Scott Shipley wrote:Bailey and Cato's. Corner of Riverside and McGavock. Soul food meat and three.
Yeah!
The meat and three places in Nashville kept me alive (along with peanut butter) when I lived in Nashville. Especially during the winters when my only source of income was playing the Opry ($25 a show for 3 shows a week).
Here are some other words of advice from somebody who was in a similar position:
Jamie, you clearly have the talent (from your web site) and the drive (from your postings) to do well in Nashville or any other place. You will find people in Nashville who will support you and help you succeed. As a totally green player with much less on the ball than you I had support from players like Paul Franklin and Mike Smith, who were also struggling 20 somethings, as well as many more. I didn't meet a steel player in Nashville who wasn't welcoming to me (probably because I wasn't much of a threat).
With that said, the music biz is really tight in Nashville. The session business is *way* down, causing session players to compete for the prime road gigs. As a twenty something, you have a lot going for you in terms of appealing to your potential employers, but you will find real emnity from your older fellow musicians as the hot young kid on the block. Although Paul Franklin doesn't talk a lot about it, he faced some serious trash talking from competitors as he broke into the session business.
Because of this, I would be really careful about accepting any paid gig until you can get legal green card status. Even if 99% of the people you work with are supportive and welcoming, there will be the one guy who turns you in to the INS because he thinks you took the prime gig that he was anticipating.
One idea: Say you get an opportunity to do some gigs with an established or up and comming artist. Tell the artist that you would love to play, but don't have legal work status yet. Say you would love to sit it with them, and have them donate your pay to a charity of their choice. That way you aren't getting the gig (and putting somebody out of work) because you will work on the cheap, and you also will earn the respect of the people you are working with.