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Location: Flahdaw | I just received this email from a retirement community...
Sklepek826 has sent you a message:
Entertainment
I am the activities director for a retirement community, Water's Edge of Bradenton. I am wondering if you'd be interested in possibly performing at our facility. Every month we have a Feel Good Friday where the residents have a cocktail party before dinner and I like to have music entertainment there. This event lasts only an hour. How much would you charge for that?
Samantha Klepek
941-708-3869
You can reply to this message by visiting your inbox.
The weird thing is, this woman found me on Youtube, saw that I live in the same town, and offered me a job. I wonder if that is a first? What are the chances of an activities director bouncing around on youtube, and out of hundreds of thousands of videos, finding the channel of someone in the same small town? Weird. |
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Location: SoCal | Obviously she doesn't really know you.... |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Guess you better go do it, huh?
Opportunity Knocks! :cool: |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Must not have been the video with "the shirt". Good to see someone recognized your talent. I answered an ad from an activities director for retirement homes here and volunteered, but never got a response. I wonder if she found me on youtube. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Obviously she doesn't really know you.... I see from her youtube channel that she is 23 yrs old. Probably thinks I'm like ancient and perfect for the octogenarians sipping their Manhattans and Slo Gin Fizzes at the cocktail party.(I think I'll pass) |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | My niece was an activities director at a nursing home right after she got out of college. I tried to get her to let me come play and sing, but her ideas of fun activities didn't match the clientele, so she quit. She changed clientele and was teaching pole dancing until she broke her foot. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | DarkBar, someone probably told her about you and she checked you out on youtube. You should do it! I did a show at our local retirement community with a couple of my kids back in August. The kids play rock! Yeah, we did 'unplugged ' versions of their songs, but the people loved it. You have to remember, we are ALL getting older! Someone who was 25 years old at Woodstock is now 66 years old!
Oh yeah, and it paid pretty good too. Not only did we get a check from the entertainment director, but they passed a tip jar around and the "old folks" were VERY generous! |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | You must do this. Money aside, Aunt Mary would be very disappointed if you didn't. |
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Location: closely held secret | Better move on it fast. Activity directors at retirement homes come and go faster than the breakfast prunes.
Be sure to play Harry Nilsson's "I'd Rather Be Dead". Guaranteed to be a big hit. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
She changed clientele and was teaching pole dancing until she broke her foot. Pole dancing is obviously more hazardous than you might think. Weaser developed a terrible allergic reaction to the ink in dollar bills and had to quit his evening job. |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | The rash was unBEARable. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by CanterburyStrings:
You should do it! I did a show at our local retirement community with a couple of my kids back in August. The kids play rock! Yeah, we did 'unplugged ' versions of their songs, but the people loved it. You have to remember, we are ALL getting older! Someone who was 25 years old at Woodstock is now 66 years old!
Alison, I know it would be the nice thing to do, but my only reference point is my father, who was 86 and living in an assisted living place like this one before he passed away. Although he knew I played guitar, he never had heard me or asked to hear me. Oh, he would go to a cocktail party, but he wouldn't care about the music. It's hard for me to imagine that they would want to hear me play, but who knows. I think Mark has a point in that sometimes these activities directors have a different idea of what's considered good entertainment than the residents do. |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | It might not be fair to judge by one person (even if he IS your Dad). My Dad could care less as well but I know others who would absolutely love it (aka my Mom).
Aunt Mary too. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Okay... I worked for a County Housing Department.
One of their properties that I spent a lot of time at was an Old Folks Community.
This was not a Nursing Home. But they did have "Activities".
Bingo, Community Junk Sales, Bible Study, Picnics, and they would have musicians on rare occasions.
I never brought a guitar there cuz I wasn't sure when I was coming, and I was supposed to be Working!
Also, as a temp laborer it was against policy for me to visit there on off hours.
BUT! There were tenants that Played Guitar... Allie had a Takamine.
The old German Lady had some kind of old German Acoustic.
There was a Russian concert pianist, and she would play down in the basement daily.
And Yes, half of these people were old Hippies who still volunteer for Oxfam...
