‘Are You Sure That’s A Saxophone?’ is a memoir of my early days as a gigging musician, playing pub gig after pub gig and hoping the Next Big Thing might be just around the corner if only a high-level music executive would happen to be in the Rose and Crown Pub at the next Open Mic night.Often comical, often heart-wrenching and edgy, I bare my soul in this memoir. There are stories of prejudice against women, there are laugh-out-loud examples of things audiences have said to me (‘are you sure that’s a saxophone?’). The book is written in bite-size chapters, each telling the true story of a situation I’ve found myself in. I write about the promoter who threatened to have me beaten up, the time I played a gig in front of 3000 people with my foot in a bucket of ice, and the time I earned less than an owl for a gig at a village fete. There’s the tale of the time I got paid in cheese and deep tissue massage, and the time an audience member tried to pay for his ticket with a silk tie and a pirate CD. I also give my opinion on what it’s really like to be a not-even-Z-list celebrity and the rejection I face on a daily basis.All the stories in the book are based in England and parts of Europe. I am British-born but am now based in Canada, and am grateful that these kinds of gigs are a distant memory. Every story in this book is completely true - nothing is embellished. I have, however, changed names and locations to protect the not-remotely-innocent. This book will hopefully appeal to armchair travellers, amateur musicians and music fans.I wrote this book at a time when I was diagnosed with long covid and suffered a partial bilateral lung collapse. Believing that I'd never be able to perform again, I spent my time reminiscing and eventually, a friend persuaded me to put pen to paper. I hope readers enjoy hearing about these gigs in the early stages of my career as much as I didn't enjoy playing them! I am thankful to be touring again and making up for lost time.Sarah Skinner is a professional saxophonist/vocalist who performs with her husband, Rob, as the duo Red Dirt Skinners. Winners of awards across several genres and continents, this book aims to encourage and entertain anyone considering a career in the music industry. In Sarah's words... "it gets better ... but only if you put in the work."Read more about this authorRead less about this author