How many professional players in the Cafe?

[Steve Davis]

I am wondering how many of the Cafe members play music as their sole source of support.

[Harrmob]

I wish.

[mandobando]

Probably about every mando player you can think of is at least a lurker. I know a very well know player that is always checking out the cafe but said he never posts because he doesn't want anyone to ever think he is bragging about anything.

[good_ol_al_61]

I hope it is OK to post for another member since most are humble musicians.

Cody Shuler from Pine Mountain Railroad has posted a couple of times here on the board. That band is worth any amount of sacrifice to see. Quality show, indeed! They are sponsored by Odom's Tennessee Pride Sausage Company. You have to be good to earn a sponsorship like that.

[JEStanek]

While we may not have many famous pro mando players being very conspicuous here, I'm willing to bet they lurk from time to time. At least believing that tempers some of my remarks regarding certain pickers (I hope). Not to high jack this, but, I am incredibly thankful for the pro builders and serious players here who share advice and encouragment with me and others here. I think without the cafe' I would have stopped this hobby of mine. Thanks to all the pros and "pros"!

Jamie

[Jim Garber]

I can count more than 8 full-time pros on the classical board.

Jim

[lawdawg]

I'm quick to remind my secretary that I'm a professional mandolin player first - practice law for a hobby. Just so happens that my hobby pays way more than my job.

[bluegrassplayer]

David McLaughlin is on here every once in a while.

[fwoompf]

The Builders Board certainly has no shortage of professional or professional quality builders http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[allenhopkins]

Playing music is the only job I have, but it doesn't support me (civil service retirement does that). I once joked that music is a wonderful mistress but a lousy wife, an opinion I've had no reason to change. Nonetheless, I play about 150 gigs a year, large and small, generating a cash flow (or trickle) that would easily qualify me for food stamps and Medicaid. Keeps me in strings 'n' picks, though...

[hellindc]

You can make hundreds of dollars a year playing mandolin in a band.

[Greenmando]

I have been paid tens of dollars not to play. The money is over doubled if my b**jo case is near by.

I have chatted with some pros well in the 7+ digits that have told me they are here in the cafe. I was left with the impression that they were here under a assumed name. They did tell me to say "Hi" to the board.

[Soupy1957]

There's a number of folks in here that would like you to THINK they are "pros" and are really just "plunkers" like the rest of us. There's lots of opinions around, but you know the rest of THAT retort.
I figure the folks who can actually AFFORD a vintage Gibson are either receipiants (sp?) of an inheritance, or the Luthiers out there.
It would seem that the Luthiers would keep their eyes on this type of message board, because "networking" is a way of life for the self-employed.
Don't let it be said that you can't get good advice in here however. There is a lot of "good advice" here, if you can weed through all the "thinking out loud" that goes on.
"I" for one am glad that a few of the folks seem to know what they are talking about.
-Soupy1957http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[groveland]

Soupy - I hope you are not insinuating that because one is a pro, one knows what one is talking about. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Mando-Loon]

I've been in situations where music was my only source of income but thankfully now I've got a decent job for the last decade. #Now it just pays for my toys. MAS... something good coming soon, hopefully.

Robbie

[Shana Aisenberg]

I've been a full time musician since 1980, however with one short period of employment for a couple of years.

Seth

[groveland]

Someone please define "professional" for the sake of conversation.

Is it "being paid for some of the music services you provide?"
Is it "being paid for all of the music services you provide?"
Is it "music provides your sole means of support?"
Is it some objective level of musical achievement or credentials that sets you apart? (regardless of compensation)
Is it some subjective level of musical achievement or credentials that sets you apart, like having been recorded?
Is it some level of demand for your musical services?
Is it name recognition?
Can you have once been a "professional" but are no longer of "professional" status?
Is "professional" a status you enter after once being of "amateur" status?

(The original post refers to "sole means of support.")

[Tom C]

I pay $3 to play at an open mic. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[Bill Van Liere]

Paul Kotapish is always around.

Thanks Paul for your many years of fine playing.

[Soupy1957]

well heck........"I've" been payed to play music, so I guess that qualifies "me" as a "professional." But I don't consider myself as such.
-Soupy1957

[Harrmob]

Being "professional" in my opinion would mean making enough to have to pay taxes on what you make. I have made a little bit of money (in the grand scheme of things) picking, and I pay a banjo load of taxes b/c of my day job. I hope there are no IRS lurkers, but I would have to make enough money to justify paying taxes on it before I would consider it a "profession"; currently, it is a hobby.

[Blueglass]

I gig every weekend and pull in about 500 a month for my share
www.snakebeardjackson.com

[JimD]

Someone please define "professional" for the sake of conversation.

It means losing your amateur status and forever relinquishing your eligibilty to compete in the Mando Olympics.

[groveland]

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[bootinz]

What's the difference between a pizza and a mandolin player?

[bradeinhorn]

a pizza can feed a family of 4http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif?

[bootinz]

Maybe a family of 2 these days, but amandolin player when cooked correctly can feed a small army.

[Michael H Geimer]

Well ... a large pizza can actually feed a family of four!

Re: Taxes. I have to pay taxes against royalties I still get for past work, but I'd never think of myself as being professional because of that. Of course, it does feel good to get some change back once in a while.

My favorite quote about professional players (paraphrased from memory) was in reference to AKUS Bassist Barry Bales where someone made the comment,

"Did I mention he lives with his parents?"

