#BUT I'M HERE NOW!! and. AND. still totally glammed up from prior events

[merklins]

Hell yeah!! Merklins is BACK from SUPER REAL WORLD ACTIVITIES just in time to witness. THE GRAND FINALE OF THE THING EVER. I won't be reblogging stuff yet because it JUST finished but!! Giggling and grinning at the people who did liveblog it with all of their reactions

[marie-dufresne]

Marie-mun, you've mentioned your husband is a musician and from what I gathered (correct me if I'm wrong), he supports you and your son? I really want to pursue my music for a career but I'm scared to take that leap. You make me feel like I could do it. Any advice?

Yes, Mr. Frenchie is a musician and he is by far the breadwinner. The bacon bringer homer.

I can, and will, give you a full lowdown on how it works for us but let me just tell you right off the bat that there are some ah, extra, things that really helped drive his career along.

1. He’s a musical prodigy. It helps. A lot lol.

2. He’s a people person. Again, this helps a  l o t.

3. He went from living the bachelor life to having a new girlfriend and a babu on the way in a span of 3 months so. There was a very strong fire under his butt that motivated him. That helped a lot.

4. He plays multiple instruments {piano, guitar, bass, vocals, and organ professionally, mandolin and uke he can teach but doesn’t play out}

I also want to say before I begin that everything I’m about to say isn’t a requirement to have a career as a musician, it’s just what he does to support his family and also to give us the lifestyle we want. (we like nice things and we aren’t ashamed to admit it.) You may not have a family to support. You might not live in an area where buying a house is sensible. You might be a minimalist. Who knows, I don’t, but I’ll still do my best to help maybe clear your brains up a bit.

One thing (and most career musicians will tell you the same thing) that you need to know is there is no one-and-done as far as music goes. Unless you’re a sound engineer or schoolteacher or  something, very few “music” jobs pay a livable salary. Performance jobs especially as I imagine this is what you’re referring to.

Because there is no one-and-done, prepare to work odd hours, drive or commute otherwise a lot, and also be asked “what’s your real job”. a  l o t.  So. How to pay your bills on your music career? Here are some options for you, built out of literally everything Mr. Frenchie does. {read more for obscene length lmao}

Gigs:

The first and most obvious answer. For this, you will have to pay your dues. 4 hour gigs @ $50-75 a pop, bringing all of your own sound equipment and possibly playing to 4 drunks passed out on the tables. DO IT. Make friends with the bartenders. Make friends with management. Make friends even with those guys at the tables. You never know who has connections to better paying jobs. You never know.  {Mr. Frenchie has gotten jobs playing private birthday parties @ $700+ for two hours from making friends with people at shitty bars. GET IN WITH THE PEOPLE.}

This will suck at first. It will suck so hard and you will be tired, and you will probably hate the music you’re playing and if you have a s/o at home they will be annoyed and frustrated at times. It’s okay. It’s part of the job.

But here’s the thing. Don’t get stuck in these gigs. Regardless of the music you like, learn everything. Learn one hit wonders for the has-been hotties at the bar. Learn classic rock, learn country, learn the songs everyone is so fucking sick of hearing. Learn top 40 pop tunes, learn jazz standards, learn 40’s and 50’s ballads. Learn holiday music. Learn traditional music (traditional Irish tunes are what’s popular here) LEARN IT ALL.

The more songs you have in your repertoire, the more versatile you’ll be. You don’t want to get offered a gig at an elderly community brunch (sounds snoozy but trust me, those people are some of the most fun and tip well ;) ) and have to turn it down because all you know is Glam Rock and a couple U2 tunes. Trust me.

If you work at it, you will reach a point where you can turn down those $50 gigs. You’ll get to a point where you can say no to anything that doesn’t pay your minimum + bar tab & food. Though gigging is not Mr. Frenchie’s main income, he does love to do it. He rarely plays out at bars and is now doing upscale restaurants and local bay cruises instead. :)

Meeting people at gigs is a good way to get Cocktail Hour jobs at weddings as well. This is something Mr. Frenchie only does here and there as it often interferes with his salary job, but the pay is good. :)

Teaching:

One of the main parts of our household income. Private lessons aren’t exactly “performance” but they pay. Lessons privately (on your own, outside of a studio) will obviously pay more, but if you don’t have a name in the music industry of your area yet, I highly recommend poking around at music schools/studios looking for instructors.

