Originally Posted By: 90 dB
....... I was merely pointing out that a statement like "It's not work. It's music." is fatuous.

Load in, setup, 4 hours of playing, load out and a few hours travel time is indeed work. Not to mention the hundreds of hours in rehearsal, arranging, etc.

Anyone who thinks that isn't work is either delusional or has never done it. grin


We had some bass bins that were nicknamed "The Beasts" due to their size and weight, and were best handled by at least 2 people. Yeah, trucking in the gear is a hard job. Our band had a road crew but we often helped out in the setup and sometimes the load out. But even our road crew loved the job and loved the music. The head roadie even told me it wasn't work to him. It was a passion.

But why do you do it? Is the reason you do it to simply for a paycheck....Simply to make money at the end of the night? Then yes... you had a job.... and yes, it was a hard job to do and it was work to you.

But.....

If you did it because, when the lights come up, the long hours of practice, rehearsals, and arranging and getting it right meant nothing compared to the precious and amazing few minutes of time you were on stage playing that song flawlessly, because the music was inside you and needed a way out, because you wanted to share the pure joy you felt from the music, because there was nothing else in the world you would rather do, because the cheers and applause of the crowd meant everything to you, because there was a passion driving you.... then perhaps you are a musician.

Trust me when I say I have known people who could play and sing who were of both kinds...... some were there because singing a song beat working at Walmart or digging a foundation footing, and there were others who where there because of the passion, and there was music that needed to be expressed.

A wise man once said: If you love what you do and you then go and do it, you will never work a day in your life.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.