“An engaging, humorous, revealing, and refreshingly human look at the bizarre, life-threatening, and delightfully humdrum exploits of everyone from sports heroes to sex workers.” -- Douglas Rushkoff, author of Coercion, Ecstasy Club, and Media Virus This wide-ranging survey of the American economy at the turn of the millennium is stunning, surprising, and always entertaining. It gives us an unflinching view of the fabric of this country from the point of view of the people who keep it all moving. The more than 120 roughly textured monologues that make up Gig beautifully capture the voices of our fast-paced and diverse economy. The selections demonstrate how much our world has changed--and stayed the same--in the three decades prior to the turn of the millennium. If you think things have speeded up, become more complicated and more technological, you're right. But people's attitudes about their jobs, their hopes and goals and disappointments, endure. Gig's soul isn't sociological--it's emotional. The wholehearted diligence that people bring to their work is deeply, inexplicably moving. People speak in these pages of the constant and complex stresses nearly all of them confront on the job, but, nearly universally, they throw themselves without reservation into coping with them. Instead of resisting work, we seem to adapt to it. Some of us love our jobs, some of us don't, but almost all of us are not quite sure what we would do without one. With all the hallmarks of another classic on this subject, Gig is a fabulous read, filled with indelible voices from coast to coast. After hearing them, you'll never again feel quite the same about how we work.

"WORST GIG is Music Appreciation 225, taught by that cool professor everyone wanted to have beers with after class. One fun nugget after another. It was harder to close than my Twitter app."—Matthew James, McSweeney's "Tawdry tales of concert catastrophes!"—Buzzfeed "Musicians' 'Worst Gig' makes for best read ever."—Salon What is the worst show you've ever played? Sometimes the worst shows inspire the best stories. After hundreds of interviews with national headliners and beloved indie acts alike, entertainment journalist Jon Niccum has crafted a collection that chronicles the most embarrassing, most hilarious and most insane live show moments ever. THE WORST GIG features outrageous stories from stars such as Wilco, Def Leppard, Tenacious D, Rush, John Mayer, and The Sex Pistols. Be it nature's wrath, equipment breakdowns or even military intervention, get the wild scoop on what really happened, straight from the artists themselves.

A collection of essays celebrating the history of underground American music venues.

Ultimate Gig will serve to answer questions and help gig-providing companies and workers make decisions by informing, inspiring and motivating as well as serving as a teaching tool. Most importantly it will give the reader a better understanding of the most significant labor revolution in the past 100 years as to how work can be done.

Easy Classical Guitar Gig Book. The pieces in the Easy Classical Guitar Gig Book have been culled and arranged as an aid to the working professional and semi-professional guitarist who finds himself in a variety of playing situations, such as weddings, restaurants, and other social gatherings that present live music.

Foreword by Vadge Moore, drummer for the Dwarves From the darkest rat hole basements to flash arenas, here is a wild ride through Rock's worst moments. Rife with confessionals, Gigs from Hell strips the mythology and starry-eyed allure of life on the road to its barest essentials - puke, rip-offs, come-downs and the odd stab at glory. Collected and translated from drunken rock-speak by music writer Sleazegrinder, this book offers a rare glimpse at what it's really like to tour, record and survive in the cut-throat music industry. Illustrated.

The Touring Musician helps performers at all levels of experience to take control of their careers. Packed with practical information, this invaluable handbook guides musicians in applying sound business practices to band travel by evaluating assets, creating an action plan, researching, negotiating, and booking venues, arranging transportation and lodgings, managing personal and tour finances, and getting publicity. The Touring Musician includes: * Point-by-point advice about how to set up a small business * Eleven sample worksheets and checklists, in a ready-to-photocopy format, that will help keep you and your information organized * Samples of the major types of legal documents involved in booking a band * A step-by-step chapter showing you how to book and route a sample tour, including five calendars and five budgets * Plus solid advice about how to research your venue contacts, negotiate gigs and fees, manage your band finances, coordinate your promotional activities, and much, much more.