Wow, am I late jumping into this thread...but here goes. I was interested in everyone's "take" on whether "professional" musicians resent session players taking up space and time in bars/pubs where the "pro" thinks he ought to be turning a dollar. I gather from this discussion that many/most sessions "back East" take place in bars/pubs. That would seem a "natural" setting for them, but of all the "Irish" beverage establishments out here in southern California (oh, yes, we have them too!), only TWO that I know of host "sessions." The others, if they have live music at all, have paid performers. So where do the sessions happen? At homes, at churches, and at meetings of various "Irish/Celtic" social clubs. Who plays at the sessions? A mix of amateur and local "pro" players. At the weekly session I (try to) attend, at the Celtic Arts Center, there are usually anywhere from 8-15 players and maybe 50 onlookers. Usually the playing group includes 3 or 4 "pro" or "semi-pro" musicians ("semi-pro" being my term for those who OCCASIONALLY -- not as a living -- do a paid gig, either solo or as part of a band). Being one of the "semi-pros," I will not hesitate to say that many of our "amateur" players are every bit as good as those of us who can sometimes get paid for our "art." This weekly session also seems not to have a problem I've heard has plagued a few other sessions, namely, where a "clique" (often members of one band) hijack a session and basically make it "their" session. Maybe we're just lucky, but the sessions seem to proceed in a very egalitarian and congenial manner, with no one trying to be the boss. Sometimes one of the "pros" will kick off a set, sometimes an amateur, sometimes even a first-timer. When we get cranking on a set everyone (or most of us) knows, and some dancers are kicking up their heels on a part of the floor, and the audience is happily sucking on the Guiness...well, it's as close to a "pub" as needs be....but without the smoke (hey, it's California)!!
In London, it seems to be the standard session 'formula', that there are two or three paid musicians, and the rest, good or bad as they are, join in for the love of it. Any professional musician who takes up work as a session 'leader' knows this, and if they don't like it, virtuosi though they may be, they can lump it.
That said, many an excellent musician - paid and unpaid alike - is wasted on pub sessions, because less experienced and/or gifted musicians like myself (yes, I am guilty)* insist on playing every tune, whether they know it or not, there are too many other musicians present, the pub is too crowded to hear anything or the acoustics of the pub just aren't favourable. I have no doubt that many paid session players would rather be playing with a friend or two in the kitchen, but a living has to be made.
I think, the simple answer is, every musician is different, and every session is different. I have played in sessions led by musicians who, I am convinced, love playing with other musicians, whatever their standard, just for the joy of human contact. Some, on the other hand, give the distinct impression that they really just want to be left alone.
*I get away with murder as I play a particulrly quiet mandolin.
Professional Musicians...again
Professional Musicians...again
Wow, am I late jumping into this thread...but here goes. I was interested in everyone's "take" on whether "professional" musicians resent session players taking up space and time in bars/pubs where the "pro" thinks he ought to be turning a dollar. I gather from this discussion that many/most sessions "back East" take place in bars/pubs. That would seem a "natural" setting for them, but of all the "Irish" beverage establishments out here in southern California (oh, yes, we have them too!), only TWO that I know of host "sessions." The others, if they have live music at all, have paid performers. So where do the sessions happen? At homes, at churches, and at meetings of various "Irish/Celtic" social clubs. Who plays at the sessions? A mix of amateur and local "pro" players. At the weekly session I (try to) attend, at the Celtic Arts Center, there are usually anywhere from 8-15 players and maybe 50 onlookers. Usually the playing group includes 3 or 4 "pro" or "semi-pro" musicians ("semi-pro" being my term for those who OCCASIONALLY -- not as a living -- do a paid gig, either solo or as part of a band). Being one of the "semi-pros," I will not hesitate to say that many of our "amateur" players are every bit as good as those of us who can sometimes get paid for our "art." This weekly session also seems not to have a problem I've heard has plagued a few other sessions, namely, where a "clique" (often members of one band) hijack a session and basically make it "their" session. Maybe we're just lucky, but the sessions seem to proceed in a very egalitarian and congenial manner, with no one trying to be the boss. Sometimes one of the "pros" will kick off a set, sometimes an amateur, sometimes even a first-timer. When we get cranking on a set everyone (or most of us) knows, and some dancers are kicking up their heels on a part of the floor, and the audience is happily sucking on the Guiness...well, it's as close to a "pub" as needs be....but without the smoke (hey, it's California)!!
# Posted on February 26th 2002 by Munsondr
Re: Professional Musicians...again
In London, it seems to be the standard session 'formula', that there are two or three paid musicians, and the rest, good or bad as they are, join in for the love of it. Any professional musician who takes up work as a session 'leader' knows this, and if they don't like it, virtuosi though they may be, they can lump it.
That said, many an excellent musician - paid and unpaid alike - is wasted on pub sessions, because less experienced and/or gifted musicians like myself (yes, I am guilty)* insist on playing every tune, whether they know it or not, there are too many other musicians present, the pub is too crowded to hear anything or the acoustics of the pub just aren't favourable. I have no doubt that many paid session players would rather be playing with a friend or two in the kitchen, but a living has to be made.
I think, the simple answer is, every musician is different, and every session is different. I have played in sessions led by musicians who, I am convinced, love playing with other musicians, whatever their standard, just for the joy of human contact. Some, on the other hand, give the distinct impression that they really just want to be left alone.
*I get away with murder as I play a particulrly quiet mandolin.
# Posted on February 27th 2002 by CreadurMawnOrganig