This is my last response on this topic.
Here's an example of how quick things can change in this industry. Back in 1995, I played for an up-and-coming hip-hop artist that was signed to Sony Music. We rehearsed on a Sunday, and went to Atlanta that Tuesday to do his album release party where we played live. Had a pretty good turnout. I even met the man that signed Janet Jackson to Virgin Records as he came through to support. Then after the gig, we hung out at the house of a well-known singer. Hmmm, so far so good.
Well, we had such a good set that they made plans to send us to Miami, FL to upon up for George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars the next week, also on the bill was The Fugees, and I forget the other act. We go down to FL, I hang with Pras from the Fugees at the venue most of the afternoon as he was a pretty cool cat. Met this person, that person. A lot of big-wigs are in the room. Even met George Clinton and talked with him for a minute as he was very personable. We have another good set. So plans are announced that we will be doing a Black college tour with The Fugees who were just about to release The Score CD which went on the sell about 15+ million copies worldwide.
I'm in touch with management making plans to go on tour. Even had my future drum tech call to introduce himself to me and get some info for future reference. Had a tentative endorsement deal with Pearl Drums whose USA headquarters are right here in Nashville. Yadda, yadda, yadda this and that. Next thing you know, the tour fizzles as supposedly the dates were not confirmed by management or something along that line.
Well, the artist then booked 2 weeks in Paris, France about a month later opening up for Branford Marsalis which was confirmed. He had new management which was a somewhat notorious cat we all knew. He got things done, but he would benefit the most from it. Well he calls me and asks when do I want to be paid. I give him the going rate for sidemen(I said between $1000 or $1500 a week for the gig but I had many pros tell me a major label artist should pay you at least $2k even starting out), he offers me what I would miss on my job(which was not much at the time) plus a meal per diem.
Then he goes into all of the first class living, and women that would be available to me just for going and kept trying to get me to accept his offer instead of making me a real concrete offer. I am a businessman first when you talk money to me, and the rest of it is not a big deal. What was really happening is that the manager had to submit a budget to the label for the trip including our salaries, and what cash he did not spend, he would basically keep and just write it off as an expense. I'm not supposed to know how this goes down, but I knew exactly what was up.
I was supposed to be blinded by the glitz and glamour and not worry about still being broke when I got back home. I was not the least bit phased by any of that and I passed on it. All of the other musicians went and talked about how great it was and how the experience was more important than the money. Well, I can't pay bills with experience. But they went without a drummer in the end. I can't call that part of it, but no one was really mad at me for keeping it business. This is an old story, but it still goes on today. In fact somewhere it's happening this very minute. I love to play, but I got burned out on bad business even with simple little club gigs where I would play just to not get my money at the end of the night and have to drive out to somebody's house the next week to get paid. Yeah, it's been done to me with churches and Gospel artists as well. That get's old REAL quick.
My career focus is now on producing, composing, songwriting, and eventually a record label. If a "big-time" gig comes along that is worth doing, I will still only do it if the business is right and I mean that.
