New Years Eve Gig?

[Doug Earnest]

How many of you have a New Years Eve gig this year? Good luck, please report in and tell us about it!

I guess I played about 25 of them, it was fun for the most part but those days are over.

Happy New Year to all

[Greg Lambert]

I quit that a few years ago. IT was fun back then but the hours got to be to much.

[Dave Mudgett]

I played an early First Night gig at the Presbyterian church in State College with Kristi Jean and the Ne'er Do Wells - https://kristijeanmusic.com/

Traditional country music, proto-rockabilly, and a little Western swing. Lotsa Patsy Cline, she really nails that stuff.

[Dick Wood]

I played in Fort Worth with a George Strait tribute band. We played from 9:30 until 12:00 and I was home by 1:00am I think I've missed maybe a couple of NYE gigs in 46 years.

[Tony Prior]

I quit New Years Eves gigs about 5 years ago. I survived them for well over 40 years . We used to play the common venues but the attendees were totally different than the usual crowds. Packing in as many as they can for a cheap Prime Rib and Potato just got old. Plus the roads are filled with the unknown. I already play somewhere around 40 to 50 dates each year, missing 1 is no big deal. In fact it's preferred.

[Eric Philippsen]

I stayed home and played my new Encore.

[Danny Letz]

We played one 12/28, I guess since because it was Saturday instead of Tuesday. It’s a every year gig for us in Bronte, Tx. I enjoy them, except, about half the years the highway is Icey. The problem for me out here in Podunk West Texas has become that all my gigs are 50 to 150 miles away and the deer & hogs have become a real hazzard coming home.

[Michael Sawyer]

Just seeing this ,we played a small venue,60 people or so ,last night.
Good crowd,we had just played there first of December.

[Hook Moore]

Yep, another one in the books.

[Larry Dering]

Yep, played the Eagles, 8-12. Big crowd and good weather. Home by 1.15am Other than tired, it was a good gig. I haven't done one since 2011. Weather is usually bad and roads too dangerous. At 70 it's a challenge to stay awake that late. Otherwise I did enjoy it.

[Don R Brown]

I have a friend - non-musician - who refuses to go out two nights a year - New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day. He says it's "amateur hour" when people tend to exceed their normal capacity for alcohol consumption, and he stays home where he's not even on the road with them.

[Justin Emmert]

I played an Eagles Club playing bass with my regular band. Played 9-1, then they fed us breakfast. Got home around 2 am. All in all, a good night.

[Kevin Fix]

Nothing here in the last 10 years. Being in a house band years ago meant you were playing there New Years gig. Also double the money we were making. I don't miss it. I work with a group doing County Fairs and Festivals. We are off now until mid April. I enjoy the time to hibernate. Back in 1993 the group I was working for at the time did two shows with Marty Haggard. We had our New Years gig also to do that evening. Marty asked me where we were playing at and I told him and gave him directions. I did not think he would show up, but he did with his whole band. The Club owner was in shock when they came in the front door!!! We were supposed to quit by 3:00am. Never happened, we were still playing and parting until 6:00am!!! Marty and his band and our band played together most of the night. Had to be about 13 of us on stage. Was a fun time I remember.

[Bob Carlucci]

Like most on this forum , I have a lifetime of NYE gigs under my belt.. Some good, some awful.

About 10-12 years ago, I did a NYE gig and just ASSUMED it would be you know, double the usual pay, and actually never bothered asking what the pay was.
I almost dropped dead when I got handed 2 twenties at the end of the night. 4 guys $40 each. On NEW YEARS EVE??!?

NEVER played with that band again!.. that was the low point.. A few years before that NYE gig, I played one that payed $350 a man.. In any case, I really don't miss NYE gigs. I am done with that part of my life. bob

[Lee Baucum]

No New Years Eve gig; but, just got home from a great annual Jan 1 private party. I think this was the third time we have played for these folks. Usually it is a combination chili cookoff and pie contest. This year, some of their friends came over and fixed HUGE boiled shrimp, along with pots of sausage, potatoes, and corn. Lots of cold beer and sodas. A table full of homemade pies, cakes, and cookies.

