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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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 RE: gigin (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria
. Is there a marked difference seasonally for you, as well?
Yes - loads more work in summer! Britain is grey and wet in the winter and not much fun. Consequently, restaurants are much quieter in the winter round here. Also, I live/work in a tourism area. From Spring onwards, the weather is nicer, things get busy and people are much more into the idea of Spanish guitar music (lots of Brits go on holiday in Spain and like to be reminded of their hols too...). Also, people get married in Spring/summer, so the wedding work picks up.
On the weekend I was offered work on a three month cruise in the Carribean starting in May. It was 750 dollars a week but I turned it down, mainly due to family reasons. Also I already have a part time day job, and as I said, this is now my busy season as a musician so it doesn't make sense to split the day job AND drop out of the music scene at its busiest point.
Anyway, I shall just have to get myself a suntan and pretend I've been in the carribean for three months 
Jon
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Date Apr. 20 2004 8:25:35
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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RE: gigin (in reply to Billyboy)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Billyboy
jeez Jon I would have jumped at that Cruise Job, the money is a fantastic amount, you would have come back loaded, any chance of putting a word in.
I can see how it sounds great Dave, but its not THAT great when you look into it. I think it worked out at around 350 quid a week after paying the agency commission fee. I have no idea whether they pay the travel costs to and from the boat.
They probably work you to the bone on those cruises - I am sure it would be six days a week, probably two long sets a day.
Like I said, I would have had to jack in the day job, and my contract runs to December, so that would be a major financial drawback.You need some kind of special work visa too, I forgot to mention.
It just wouldn't have been worth it for me - I have four wedding gigs coming up in the next month or so, and they pay well.
Jon
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Date Apr. 20 2004 14:49:07
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Billyboy
Posts: 389
Joined: Aug. 18 2003
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RE: gigin (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
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quote:
Yeah, sorry I don't love to play so much Id like to be stranded on a boat with a bunch of old people playing two sets a day. Not for 350! Yeh but what about the young dancers, bound to get lonely, all that time at sea  , but seriously two sets a day woulden't faze me, imagine how fast that picado would be after a few months, how did you get that offer Jon, and how would you aplly for the job, and would there be a lot of competition, it would suit me down to the ground, I play a lot of Bach, which probably be more suitable to a Cruise.
Cheers
Dave
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Date Apr. 20 2004 20:52:40
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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RE: gigin (in reply to Billyboy)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Billyboy
, how did you get that offer Jon, and how would you aplly for the job, and would there be a lot of competition,
I was offered it through a UK agency that specialises in classical and flamenco guitarists:
http://www.classicalguitarist.co.uk/
You'll need to have a demo, biog etc. to send them to be listed with them (as well as an idea of what your fee is!).
Geoff, who runs the agency, just rang me up and asked if I was interested. I doubt whether there'd be any competition, Dave, more a case of scrabbling around trying to find somenone who'd actually be prepared to do it.
Its probably too late to do this gig anyhow, boat leaves on May 5th and I doubt whether you'd get a visa in time.
Jon
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Date Apr. 22 2004 8:42:37
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Ron.M
Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland
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RE: gigin (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
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As a general rule here in the UK, anybody who does any kind of work for any business or individual on a self employed basis should carry Public Liability insurance cover.
P.A.T testing is basic safety testing of electrical equipment. Any electrical equipment used in a public place, ie office, hospital, retirement home etc etc must be regulary tested for basic safety.You cannot, for instance bring a ropey old electrical extension box with frayed wires exposed and repaired by yourself with bits of insulation tape, into a restaurant and expect to plead innocence if a member of the public accidentally touches it and gets electrocuted.
You will be in deep trouble.
On the other hand, it's not expensive to get £1,000,000 of cover and you will have the insurance company's lawyers fighting your corner in the event of someone making a claim against you. Which is handy, since criminal charges could also be brought against you, which means you could possibly face a jail sentence.
With no insurance, a successful claim against you by a restaurant staff member or member of the public could see you losing your house, car and any savings you may have.
BTW, they can't take your guitar, because under an archaic law, they must leave you with "the tools of your Trade".
Liability cases are becoming popular here and there is a story of a woman suing her friend and host at a posh London dinner party because her chair broke and she claims that she now has a bad back.
That's the London set for you! LOL!
Ron
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Date Apr. 30 2004 8:07:07
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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RE: gigin (in reply to Billyboy)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Billyboy
Jon what is all this about, do you have all this insuarance? This sounds just silly to me
Yes I do and no it isn't.
It is part and parcel of operating a business as Ron says.
I have a quarter of a million quids worth of public liability cover, and all my gear is PAT tested. Its no big deal - my public liability cover comes as part of my insurance cover for my gear anyway (there are companies that specialise in insurance for musicians) which I think is about 60 quid for thousands of pounds worth of gear, and the PAT testing cost me about thirty quid for all my gear. Peanuts really, compare to what it would cost if someone tripped over one of my PA speaker cables and sued me, or if my gear was electrically unsound and there was an accident - I'd be paying them back for the rest of my life.
Some contractors (agencies or even venues) insist on this as you've found, so if I didn't do it I'd also be in breach of contract as well. I've heard of venues doing spot checks, to cover their own backs. Imagine turning up to do a wedding gig only to find you can't play because you don't have the right piece of paper!
This really is a no-brainer, you are weighing enormous personal risks against a tiny financial outlay. Take a look at half an hour of British commercial television these days and count how many adverts from 'no win no fee' personal accident vultures, sorry solicitors, there are.
Mike, you are nuts if you don't insure yourself, particularly in your part of the world where they sue at the drop of a hat. I don't know of any serious musician here who DOESN'T have this cover.
Next topic: tax and why you need an accountant
Jon
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Date Apr. 30 2004 9:06:57
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Jon Boyes
Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
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RE: gigin (in reply to Billyboy)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Billyboy
What kind of risks are involved with playing Flamenco Guitar, its not really a high risk sport. I never play with an amp anyway, would that make a difference?
Not having electrics, amps etc certainly lessens the risks a great deal. PAT testing, for one thing, will be irrelevant for you. However, you've been asking questions about amplification so I assumed this wasn't the case.
To be honest, if you are just playing the ocasional (acoustic) gig in a restaurant once in a while as a hobby, you don't need to worry about this stuff. For me the situation is different, I am gigging regularly with lots of PA gear etc. and this is part of my livelyhood.
You don't say where you got that quote that you posted, or why it affects you. Go back and read the bit in my above post about breach of contract.
Jon
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Date Apr. 30 2004 15:29:16
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. They demand three forty minute sets, which doesn't sound to bad, but its a long night... Doesn't pay to good, either 
