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Musician

Posted by in Career Stories
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Explore Being a Musician with Doug

musician-mic

Hear Doug sing! (and play all the instruments too!)

cz: Briefly describe your job.

I am a professional musician, which means I actually earn a living playing music. It’s what I do, and what I have been doing for many years and I love doing it. I currently perform for private parties, conventions, and corporate special events. I am a one man musical group, playing guitar, keyboard and vocals, over-dubbing the various parts for different musical arrangements, and I perform with my music group. I sometimes hire individual side musicians to fit the type of music required for the gig. I arrange all of my own music and even though I sometimes play the background track music digitally, I always play live guitar or piano. I also sing the vocals live. I will often play solo piano or guitar with no tracks or vocals…just me and the music unplugged.

My musical performances span the spectrum from playing for two U.S. presidents, to playing in rowdy bars with fights on most nights. I have played on beaches, yachts, lawns, around swimming pools and the usual assortment of hotel ballrooms, lounges, and private and social establishments, including cruise ships, I have performed with world class, studio caliber musicians (which was like getting a music lesson with the gig), and with wannabe musicians who I would rather forget.

I am not a recording artist or touring entertainer. I am a self employed working musician. The work I currently do often does not spotlight me. I am not the entertainment. I provide live music to add ambience to a party or background music to a business gathering even if there is dancing, I am usually not the focus of the party.

cz: How long have you been working in this field?

I have been working as a professional musician for 35 years. Three of those were in the US Army Band.

cz: When and how did you decide to choose this career?

I always loved music and was involved in music in high school. So, when I graduated I went to a university and got a four-year degree in music. It’s what I always wanted to do and I started performing full time and had as much work as I wanted right out of college. However, no bar or restaurant owner ever wanted to see my degree.

cz: What education and training did you receive before entering your field?

As I mentioned, I earned a 4 year music degree from James Madison University in Virginia but I think I learned even more while in the Army Band as a guitar player (between drill practice and target practice.) While with the Army Band we would often perform as a small group at the officers club or various venues for retirements and promotions, or receptions for high-ranking government officials, or even heads of state. That was where I learned to fit the music to the engagement and to not assume it was a concert situation. I also took a few one-on-one classes with professors on jazz improvisation and big band arranging that helped put it all together. The Army even paid tuition for some studies while I was on active duty.

cz: How did you begin OR what was your first job in the field?

After college and the Army, I dove right in and played just about every spot in Virginia Beach, VA. Back in the mid seventies, almost every bar and many restaurants had live music. Even small towns that had a Holiday Inn had live music in the lounge, often a pretty good size band, 6 nights a week! It was almost as common as Starbucks is today. Those gigs are pretty scarce these days. Back then, it was fairly easy for an accomplished musician and entertainer to find full time work. Even on a week night in the off season, Virginia Beach had many bands and artists performing all over town.

cz: Describe a typical day on the job?

Every gig is different. I try to arrive at least 45 minutes early even if it only takes me 20 minutes to set up. Sometimes the “load in” for my equipment is problematic, and can be a real workout! (Try doing a gig on the third deck of a yacht, making 5 trips up the stairs packing your gear. That is like climbing 15 stories with a handful of equipment. )

I try to play at least a part of a song before guests arrive so at least the person who hired me or the coordinator hears me before it gets crazy or noisy. Most gigs, the crowd is much louder than I am and if you pump up the volume the guests only get louder. I try to be ready to play most anything but as I mentioned, many times I am there to provide background music. I play hard, meaning that if I have a 4-hour gig, I often will do hour and a half sets with 15-minute breaks….totally different than a bar band or lounge singer who always seem to be on break.

The gig goes pretty fast when I am performing, even if the attendees are not directly listening or dancing. I always like to give clients more than they asked for. If they just asked for guitar I will pack my keyboard too. If there is a grand piano in the room away for my set location, if appropriate, I will play a little during dinner. If they need an extra speaker outside but did not think to ask, I usually can provide that as well without the client even needing to ask. Of course this all adds up to a nice tip at the end of the night…and a chance for additional and repeat bookings. I always dress for the occasion. Often this means a nice suit or tuxedo, or even white slacks and an island shirt. You will never see me in jeans and a T-shirt at any of my gigs. If I dress well, people will always see that I am a professional.

cz: What do you like most about what you do?

I like the variety. Every gig is different. And I guess you can imagine not every gig is wonderful. If I play a “downer” gig, hey, I am self-employed, I don’t have to accept another booking with them.

cz: What has been the most rewarding experience so far in your career?

I love writing big band arrangements or compositions. I like big arrangements for up to 16 instruments. There is nothing like singing or playing solo with a large band comprised of quality musicians, especially when they are playing my musical arrangements for the first time. Of course this music composition is hard work, a labor of love even with the assist of computer music programs and printers. But I love doing it. Unfortunately, there is not much call for big band music these days. I recorded, composed and self produced my own album, before CD’s, in the early eighties! This was a real album. These days, any garage band has a CD, but in those days it was rare for anyone to even self produce a record. I sold them when I performed on the cruise ships.

cz: What do you like least about your job?

