Best "scenes" or "performing circuits" in the U.S.

[Firebrand]

This is a conversation that is rarely had, but important for musicians of all instruments, looking to move around the country.

I'm living in Western MA and while I perform pretty regularly, I'm not too satisfied with MA life. I'm more inclined to warmer weather. I wanted to see if people could post about the nature of performing locations around the country. I can attest that Boston and Providence RI are essentially pretty dead cities for professionals. Gigs are scarce and at least in Boston, competition is heavy and abundant. Plus, a lot of pretty good musicians fight for small, $75-100.00 gigs. Puerto Rico is also similarly dead...mostly because of economic conditions, an abundance of good musicians, little "outlets", etc. It's so bad that many of Puerto Rico's best musicians supplement their income with small Hotel gigs in El Condado or at "pubs" in the Metropolitan area.

In comparison, Western MA and close by Hartford CT is not so bad. I probably gig more than a lot of musicians who I would consider at my level or better than me in Boston or Puerto Rico. But, I'm always looking for information on different locations in the country, particularly the West Coast and Florida. Any opinions? I think that if I could recreate my experience in Western MA (plus a day job teaching music at a public school) in Florida or California, I might be enticed to make the jump.

[ABAKUA]

$75-100.00 gigs

Come to Sydney bro. Warm weather & average lowest paid gig pays minimum of $150, the usual is $200 or more if travellin to another city etc, plus travel expenses covered.
Corporate gigs see us land around $300 and up per musician.
My average gigs pay minimum between $150 - $200 up.

[CongaTick]

PHILLY: Not much of a purely Latin/folkloric scene happening as paid gigs, except at some private affairs in the north of the city. Mostly a rock town where cover bands get most of the paid gigs. Bars/clubs used to pay for play, but many now will book multiple bands and insist the band buy tickets to sell and bring in "their own crowd". Much of the originals scene are non-paid performances at a few of the clubs that specialize in original work. "Percussion" here can mean a kit drummer or somebody playing a small djembe with an acoustic duo. $100-- $150 used to be the scale but much,much harder to get today. As a conguero I have to play to fit within the rock/jazz/fusion scene. Currently am with 3 projects---1 rock/fusion, 1 jazz fuson, and a reggae/fusion band. Most people believe I play the "bongos", though once they hear me within the context of the performance, I am greatly appreciated. Majority of groups and musicians don't quite know the place and fit for a percussionist/conga player. It's not a pretty picture. That's my view. Other Phillyfiles may bring a differing perspective.

[windhorse]

Boulder Colorado is predominately white upper middle class hyper educated folk. Among other things they are also well educated in music. So there is a shockingly sizable crowd that knows "good" music when they hear it. It's a town filled with some great musicians that aren't well known, and a few that are. So, it's not uncommon to live next to someone else who you've known for years only to find that your neighbor is a famous musician that travels the world, and just didn't feel the need to bring it up. It's that kind of place.
It's interesting that the town is ethnically diverse, yet definitely not racially. Most of our darker skinned brothers and sisters find themselves in a cast system where they are relegated to menial work, and the higher pay jobs are all for the white guys. They hang with themselves and their families and don't go out on the town, so you generally won't see them at a venue. I make this point since I play Latin music and I am not of Latin descent. It just feels odd and unfair.
The group I'm in has awesome drummers, and in the folkloric context all you need is 3, and sometimes 4 on a drum, so I'm usually relegated to shaker and singing. It's tough and competitive just within my circle, let alone trying to make it onto a nice stage, like the Boulder Theater, the Fox, or St. Julian's where the real money is.
The Fox and Boulder Theater pay about $600-%4,000 depending on how popular the band, and the St. Julian's Hotel pays $1,000-$2,000 also depending your popularity. Just getting a gig at any of those places is a real honor and tribute that you are a professional and you don't "suck". };-D
Our leader has a recording studio, gives private lessons, and plays in 3 or 4 bands that play mostly in mountain towns, another guy gives private lessons, and plays in about 4 bands, and yet another is a college professor of percussion in Denver. So, whenever they play with us all tips and pay go to them, and the rest of us chalk it off to learning from the experience. They generally only get about $100 personally for their respective gigs, and the professor gets more for his classical performances.
The town has a few groups of African musicians who have a stronghold of Guinean, Zimbabwean, and Malian percussion classes and festivals. Most of them teach and perform regularly and the town supports their endeavors quite well it seems.
But, we really don't have AN'Y real Cuban players who actually came from Cuba or from that ethnicity who teach and perform - at least that I'm aware of. Our study group gets it's life blood from a genius guy I've mentioned before who studied for a while with Munequitos a few decades ago, and did everything on his own since then.
So, we're breaking ground here just educating some of the "regular" folk that hover around percussionists. Our leader sees it as a community service, as do I. But, I also see it as a personal learning experience completely invaluable. I'm really glad to be here, but my heart goes out to the professional musicians who really struggle to make it financially.
It's very tough, especially now since the economy is falling like a lead balloon. There are basically no guaranteed gigs, and the public is noticeably declining in its spending.

[Firebrand]

It doesn't seem like there's much difference. In fact, I'm probably performing more often where I am. And about Sydney, although I'd love to travel, my fiancee keeps me grounded in the U.S. And she doesn't want to move much either.

Oh well...I guess I could be in a worse place. I'm 2 hours away from Boston and New Haven, 1 hour away from Hartford, and 3 hours away from NYC...and I gig a lot in Western MA (near Springfield). I guess it could be worst.

[OLSONGO]

$ 100 - $ 200 dollar gigs are usually those in a smoky bar, restaurant or beach kiosk. = 2 congas and a bag of few toys.. just show up and wing it. Most gigs are like this on the local scene.
$200 - $300+ gigs are weddings, barmistvas? , Tv spots, corporate events. = 2 congas , possibly 1 timbal and a bag w/ a few more toys. And most of the music is from the real book ( jazz ) or cover tunes with no rehearsal or just listening to a cd of the material for a day . These gigs are also local or may have to travel 1 to 2 hours, also at these gigs you may get fed.
$ 2,000 - $ 3,000 gigs concerts, music festivals, studio session, big corporate events = 3 congas, bongos, timbales,djembe, cymbals, chimes, gong, and a table full of every imaginable toy.( In most cases back lined ) This are usually w / a major talent, who usually requires 3 to 4 days of 10+ hours of rehearsal of original music, sometimes very challenging, the sideman are top notch players. For those gigs there is a lot of leg work in marketing and promotion and without saying kick ass music. Or if you have formed a band and want to play the big game, there is a lot to be hold..endless hours of practice, showin up on time time....on the web and on the phone making contacts , followed by business agreements with promoters , be totally aware of music presentation, image, and full understanding of the word professional. These gigs can be anywhere, you may have to fly there, or picked up by a limo and you get the full royal treatment. Love those gigs.
So as you can see the amount of work that you may be ready to put in, is what will bring in the ideal scene.

Paz
Olsongo

[deadhead]

*removed*

[deadhead]

Austin, TX, known as the "live music capitol of the world" is just that. There are probably 500+ venues with live music nightly. We host some of the most renown music fests ie: SXSW and Austin City Limits, not to mention a plethora of annual festivals known only by the locals. We just marked the 46th annual Eeyores Birthday party ( yep the donky from whinnie the pooh) which is a festival of the arts and hosts one hell of a drum circle with probably 100+ people going at it from sun up to sun down.

There are thousands upon thousands of musicians here, so finding people to play with is extremely easy. There is also a huge diversity in the genres, so you don't have to settle for that "fusion" band.

Now for the bad side, with musicians being a dime a dozen in this town, gig pay suffers. A venue owner isn't going to throw $300 at your band when he has 10 others lined up who will do it for $100. Obviously if your band is popular and brings a crowd they will pay you more, but most of the places here are just looking to entertain their dinner patrons. Also with everyone claiming to be a musician, the talent is sometimes harder to find. I've hooked up with a number of people off craigslist who were complete hacks and a waste of my time. You are also much less likely to get noticed even if your band is really good, there is just too much competition.

Austin is a great place to play and see music, but don't expect to get rich and famous here unless you can shred like SRV.