February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
That’s the image many people have of a full-time musician’s life. But the reality is often quite different.
Fans rarely see musicians getting to bed after 2 a.m. and getting up at 6 a.m. to catch a shuttle to the airport to make a 9 o’clock flight to a destination hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.
When they arrive, musicians check into their hotel or motel, grab a bite to eat, do press interviews for concerts scheduled later in the tour, dash to radio or TV stations and/or do unpaid promotional spots (e.g., in-store performances) that day to plug that night’s concert, dash again to the soundcheck (an hour or two at least), go back to their lodging and try to rest, wash, practice, and prepare for a gig that will last a minimum of three hours with an intermission and backstage meet-and-greets before and after the performance.
Then they get to repeat the process the next day on tours that can last from weeks to months at a stretch.
Now here’s the kicker: all that is, comparatively, a cushy existence for full-time professional musicians.
Other, less affluent performers can’t afford to travel by plane or tour bus. So they rent cars or vans, or drive their own odometer-challenged vehicles, to gigs hundreds of miles apart; do all of the above that more prosperous musicians do; sell and sign their own CDs; then sleep on someone’s spare bed, couch, or carpeted floor, usually after giving a late-night, informal performance for free in a kitchen or living room filled with concert organizers and volunteers. Sometimes the performance fee and CD sales combined barely meet the expense of getting to and doing the concert, especially if it’s a straight-percentage deal with no guarantee.
On the traditional and folk side, many talented, full-time professional musicians work hard for a living not that far above subsistence.
Jeff Baker is a Virginia-born, Irish-style flute, whistle, and fife player in Wilton, N.H., who has performed for more than a quarter century, won at least four gold, six silver, and eight bronze medals at Comhaltas Ceolt