mike ansberry

I talked to the guys from the group I was to play with and told them I'd love to play some other time. But it is kind of a weird deal. I only really know one of them. He tells me the group is made up of playing pros and other people in the music business in town. This group almost always plays for free. It is a "release" for them. I could understand that if they were playing for some charities. But the Gibson Guitar Showcase is a big store in the Opry Mills Mall. What they are getting is free entertainment. It would be a good chance for me to make contacts, but it just doesn't seem right to me. I've talked to some other players in town and they tell me that almost all of the places on 2nd Avenue pay very little for musicians. People are willing to play because they think they'll be "discovered". What they wind up doing is driving down the pay scale for players. I think the bus boys make more in some establishments than the musicians make.

__________________
"Music is a fire in your belly that has to come out of your mouth, so you'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt" (paraphrase of Bleeding Gums Murphy)