Arena Rock Cover Band:

Robert Herndon said:
Well, guys...

After 7 years with the studio, I resigned today. In 7 years I have commuted 291,900 miles. Today, I will make my last drive home from Hollywood.

I've made a lot of friends in this business. I left on great terms with a handsome severance package and a professionally catered going away party, the latter two of which were completely unexpected.

At the moment, I am only still affiliated with the band "Outfall," and I have (politely) broken professional ties with all other musical ventures at this time.

I have one performance (already contracted) coming up on July 24th, which will be a large, outdoor event up in Angelus Oaks, California. I will be performing with a musical colleague's band on that date.

Currently, I want to finish my 8 song CD - if nothing more than to be able to say, "There. I did it."

I'm still on the payroll for Outfall and I will remain on board with them until we have completed the new album. We are over a year into working on this project.

Beyond that, I'm not sure where I will end up. I'm not opposed to new opportunities and I've already had 3 full-time job offers (as touring guitar tech) in the past few hours following the announcement.

Don't be alarmed if I fall silent. I'm just taking a different path....
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Well good for you Robert. You will do well in what ever adventure you take on next.
 
Kinda funny,

The founder, who left the band abruptly last month, has been posting photos of his previous band (and their light show, etc.) and comparing photos of our band (without a light show) on FB and making derogatory comments about the band.

I must say that I'm not surprised by this behavior, because I saw this train coming a long time ago.

However. It still puzzles me how (and why) people are willing to waste time on such negativity. It's as if the only way they can get ahead is by putting others down or by somehow minimizing the accomplishments of others, as opposed to just letting their personal achievements do the talking.

I have never burned a bridge in this industry and I am certainly not going to respond in kind (not at all actually) but it really does remind me of just how good music can be when you find the right people...
 
This band went through some rough times, but it was also a lot of fun. During the pandemic, we were one of the only bands in the entire area that worked daily.

Private estate parties and event halls (like Shiraz Hall in Glendale but there were many others that were open for "rennovation") hosted underground events non-stop, catering to higher end clients with a "money is no object" philosophy. We even rented vans for these events, wore disguises and used coded messages to communicate with venues.

Venues (in public areas) were surrounded with temporary fencing and wooden panels (to deaden sound) along with construction and/or rennovation notices. Catering staff used plain, rented vans and staff dressed as maintenance workers.

It was a lot like a secret mission assignment.

During the height of the pandemic, a 4 hour performance for a private client was easily netting $4,000 not counting tips.

Interestingly, once the music scene opened up, this band seemed to develop internal conflicts (not with me but other members had tensions) and members began leaving to pursue other projects. There are only 3 of us still working together.

Average venues are now back to paying a 4 piece band $600.00 for a 4 hour show like they did before the pandemic. However, private clients/venues in places like LaJolla and Rancho Mirage are still paying fantastic money for good bands in a private setting, but you will make very little playing 'average' events.

Recently, I began putting together an 'A' List of musicians to create a "supergroup" that will draw from pools of musicians - on a rotating basis - to get back into these lucrative, private events.

I'm enjoying putting this together.
 
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