Restaurant gig

Russell Letson

JSanta--Playing with really good players accounts for most of whatever progress I've made since starting to play in public years ago. Few things are more unsettling to me than being the best picker in the room. (Even though after 30 years of playing out, I'm not exctly chopped liver. Still, I feel kind of exposed.) Good bandmates--especially those who, consciously or not, act as mentors--are like gold. And when good players let you stay on, take it as a sign that you're doing something right. (Or maybe have the most reliable vehicle. Not all virtues are musical.)

rad

I played resto/cafe gigs for years. The job is to create a 'douce ambiance' while folks are eating. Later in the evening, there were often patrons picking up on the music, and letting us know. 'Gypsy Jazz' is well suited for wine bars and hip dining spots. I enjoyed the experience. You think that no one is listening, and then folks will stop by the bandstand and tell us how much they liked it.

Chiefbigeasy

I play various kinds of gigs in New Orleans, and some of our venues can be quite demanding because the patrons expect to be completely entertained and wowed. We haven’t escalated to that kind of venue so much, but we do a number of bar, restaurant, courtyard gigs where we are not exactly background music, but attention to us is something we can sometimes control by making a connection with a few audience members at a time.

That said, I recently remarked to a new band I’m playing with that has aspirations of serious listening audiences, “don’t forget that we are there primarily to help them sell food and drinks.“

I don’t mind playing “background music “gigs in the least. They are often corporate, pay well, and give the band a chance to experiment with a few ideas while still enjoying playing together.

Some New Orleans venues encourage tipping the band (often because they don’t pay a very high guarantee), but the gigs can be quite lucrative. It’s up to the band to connect with the audience, and that connection can result in quite a payday.