Last night I got a full night's sleep, which is pretty rare, so I woke up super excited and full of energy (for once!) but the excitement was short-lived when grownup work overtook my day.
I spent a little time writing, which since I've gotten past that one brutal chapter that was owning my life for a bit, was fine. I'm actually meeting deadlines! But eventually I had to interrupt that fun to go and practice for the rehearsal one of my bands was having today. Learned a bunch of tunes, worked on some chops, then did the rehearsal which was followed by the ever-pleasant band meeting which was a whole load of "we need gigs!!" because we're in a lull. We're not a bar band, so we don't get the every-week every-person-gets-a-free-beer-and-$10-for-playing shows. We do weddings and parties and BBQs and city events and stuff like that, so apparently no one is getting married who likes country music in Alberta right now. It's a bit annoying. Also we're in conflict with a couple of people who assume musicians SHOULD only be paid $10 each for a gig. "Hey I know your website says $500 for a 1-hour gig, but we'll pay you $50 and give your band free publicity!"
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Your tiny little hole-in-the-wall club is going to give us $450 worth of publicity? Sounds legit.
So at the moment I'm stuck doing all the promotional things about the band because I'm the only one who knows how to mix audio tracks, so I'm mixing our demos, I'm the only one who knows HTML, and I'm the business-savy one so I'm just doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff while I make them go out and search for shows.
I still have to do another art arrangement with my unruly customer and book rehearsal and show times with my touring band, rebook my drum students and make charts for my fill-in-drummer for the first-mentioned band.
Okay, quick interruption for confusion-killing. So bands. Country cover band (for weddings/parties/corporate) = "cover band," country original band for singer/songwriter = "touring band," jazz band = "Latin band."
Anyways. Cover band needs a fill-in drummer just in case they book a show on the same night as another gig of mine with the touring band, or if I'm out of town for rehearsals, so I have to make sheet music for him and send him audio files, set lists, and all that stuff so he can function.
I still need to learn a full 10 songs and make cheat-charts for others for the touring band and the rehearsal might be as early as tomorrow. If it is, I am so screwed because no way I can learn them that fast. Then again, it might not be for another 3 or 4 days, which is what I'm crossing my fingers for.
Tomorrow I have to wrap up a HUGE painting and transport it across the city to its owner, not looking forward to that.
And I'm doing a bunch of finance planning so I don't die this month, which once again I am very close to doing. Though, as I mentioned before, this is the very last month where this will be happening because of the touring band and publishing deal. Thank goodness.
I've only had $20 to spend on food this month and I am just dying. I can't wait to afford real food. When I'm really down on my luck, I buy rice, dry beans, flour, and margarine. With these things, I can make a bean paste to mix with the rice, which is actually full of nutrition (enough to keep me alive) but tastes a bit bland. Then the flour and margarine make flat bread (seriously, that's all you need + water) to eat with the beans and rice. Boom, nearly a month's worth of food for $20.
Every meal. Blech.
I have a few cans of vegetables that I go through very slowly "just in case." But that's about it.
Anyways, there's my day. I have to do another art promo in the next day or two too and I'm crossing my fingers than cover band gets the gigs I e-mailed for this month and if we do, I will be over-the-top happy.
Anyways, going to go make a whole pot of coffee now so I have the energy to do everything this evening.
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