As Susan said, I live in Philadelphia and I work in the Tri State area. I use agents for almost all my bookings. I also hand out business cards whenever I perform. (A colleague once told me that a job is successful if it produces another job) I find that I have a lot of repeat business. I have learned that customers, as a rule, are mostly concerned with reliability, appearence and audience response (in that order). The longer one stays in an area, the more his reputation feeds him. At this stage of my career, I can live quite well on jobs that come to me without my seeking them, but when I write a new show or start a new act (I offer a duet with an accordianist), I get back into a marketing mode and develope a market using my contacts and experience to my advantage. Susan and I are discussing a series of articles breaking down my ideas and methods, some of which may be of use to you guys. I lived in Dublin for two years, back in the late 60s, and although it took some time, I was able to establish an almost decent income just from folk clubs like Slattery's and Toner's. I wasn't there long enough to build a teaching practice but I could have if I'd had more time. I spent about nine months in Los Angeles in the early 80s and developed a small cadre of students and a wonderful contact for the Jewish market. In Israel, I overcame the language problem, working with a traveling show that featured music from the British Isles. What I am saying is there is always work for qualified musicians who seek work in a professional manner. There is a serious dearth of opportunity for those seeking stardom. If you'd like to contact me directly, I'll be glad to share what I've learned.

Mike