(and the other half were old Hippie-hating Rednecks)
In ten years I will be old enough to move in there. [Rent is 33% of you income!] |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Old Man Arthur:
In ten years I will be old enough to move in there. [Rent is 33% of you income!] Gosh, I can't imagine how a county facility can afford to do that! Where do they get the money? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by Waskel:
Originally posted by Old Man Arthur:
In ten years I will be old enough to move in there. [Rent is 33% of you income!] Gosh, I can't imagine how a county facility can afford to do that! Where do they get the money?
(That would be Washington County Property Taxes... But it is supplemented by Federal Housing and Urban Development funds, so it eventually comes outta your wallet too. And the Old Folks THANK You!) |
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Location: closely held secret | It's not helping the Old Folks that bothers me. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by Waskel:
It's not helping the Old Folks that bothers me. Please elaborate. |
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Location: closely held secret | I would expect to contribute to the support of people who can no longer support themselves due to age, infirmity or circumstances beyond their control, be it economic or otherwise. I would be less willing to do so for people who simply did not plan for that period of their life, expecting society to take care of them when they were no longer able.
What I have no tolerance for are people who have lived their lives with this mindset, encouraged by the current social agenda, doing for themselves as little as possible while depending on government sponsored handouts paid for by taxpayers under the threat of law. And when those who are forced to participate in this economic extortion express resentment at the fruit of their hands and minds being stolen from them and given to those who choose to do no labor, they are called "greedy", "cheap", and "jealous that poor people get food for free". The people who work are painted as the victimizers and those who get something for nothing as the victims.
You asked. |
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Location: closely held secret | Oh, and they sometimes misrepresent Bible verses and think that proves their point. Mark 12:41-44 in no way denigrates wealthy people ("Many rich people threw in large amounts") but is rather praising the poor widow because she gave out of her poverty. |
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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by Waskel:
Better move on it fast. Activity directors at retirement homes come and go faster than the breakfast prunes.
Be sure to play Harry Nilsson's "I'd Rather Be Dead". Guaranteed to be a big hit. Play John Denver's Forest Lawn.... |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Uh... So Waskel, you think that allowing people over the age of 63 to live in a Secure Senior Community while paying a third of their fixed income is a bad thing? Obviously these mostly single old people are somehow leeching off of the hard-working people? Instead of figuring that 33% is a reasonable amount of a person's income to pay for housing.
Plus, this allows people of similar age and experience to live together with others like themselves. And they might enjoy having someone play guitar at their little cocktail hour, picnic, party or whatever. While they share and celebrate that they have managed to live so long... And plan on living for another decade or three.
And as to Mark 12:41-44, Jesus was pointing-out how even the disciples didn't see that the poor woman had given more than the rich because "The World" (even the disciples) counts Money as being valuable instead of considering the motives of the Heart. |
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Location: closely held secret | OMA, if that's what you got out of my post, then you apparently read something different then what I wrote.
And my point about the passage was that you previously tried to use it to prove the rich people mentioned were cheap. Not the focus of that story at all. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | The focus of the Thread is whether DB should play guitar at a senior community for money.
Once I mentioned that I worked at a Community of 60+ year-old folks who would probably enjoy similar music because many of them are of the Woodstock Generation. Then I also mentioned some of the residents play music and the possibility that I could move into that community in ten years...
You used that as an opening to somehow maybe give a little 'dig' towards me because somehow I am an advocate for all them low-class leeches of society who are wasting your tax money on housing the poor. And that in fact I am part of some conspiracy of lazy people who will not get up off of their dead asses and work.
And to prove you point you had to refer to a totally different thread.
So Yeah... I understood you quite clearly. |
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Location: closely held secret | Yep, I'm just one of those mean ole conservative rednecks, just lookin to take the food off the old folks table, medicine out of their cabinets, and kick em out on the street.
Congratulations, you just proved my point. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | So, anyway...dark bar. Do the gig. I've done a couple with my buddy Dave on Uptight Bass (he's an Accountant..so it's uptight and alright) playing in a seniors facility.
