Performing Think it's easy?

Performing Think it's easy?

So, I am a performer who sings and plays guitar.  I truly LOVE what I do.  Despite often performing to a room full of indifference (try it sometime, the felling is unrivalled). Despite often times I compete with sports playing on one of many LARGE screen TV’s and if THAT were not bad enough, there’s ALWAYS the well rounded, well heeled, highly intelligent patron that in the middle of the most emotional, tender spot of a song, get’s up after a loud single clap of his hands and yells out “WHOOO HOOO!!! We won!!!!!!”  (actually there is no “we” in the win Einstein,  YOU were in a bar working on your beer belly while actual athletes that trained all their lives for that win, were ACTUALLY the victors)

This brings me to a great point.  Sometime later, that same person in all of his infinite wisdom (obviously an Ivy League MBA or Doctorate no doubt) will walk up to me and say “man, I wish I had YOUR job” insinuating that there’s nothing to it.  I will say this. If in fact, it were THAT easy, EVERYBODY would do it.

Why is it that in our country, at the pedestrian level if you play sports (beer belly in tow or not) it is expected and respected that you have honed your skills over a very long period of time even if you can’t make a dime from  affore mentioned ability.  However if you are a performer, it pretty much accepted as common knowledge that you are some kind of “good time gold brick” that learned how do this yesterday? Even though it’s your full time gig.

Forget the absolute fact that public speaking ranks very high in America’s “fear” list (like, right up there with spiders and sharks) that alone should give Goober pause before those gems ever left his mouth.  Think about the years of practicing, by yourself, with bands, the countless hours of repetition.  Now multiply that by two because guitar and vocals does not come as a package deal.  Not to mention if you’re like me “UN GIFTED” you have to work twice as hard as the gifted folk to get half as far.

Now add the business aspect, networking, accounting, advertisement, promotion, gear research, social media… Wait a minute, am I charging enough for all this shit? No matter, at my level you live at $150 at a time for the average gig. If you’re lucky (fortunate)  you might gig 5 to 7 days per week, most performers aren’t that lucky. By the way…that pay scale really has not changed since the 1980’s. Still wish you had my job there __insert genius name other than Einstein__?

Yeah, go ahead. Try it. I fucking DARE you.

Robert Garcia is a performer who sings and plays guitar. A New Yorker through and through, these days Robert performs in the Sarasota FL area during the Winter and then the NJ Shore during Summer season. You can contact him via his website: WWW.RobertGarciaSoloAct.com