Another paying gig!

Back in March, I played a solo gig at Costa Mesa that I thought had gone pretty poorly. I played well, but nobody seemed to care. But then at the end as I was collecting the song sheets, a lady asked me if I "played events". I've been telling myself to quit waffling on this point when asked, and just say "yes" -- so I just said "yes". She said that she had an art show coming up and might want to hire me. It seemed to me like she was needing to consult with someone else, or maybe was just gonna recommend me to someone else, so I just gave her a card, a song sheet, and a CD, and told her to email me if it came together. I didn't really expect anything to come of it.

But 6 weeks later, I get an email, and it's On, if I'm available May 18th, and what's my fee for 3 hours of playing? Surprise! Somehow, $250 seemed like a good number to ask for, so I did, and she went for it!

It's at an art "store" in Long Beach, in an old bungalow house in a little district that's becoming an art/craft/design center. The store actually does mosaic -- designs, installations, and lessons. So I guess it'll be a mosaic show, but whatever. She thinks there'll be 300 people coming through. Should be fun, and real money!

I feel a little weird about doing it without "inviting" Warren, but, like the wedding gig, she happened to "audition" me when I was solo, so that sound and band-size is obviously what she's expecting to hire. When the wedding-lady took me off-guard at Tustin, I stammered through offering a two-man band as even better, but she said that she liked what she'd been hearing just fine. She may also have been wary of what the cost might be if there are two guys instead of one.

Anyway, I had really thought that we'd get lots of offers to play "events" from people who hear us at a coffeeshop somewhere, but it hasn't happened much. But suddenly, two paying gigs in two months. I'm pretty sure I'm getting better, but I'm not *that* much better than I was a year ago, so it's probably just coincidence.