Most working musicians don't make a whole lot of money, but they do get to do what they love, and if they are good and/or lucky enough to tour, they can travel to places they otherwise would have never seen, which counts for something.

Of course for many, as they get older and start to have families, the requirement to tour to make a living becomes a negative rather than a positive: very few can afford to take their families with them on the road, and if the significant other works or the kids are in school it may not be practical even if the musician is in the rarefied strata where money isn't a primary consideration. And you wonder why so many musician's lives are unstable?

Yet for others still - lifers like Willie "On th Road Again" Nelson, B.B. King, Bobby Rush, etc. - the road goes on forever and everything else comes in second: he road IS life, everything else is just a pit stop.

All musing aside, here is a very intriguing opportunity for musicians to tour China:

The Planetary Group, in association with China West Entertainment, has been presenting shows in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing in the Peoples Republic of China for the past two years. Shows have been at the club, theatre and special event level - with bands staying for as short a time as one week - to more recently - extended stays of three months.

Planetary has been taking care of all logistics: visas, airfare, equipment rentals, permits and housing. So far, Missing Joe, Entrain, Star 64, The Sheila Divine, Bellevue Cadillac, Damone, Dead Cat Bounce, The Sam Hooper Group and NYC band The Realistics are some of the bands that recently rocked China.

Planetary, China West Entertainment and Sonic Bids are now offering the opportunity for more artists to perform and tour in China. We have several venues and events that are looking for acts during the next year. Whether short term or long term - we are looking for Rock, Pop, Reggae, World, Jazz and Hip-Hop artists to perform in China.

Q. Why is there an entry fee to be considered for this opportunity?
A. The money raised from the submissions, will go directly towards helping to underwrite this series. As you could imagine, it is quite expensive to bring artists halfway around the world.
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