#5 What it’s like being a Full Time Musician
I decided to write on this topic….because it is my every day life these days!! And people always ask me what it’s like and they fantasize that it’s the coolest thing. And while it is cool, I won’t lie!!! It also is hard and gets old at times.
I say that because…..I am not like the musicians you love to listen to and pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to see in concerts. No, I am the type of musician that I hope you tip when you’re leaving the restaurant hehe
But for real! That’s my life right now. And to put it simply it is fun, exhausting, stressful, inconsistent, life-giving, energy boosting and draining at the same time, but overall a really cool thing to be able to do, and I often meet some of the neatest people!!! And overall I do LOVE IT!!! But there are times when it is super hard!!
Today being one of them…..I am currently sitting here in a coffee shop working on my computer, because I had to cancel my gig last night and tonight, since I got sick this weekend, and my voice has not healed yet. And it sucks 😥 because not only was I excited to play at the venue last night because it is so cute and I don’t play there often, but also I am living on these paychecks and tips. And when your voice (your only tool) goes out, there ain’t nothing you can do. And that is scary!!!! I never felt the depth of it until now.
(I definitely had a little sad girl cry sesh haha – I am over being sick!! These Florida allergies man…my body doesn’t like them!!)
Before now, I was in school, and working restaurant jobs which I loved, and would do gigs here and there. But now, it being my full time gig, it is a whole new ball game!!!!
Like damn!!! haha I give musicians A LOT of credit who do this full time. And those musicians are broken into 2 categories.
Musicians that you all know and love, who travel and perform for their career….have to sing full out day after day and are always be on the road with fans at every turn. Like that 100% has got to be exhausting!!!! Incredibly cool and life giving I would imagine, but at the same time exhausting. These musicians don’t have a quote on quote “normal life” like the average person does. While they have a lot of luxuries unlike musicians like me haha, they don’t have the freedom to really be themselves whenever and wherever they are, especially the real big time artists
2. Musicians, like me and many others I know, who are doing this as their full time gig/career. But it is a different level of career. It’s like the CEO and the intern hahaha or maybe sales rep!! We don’t have fans at every turn, some places don’t like us or want us to perform our originals, and if they are ok with it…it’s a bit intimidating because we aren’t well known and people love to hear covers, and then sometimes we play at places where we are simply background music, and you get no interaction with the audience. And man are those hard!!! you have to really dig deep and feel the reasons why you are doing what you do. I have had a couple gigs like this. Some I have mentally struggled and kept looking at the clock. Others I totally dove in and LOVED IT and really felt the music for myself. (will write a spin off blog on this topic!)
So what’s better? Which would you prefer?!?
And then there are time when we do get those gigs where the whole crowd is in on it, and they love you and are singing every word!! Those are the gigs that make you feel like a total star, and give you a glimpse of what it is like to be famous….and it is a cool feeling!!! For me that was in Breckenridge, at the Gold Pan Saloon last February!! I hadn’t played there before but it was incredible!!!
check it out here!
The other thing that often people don’t understand until they are in this career…..is that you are your own boss, booker, agent, designer, everything! Which is awesome, but it requires a lot of work. You have to constantly reach out to restaurants, bars, hotels, festivals, events, etc and send them emails, leave voicemails, send social media messages, try and go the place itself to see if you can speak to someone etc, which takes time!! And then you have to do all the promo on your socials (something I am not great at….but trying to get better!! we are getting there!). And even then each week is often not consistent, which can be cool because you’re not on the 9-5 grind, but it can also be slightly stressful, because if you don’t have a ton lined up….you gotta get on that and see anything/everything you can get!!
But when it does all work out….I do feel pretty proud of myself! especially when bookers come up to you and try to sell their business on you, and they realize that you have already booked all these places simply on your own and are very impressed and shocked!!! And I’m like cue Beyonce “who run the world….GIRLS”
So to recap…..being a full time live music perform is FUN, LIVE GIVING, CHALLENGING, STRESSFUL at times, AND A LOT OF HARD WORK!!!! But IT ALLOWS ME TO LIVE THE LIFE I WANT TO!!! AND THATS ALL THE MATTERS 🙂 🙂
So we keep doing it every day, and I keep growing as a performer and musician and that’s the cool part!!! I am getting more ideas to add to my music style, and more songs, and am finally going to record all my stuff!! SO it has been a blessing!!!
Stay tuned for more updates!!!