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How long have you been playing in Chicago?
I’ve played in over 40 West
End shows and have spent the last 12 years with Chicago
Is it hard to get into the West
End show scene?
Most people start by deputising for contracted players and then
building up a good reputation. So in other words it’s often by word
of mouth – no auditions!
What are the hours of work?
The Chicago band performs every evening at
8.00pm plus two matinees on Friday and Sa turday.
We do get Sundays off though!
Don’t you get bored playing the
same music eight times a week?
Working in the West End is not for everyone.
The key to keeping fresh is to have lots of other projects on the
go.
As your evenings are busy, what do you
do in the day?
I
have two young children and am fortunate enough to be able to spend
the days being Dad.
Have you worked with anyone
famous?
I’ve been
lucky enough to work with lots of celebs over the years. Some of the
most recent include Jimmy Carr, David Hasselhoff and Marti Pellow.
What's the best show you ever played on?
Five Guys Named Moe – the
music was just amazing!
How much do you get paid?
West End musicians earn between £40K to £50k a
year – sometimes more.
Any anecdotes?
Working in a theatre pit can be a dangerous
business. In the show 42nd Street, one of the dancers fell from the
stage and landed on top of the drum kit, narrowly escaping serious
injury. On another show, a speaker system crashed into the pit,
narrowly missing one of the musicians but destroying his instrument.
Perhaps one of the most notorious incidents happened when a lady
from the audience, sitting in the front row, was caught short with
an upset tummy. Let’s just say that the result seeped its way into the pit, dripping onto the
unsuspecting players.
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Visit Rob’s website at
www.roblevymusic.com Chicago
website:
www.chicagothemusical.com
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