What’s it like to be a freelance musician?

Some might think it’s an endless parade of glory, with a side of easy living.

I would love that, but that’s not how it is- at least not for the typical freelancer like me.

It’s actually more like the video game…..Super Mario Brothers.

In case you haven’t played Mario (you should), it works like this:

You, aka Mario, just run around the world, collecting coins. The coins are everywhere. Some are in plain sight, just waiting to be picked up. Others are hidden in places you would never expect. You have to poke every single brick and punch every metal beam to find them. You punch the air wildly as you jump around, hoping to find a few invisible coins hiding in the sky- or maybe even a secret passageway that leads to new areas and more coins.

Of course, there are monsters and evil things trying to kill you as you explore the world and collect coins, but so far in my career, nobody has tried to kill me as I tried to get gigs.

But as far as the exploring, running around and collecting coins, the comparison holds.

Each coin is like a gig. Finding the coin is like finding a gig. Grabbing the coin is like playing the gig. Just like in real life, the easy part is grabbing the gig- the harder part is finding one to grab.

Musicians often travel all over the area and beyond to play gigs and collect a payday.  They may make unexpected business relationships trying to get from where they are to where they want to be. They may experiment, trying things that seem unreasonable, only to have them sometimes result in something very beneficial.

We just run around the world looking for coins (gigs) and grabbing them when we can.  

Just like Mario.