Mario, I would play in a wedding band, but I wouldn't want to be the band leader. Tell me what to wear, when to show up, what to play, and I'll do my best. But I don't want to do the wedding business end. A bridezilla can be a huge problem.

Most of us have to "sell out" to make a living. Even Beethoven and Mozart catered to the tastes of their sponsors and the prevailing norms of the day, while pushing it only slightly to the future (and getting dissed for that).

I know a guy who went to one of the finest culinary institutes in the country. He's managing a pizza joint. It's making a lot more money than fine dining did. In this town, he could barely eke out a living creating 'art food'. The critics loved it, the customers wanted hamburgers.

I've been accused of selling out by people working 40 hours per week, so that they could play jazz in a club on Monday night. Meanwhile, I was making a living playing popular music and not working a day job. Tell me who is the bigger sell out? I guess that's a matter of opinion.

I've known a number of famous musicians who listen to jazz or classical when they aren't working.

Ian Gillian and Jon Lord of Deep Purple wrote a "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" and performed it with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. But "Smoke On The Water" sold zillions more copies.

There are the few who can play 'art music' and make a lot of money doing so. There are those who can play 'art music' and make a comfortable living. And there are those who can play 'art music' and need a 40 hour per week day job to support their habit.

Me? I'd rather play "Yakety Sax" for the zillionth time than have a day job.

I make a living doing music and nothing but music. Furthermore, I enjoy playing pop music as much as I liked playing 'art music' (jazz and classical) when I had those opportunities.

In our duo we play Rock n Roll, Disco, Big Band Swing, Jazz, Roots R&B, Blues, C&W, Mambo, Merengue, Samba, Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Beach Music, Motown, Classic Oldies, Doo Wòp, New Age, Smooth Jazz, Hip Hop, Broadway Music, and one Opera Song.

What we play depends on the audience we have on the gig. So my sax playing has to adapt to the songs I'm playing. I might be nasty and gritty on one song, and smooth and silky on another.

And I enjoy the variety, trying my best to make each style authentic.

Long ago I found out that if you are a musical chameleon, you have better chances of finding work. And the things I learn in one style of music can teach me about other styles I play. It also helps me write various aftermarket styles for Band-in-a-Box. If I've played that type of music, I have an understanding on what each instrument should be playing. And since I play sax, flute, wind synth, guitar, bass, drums, keyboard synth and voice, I have experience doing those jobs.

All of this doesn't seem like work to me. It's just what I do, and when my brain is in the music world, the time passes without me noticing it, and I'm in my bliss. I don't call that selling out, I call it making a living doing what I would do for free.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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