The live music business for “working musicians” is a shadow of what it was even twenty years ago. I am always hustling for gigs and it’s getting harder all the time. The only certainty is that I will always play music. Being able to always make a living playing music is less certain. But so far it is working out for me, and I hope it will always be so. I play a lot of different styles and have pretty solid clients who give me repeat gigs. My best buddies, a golden retriever and flat coated retriever, like regular meals. Many musicians cannot stand not knowing where their next pay check is coming from. To do what I do, you must have faith that your phone will ring, and after many years in South Florida, it usually does for me.

cz: What is the biggest challenge for you in this job?

Even though I am pretty hip and look okay and physically up to the one night gigs, I am getting older. I can’t hide that. In many other jobs, older means experience, in entertainment, even though I am really not an entertainer, it is a young man’s game. Additionally, in many professions, as one gets more senior, they have the opportunity to move into supervision and get away from the individual contributor grind. Even the most senior dog catcher probably sends out one of the staff to do the “catching.” In my profession, I am the marketing department, the sales department and the production department. My business is me, the professional musician.

Another challenge is competing with many part-timers who perform for little or nothing, just for the fun of it. I am proud to be a full-time professional musician and I believe that the time and devotion I have put into the field makes me a better musician. Believe me, these part-timers, even though they may be talented, dilute the market and income of full-time professional musicians. But, that is just the way it is.

Also, DJs have taken many gigs from musicians. I will do a DJ gig now and then and have the music to suit- most any event, but I prefer to play my own music.

I do not want to sound like I am complaining, but as far as solo musicians go, there are many sax players and drummers and singers who perform with audio tracks modern technology has enabled them to use. They are not lesser musicians, but in the past they could not perform as a single musician. At one time, most players who played solo or one man band style had to play bass pedals and be able to play a full sound and sing. I am now competing with players that not too long ago could only perform in a band situation. Last week I did a wine tasting event on solo piano, with my background tracks. Many years ago, it would have been a four piece band, but now it was just me.

cz: What would you like to say to someone considering this career?

I say what my folks said to me, and amazingly, I kind of proved them wrong for many years. Unless you really have some kind of extra special talent and have the motivation to push yourself, and to live with the risk of not being able to make a living, at least for a while, the music business may not be where you want to go. Nowadays it takes extraordinary talent, luck, and contacts to make it as a professional musician. It may just not be your day job. But, on the other hand, if you have what it takes and are realistic about the risks and hard work, you do what you must do.

cz: What are the most important personal and professional skills necessary to succeed in your field?

In the special arena of music that I occupy (self-employed, events music), it is critical that I be tuned in and focused on what the client wants. I have to put my ego aside and realize that I am being retained for a specific purpose and to deliver precisely what the engagement calls for. I also need to be able to read between the lines, i.e. if the client says classical guitar, does he really mean soft, instrumental guitar? Also I am careful to never burn any bridges, even if I have been treated unfairly. People know other people and my reputation is everything. However, the most important skill a self-employed musician must have is a salesman-like professional presence and look that makes clients feel like you can provide everything they need. You should be able to “cold call” someone and sell them your services in their bar or hotel or office. Remember, a professional musician is a “working” musician. Getting the gigs is far harder than playing them. Also, I get many gigs from other musicians. You would think that they are just your competition, but if you get friendly with a number of professional players, they will call you for gigs they can’t handle. Likewise, I will send them my over flow.

cz: What would a person interested in entering this field have to do to get a good job in it?

They need to get experience in a wide variety of music, from sacred music to singing in some foreign languages, or at least playing them instrumentally. I play funerals and weddings and reggae/island gigs, latin music and country music. Musicians need to gain experience playing in different bands as a sideman and watching the leaders very carefully, especially how they perform and interact with clients and the audience. You can learn from the good and the bad. You do not necessarily have to go to music school, but you do need to be familiar with a wide variety of music. You don’t really have to easily read music, but it helps and will make you a better and more versatile musician. It also helps you to communicate with other studio musicians.

cz: What could someone do to learn more about this field right now?

Go right up to musicians you see performing and on their breaks or after the gig, and ask them about their overall view of their career. Unless they are really stuck on themselves they will tell it to you straight. Listen to what they say.

cz: Is there any general advice you would like to offer to students on making a career choice or on work life itself?

If you’ve got to do it and have the SUPER talent and poise and “look” you should plan for a career on the concert stage. As much of a long shot as that is, the middle ground of music has almost disappeared and finding work in the area of music I practice is very difficult.

And last, if you must play music, find a way to play it, always. As I said, it may not be your day job, but it can be your lifelong passion. If you want to play music as a profession, you can just roll the dice. However, remember, the odds always go to the house.

One other point is that instrumentalists should learn how to sing. And singers should learn how to accompany themselves.

I will close with a true story. Where I went to music school, the head of the department was an opera guy. He wrote into the degree requirements that all instrumental majors must take 8 credit hours of private voice lessons. Most of us hated it, but this was a very serious music school and there were no automatic grades for just trying hard. I was awful at first, and could not even match pitches. But, I gradually started singing on key. If there was one thing that enabled me to perform as a full time musician it was that I could play AND sing. I don’t have a huge range and I don’t try to sing songs that make me look bad. But, there are hundreds of great guitarists and talented singers who can’t sing and play. If you can do both, you will really enhance your chances of success in this business.

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