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PREREQUISITES
To succeed, you should possess musicianship, a
friendly and positive personality,
and be dependable.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
"I always thought being on the road was like
working the second shift," says
Tammy Rogers. "Typically, you've rolled into
town overnight on the bus, and you
don't have to show up anywhere until the middle
of the afternoon for sound check,
and you don't play until somewhere between
eight and midnight. By the time you've
done the show and loaded everything back up on
the bus, you're rolling to the next
"There is a lot of hurry up and wait, but you
have to stay mentally pre-
pared to play. I usually try and get a set list
as early as I can and make
my notes about what I want to do on it, so I
can be as prepared as possi-
ble when I step onstage, so I can give the best
performance."--BT
"If the lights are down low and you're reading
charts, make sure that you
have a stand and lights so that you can
see."--BT
"Being an employee, a sideman employee, there
are certain rules of eti-
quette. You need to keep your comments to
yourself unless someone asks
your opinion. Don't be negative. A good
positive attitude is part of being
a professional."--BT
"So much of this business is people calling
people they like to be around.
It is personality oriented. People don't just
say, `Get me a guitar player.'
They know the players and they know what their
personalities are like. If
your personality works for you, that's going to
be a big plus. Then, you've
got to be able to stand there and deliver. I
was able to come up through
the ranks quickly because when people called
me, they knew I would
deliver."--TR
"Try to be an easygoing, accommodating person,
because out on the road
that can be tough when you're cooped up on the
bus with six to eight
other people for a week at a
time."--TR
CAREER
TIPS
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