RE: Professional Loopers

[A.Willers@t-online.de (A.Willers)]

Subject: Re: Professional Loopers
Message-ID: <B7DCD96B.1968%stevesandberg@earthlink.net>
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Interesting reading, this loop on those of us making a living from live
shows.
Question -- this sounds so blunt and naive but -- how do you do it?
I make my living writing for TV, have done some solo shows at the Knitting
Factory and Guggenheim Museum in NY, but can't seem to get past the "do a
show for my friends and acquaintances" stage -- any hints?


Hi,

the situation for Europe and the States is always quite different and not 
comparable. Germany alone used to have about 350 jazz clubs with almost 
daily live programms plus all these festivals. That has been changing for 
the worse during the ninetees, mainly because cultural funding is drying 
up. I hear the situation has increasingly gotten better in the US, are the 
Americans after all starting to spend their own tax money on art/music :-)?

Part of my survival trip has always been to consciously following my own 
path musically (being 'the artist') while trying to maintain general 
musical chops as well (also being an 'allround pro'). Needless to say that 
this is a thin line to try and follow with plenty detours.

But while people in the first world can go and persue their music as pros 
or at least can get decent jobs and own about three times as much 
equipment 
than those guys ;-) there are players I met in Moskow, Manila or Khartoum 
that have a so much harder time to get their act together, probably 
shelling out a weeks pay for a set of D'Addarios....and making some great 
music.

We are LUCKY, man!
andreas