| A year ago, I was fortunate to be able to attend a master class by Greg Wing. For those not familar with Greg, he as played all over the world with people like Tom Jones, Paul Anka and Buddy Rich, just a couple of unknowns (ha ha!!). The first thing he said in the master class was the following:
"The music business is a people business. It is not a business about music."
This was a shocking revelation for many people in attendance because all they wanted Greg to do was to play high. He said he got all the jobs, in the bands listed above, and played in Vegas for 15 years based on word of mouth. Greg went on to state that the conversation usually centered on whether he was a good guy, easy to get along with, stuff like that. The playing aspect didn't even come into play until after he played a couple gigs.
I think that sometimes people forget that they are actually auditioning every time they play, whether it is a community band or a broadway play. And, everyone knows the limits of everyone else. Therefore, why do you want to have to put up with bad attitudes?
So, I really wonder where someone is coming from when they want to start having auditions for the area in which they live. Especially when it appears that there may be some personality issues that other players, conductors, and booking agents just don't want to deal with, which causes someone to not get called.
There is a player in my area that is a good player. However, he is also one of these people that is downright irritating to the point that people will not call this player even if they NEED someone on trumpet. Instead, they will go without or get someone that is not as good, but will be able to cover the part.
I will add this - A friend and I have tried to get this player to loosen up and just treat people with a little respect. Not just the other trumpet players, but the whole band and the booking agent. Unfortunately, he just doesn't seem to get it. He seems to think he should be hired just because he plays well. All I can say is that he shot himself in the foot and it will take years to fix the damage.
Even though this is the music business, think of it like this: If you work in an accounting firm and you have an accountant that is an absolute jerk to co-workers and clients to the point that good employees and clients are leaving, you get a bad reputation with potential employees and potential clients. Who wants to work with a jerk and who wants to hire a jerk? I believe booking agents look at it the same way.
Sorry for the long windedness (is that a word?) of this post. Don't forget, as Greg Wing said, "The music business is a people business". |