[boris63]

Just out of curiosity have any of you Oakie musicians ever heard of a keyboard player named Mike Ferrante? I played with him in Memphis back in the '80's and when our band broke up, he moved back home to Oklahoma. I have no idea what part of the state.

It sure would be a trip if I ran into him in Tulsa!

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by boris63

$500.00 a week is probably a decent living in parts of OK. especially if you could supplement it with some kind of part-time job.

I used to make about $300-350 a week playing music about 5 years ago & also had a part-time business. It was still a struggle. Kankakee, IL. the city that I live near now dosn't have much of a music scene, unless I want to drive another hour to an hour and a half north to the Chicago area.

Even Chicago dosn't have that fantastic a music scene for a city of it's size. Memphis, TN. where I spent most of the '80's had a great music scene at the time.

I think Chicago is a big Blues and Jazz capital isn't it? Of course, not everyone is into Blues and Jazz, although I respect those musicians tremendously. Tulsa is home to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

I'm jealous, I never made $300 - $350 a week, much less $500. I would have been in paradise as a younger man making that kind of money.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

much less $500. I would have been in paradise as a younger man making that kind of money.

Yeah, but you'd be gone very night
from about 7pm to 2-3am...
It didn't work for me since 1983,
and I bet it wouldn't work for you either these days.

[mkfarnam]

Of course Memphis would, with the legend of Elvis and then Nashville is the Music Capital.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

Yeah, but you'd be gone very night
from about 7pm to 2-3am...
It didn't work for me since 1983,
and I bet it wouldn't work for you either these days.

Oh no, not these days AT ALL. I can handle a performance a month, even out of town, but I am not up to 3 am stuff. I'm asleep by ten on most nights!

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Oh no, not these days AT ALL. I can handle a performance a month, even out of town, but I am not up to 3 am stuff. I'm asleep by ten on most nights!

My rule is that I only play out on Friday or Saturday night...
(Within 20 miles from home.)
IF my family accompanies me, and my son gets to
sit in on a song or two AND I have a designated driver
(Just in case).

I get my way here in Northern NH...
(Not many good bass players in the North Country I guess?)

And even after getting to bed around 3am
in most cases, I still get up by 5 - 6am

I'm still "Rock N' Roll", but I wouldn't want to do it for a living
these days... I suppose...

[boris63]

I'm actually down to gigging 2-3 nights a month right now, and very seldomly far from home. If someone told me 15-20 years ago that that's all I'd be playing I woulda said they were nuts. Funny how time changes things.

It's hard to work a 40 hour week and spend every weekend in a bar. As much as I love music there's just too much other stuff to do.

Computerguy, what's the name of your band? Got a website?

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by boris63

I'm actually down to gigging 2-3 nights a month right now, and very seldomly far from home. If someone told me 15-20 years ago that that's all I'd be playing I woulda said they were nuts. Funny how time changes things.

It's hard to work a 40 hour week and spend every weekend in a bar. As much as I love music there's just too much other stuff to do.

Computerguy, what's the name of your band? Got a website?

Yeah, one's priorities change over time...
So does one's energy level.

And once one gets married, one loses even more incentive...
Then you're only playing for the money or fun of it...
The girls in the audience become off-limits.

No website...
When a gig comes up, we rehearse a bit and go do it.
Most of the guys up here are in 2 - 3 bands at once.
(It makes booking a gig interesting.)

It's not like the old days when we played out 4 nights a week
in Boston and rehearsed in between.
Ahhh the good old days when we got paid to play originals....

Now the only thing that pays up here is either classic rock
(the same junk I played when I was14) or country.
With the exception of Johnny Cash, I'm not a country fan.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

Yeah, one's priorities change over time...
So does one's energy level.

And once one gets married, one loses even more incentive...
Then you're only playing for the money or fun of it...
The girls in the audience become off-limits.

No website...
When a gig comes up, we rehearse a bit and go do it.
Most of the guys up here are in 2 - 3 bands at once.
(It makes booking a gig interesting.)

It's not like the old days when we played out 4 nights a week
in Boston and rehearsed in between.
Ahhh the good old days when we got paid to play originals....

Now the only thing that pays up here is either classic rock
(the same junk I played when I was14) or country.
With the exception of Johnny Cash,

.

If your not a country fan,,,,,are you sure that you want to move to OK.?

[boris63]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

with the exception of Johnny Cash, I'm not a country fan.

If you like Johnny Cash you might be a bigger fan of country than you think. I used to not be a big fan of country 'til I moved to Memphis and got exposed to the kind of country that you don't hear on regular top 40 country radio.

For example: I don't know how you could like Johnny and not also like Waylon. Besides all the great outlaw stuff, there's also what I'd like to call "Alternative Country". Stuff like Steve Earle, Son Volt, Wilco, Whiskeytown, to name a few off the top of my head.

You might be surprised just how much really interesting and creative country music is out there when you don't limit yourself to top 40 radio.

Just my 2 cents.