Dirty subject, being responsible. Even bloody. That’s one I’ve been putting off for a long time. That area of being a pro musician is full of traps, of half truths, of misconceptions, of nerves and anger. This is not tender meat. This is a rock concealed in a thick crust of slimy mud.
Oh, well, I’ll dive in and see what happens.
Being a responsible musician is not a walk in the park. Let’s go first through the list of obvious responsibility. You have to:
– Practice regularly.
– Keep up with the current trends and players.
– Show up on time at the gig.
– Know your parts.
– Know how to set up and make your equipment work (Eventually do some minor repairs on it, if need be).
– Do the rehearsal or the gig.
– Know the crowd and the genre of music you have to play.
No! Wait up! This is not an obvious one. Plenty of people play the way they play, and that’s it and that’s that. The crowd, the genre of music, the mood of the band: who cares!
OK. OK.
Then I’ll do a list with what I THINK is necessary to keep a job in this business, and keep it for a long time.
I’ll do a few more items (There are literally dozens of them).
You have to:
– Be nice to people, meaning everybody: from the person who does the sound on stage to the drunken fan at the end the show. Your show is not just what’s happening while you’re playing the instrument, it starts as soon as you are not alone.
– Be helpful to the people in your environment. First your parents or your partner or whoever lives with you. Second, your band mates and everyone you meet (Fans, agents, managers, sound engineers, producers, etc). You want to be available for everyone involved in your musical journey.
– Watch what you’re saying.
– Pay your bills on time.
– Have a car or transportation that’s reliable.
– Be in as good of health as possible.
– Have strong and trusting relationship in your love life.
– Not lie about your abilities (Because someone one day will ask you to deliver).
– Not scam people out of money. You don’t want to have the reputation of being a con artist.
And so on and so forth.
What do you think? I’m using common sense, right? Basically, I’m saying: “Look, be a good person and all will go well in your business with music.”