Dick Bright has done it all in the music business. His first book Workin’ For A Livin’ – Makin’ it in the Music Business chronicles his storied 50-year career as a performer, bandleader, collaborator, producer, and impresario.
With nods to Donald S. Passman’s Everything you Need to Know about the Music Business and the For Dummies series, Workin’ For A Livin’ – Makin’ it in the Music Business is a combination self-help-guide and how-to-manual for all matters on and off the bandstand for aspiring musicians, composers, producers, and arrangers. It is the definitive source of information for anyone interested in a career in the music industry and for people simply looking to hire musicians for private events or book a DJ for a wedding.
With his trademark wit and wisdom, Bright lifts the lid and spills the secrets on playing Steve Jobs’s wedding, booking James Brown and other legends at the famed Venetian Room in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, and producing countless concerts and private events all around the world. Famed music journalist and best-selling author Joel Selvin provided the book’s introduction and the book’s 17 chapters cover topics ranging from “So You’re Thinking of Starting A Band?” and “Music Business School Part 1 & 2” to “Everybody Needs A Laugh” – a finely curated collection of musician jokes.
Workin’ For A Livin’ – Makin’ it in the Music Business includes a collection of candid interviews Bright did with many of his friends and musical greats including B.B. King, former San Francisco Symphony assistant concertmaster Mark Volkert, arranger and Tower of Power trumpeter Greg Adams, famed session drummer John Mader, the premier vocal coach Dave Stroud, and award-winning entertainment leaders. All of them talk about their own careers, how they got there, and they share well-earned advice on how to succeed in the ever-changing entertainment industry.
A classical trained violinist with over 50 years of performance and behind-the-scenes experience, Marin County, CA-based Dick Bright has presented and worked with the biggest names in music. Originally from Los Angeles, Bright is an actor, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist who has appeared in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Metro with Eddie Murphy to spots on CBS-TV’s Nash Bridges and has led his own 18-piece Standing Room Only and the current top Bay Area private event band, DBO Live. He was the music director of the Bay Area Music Awards/BAMMIES, works with numerous national charities, and he is a first-call performer of the National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors.
The event is presented by the Sweetwater Music Hall Arts Fund.
Six days later on June 17, the Sweetwater returns to Mountain, the venue’s free, all-ages monthly collab series presented by Desert Daze features Skyway Man and Brainstory.