I think I've realized what the most depressing thing must be for a band or musician that once had several top 10 hits and videos.
Yup.
Having to now play The Ohio State Fair after having been really popular and making lots of money has to be the bottom of the barrel.
Poor ZZ Top. Stuckplaying the Fair with frigg'n Clay Aiken and knowing Aiken draws $30 tickets and you can only draw $25.
Oh. And 211 years ago today Maximilien Robespierre was beheaded.
I must confide: if ZZ Top comes on the radio, I will listen. Unless it's "Legs". I must have some standards.
You can take the man out of Toledo, but...
Yeah, but at least they're among their core audience at a State Fair.
Besides, I bet it hurts Rick Springfield a whole lot more. And Rick Springfield's pain is delicious.
Truthfully, bands are under a lot less pressure after they've made their millions, had their hits, and start to fade from the charts. Don't be fooled here - ZZ Top and Rick Springfield aren't playing the state fair circuit because they need the money. They're doing these kinds of tours because they like playing for the fans without the record label pressures to sell platinum or management breathing down the back of their necks. Thousands of their hard-core fans will show up at these things. They sell out the seats and it does a good draw for the fair. Event bookers battle it out over who they can get for their events. ZZ Top is probably also booked on a smaller club venue tour, when they're not making state fair appearances. After years of big production road tours, a lot of bands dream of playing the small club circuit again. It's where a lot of them are also at their best musically, versus a large arena venue where so much gets diluted. Sort of like "going back to your musical roots."
(Journey, on the other hand, can kiss my ass after firing Steve Perry. As a former fan, I will never go to one of their shows now, even with the "pretender" (Steve Augeri) who replaced Perry. I hope they won't be able to get *arrested* at a state fair, much less get a gig at one.)
Most importantly, bands don't always make the bulk of their income from record sales. If you're contracted with one of the big labels, you might earn $1-2 on average from each CD sold these days. The labels gouge performers for EVERYTHING. Split that up among the band members, subtract management's cut, and you end up with very little. Touring and selling promo stuff is where the money is at now. $1 from a new CD sale, or $10 profit from ticket sales and two t-shirts sold at $15 profit each -- which would you choose?
Now you see why independent labels and self-promotion campaigns have been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade.