The Different Types of Musicians, Pt. 1

Ahoy!

Over the past ten years in the music business I've found myself consistently playing gigs and doing so with a diverse cast of bands. While it has been rare that I have multiple gigs a week for several months in a row, it's also been rare that an entire month goes by and I don't play a gig at all. Part of it is due to the constant demand for capable bass players in all genres. I don’t claim to be amazing, but I do play both upright and electric bass and am confident in my ability to play a successful gig on either instrument. As a result, it’s rare that I turn a gig down. In my career, especially early on, I made it a point to say “Yes” to everyone. As the years have moved on I am a little more particular but I still find myself playing with many groups in several styles. I bring this up not to brag but to introduce the topic of what it looks like to be a musician today. The music business is actually booming and there are now more layers to it than ever. Having played many a free coffee shop gig all the way up to a full national tour I’ll try to unpack some of these layers. Might as well start at the top with:

1) The Mega Star

I think we all know what a mega star is. These are famous entertainers. Note: I said entertainers. It’s rare at this level to have a true musical virtuoso. The unfortunate thing here is that the general public thinks this is what a “musician” looks like. These stars have their place in the business certainly but attaining mega star status is a very fickle thing. I’ve discussed this topic in a previous blog (Music as Entertainment) so refer to that for a further breakdown of this particular group of musicians.

2) Full Time Touring Musicians

Every mega star needs a backing band. The musicians in the artist’s band are rarely picked by the artist but rather by executives. Typically these spots are won by audition and/or by word of mouth but, like everything else, once you’re in you’re in. Once a connection with an artist is established most musicians keep the spot until they want to move on, assuming they are doing a good job. Some musicians will tour with several bands at the same time. For example, Tim Lefebvre currently tours with both The Tedeschi Trucks Band and The Donny McCaslin Group. If there’s an overlap of dates one of the bands will have precedence and the other group finds a substitute musician. Full time touring musicians typically are not famous to the general public but you make a good living (aka money), especially if you’re able to find yourself touring with bigger stars.

Included in this group are the bands that tour full time. Bands will have set members from the beginning. Unless someone decides to leave, the line-up is set and the band grows organically. Touring bands almost always start at the bottom playing small clubs and bars and the lucky few make it all the way to the level of Pearl Jam and Coldplay selling out arenas. The cool thing here is that you don’t have to make it to the highest level to be a full time touring band, make good money, and be musically satisfied. Marbin is a great example of this. They are a band that tours roughly 300 days a year. They aren’t famous by any means but they do have a good following all across the country. The reason: they’re dedicated. They’ve been doing this for ten years. This is usually the divide; bands that stick with it and bands that give up too soon. Then again, that’s how life in general works.

3) Full Time Studio Musicians

Like touring artists these musicians work full time in the music industry and make a great living doing so. The difference here is that these artists are usually rooted to one city and record rather than tour and perform live. Especially with the increase in technology and musicians' ability to have high quality recording equipment many artists can now record straight from their house. I tend to think of drummers more in this category but it absolutely applies to all instruments. Someone will send a drummer a song sans drums, the drummer records their part, and sends the files back. It’s really that easy. There's an ever growing demand for great studio musicians. The ability to nail a track in one or two takes saves time and money for everyone and makes that musician highly valuable.

But what if you don’t want to be a full time musician? Is there a category for you? And what if you aren’t lucky enough to find a full time studio or touring gig? Can you have a career in music? The answer is a resounding yes, and I will address each of these categories next week.

Until next time,

Heard

HAVE YOU HEARD?
Steven Wilson- The Raven That Refused To Sing

Raven is a stellar example of what the progressive rock genre can look like.While this album only has six tracks, it still clocks in at nearly an hour. The opening track "Luminol" is a weighty 12 minute epic and weaves it's way to the sublime masterpiece that is "Drive Home" (track 2). This album also features the amazingly talented musicians Guthrie Govan (guitar) and Marco Minnemann. Raven ranks in the top 5 all time albums for me and is not one you'll want to miss out on.