Whether or not that's true (or if it even means anything at all), it's pretty darned funny and helps put the "professionalism" issue in perspective.

[Blueglass]

you guys are silly

[groveland]

Whether or not that's true (or if it even means anything at all), it's pretty darned funny and helps put the "professionalism" issue in perspective.

Great. So we're ALL professionals. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Soupy1957]

Q.Why do blondes wear pony tails?
A. It hides their air valve!
-Soupy1957

[Ashby Frank]

Howdy folks....
Well I guess I'm a professional, and I read some of the stuff on here sometimes. Some of it's very educational, some of it's quite humorous.
I'm watching YOU! hehe http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

-ashby frank

[lawdawg]

Ashby:

Caught you with Alecia Nugent at a casino in LA. S'pect you are a pro. Good stuff.

LML

[keymandoplyr]

<= retired play in 3 bands for no money but we get a lot of free food :-) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Bob Simmers]

I once knew someone who had a neighbor whose uncle once played on the same stage that a professional played on 14 years earlier. Does that count?

Now that gas is around $3 a gallon I'm losing about $15 per month!

Seriously, I took a lesson from Herschel Sizemore, probably one of the top 5 mandolinists of all time. And he said he never could afford to quit his day job to play music because he had a family to support.......that was part of the lesson!

[catmandu2]

I play old-time string (and concertina) music on the local nursing home circuit. It's the best job I ever had. If anyone reading this wishes to play music for pay and is willing to play for folks who are fully enthralled by the music, please consider it--it's an important societal function. For me, and in light of the above post, it's the perfect opportunity to regularly work as a paid musician.

An aside: I was listening to that "Mountain Stage" radio program last week, and some very hot mando player who was performing on the show mentioned he works for UPS by day. That really puts this thing in perspective for me.

[fishdawg40]

If anyone reading this wishes to play music for pay and is willing to play for folks who are fully enthralled by the music, please consider it--it's an important societal function.
I agree and commend you for what you do.

[newbreedbrian]

I play old-time string (and concertina) music on the local nursing home circuit. It's the best job I ever had. If anyone reading this wishes to play music for pay and is willing to play for folks who are fully enthralled by the music, please consider it--it's an important societal function. For me, and in light of the above post, it's the perfect opportunity to regularly work as a paid musician.

An aside: I was listening to that "Mountain Stage" radio program last week, and some very hot mando player who was performing on the show mentioned he works for UPS by day. That really puts this thing in perspective for me.
that is almost certainly johnny staats, a helluva picker.

[Ken Sager]

Making a living playing music is easier than you think. I highly recommend it. The first step is to evaluate what you think you need to make, what you think you need to spend, and whether making or spending money is what makes you happy to begin with. When you focus on what makes you happy everything else finds a way to take care of itself.

Love to all,
KS

[metalmandolin]

Hi all,

I have been a full-time teacher and picker since July 1999, and I guess what you might call a pro with a day job for about 17 years prior to that. I have a family that I am determined to support and be a real father to, so I will never get to tour as much as I'd like to.
Still, though, I get to make a decent (by my previous standards) living playing and teaching. Here's how I make it work...I have more than a working knowledge of virtually every BG instrument, so that means I can draw clientele from a number of different directions. I also have a background in heavy/speed metal guitar, and some Django/Dawg stuff as well. Lately, I have been able to tell the store owner from which I rent my office to STOP sending me Metal students!!! Today's metal requires the musical skills of an ape, and I will not fool with it.
I handle +/- 50 student weekly in 4 days, leaving Friday through Sunday for gigs and family time. Sometimes the schedule is tough, but my last public job was custom cutting tool steel for tool and die companies, and my hands have been cut up and had steel dropped on them enough!
For anyone aspiring to do this, it made sense to me that I could make the same money that I was making at my ###### day job pretty easily with teaching. If you have a good paying job that you like, with insurance, consider teaching part-time. It's good extra money if you are qualified, and hopefully your wife has insurance<g>. So, I made the plunge, turned in my notice, and have never looked back.
Unless you are a prominent band leader/owner, the best money is not in performance. Performance, being the fun part for me, is the reward, and a good commercial, for a long week of teaching. I am friends with all my students, and we have a good time together. I currently have a waiting list for lessons, so things are going well.
Sorry if this is too much info, the thread just inspired me to share!

[Darren Kern]

I lost my job on 9/11(last Monday), joked with the guys in my band that I guess now I'm officially a professional mandolin player/builder. Unfortunately as a player all I've played for so far is free barbecue and beverages, and my building career hasn't yielded too much cash yet (and will never be more than a hobby). So here's to hoping for the shortest career ever as a professional musician http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[JamesBryan]

Its when you make more for the gig than you paid your babysitter so you could be there. If you paid the babysitter more, then playing is a hobby.

[BluegrassGirl26]

Playing mandolin is my only source of income. Of course I'm only 13 http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif .

[Dan Adams]

We never take money to play gigs. That would insinuate we're real mucisions. NOT true. Dan

[Patrick Sylvest]

I'm playing a few gigs a month and bringing in several hundred doing so. A little pay does make the Mrs. happy after the gazillions I've spent on instruments and equipment over the years. (Four guitars, two dobros, two mandolins and a PA)

I also play in church and absolutely love donating my musical abilities to the cause of evangelization.

It's definitely about the music for me.

[chopz]

What's the difference between a pizza and a mandolin player?
U Can feed a family with a Pizza. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif