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We had quite a response to Dave Allen's critique of Bruce Fife's original article about the Musicians' Union. While Mr. Allen's article is laden with assumptions, wrong conclusions and(in my opinion) huge misconceptions about the union - Although I believe I understand where he coming from and I think his position has merit. Rather than argue points - I just want to share my view of the union. I am a proud card carrying member of Local 99, as is Pearl Jam, Shania Twain, Metallica and countless legions of rockers, jazzers, bluesmen (& women) country, folk and every other genre of music. Some of the benefits I enjoy from this association are as follows: instrument insurance, contracts and lawyers/arbitration, a retirement program, discounts with a local clinic on prescriptions, massages, general health care, union discounts on travel, hotels and various services available to ALL union members (there's even a website for these goodies!) a strong and effective PAC for my interests in congress, rehearsal space, networking opportunities, a voice in the industry, and GIGS. I get work through the referral line, through the AFM pro website and through Musician Performance Trust Fund gigs. And they pay well. The union may not win every battle it takes on (the first few rounds of the OLCC barring minors for instance), but it eventually wins the war. But I think the big question is "what can the union do for you?" All they do is provide a different point of access to information about the music industry. In the monthly International Musician, the classical musicians get their space as do the big stars as do the casual musicians as well as some space for those just getting into it. However, I don't think everyone should join. It's not for everyone. It's only for the serious, career musician. If you like playing for beer and a $40 split for 3 bands on a Wednesday, it's not for you. If you think you can make a living playing clubs in Portland, the union probably isn't for you. If you are serious about playing music for a living, it's a wonderful resource. I do weddings, corporate parties, recordings, touring, benefits, festivals - and the union helps me get those gigs and charge a fair market price for my services. This is the music business and to get those gigs you have to work a lot harder than you do to get a Tuesday night slot at DV8. You have to be better, you have to be professional and you have to make your customers happy. If you want to get good paying gigs and get repeat gigs - you must practice, you must have killer promo, killer demos, you must get your name in the media or at least in the marketplace where you want to work. Being a musician is a lifestyle that is on 24 hours a day. You must get to know people in town and out of town: that includes the Recording Academy people in Seattle, A&R people for big and small labels, everybody in the media (print, electronic, broadcast) distributors, engineers, promoters, printers, booking agents, bartenders, the managers at the music shops, music friendly businesses, Locals Only record stores, has-beens, wanna-bes, up-and-comings, other musicians and most importantly ANY music fan who doesn't know you. You and only you are responsible for getting fans to attend your shows. You have to know how and where to promote yourself and you must do it constantly. There are no vacations or sick days in this biz. There is only working to get ahead or falling behind. There is no room for ego, bad attitudes, poor professionalism or poor musicianship. For every hour of practice do and hour of biz, for every hour of biz practice an hour. In your spare time, look at gear, attend industry functions, read the local zines in and outside of your genre. Get involved in a couple of bands - even if nothing pans out. It'll help you meet people, get into new venues, make some good contacts and it'll do wonders for your playing and professionalism. Play music outside of your genre - your musicianship will get better almost instantly if you rehearsal regularly with different types of bands. I'd suggest reading the Two Louies history link on their website www.twolouiesmagazine.com for a teeny, tiny slice of what happens on a scene. And every genre has its scene and lingo and way of doing business. Learn as much as you can. If you are a career musician - you must live it, and if you're any good and keep at it with a careful eye and adjust what you're doing to keep the bills paid and gigs rolling in - it's only a matter of time before you join. The $140 yearly dues are generally paid for from the first union gig I do for the year. Which means everything else (aside from the pittance of work dues on each performance) I do is gravy. And come summertime, when I do about 20 union gigs a month - well, let's just say summer is a good time to be union. And yeah - sometime I still play for tips and beer and sometimes I barter my services in trade, but I make sure I play places that will either get me new fans or get me private parties. Unless I'm just wanting to get a group some stage time I'm not going to waste my time playing for my 10 best friends at midnight mid-week when they really want to go to bed so they can get some sleep for their job. I'd be better off practicing, really. This is serious business and the union is there to help those who take it seriously. But you still have to do it all yourself and it's harder at the next level. The players are amazing, the competition is fierce but if I can make a living playing jazz, blues and whatever else comes along - you can make a living playing rock and you don't even have to be that good. Rock is and probably always will be supreme. (Well, only if you don't count country music.) I only wish I played guitar instead of sax - I'd be working 10 gigs a week instead of having the time to write this email. But as a union member and a member of the Portland music community, I think we all need to help each other out. All of this only helps all of us. Keep the discussions going, your eyes & ears are the best tools you have - use them. Try to get somewhere and see if what you're doing is helping you get there and then try to see how you can get their faster and most of all have fun. This is a crazy, fantastic, boring, stressful, hard life full of all sorts of adventures. And forthe almost 10 years I've been a member of the union, I haven't regretted a dime I've given them. They're not perfect, but they're the only people, besides me, that work hard to keep me working. And the union is just the biz: ever-changing. Whatever spin you want to put on that is just fine, but I had my best year ever in 2003, in this post 911 economy in this "decaying" industry. If this anachronistic entity and decrepit biz is responsible for that, then may it be forever outdated and crumble into dust - I'm already off to the best January I've ever had and am looking forward to a great 2004. I'm living and loving it and I would publicly like to thank the staff of Local 99, Bruce Fife, Wendy McFarland, Kenneth Shirk & Theo Burke, the executive board and all of it's officers for their continued efforts. I am reaping the benefits. Live music is best! Yours, Generally I enjoy Dave Allen's writing, but I felt