It seems to be be my fate to average about 2 colds a year. I got through 3 gigs at the weekend with one and I thought it was drying up only for it to reassert itself on Monday. My significant other woke me at about 4.00 am to to tell me I was snoring loudly so I could not get back to sleep afterwards of course, So today I have given up and stayed in bed till late, and it feels a bit better. Apart from a bit of a headache. The cold seems to set off a lot of aches and pains though. Sometimes exercise helps but sometimes just having a lay down is the only thing that works.
The weekends www.deltaladies.com gigs were a mixed bag mostly well received, but Fridays one was a bit low on attendance and the venue was somewhat mismatched with the music we play now though we have gone down OK there before. Next years gig list is already looking quite healthy with stuff in the book right up December 2017, so that’s not looking to bad. This year we did loose 5 gigs due to illness, but that’s unusual With gigs you usually loose a few and gain a few as places change owners or music policy or sometimes people don’t turn out.
We have been at it 13 years now there is not much which really surprises us. Sometimes the longer drives can get a bit tiring. Sundays trip up to Newark from Battersea is a 300 mile round trip for example so for last weekend’s gigs I have driven about 500 miles in total. Since changing cars in June this year I have done 10000 miles which is basically just driving to gigs, I spend more time on motorways than I ever did way back in my van driving days.
People often ask why we don’t do overnight stays and the answer is simply that the finances don’t allow for that most of the time. Gigging is 70% of my annual income now. Its fun but a weekend like the last one when your not feeling too well can be a of a strain. Of course its a lot more enjoyable than many things I have done to earn a living. Many of the musicians I know or have worked with have been gigging for 40 to 50 years with many being just in to their 70’s, Some have done fairly well, but many despite having very successful careers in the past do not have much materially to show for it. Some also despite being very talented have not had too much in the way of recognition and are a little bit jaded, but they still keep on. I am not sure how long things will keep going as they as everything is very precarious really and if there is an economic downturn live music in the small scale is something that suffers quite badly. So I take things as they come with no particular expectation of tomorrow which I find is easier to deal with. That seems to me to be the best approach. Personally I feel that keeping ones expectations realistic is a healthier approach so I ere on the slightly pessimistic side, but I suppose that’s just my nature. That way its a pleasant surprise when things do take an unexpected upwards turn which sometimes they do.
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