[ Rob Goodale wrote in 130204 MMDigest:

> I was hoping from the beginning that I would be able to get at least
> a dozen or so paying gigs each year to help with expenses. I even had
> a fantasy that it would evolve into a major source of income.

Welcome to the club!  I've done all the things you mentioned as well.
I do not have a band organ but for over half a dozen years now I've
been trying to get gigs in the Greater Vancouver area with my busker
organ.  Rather then having an increase of gigs, even those gigs I used
to do annually so far have quit calling me!

> Part of the problem may be the economy -- people just don't have
> a lot of disposable income right now.

That certainly plays into it for most of the events I usually went to,
as they are either non-profit or low-profit organized.  This _should_
however not make much of a dent into getting hired.

The best customers are corporate customers.  However, to get these gigs
you will need to get yourself listed with every mayor talent agency in
your vicinity.  The problem I found is that they generally also do not
understand what it actually is we are doing!

Pictures, a Demo-Reel (or CD) and some YouTube videos will help
somewhat.  Most of the time (which will turn out to be a "Catch-22")
they want to see you in action _at an event_ so they can make their own
impression of your interaction with your audience.

> Given the electronic media alternatives and radical changes in
> musical tastes, the appeal just doesn't seem to be there.  If someone
> knows the secret I would be very interested in hearing about it.

I've heard the "excuse" in regards to the musical taste up and down and
any which way from Sunday.  You will find that I have personally
arranged a lot of contemporary music for the 20-note scale.

A true fact -- and partially hard to swallow for me -- is that the most
positive responses will come from playing all the cheesy traditional
stuff that these boxes were made to play in their day.  Stick to all
the recognizable stuff and throw in the one or another oddity that
showcases what this instrument can do best.

Are you tired of "Beer Barrel Polka?"  Too bad for you!

Then, when someone comes up and asks, "Don't you have anything more
modern," my response is, "Sure, everything!  What do you wanna hear?"

Good Luck to everyone!

Musically,

Ingmar Krause
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.grindorgans.com/ 
http://vilm.ca/RollOrder.html