BOISE -- Today on Keepin' It Local, a business you might not think of as a business, running a band and performing at events locally.
It's definitely a labor of love for musicians, but it's also got its expenses and investments, schedules and bookkeeping.
Thursday night, I emceed an event where one of the longest-running jazz bands in Idaho performed and I asked them about the local band business.
Beautiful music, jazz in the park and I want you to meet the band leaders. This is Quinn and Shirley Van Paepeghem. The Van Paepeghem Sextet has been around for a long time playing in the area and beyond. Tell me a little bit about the business of running a band. How do you keep that going and keep it successful?
"Well, fortunately I think in the world of jazz there are a lot of musicians and we all can interchange so I think when opportunities to play come up, if the people that we typically play with aren't available there's a lot of other people that can step in and that's a community that we've grown to love," said Shirley Paepeghem.
Yeah, and you've really kept it alive and going because you're so consistent in playing a lot together but it is a business, isn't it Quinn? I mean you've got to put gas in the tank and buy instruments and all those things.
"Oh, yeah and unfortunately in a way it's a hobby too, and it's sometimes an expensive hobby but we love to do it and we have all your cars, your gas, your instruments, of course, Shirley's health 'cause she's the singer and promotion as well too, so yeah, lots of things," replied Quinn Paepeghem.
You are all educators so you have a heart for kids and that really comes out in what you do beyond the business side of this and that is the giving side of this. Tell me about that.
"Well, the Idaho Jazz Education Endowment is a wonderful thing that we happen to be board members of and we're able to give sometimes 25- or 27-thousand dollars a year in scholarships to kids who want to pursue their education in jazz, to take lessons or go to camps or go to college," said Shirley Paepeghem.
Well, keep it up because the community is really enjoying have the Van Paepeghem Sextet and all of the band performances that you do, thank you so much.