Things I’ve Learned from Craigslist Musician Postings

Fresno CA

Description

There are a lot of “Loosely Used” terms in CL Musician postings. So perhaps a little clarity would be beneficial to all. Working Band – If you or your band are performing more than 200 nights per year, and you’re making a wage that at least qualifies you for Medi-Cal ($20,385 annually), I’d say you might qualify as a “working band”. That means you are performing between 3 and 4 times a week, making about $101.00 a night. Wait a minute, don’t you have to split that with at least 2 other band mates? Now you’re down to $33.00. And you performed for 2 hours at a bar or nightclub. New math: you made $16.50 an hour. Oh, I forgot, you spent 45 minutes setting-up, and 45 minutes breaking down. That’s another 90 minutes schlepping equipment. Recalculate: $9.42 per hour. But you love the stage notoriety, and it cost you $10 bucks in gas to get to the gig. It was a short drive from your tiny apartment (or parent’s house), and you didn’t lose too much oil dripping out from under your 1993 Saturn SW Wagon (with the hazy headlights). Let’s get real. There are NO working bands in Fresno or the Central Valley. To truly be a working band, you need to make at least $325 to $400 per person in the band per performance. The fuzzy math estimates that wage to be about $65,000 per year. So, if you have 4 members in your band, a “working” performance fee would be about $1,600 a night. Fresno and the surrounding area are just “chuck-full” of venues paying $1,600 … right? Perhaps we shouldn’t use the words “Working Band” to describe your great endeavor when looking for band mates. Oh, and the State of California considers $65,000 to be a “low-income”, and if you have children, you might qualify for Food Stamps. Gigging 3 to 5 Times a Month – Wow … You’re not quite a “Working Band”, but you might be considered a “Busy Band”. If you have a day job (to support your night habit) like many of us, you probably limit your showmanship to the weekends. That means you spend hours setting up your equipment, playing until late night, breaking down your stuff and heaving it in the back of your car (the Saturn SW Wagon), and coming home in the wee hours of the morning. It’s probably a good bet you’re not a live-wire the next day. Perhaps your “significant other” is tired of seeing you roll out of bed at 2:00 in the afternoon, dried drool on your cheek; reeking of spilled beer on your glorious “Let’s Rock” t-shirt; house chores left undone. What a harmonious weekend life you have. And then, to make matters all the better, you head out at 6:00pm to do it all again. Your boss just loves you on Monday mornings. Perhaps we shouldn’t use inflated numbers to describe just how busy you are. Someone just might put you on a pedestal and question your “real” work ethic and dedication. Have Pro-Equipment – What qualifies as “Pro-Equipment”? The Fender Squire you purchased at WalMart? The 10 stomp boxes in your case with the broken springs? The Crate XT120R 3-Channel 120-Watt 2x12" Solid State Guitar Combo you got from your cousin? News flash: It really doesn’t matter whether you have a Glarry GTL Maple Fingerboard Electric Blue Guitar, or a Gibson '57 Les Paul Custom Black Beauty. It’s what you can do with it. If you are brave enough to put yourself out there on CL as a musician for hire, or to join a band, we’ll give you the “benefit of the doubt” that you own something that will assist you in displaying your talents. Hope this helps.