You have a very good point, Eddie.

When playing to a mixed audience, the band needs to be very careful int their selections.

If you get it right, you can play 'everybody's music', but if you get it wrong, you will end up playing 'nobody's music'.

It's good to have a number of genre crossover tunes in your book.

I enjoy playing a variety of music genres.

When working on the cruise ship, the secretary of the CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, a Cuban-born American, had her wedding reception on the ship. She and her extended family cruised all week.

We played a lot of Salsa and Merengue for them, and they asked us if we were Latinos. We told them "No" and they dubbed us "Official Latinos" because our music was so authentic. I told them my grandparents were Italian and they decided that was the connection (in jest of course).

On the run we did to Jamaica and the Western Caribbean, there was a Reggae Band playing poolside. They told us we were the first white band they ever heard that played Reggae right.

A lot of little nuances make a lot of difference.

For example, while in port on the cruise ship, I made friends with musicians in Puerto Rico. One of them told me the hand drummer always plays behind the beat, and the cowbell is always right on. He said that if he heard the hand drum and cowbell play at the same time, he quits listening.

In Reggae, the backbeat is always a few milliseconds late, making you wait for it. I could hear this one, the Reggae band didn't have to tell me.

It's not only the notes you play, it's when you play them and how you play them that makes the music art.

I haven't gotten every genre perfect yet, although I'm quite good at a lot of them. I am always learning and getting better. It's one of the things I like about music, there is always something new to learn, some new skill or nuance to make me happy when I hear it sounding right.

I guess I'm just a music addict.

Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

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