I got the phone call late Sunday night. Could I attend a session on Monday to play with Joe Louis Walker, a bluesman from the San Francisco Bay area? Joe will be gigging in the New York area for a month of so, and he was looking for sidemen. About the only gig in particular that I know about is a January 11 date at The Town Crier.
My days of orienting my life around quick gigs are long over. The money just isn’t there, and I’ve got a job to go to in the morning. But, the opportunity to play with a touring musician doesn’t come along often, so I agreed to attend the session. I downloaded Joe’s latest CD and listened to it on the way to work on Monday. He really is a heavy duty, exciting blues guitarist.
What a trek it was to Yorktown Heights! It was worth it to cross the Bear Mountain Bridge during sunset.
What a small world is the universe of jazz, blues and soul! When I arrived at the session, I met fellow Woodstocker, Murali Coryell. We’ve played at some of the same joints, but this was the first time we’ve met.
Joe kicked off the session with a couple of standard blues. These songs are second nature to me, so I felt pretty comfortable. Joe is an explosive, hard driving guitar player, and he’s got that incredible energy that comes from living on the road. I haven’t played with such a demanding and creative player in years. When Joe moved over into the soul standards, I struggled a bit. I could find the triads, but I didn’t always know the signature line for the organ. Joe, understandably, got a little edgy. He’s in the business of making things happen in a hurry.
Playing with a band of high powered pros was a great experience. I don’t know if I made the cut for the gigs. Hard to say.
The economics of small clubs, like The Town Crier, are just awful. That place probably seats a maximum of 200 people, with ticket prices ranging from $20 to $25 for headline attractions. If a band plays two shows a night to a sold out house, that’s a maximum gate of $10,000. This seems like a lot, until you consider that: (1) sell outs are only likely to happen on Friday and Saturday, unless the band’s name is a ferocious draw, (2) the club has to pay its own rent, personnel and promotional costs, and (3) the band must pay for its travel and lodging. When you take all this into account, not much is left over for things like paying the band.
So, even if the gig comes through, I doubt that I’d make much more than $100. And, that would be for a few nights of rehearsal, rehearsing to the CDs at home and playing the gigs.
I enjoyed the jam session… and that’s all that really matters.
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