago.

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November 26, 2011 at 5:40 am #6893
Nick Rosaci	<p>Just curious if I’m being too dark lately. Like I said in an earlier thread, I hate it when people are looking for handouts and not doing the work to find their own gigs. But even more than that, I hate it when people are giving musicians (or anyone) "work" and not planning on paying them.</p> <p>I’ve been brought up to be a stickler for hard work, and that hard work is to be repaid. It seems that I’ve seen the opposite from both sides of that spectrum; some are trying to waltz into a gig without doing any of the work, and then there are those that want top quality service for free.</p> <p>The funny thing about this is, I’m a very laid back guy. Easy to get along with people, and always polite and smiling. But when it comes to messing with my wallet, I can get a bit ugly. Must be my Italian in me. </p> <p>So, my question is, am I laying it on too thick on this website? </p>
November 26, 2011 at 1:51 pm #7989
Joe Stone	I hadn’t noticed. I’ll let you know if that changes. (H)
November 26, 2011 at 4:57 pm #7990
Andree-Ann	Nick, I can’t say I noticed your ‘dark side’ on this website, but I must say that I agree with this post you just wrote. There are so many hardworking people in this world but the truth is, because there will always be someone willing to do it for free or cheaper, those people will get hired while you, me and everyone else suffers. Because people have gotten used to getting musicians for free or for cheap because of bands and ‘musicians’ desperate for any kind of exposure, professionals are actually losing out on potential gigs because no one is willing to pay a reasonable wage. My advice to you is to get your own reality show. Apparently it works for talentless individuals, so you should be good at it. hehehe…
November 26, 2011 at 7:19 pm #7991
MissusTurner	pls. forgive typing; trying to conserve hands for jan. concert. when i saw those comments from the well-off retiree and the dude w/the 50k day job, i also felt myself getting dark. hope they think 2x before taking away cruise gigs like that. also share annoyance w/untrained hobbyists glutting what’s left of live gigs, killing wages, quality and our rep in general. that and “fans” who pirate. i have sacrificed everything for pro. music and struggle hard enough as it is. cannot help but resent amateurs threatening what’s left of our work since econ. got so bad. am not gen. dark person by nature; still, this is a big peeve for me. hth. p.s. am your fellow italian american, and agree that we can be…intense; lol.
November 27, 2011 at 2:06 pm #7993
Joe Stone	Andree-Ann – do you have any Italian in you? Because if you don’t, you’re the only one in this thread. ;)
November 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm #7994
Nick Rosaci	Thanks, guys. It just seems that on this site, we see the epitome of everything we have issues with as musicians. Someone on one of the articles in a comment offered a recent college graduate an unpaid internship. Aside from the fact that it was a sketchy offer, why should any college graduate be accepting free gigs? The time for working for free for “experience” or “exposure” is over. The time to support yourself is just starting.
November 27, 2011 at 7:16 pm #7996
funkyguitar	I generally agree with the tone of this thread. I recently listened to Brian Tracy’s The Psychology of Achievement, and I’m reminded of one of the things he said: That the top 20% in any industry are always working,recession-proof, etc. I’d like to think that’s true in music as well, and it’s really in my own hands to get to and maintain that level.
November 27, 2011 at 8:02 pm #7997
MissusTurner	thought abt. this a little bit more yesterday, and realized just [i]why[/i] i feel this way abt. the interlopers on site: when i stumbled onto mw for the 1st time in sept., i realized that i’d hit the jackpot here. this is one of exactly [i]two[/i] places in my life (other one is the studio downtown where i used to give lessons for extra bread) where i can go and talk freely, and be accepted and supported. where i can open up abt. anything fr. concert stress, to frustrations in practice, to ppl. expecting free work and leaving me broke, to protecting my hands, and you guys will get it. this place is practically a support grp.; everybody here already knows what a musician goes through. i don’t have to explain myself or apologize, etc. when those commenters came here and said that stuff, they basically brought w/them all the very problems that i come here to escape for a few mins. per day, and they threw it all right back in my face when i had to read that mess again and again in the comments section. they brought the darkness into one of the few places where i can get away fr. it for a little while. that’s why those types have gotten on my nerves, i think.
November 28, 2011 at 12:04 am #7998
Cameron Mizell	Hey guys, Thanks for all the kind words about the site. I think everybody gets dark about whatever they do from time to time. I remember people getting really dark in music school, and people are basically dark and cynical about the exact same things as professionals. Seems to me the younger guys model their attitude after the older guys that they admire. Sometimes they think being dark is cool. Nick, I definitely noticed your tone was a little dark, but your thoughts are always accurate. I just thought, “Yeah, that shit gets to me, too. I know where he’s coming from.” At the same time, I think all of us on this thread, and a lot of the other people that are regulars on this site, are probably pretty positive people–the kind of players that make the lamest gig fun because they keep it all in perspective. Just the fact you started this thread, Nick, tells us that you’re aware of your attitude, which is awesome. There are plenty of times I write comments on this site, on some of my articles or Dave’s, in response to some totally ridiculous question or remark, only to close the browser or delete my thoughts instead of hitting Submit. Sometimes we just want to get it out of our system, but is it really worth posting something negative on the internet? Ever? So, I encourage all of us to refrain from the dark side when possible. MusicianWages continues to grow, thanks to all of you, and along with that comes people trying to promote themselves or take advantage of others. It sucks, but they won’t prevail. Too many legitimate folks are here sharing positive ideas and advice. It’s pretty amazing. </soapbox> Thanks guys, Cameron
November 28, 2011 at 3:45 am #8001
Nick Rosaci	Thanks, Cam. I do the same thing myself, but in the last comments thread, I decided to hit the submit button because I felt like I was defending a younger musician who might be tricked into taking a free gig right out of college. When it comes to gigging and music, I enjoy it all. I like being a sideman because I get to play everything from country to classical. It’s just humbling to see how much great music is out there, and I like being a part of all of it. I think I just take offense in this line of work when someone tries to shortchange another in some way. It happens all the time in every aspect of life, but we seem to be fighting just to be taken seriously. That’s why I sometimes get on the edge. I’ll keep fighting the urge to give in to my hate and release my anger.
December 4, 2011 at 2:50 pm #8054
ajhmusic	Cameron, always really impressed with your ability to keep a positive outlook on everything! Always glad to read your posts (H) For better or worse though, I gotta admit that I’m more in Nick’s camp lately, especially since moving, and its not a fun place (the darkness, not London). Don’t know the answer yet, but best of luck to us all, right? ;)
December 4, 2011 at 2:53 pm #8055
ajhmusic	wow, didn’t realize how horrible those “smileys” looked lol