Drummer Freddie Fontaine once spent six months touring with the Blue Man Group.
"I was with the band; I wasn't a Blue Man," says the longtime local wedding-band vet. "It was still a difficult audition, though. On tour, the band is part of the stage show too, so there's a lot of theatrics involved....
"You're playing with other drummers and percussionists all at once...not many drummers have that kind of experience. They [Blue Man] teach you to exaggerate all your rock-and-roll moves, like the synchronous head bob, the [drum stick] spins and twirls, the one-handed audience wave."
Fontaine says the tour gig paid around $500 a week.
"Which wasn't bad, especially when you consider benefits and per diems and stuff."
Musicians at fixed-location Blue Man theaters reportedly earn more than tour players.
"That's a really hard gig to get into. It's at least $1000 a week, but nobody ever quits. I told them I was willing to move to Las Vegas or Boston.... Even after doing the tour for them, I couldn't get in. Plus there's a big union controversy about working the [fixed locale] Blue Man shows, even for the musicians. I didn't want to join another union."
Fontaine considered auditioning as an actual Blue Man.
"I saw they make twice as much as the highest-paid [musicians]. But then I discovered that I'm probably allergic to the makeup."
The Blue Man Group appears tomorrow, January 11, at the Sports Arena.
Drummer Freddie Fontaine once spent six months touring with the Blue Man Group.
"I was with the band; I wasn't a Blue Man," says the longtime local wedding-band vet. "It was still a difficult audition, though. On tour, the band is part of the stage show too, so there's a lot of theatrics involved....
"You're playing with other drummers and percussionists all at once...not many drummers have that kind of experience. They [Blue Man] teach you to exaggerate all your rock-and-roll moves, like the synchronous head bob, the [drum stick] spins and twirls, the one-handed audience wave."
Fontaine says the tour gig paid around $500 a week.
"Which wasn't bad, especially when you consider benefits and per diems and stuff."
Musicians at fixed-location Blue Man theaters reportedly earn more than tour players.
"That's a really hard gig to get into. It's at least $1000 a week, but nobody ever quits. I told them I was willing to move to Las Vegas or Boston.... Even after doing the tour for them, I couldn't get in. Plus there's a big union controversy about working the [fixed locale] Blue Man shows, even for the musicians. I didn't want to join another union."
Fontaine considered auditioning as an actual Blue Man.
"I saw they make twice as much as the highest-paid [musicians]. But then I discovered that I'm probably allergic to the makeup."
The Blue Man Group appears tomorrow, January 11, at the Sports Arena.
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