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Letter From Jake Bishop's Mom
We would like to thank
everyone associated with the Detroit Blues Society for the support
you have given to my son, Jake Bishop, over the years. All of you,
that have seen him perform and have been a part of the journey he
is about to begin. Steve Allen has always the one of the best
mentors anyone could have. Thanks also to Spider and Don and all
their pictures and videos, Callahans, Memphis Smoke, The Blue
Goose, and Nancy Whiskeys just to name a few for always letting
Jake play there over the years.
We take him down to Nashville on Friday 9/3/10 to begin to fulfill
his life long dream of hopefully being a nationally known recording
artist. I know he will miss all of you. Thanks Again.
Jakes Mom
Elaine Appelt
________________________
________________________
DO BLUES MUSICIANS DESERVE A LIVING WAGE? ARE YOU
HELPING?
This is a question that
really does not need an answer - of course the answer is yes. What
this question should be is the GUIDING PRINCIPLE of every Blues
Musician in metro Detroit. You need to ask yourself this question
before accepting a ridiculously cheap gig just to fill your
schedule, "ace" another band out of work, or pad your egos. Times
are tough out there and some club owners are using this to their
full advantage. By accepting a below-scale wage you are cheapening
the value of ALL acts and playing right into the hands of greed.
Let me give you an example. If you accepted a gig in 1980 for $400
that same gig should be paying over $1,000 today with inflation
factored in. Conversely, the $200 gigs that some of you are
accepting today would have paid $77 in 1980 - how many of you
accepted that amount back then? The next time you are offered a gig
"on the cheap", think about what you are doing to all musicians. We
are all in the same business of music and need to work WITH each
other - not AGAINST each other. Send a strong, positive message to
everyone about your integrity.
_______________________________
2006
Recipient for Best Blues Society
