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New Years' Eve parties have been on the decline since 9/11. No more triple pay... just another night you might get a gig! Sort of like Valentine's Day.

Somehow I have been lucky to end up with a decent gig for our band every year. Blessed to have a good gig and past that, we promised to help a little with promotions on this year's event - which really promotes the band for other events during the year.

Over the past few days, I have tried to hire an extra sound/light/set-up guy and everyone on my list is busy. Maybe things are picking up again.

Come join us - you'll be cheered up - and probably make as much setting up the light truss and you won't have to lug a tuba - on second thought - bring the sousa, we will do a surprise 2nd line brass band entrance during the party! Two sousa brass band would really kick! https://youtu.be/o6ORloRxrdw" target="_blank" target="_blank

Sadly, I will be getting home around 3am!

TJ

Yeah, I don't know how New Year's Eve keeps it going, without obligatory extended family, state-sponsored spectacles, loot for the kids, or imaginary beings. Just grown-ups having whatever kind of fun they think they can manage - that's got to be pretty thin soup.

I have never understood New year's Eve: 3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!

Then what? And a day off in the middle of the week, in winter, when everything is closed? It's just weird.

I lived in NYC for a good while, and did the Times Square thing once. It wasn't good or bad, but I wouldn't do it again. Wierdest thing was that after the ball drops, people idsperse immediately, and it's just hanging around in midtown in the middle.of the night... Which isn't anyone's first choice of activity.

It is what it is. I'd rather just work on Jan 1st, but work and school are closed, so I might as well enjoy the free day off.

And the complete commercial vacuum - no one buys stuff on the day, or for the day, even sends New Years' cards. How could this have ever happened in America?

Donn wrote:And the complete commercial vacuum - no one buys stuff on the day, or for the day, even sends New Years' cards. How could this have ever happened in America?

Liquor sales. Go to a liquor store on NYE...

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I'm happily working for real money 15 mins from home. 5 hours of jazz on a big or small bass. I'm happy for the work, and with my wife on the road this year I just think of it as a really good paying tuesday.

This is all because Dick Clark died. If we can clone him and bring back the "rockin eve" things could be as they were again.

I haven’t played a New Year’s gig since 1978 with Guy Lombardo. I did 3 of those. Good pay. National TV.

I am cat-sitting for a brass colleague/friend of mine on New Year's Eve & New Year's Day, so it's all good

Doc wrote:
So... I will be working an extra duty security job at an electrical substation making good money sitting on my *** watching equipment, drinking coffee, and listening to my own requests over the car stereo. No mess, no fuss, no load-in, no load-out, no issues with pay. I’m disappointed that things have gone this way, but I ain’t mad at still working and getting paid.

That reminds me of Y2K during which I was at work in case something happened to a substation or worse....so good for you being on guard duty.

In and around Philadelphia it's all about New Years Day and The Mummers!!

Southern Boys can not handle their likker...

That being said, what am I doing New Years Eve??

https://youtu.be/7loasNWrjy0" target="_blank

I haven't done a NYE gig in about a decade now, used to be pretty much guaranteed to get one. I really don't miss them would rather stay home with the wife, this year we're having a couple neighbors over. New years eve did pay much better than most nights, but I've never had to rely on the income so not a big deal for me.

Back in the day, there were years in which I had multiple offers for work on NYE - due to spilldown, even musicians of questionable skill were virtually guaranteed to get work.

https://youtu.be/90WD_ats6eE" target="_blank

A point of clarification:

Times Square is not the “NYC thing.” It’s the self-loathing tourist thing... and the thing New Yorkers avoid.

Every brass band and tuba player in my network was working NYE. I picked up a paying gig in my neighborhood in Brooklyn... it was fun and earned some spending money (as opposed to spending the $30-200+/pp cover or ticket that most bars and venues charge).

I actually played my first NYE gig this year. At 60 years of age, I joined a 9-piece "club dance type horn band" playing trombone. The band has only been together about 2 years and I only have been with them for about 6 months. We got a gig at a hotel in Wildwood NJ. They paid us OK, but also gave us rooms for the night, since the band is from PA (three hours away). It was fun. My wife and two other couples came along and we all had a good time. After dinner, drinks, and breakfast the next morning, I think I broke even. So at least I didn't lose money, and we had a night out with friends, (although I spent it on the band stand....)

ken k

I think club dates in general are going out of style. Places don't want to pay for music. They would rather stream it or have a DJ. I just vacationed in Key West FL over the holiday and all the places that had "live" music were basically a guy singing and playing guitar with karaoke tracks..... no bands.

Doc wrote: So... I will be working an extra duty security job at an electrical substation making good money sitting on my *** watching equipment, drinking coffee.....

I kept the telecommunications grid up and active through the weekend blizzard and into the new year, with tonight finally being my last holiday week shift.

Now I need to find time for rehearsals because we're suddenly getting gigs that I wasn't planning on, possibly due to the extended replay on the local cable access channel from a brief stint around town playing Christmas carols. I'm ever so grateful the cameraman didn't get set up to record in time for our first stint at the coffee shop. Our gigs are usually centered around summer holidays like Fourth of July and Christmas caroling. We all play in the local pep band the rest of the year.

I can't remember the last time I did a "serious" gig. It's been 5 years or more of "whatever you're willing to pay". That said, I enjoy my NYE gig, as it's at a swing dance hall. There aren't many of these places anywhere, but this place holds dances for summer solstice, NYE, and early in spring, and they consider us their house band. I don't mind too much that I don't get paid much, because it's just so much fun to play for people who enjoy whatever the band puts in front of them. It's only 15 minutes' drive away from home, too.

Just for statistical reporting, I have played a NYE gig for the last 18 years. Not the same one but a variety of different events. 2018-19 I played 2. This last one was just one but it paid more than those 2.

I don't see any down-turning in my area. But I've also become more known on the scene so I have more opportunities for being offered a gig.

I'm not sharing this to toot my own horn. I just wanted to share a different perspective.