Contemplating my strategy

Now that I have no residency and no ties to one venue, I'm left with an interesting choice that I've never really considered...

The hunt for a new residency begins in January as everyone is sorted over the Christmas period.
The thing is: do I even bother? You see my agent has control of several hundred bars and nightclubs up and down the country. They send me gig lists every day of venues needing cover. I could just take the work when I wanted to.
So if I wanted a Saturday night off, I'd just not bother getting a job that night and go hit the town. All I'd need to do is make sure that I cleared a certain level of regular income each week, give or take a hundred quid for nights off here and there.

The idea is appealing to me because I'd be the master of my own fate. I turn up, do my sweet funky groove thang, and leave. Do it four nights a week for example and I'm set.

Residency
They're great. Regular work, you make friends, the people begin to know you and you look forward to seeing them.
You get familiar with the music they ask for. In fact, some people used to ask for their music by just giving me a thumbs up from somewhere on or near the dancefloor. It was predictable, easy work.

The downside is that people begin to know you.
You get familiar with the music they're asking for. In fact, some people used to ask for their music by just giving me a thumbs up from somewhere on or near the dancefloor. It was predictable.

Freelance
I could breeze into a venue, nobody would know my name or my history. I could be whoever I wanted to be.
I'd be the Phantom Man.
The downside is there might be a slow period of work. Where I could have a residency getting paid to play to an empty bar for a few months until things pick up again, I might not be able to get the work during those times.

Who knows anyway. I think a chat with my agent is in order and see what my options are.

The most wonderful time of the year...

My bar got shut down on Monday.

Now there's so many emotions I'm feeling about it, so I thought it best to list them all one by one.
At a later time I may look at this and think "Hmm... perhaps that wasn't fair", but I'm capturing what I'm feeling today after a few days reflection.

Anger
13 days before Christmas, and a large, multi-million pound business closes it's doors turfing it's workers onto the street.
Yes, redundancy pay. Yes, aid in relocation blah blah blah...

13 days before Christmas.

A group of people, probably middle aged men in expensive suits with their fancy company cars, will have come to a decision something like this:
"This one isn't making enough money. The shareholders will not be pleased. Execute the minions."
Ok maybe not like that.
But the point is Christmas is the busiest time of year. They'd have made money staying open a few more weeks. At least let Christmas get out of the way so the people working there who still hadn't done their shopping didn't have the worry of no money coming in at the most expensive time of year. They didn't have to worry about finding more work during a time when you're supposed to be happy and care free.
Or how about closing a month before Christmas, giving the staff the ability to join in the recruiting drive all over the place for the busiest time of the year?
At least give us a chance to look after ourselves!
But no. Middle of the month. No available work because everyone is booked up. I know that, because I'm a DJ trying to magic venues from thin air; venues which covered their asses weeks ago.

Sadness
I had a tear in my eye in the meeting when everyone was told the place was closing, so I walked off before it ended to save my embarrassment.
I openly shed a tear again when my boss asked "Are you alright, kid?".
I'd been there 2 years. The people I worked with I enjoyed seeing. The music they asked for, the drinks they knew I liked... it made me feel happy to go to work.
Also the people who came in there. Yes, inbred apes some of them were. But I met some great people. My phone has been hot the last few days with people ringing and texting and even letting me know about possible places to work.
Maybe they'll carry on texting. Maybe they'll get fed up after a couple of weeks. Maybe they won't even bother after today. Who knows.

Nervous
I'm once again nervous of the future. The plan of working in the same place for another year while I get my computer qualification then launching myself into a new career is, as you can see, going badly. I can't even remember the last time I did an assignment either.
Tonight I'm working in a Yates bar. Next week I'm in a Litten Tree, the same venue chain I've worked for over 2 years. Yet I'm still nervouse about it.
Anyone would think with the way I'm feeling that I've not been a DJ for over a decade and that I don't actually know what I'm doing. What I've got to be nervous about I don't know. The work is cover work. There's no ties. I just need to turn up, play music for 4 hours, and go home.
I'll be glad when the Yates gig tonight is over. As I type this, it's 6 hours away...