What a Bonehead
Well, I finally did it. I went home after a gig and forgot something. An extension cord? Maybe a capo? No, that wouldn't be that big a deal. Last night after a rather long gig, I packed up my P.A. system, wound up all my cords, got paid, had a bite to eat, then got in my car and drove home. I was about 30 miles away when I realized I didn't put my guitars in the car. We had put our cases in a back room to keep them out of the way. When we were done playing, I carried my guitars back there and put them away in the cases, then left them right there.

What a bonehead!!! At least it's a nice day for a drive.

Now Playing: The Social Lives of Working Musicians
There's something they never tell you when you decide you want to be a musician for a living: you don't get to do things on the weekends with your friends anymore.

I was just updating my calendar, and I have a gig almost every weekend through the summer. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing. It means I can pay my bills and continue doing what I love to do. It's just that my non-musician friends work regular jobs, so their time to do things is on the weekends.

The other thing I've noticed lately is that as my particular group of musical friends become more successful, we don't get to support each other as much because we've all got gigs at the same time. I think that sometimes we end up cannibalizing each others audiences.

All that being said, I still think I'm one of the luckiest guys around. I get to sing and play guitar for a living. Can you imagine that?

shhhhh......
My friend Robbie and I were sitting at the Statesmen the other night listening to the performers at Tim Bucci's Open Mic. Tim has been running the open mic for years, and quite honestly, when I run one, I'm just stealing a lot of stuff I've picked up from him over the years.

Anyway, Robbie and I were discussing musical styles, and the topic of rests; musical rests, that is, came up. We both agreed that it took us a while to learn their value. A lot of younger players never put any space in their songs. Their main way of trying to capture the audiences' attention is by being lound. Constant strumming at high volume is an easy trap to fall into. It takes a fair amount of energy, so the performer gets lulled into thinking that it will always pump up the crowd. I've been guilty of it at times. So has Robbie. It's effective at times, but as we discussed it, we agreed that if it's overdone, it just becomes a background drone, and the audience loses interest. What we discovered is that nothing captures the attention of the crowd like a well placed moment of quiet. If forces the audience to listen, and makes for more interesting performances.

Gigs Wanted....
I bought a new car today. I wrote a front page a couple of weeks ago on my feelings about car shopping. You can look at my blog page for that. I'm just glad the process is over. Now I have to pay for it. Please hire me!

Hey Buddy
I'm bad with names. I wish it weren't the case, but it is. I try to remember. I try making associations with a persons characteristics. I'll repeat a name in conversation when I hear it. Still, the next time I see you, I'm just as likely to draw a blank and give you, "Hey Buddy!"

Sometimes it gets me into a little trouble. The other day in the post office, a man came up to me and started a conversation. He spoke as if he knew me. To avoid embarrassment, I gave him the "hey buddy" treatment rather than tell him I didn't know his name. The problem came when he started asking me about another musician that I know. As he was walking out the door, he said, "ask ______ to give me a call, will you please."

So, if you're a musician who knows me, would you please give Buddy a call. My work it done here.

keepin' the faith
I saw Billy Joel in concert the other night. Me and 39,000 others packed into the Carrier Dome in Syracuse for the show. Aside from the fact that I was so far away that I couldn't really see him very well, the show was really something special.

Billy hasn't toured in quite a few years. He joked that he was doing this because he needs the money to pay for his car insurance. Since he doesn't have a new album out to promote, I was expecting sort of a "greatest hits" kind of concert. That would have been just fine with me. Growing up, He was always one of my favorites. What we got was something a little bit different. For the first hour and a half, he didn't play anything newer than about 1978. He went deep into his first three or four albums. Songs that everyone knew, but wouldn't normally expect to hear. It was great! The second half of the show was just as good, as he moved toward some of his hits from the 80's and 90's. But there was still a feeling that he was playing his favorite Billy Joel songs, not just what was expected of him.

His voice sounded stronger than ever, and his energy level was impressive for a man who has been doing this for the better part of 35 years. I think I learned a thing or two about what putting on a good show means.

a non-musical rant
I'm in the market for a new car. I'm not happy about it. Some guys relish looking for new cars. I'm not one of them. The whole process is frustrating and discouraging to me.

First of all, I'm 6' 3" tall, and they just don't seem to make many cars for people my size. I can't even get my knees under the steering wheel of a lot of the cars I've looked at. If I get past that, there's the issue of my head hitting the roof of the car.

Then there are the salesmen, and the sales supervisors, and the sales managers. Weasels, every one! I'm trying a lot of different cars, just to see what I like. I've made it clear to every dealer I've talked to so far that I'm in the research stage of my search, and I'm not even close to wanting to talk about deals. I just want to find out what kind of car I want. They all seem to think that's code for me wanting to discuss financing right there. One dealer has left no less than six messages for me in the space of five days.

Pricing is another issue. They won't ever tell you the price. They ask what they'd like your monthly payment to be, then they come to you with a page full of figures that make no sense, but there's your monthly payment.....for the next ten years. Trade in value? Forget about it.

I'm thinking about getting a team of horses and a wagon. A bale of hay is cheaper than a gallon of gas anyway.

Change of Seasons
I love this time of year. The anticipation of spring always gets me excited. That first warm day when you can turn off the heater in your car and roll down the windows. Being able to walk outside without having to spend five minutes bundling up first. It's just great! To be sure, Old Jack Frost isn't done with us yet, but he's getting tired.

I've also started talking with some places about playing outside on their decks for spring and summer. That's a very encouraging sign of warmth to come.

tempis fugit
Boy, this year is moving fast. Despite what the view from your window tells you, it's almost springtime. I've already started discussing summer gigs with some people. It just doesn't seem possible.

I once heard an explaination of why time seems to move faster the older we get. It has something to do with Einsteins Theory of Relativity, believe it or not. Part of his theory is that there are very few absolutes. Just about everything has to do with your frame of reference. To a five year old kid, one year is 20% of his whole life time. To an eighty year old man, one year is only 1.25% of his whole life, so it seems to move faster when measured against his lifetime of experience.

The lesson? Enjoy your moments. They're moving by faster and faster every day.

Out of touch?
So yesterday my friend Pete and I are discussing music. I mentioned that a lot of the 20 something musicians that I know are all going nuts over some new guy that's out there. I took a listen, and my reaction was, "so what." I just didn't get what the big deal about this guy was.

Pete pointed out that most of the music I perform is 40-70 years old. I said that's true, but that doesn't mean I don't listen to and appreciate new music. So Pete asks who is the most current artist that I really like. I sat there for a moment in silence. I just couldn't come up with anyone on the spot. As I thought about it, I realized that even when I buy new music, it tends to be from older artists who have been around for a while.

I looked at a list of the MTV top ten songs. I haven't even heard any of the songs on there. I recognize the name Teddy Geiger only because he's from Rochester and the local paper writes an article about him every other day. So am I out of touch, getting old, or does music just suck now days? I suspect it's probably more of the first two choices, but I'm not ruling out the third.