I was dreaming rather heavily when I woke up this morning. I don't remember exactly what I was dreaming about, but I woke thinking about playing music on a weekly basis in Austin.

Austin is a peculiar place. It bills itself as the Live Music Capitol of the World. So the city is flooded with musicians wanting gigs. Consequently, only the cream of the crop end up with gigs that pay. Everyone else scrambles for the leftovers, all of which are unpaid.

That really sucks, because I, like most, just want to play music. While I want to get paid for my performance, I am happy to play for free if it will ultimately yield me a good income or will pay me in the long run. So I've been looking around for such a venue with little success. Few seem willing to build a relationship with us.

Or at least that's what I think is going on. Honestly, I don't know if that is totally the case. I remember when I was performing with Skander a few years, we used to sit around and bitch about clubs not booking bands. It wasn't until I stopped bitching and focused on doing that I finally started getting gigs with Plow Monday, then Breastfed. I've talked to at least one pub in town that is semi-willing to work with me, but they don't seem willing to pay. The question is: is that worth it?

That's what I was dreaming about this morning. I look at bands like The Tea Merchants who started playing weekly at Fado's Irish Pub about four years ago. It makes me think that we grew too quick... at least in our own mind. We achieved some big successes early on and then started demanding to get paid too quickly.

And now? Now we don't know if it is worthwhile doing weekly gigs that are unpaid. We could make some decent money from tips and CD sales and continue to build a local fan base. But is it worthwhile to compromise our morales such that we don't get paid at all, when we our work should be paid?

Or maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Maybe it should be we just need a venue. Then the audience will pay us in tips and CD sales if we play? Re-frame the argument. And grow our fan base in the process.

December approaches and I know I can't get The Bards to do weekly gigs. But if I was willing, I might be able to do just that... if I was willing?

There's a part of me that just wants to work at home recording new music and not tour any more. Hmm? Admittedly, a regular gig in Austin would work well to that end. And perhaps with time, a decent income could be made from tips and even a regular pay? Maybe I'll talk to Mick when I get back and Andrew sooner.

There are so many good bands in Austin that play for free. They're paid in tips and CD sales. And they can afford to have big bands despite just being paid in tips. So maybe that is something that is possible for me as well.