Playing around Los Angeles

Jack and I playin at the House of Blues (sunset)

Tonight I got the privilege to play at the House of Blues!! There were some great singer/songwriters there!! Some wonderful people came out to support. And I got to play with Jack Kovacs. My life was complete. 

A little lesson about Los Angeles music scene:

Since there are so many bands that play around LA, the venues started this thing called “Pay to Play.” Unlike anywhere else in the world, musicians line up around the block to PAY the VENUE to play. Leave the perimeter of LA, and VENUES pay MUSICIANS to play. This makes the most sense considering musicians are providing a service. Its like if an artist paid you to take one of their paintings…

This is what makes playing around Los Angeles hard because everywhere you go they want you to bring out a “draw” of people. You can only ask your friends to pay $10-15 cover to come see you play at a venue a few times… After a while, its hard to keep fans coming back… Proving to be a very viscous cycle.

For those of you that didn’t know… Welcome to the world of “Pay to Play” where the artists get man handled by the promoters. Granted, I am educated in the numbers behind the shows and I do know that promoters are put in this position because their cut of the deal is VERY SMALL. Even on a large scale, promoters can have a hard time making money. Sooo. Thats the dealio on the Los Angeles music scene for independent artists

NEXT SHOW, Tuesday August 11th at Crane’s on N El Cid, right off of Hollywood Blvd by the Fonda Theater. Info on my myspace. Should be fun! Cool, small dive bar that plays music 5 nights a week! Free! Come party with me!

Wish me luck, tomorrow I audition for a talent show for TV!! ha. How fun is my life!!