May I be philosophical for a moment?

We see a lot of "best of" comments here. Almost every thread at some point includes something about "the best I ever heard" or the best guitar I ever played". The philosophy comes in here. Unless we know the sample size, that statement really means very little. As a ridiculous example, what about a guy who has only heard 10 guitar players in his life saying "Slim Fatty is the best I ever heard." How much power does that statement have when the person making it has only seen 10? Like a guy who talks about "the best car I ever drove was a Camaro." And then you found out he has never owned anything but Camaros. Try a Mustang or a Challenger so you have some basis of comparison. Sample size matters.

I am fortunate to live in a place where if I chose to do so I could hear 50 bands in a night. Not everybody has that advantage. If you live in a small town that only has 2 venues, be it 2 concert stages or 2 bars, how big can your sample size be? About 5 years ago I made the rounds one night and I was able to see 27 bands play one song each. 3 of the clubs were in the same strip mall so I walked between them. Driving time was my main limitation as I got out into the burbs a bit. The pint there is not who I saw, but that I have the opportunity to have a large sample size. I have heard SO MANY girl singers over emote "At Last" that I now HATE that frickin' song. That's why I also hate everything Lynard Skynard ever did, and Led Zepplin. I won't listen to one more bad attempt to play Stairway To Heaven. Because had I sat in front of any of those 27 bands I heard, eventually I would have heard those songs played.

Sadly, in my area, money has taken over and bands now don't care how they sound. They just want to play "that list" so they get their $400 and a bar tab and then move on to the next one. You never see the same lineup of a band twice in a row. Everybody plays in 6 bands, and they all know "the list" so they can get on a stage and chimp out the same songs, note for note, just like the record. There is a small 20%-ish contingent of musicians here who actually have the ability to write, and on the rare occasions I do leave my house, you'll find me visiting one of them. It's a different skill set completely to be able to write from playing Stairway. And (DISCLAIMER - PERSONAL OPINION AHEAD) I think it takes a higher level of musical acumen to be able to write (And to spell "acumen" correctly - if you had seen me type and backspace...) and it will always be that writing skill that trips my trigger. It's different skills.

And there again is the philosophical aspect. Since money really means little to me beyond allowing me to buy toys like guitars I don't play but just want, because the guy who dies with the most stuff wins, I don't care to be out there playing music I hate with people I barely know in a band like that. I am sitting on the fence right now about playing in 2021 with the band I am in. Seems like WAY too much work for too little reward. The monetary side is a lesser consideration than whether or not playing in that band will put me in my happy place. It's a 10 piece band and I am not so sure I want to have 9 band wives again. Dealing with 9 moods, 9 attitudes, 9 personalities...

Thoughts?

Last edited by eddie1261; 09/27/20 05:59 AM.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.