compelled to respond to what I thought was a rather poor editorial response to Bruce Fife of the Musicians Union. In the piece, Allen complains that "historically the union has primarily represented the orchestra members of symphonies, operas and ballets" while ignoring the perspectives of jazz, blues, rock and, specifically, indie rock musicians. This argument brought to mind an old adage: "If you don't vote, perhaps you shouldn't complain." Why does the union cater to the needs of a certain minority of musicians? They do so because members of that minority join the union, attend meetings and vote on the issues at hand - unlike most of us in punk and indie bands. If he disagrees with the union's position on file-sharing or fears that they might impose unrealistic standards on clubs which can't afford them (both very reasonable criticisms), then he should encourage people who feel this way to join the union rather than writing off unionization as something which "is not a very sexy undertaking." There are a lot of issues affecting musicians right now. Indie labels and clubs are going under left and right while the RIAA wastes time and money cracking down on file-sharing and refusing to revise its very outdated definition of copyright. These are big issues and we have a much better chance of having our opinions heard by communicating with organizations like the Musicians Union than by sitting around burning CDs of our Pro-Tools recordings and hoping that all these problems just go away by themselves. Overall, I think the article was a disservice to people who could benefit from unionization and a real slap in the face to an organization which was trying to be more inclusive. Sincerely, This letter is in response to Dave Allen's missive about the Musician's Union. Unlike Dave Allen, I am a member of the Portland and Denver locals of the AFM, I do hear from them regularly, and I do know what they do for me. Dave is correct in saying that the union, like most unions, has always been suspicious about technology, and had a difficult time coming to terms with it. However his point of view is out-of-date in its own right, hearkening back to some mythical 60's communal ethic. There are those of us out there who actually try to make a living playing. I feel badly when a club goes under, but I also feel badly when the club seems to feel that it's the musician's responsibility to promote the show, get people to come to it, or even sell tickets to the venue. Does the club owner write tunes for me, or do musical arrangements? The sad fact is that most 25-year rockers, country pickers, jazzers or whatever won't be playing music professionally in ten years. Those who continue playing but who aren't in the union will begin to be concerned about such arcane matters as pensions, health insurance, instrument insurance, etc. As for the union representing the classical folks as their primary clientele, in fact most of the union officials I've met are swing veterans who actually are still praying for the big bands to come back. It is easier for the union to represent larger bands, because they can be organized in more of a traditional factory-like manner. And there's always a leader, unlike small rock or country combos that are run more like co-ops. I also have to acknowledge that not only do many of the older union officials not like rock, they also don't care for country or folk music either. I once watched the ex-president of the Denver local try to convince a country musician that he wasn't a musician, because he didn't play real music. (real in this case equaled swing or bebop.) The answer to this problem is for younger musicians to get involved in the union and ultimately to run for office. And let's face it, many of the younger rockers will bring their own set of musical prejudices to the table. So what am I saying here? Do I seem to be agreeing with Mr. Allen? Not really. The first thing to remember is that the union may not be the best thing since french toast, but it's the only organization that even begins to protect musicians. Case in point. Several years ago I played in the band for a theatrical production in Denver. The producers said that the theater needed to pay us, the theater said that the producers needed to pay us. Because we had filed a union contract, the union paid us the full amount of the contract ($1100 each) and then sued the producers, ultimately reaching some sort of settlement with them. It didn't matter to the band, what mattered is that we got paid. Some other things that the union has done for me is to refer gigs without playing the agent's game of double contracts or excessive commissions, paid me along with thousands of other musicians bonuses for playing on a number of union recording sessions, and given me pension credits for the same. I lack Dave's confidence that young people are finding terrific and productive ways of spending their money, or that file sharing is going to result in much more than screwing the poor songwriters who are not artists, and receive no other sources of income. The fact that record companies will do almost anything to avoid paying royalties doesn't mean that musicians should give up the whole idea of being paid for the sales of records. I think what Bruce Fife wants isn't that far from what Dave Allen wants. We all want more venues that treat musicians decently in terms of pay and working conditions, and no one in their right mind feels that either Clear Channel, the RIAA or the large record companies treat musicians any better than the worst club owners do. Giving away music doesn't solve the problem. It also might be useful to mention that many creative musicians aren't involved in the problems of stardom. They're more concerned with developing their art and in finding an audience than in creating an image. Thought you all might want to hear another viewpoint. Dick Weissman We neglected to point out last issue that TH are the initials for Tim Hinely, contributing reviewer, and editor of the music zine, Dagger. Dear TH, I hope you will seriously consider printing a retraction if you are in any way suggesting that Janet Weiss is the best drummer in Portland. Not only is she not that great of a drummer, she doesn't have that great of an attitude either. I'm sure that many a Portlander would agree that the biggest applause she will ever receive would be the day she packed up and moved back to Olympia, WA and let those who truly deserve it receive some recognition. Thank you, ed- Decide for yourself whether Janet has that great of an attitude by reading our Quasi interview. In response to Editor Says from MLP v. 1 i. 7: As someone who has to wake up at 5:00 a.m. in the morning Mon-Friday I can completely relate to this article. The few shows that I do go to keep my sleep limited to 3 or 4 hours. I would probably go and see TWICE as many shows if they started earlier. I'm certain of this. Another thing that supports this view is the trend of bands TRYING to avoid going last on the bill. Remember when it used to be a PRIVILEGE to be the last band? Hmmmmmmmm. I'm just one person though............ Bo Fickel We love to hear from you. Tell us your hopes and dreams, fears and nightmares, peas and carrots at: letters@musicliberationproject.com. |