Teaching is a much steadier source of income than gigs (as most bars and restaurants either rotate or “call when they need you”), but unlike gigs, it’s not for everyone. You can be a great musician and a poor teacher. This is the area where “being a people person” helps the most lol. Having a strong grasp of music theory also greatly helps in this area.

Teaching also opens windows to networking. People who put their kids in music lessons tend to be on the upper end of the pay grade (generally, not always), as it is an expensive activity. As you build a relationship with your students and thus their parents, you might find yourself hired for live music at their restaurants, cocktail hours for older children’s weddings, or of course, referrals to you as a music teacher for children of their friends. (currently Mr. Frenchie has a waiting list of parents who will not put their child with any instructor except him, but his teaching schedule is full up right now)

Musically Directing:

This one is probably one of the more difficult things to do, depending on your skill level. Musically directing local musicals is not easy or quick, but the pay is usually pretty good, and if you’re into musicals it’s a lot of fun. Of course, as you’re required to work with the full cast, you’d have to have knowledge of:

a. how musicals work

b. the show you’re musically directing

c. vocals (you’re essentially a voice coach for a large part of it)

d. conducting a pit band.

This though is the area I know the least about in regards to what he does, to be honest. All I know is that during a show I basically never see him because he’s at rehearsal 4x a week on top of everything else on this list lmao. That and his struggles with cast members who simply will not practice.

If directing doesn’t seem like your bag, musicals are always looking for pit musicians! Check in with colleges and universities for these opportunities first, as most community theaters tends to have “their people” and likely won’t hire without prior experience or “knowing a guy”.

Music Ministry:

This is our biggest loaf of bread.

This particular loaf of bread though, is definitely not for everyone. One thing to know though is that you don’t actually need to be a person of faith to acquire a music ministry job, though it um, obviously helps. It not only helps get you hired, but you’ll have a better grasp on what you’re doing as well as the reverence the Mass (or other service depending on which direction you take) deserves.

The thing about music ministry though, is if you can find a place of worship in need of a music director in the right place, you can get…

…

BENEFITS.

B E N E F I T S.

That’s right, my friend. Healthcare, vacation time, 401k, life insurance, the whollleeee kit and caboodle. I, of course, can only speak for the Catholic churches (as this is where Mr. Frenchie works), and even then, as he’s worked for several, only some have the financial stability to offer benefits. (though if the church has a school attached, your children can attend at reduced or 0 tuition! :D Our parish… does not have a school lmao, but he’s been offered jobs at some that do.)

Now this of course is also for the position of a music director. If you don’t qualify for this but wish to contribute in other ways (guitarist, violinist, cantor etc etc), you’ll most likely still receive a stipend, but you probably won’t be considered a “full time” employee as your responsibilities are literally just showing up and playing or singing lol.

One thing that music ministry does open the door for (especially on the off chance you’re an organist! You aren’t? Get yourself some lessons, stat), is funerals. Funerals are a really really good source of income, depending on the location, typically $125-200 per. (Again, speaking solely for Catholic funeral Masses) So if you’ve got a grasp on how a Mass works and can learn yourself some hymns, put your name in.

Music directors, of course, will get first refusal for funerals and weddings but there are a ton of times they either can’t or they’re on vacation or any other number of reasons and churches really like to keep lists of people who can fill in. If you do well, and you make connections in the ministry world, friends will refer you and your network will grow and grow. It’s also a good way to be in people’s ear in the event music director jobs open up (if you’re waiting on one) and to get offered one. :)

There was one point Mr. Frenchie was playing weekly across 3 parishes, plus College Campus Ministry on Sunday nights but we’ve finally managed to get it down to just our home parish where he is the music director, though he will take funerals from any parish that comes calling so long as there’s room in his schedule for it. 

—

Okay I think that’s everything. Through all this he works easily 60-90hrs/week, commuting roughly 3 hours a day on average.

Hopefully I didn’t discourage you hahahaha but I didn’t want to just say “oh yes if you work hard enough you can totally do it!!

If you’re ride or die set on having a career solely on music you’ve written, you’re definitely in for a bad time, but if you open yourself up to literally everything on your journey to promote yourself, you might find some things you really enjoy doing all while supporting yourself and kicking the starving artist trope to the curb. :)