It is best practices to pick and choose the gigs you take and we encourage that. One of the many criteria would be location, travel, setup, amenities and of course, pay. Recently, I was told about a series of paying gigs at a corporate restaurant. They were looking to have some live entertainment and willing to risk it with unknown (to them) talent.
I put the word out by phone calls, text and social media which was met with a smattering of response. I found this to be very disheartening as the general consensus in the scene of my hometown (Sacramento, CA) is that there is not enough support for local talent and certainly not enough paying gigs.
I played the first in the series of shows and as performers didn't follow up, I keep getting the open spots. Don't get me wrong, I love money. But, I hate to see good opportunity for the entire scene slip away.
So, please don't complain about the lack of a scene if you don't want to work for it.
