When Looking for Work, Start With What You Really Want First...
Okay, LairCronies, here's the Crusty cynic/codger in me speaking...
I've figured out by Now that serving coffee at the coffeehouse will NOT land you a gig as a performer at the coffeehouse. Volunteering at a college radio station during its fundraising period will NOT get you a slot with your own musical radio program. Working as an event staffer at the Seattle Center will NOT result in a job doing concert promotion. Spending years on a Local folk music society's Concert Production Committee WON'T get you Onstage as a performer any faster. Volunteering at a Local music festival is NOT exactly how you get to perform at Said festival, unless you prefer busking along the perimeter Anyway.
Okay. Whatever. You get the message. I learned all of this the up-close-and-personal hard way; I speak from Firsthand experience here. You've got to ask, right from the beginning, for EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT, and negotiate from There. Starting on the "ground floor", with the cruddy "get your foot in the door" gigs will, more Often than Not, result in you being Stuck at the Same level until you hand in your resignation, or get Laid Off (or, like me, you flat-out abandon the ground-floor gig by not calling in to see if there are shifts Available, anymore). Rather, get the word out there that concert promotion, or a radio program, or a festival or coffeehouse slot, is what you're actually looking for, and save your sanity. Let the Appropriate gatekeepers know, in no Uncertain terms, that you will NOT start at the dead-end volunteer position, and work your way up; you want to be the freaking performer at the club, or stadium, or festival stage, not the concession staffer or production worker. You weren't put on earth to be anyone's Unpaid labor or backstage support person, especially when you're the one who needs a support system to succeed.
Now, of course, when you tell the truth to the Aforementioned gatekeeper(s), you'll be Amazed at how fast their demeanor changes. Their friendly "we appreciate your Unpaid time and labor SO much" expression will drop Faster than those whirling "helicopter-seeds" from Whichever tree species they fall from. They'll try to persuade you that you HAVE to start off as a Lowly volunteer if you want to be a performer for their organization. DON'T BUY IT. They'll try to tell you that they really have NO idea how you get a simple gig slot at their club, or coffeehouse, or radio station. Tell them if they really have no clue "what to tell you", that you want to speak to someone who DOES have the information you need. If all Else fails, play the Privilege Card--that is, tell the person, "Would you 'not know what to tell me' if I was a young, thin, hot-looking, white male musician?" That, of course, will make them squirm like mad; but you know doggone Well that the gatekeepers of the world would know EXACTLY what to tell someone who "fits their image" of a performer, radio host, or whatever. They just don't want to give YOU a fair chance if you, for Whatever reason, fail to resemble a movie star or supermodel. If it's a gig slot you want, tell them so; and give them a business card with a link to your Youtube channel or SoundCloud profile. Now, this may sound "easier Said than Done"; but just remember how much you DON'T want to spend ages volunteering to help other musicians put on shows, only to find out that you're practically Expected to sacrifice your firstborn just to get a ten-minute gig-opening slot.
And don't even get me Started on trying to work with other, more Established performers, radio hosts, etc. That's an issue for Another post Herein...
I've figured out by Now that serving coffee at the coffeehouse will NOT land you a gig as a performer at the coffeehouse. Volunteering at a college radio station during its fundraising period will NOT get you a slot with your own musical radio program. Working as an event staffer at the Seattle Center will NOT result in a job doing concert promotion. Spending years on a Local folk music society's Concert Production Committee WON'T get you Onstage as a performer any faster. Volunteering at a Local music festival is NOT exactly how you get to perform at Said festival, unless you prefer busking along the perimeter Anyway.
Okay. Whatever. You get the message. I learned all of this the up-close-and-personal hard way; I speak from Firsthand experience here. You've got to ask, right from the beginning, for EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT, and negotiate from There. Starting on the "ground floor", with the cruddy "get your foot in the door" gigs will, more Often than Not, result in you being Stuck at the Same level until you hand in your resignation, or get Laid Off (or, like me, you flat-out abandon the ground-floor gig by not calling in to see if there are shifts Available, anymore). Rather, get the word out there that concert promotion, or a radio program, or a festival or coffeehouse slot, is what you're actually looking for, and save your sanity. Let the Appropriate gatekeepers know, in no Uncertain terms, that you will NOT start at the dead-end volunteer position, and work your way up; you want to be the freaking performer at the club, or stadium, or festival stage, not the concession staffer or production worker. You weren't put on earth to be anyone's Unpaid labor or backstage support person, especially when you're the one who needs a support system to succeed.
Now, of course, when you tell the truth to the Aforementioned gatekeeper(s), you'll be Amazed at how fast their demeanor changes. Their friendly "we appreciate your Unpaid time and labor SO much" expression will drop Faster than those whirling "helicopter-seeds" from Whichever tree species they fall from. They'll try to persuade you that you HAVE to start off as a Lowly volunteer if you want to be a performer for their organization. DON'T BUY IT. They'll try to tell you that they really have NO idea how you get a simple gig slot at their club, or coffeehouse, or radio station. Tell them if they really have no clue "what to tell you", that you want to speak to someone who DOES have the information you need. If all Else fails, play the Privilege Card--that is, tell the person, "Would you 'not know what to tell me' if I was a young, thin, hot-looking, white male musician?" That, of course, will make them squirm like mad; but you know doggone Well that the gatekeepers of the world would know EXACTLY what to tell someone who "fits their image" of a performer, radio host, or whatever. They just don't want to give YOU a fair chance if you, for Whatever reason, fail to resemble a movie star or supermodel. If it's a gig slot you want, tell them so; and give them a business card with a link to your Youtube channel or SoundCloud profile. Now, this may sound "easier Said than Done"; but just remember how much you DON'T want to spend ages volunteering to help other musicians put on shows, only to find out that you're practically Expected to sacrifice your firstborn just to get a ten-minute gig-opening slot.
And don't even get me Started on trying to work with other, more Established performers, radio hosts, etc. That's an issue for Another post Herein...