Tough gig; but, someone had to do it!

😀

[Johnny Cox]

I played with Britt Godwin and Company at a fund raiser for a theater group in Beaumont, TX. 8 piece band playing country, big band a classic rock. Fun fun.

[Jack Hanson]

Haven't played out on New Year's Eve since late last century, but there were a few that were memorable for all the wrong reasons.

In the early '70s at Captain Nemo's on Lake Minnetonka, it was so cold we all retreated to the parking lot during our breaks to warm up the vehicles and help ensure they would start after the gig. It was so cold in the back of the truck on the way home that the headstock snapped clean off on my '64 red reverse Firebird V, instantly transforming what would have been a $5000 instrument into a $50 instrument.

A couple years later, fully intending to imbibe, I rode my snowmobile across the lake from my house to the Surfside Ballroom. We shared the bill with the Trashmen of Surfin' Bird fame. Imbibe I did, to the point of getting lost on the lake on my way home.

In the mid '80s, I had about a 40-mile drive home in a full-fledged blizzard -- total white-out. The normal 30-40 minute drive took almost three hours. No sooner did I get home and climb into the rack than the director of public works was on the phone, calling me in to plow. I knew it was gonna happen, but was hoping for a couple hours sleep. Completed my route without a hitch. The old LN-8000 was basically on autopilot.

[Jack Stanton]

I gigged this year. I can take it or leave New Years, but if the dough and location is good I'll still do it.

[Tim Herman]

Played a Bronc riding at the Silver Sage Arena in Brook AB. Did my first NYE 40 years ago, although not all these were on steel. Only missed 2 in that span. The last few years have been great because they are strictly steel gigs. No extra gear to double up on tele...

[Michael Sawyer]

No New Years Eve gig; but, just got home from a great annual Jan 1 private party. I think this was the third time we have played for these folks. Usually it is a combination chili cookoff and pie contest. This year, some of their friends came over and fixed HUGE boiled shrimp, along with pots of sausage, potatoes, and corn. Lots of cold beer and sodas. A table full of homemade pies, cakes, and cookies.

Tough gig; but, someone had to do it!

😀

Lee,in my book,sounds like you had the best gig!!

We are booking more and more private parties,and doing fewer bars-Way more fun

[Bill Ferguson]

Yep, I played my last new years gig on 12/31/2018.

I agree that it is a night when non drinkers decide to drink and it can get ugly.

In fact last year, our band leader, who is a non drinker, decided to down a few and it was not a pretty sight.
He began degrading our new drummer over the microphone, because he was not familiar with every song.
In fact, he even said that he would have been better off doing a solo. Go figure.
Now this is a guy that I had picked with for years and alcohol showed his true colors.
I decided to give my notice (we were moving anyway) and all I got from him was "It's been nice knowing you". No apology then or later.

But I stood up for the drummer, since I was the one that found him in the first place.

So I am done with NYE and probably any gigs where there is alcohol. It is an evil thing.

[Pete Burak]

I had a good NYE gig this year, at an Irish Bar here in Portland. 5 piece band playing old country and swing, and the guitar player and I play really well together. I was happy with the band and the gig. We had a fill in bass player who did real well, and a female drummer who is very good, too. I didn't get home until 2am, and I have not been up that late in a long time! Slept til 10am or so the next day.

[Tom Dillon]

I played NYE with my regular band at our home base venue. The band was "on", the dance floor was full all night, got double pay, and there were no incidents. It was a good night.

[Herb Steiner]

I once again brought in the new year with Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys at the legendary Broken Spoke in Austin TX. I don't recall how many times I've done that gig, but AC has been playing NYE at the Spoke since the 1970s, I'm sure.

[Chris Bauer]

Like so many, it seems, I've sworn off new years eve gigs but I got a great start to 2020 bright and early on the 1st playing my Clinesmith D8 on a brunch gig with The Farmer and Adele.

Cowboy/cowgirl music, some Benny Goodman, some Bob Wills, and assorted types of hillbilly jazz.

Had a big crowd that was both sober and appreciative, great food for the band, and plenty in the tip bucket. It was a great way to start off the year.