It was a very cool and rewarding experience; and we didn't even get paid! |
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Location: Flahdaw | The point of this thread was really how weird it was that I got this email. I humbly disagree with you Alison....there is no way that she "heard about me and then searched me out on youtube." I don't do anything FOR her to hear about me. I just play guitar around my house (okay, I did do one open mic a few months ago). My only "advertising" is what I do on youtube. I have a few friends that know I play guitar, but they don't hang out with 23 yr olds. So it HAD to be her randomly searching youtube. Very strange.....job offers from youtube??!!!
(whether I do the gig is a totally different matter) |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | dark bar....
...don't underestimate the ingenuity of the Activities Director! She probably was "surfing for possibilities"! They have a really hard time lining up entertainment for the "Folks" in their facilities. The residents are "The Forgotten" and Entertainers just don't think of these gigs, and if they do, they charge far too much (these places are on a really tight budget).
My advice: do the gig, but do it without charging a fee. You might find that most of them won't care about you when you're playing (but I think you'll be surprised), but watch their faces when you do play- I'll bet you'll see ONE face that "lights up"! That is your fee! Priceless beyond measure.
Do it! Best gigs ever! |
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Location: Hanau, Hessen, Germany | @Tim: +1 on that. Best advice so far! |
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Location: Flahdaw | Okay....mystery solved (I'm thick as a brick sometimes) |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | db...just checked out your YouTube thingy... very nice!
Take a small amp and work up some songs from the 40's-60's.... they'll love it!
Also, think of doing it during the Holidays.... that is usually a very hard and lonely time for the Residents.... they LOVE Holiday tunes! |
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| Stop dicking around and just do it bob.
You've got a bucket load of talent.
Ask moody for my guide to gigging.
And then just freaking do it.
In a plain white t-shirt.............. (I apologise for starting that whole shirt thing). |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Wow, what a thread: Religion, Politics, Economics, Business Administration, and most of all: Schroeder (good to see/read from you...How's the Tal Farlow doing?)...
It's tempting to get involved in this since I have been singing at nursing/retirement homes/centers for many years...
But suffice it to say: DB, just do it! You just might make someones day! |
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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by schroeder:
Ask moody for my guide to gigging.
And then just freaking do it.
An absolute 3 step process to gigging. Follow the rules and it's a breeze and fun.
I'm not kidding. Shroe' sent it to me about 5 years ago and I've followed the rules carefully and successfully..... |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | OK. I'll bite.
Gimme 3 steps. |
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Location: Baton Rouge, LA | Mr. Bar,
If you do decide to play for the old folks, make sure you use an Ovation.
You owe them that at least.
Your Pal,
Victor |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Must be the lack of sunshine. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
Must be the lack of sunshine. Funny you should say that....my doctor was JUST checking my blood chemistry and discovered that I'm waaaay low in vitamin D, and I live in freaking Florida!
Anyway, we're back to full-on mystery, which I thought was solved but as it turns out some goober, who will remain nameless (Weaser) was just screwing with me. So I still don't know how she found me.
Hey Schro...I'm fine with the shirt thing. I thought it was funny (although I don't wear THAT shirt anymore) |
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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by muzza:
OK. I'll bite.
Gimme 3 steps. Ok, here they are:
"1. Look 'em in the eye. Don't sing to your shoes, don't sound apologetic, act like this is your 5000th gig not your 1st or 2nd. They don't know you're just kicking off if you don't tell 'em. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
2. Never try and playa lick/chord/rhythm you haven't practised til your hands bled. Absolutely nothing fucks a gig like sounding like you could have used a little more practice. Being amateur is no excuse for performing amateur. The last thing you need on stage is to be worrying about that chord change. Way better to do 4 good songs than 10 mediocre ones.
3. At the end of the set if it ain't been fun don't do it again.
The great thing about these 3 things is you only got to remember 1 on the night. Do your practise and it will be fine." |
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Location: Baton Rouge, LA | 1. Possitive attitude/self confidence.
2. Preperation.
3. Fulfillment. |
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Location: Baton Rouge, LA | sorry, mispelled preparation
I'm so embarased
LSU lost......drag
Oh yeah, Ovation guitars are great! |
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OT- This is different...