Making music with other humans is what is missing for me. That is why working with the Invisibles is so important even though we hardly gig we are at least interacting and creating something. If I needed money I would do IT in some aspect but frankly I don’t. If i was gigging regularly I would get a new car to cart people and gear around in but no gigs means no point. I could pay about £150 a month to get a decent motor. People that used to offer me gigs don’t anymore as they cant get anything. Looking back over the last 4 years my live music performances have really just withered away to nothing relatively speaking. That’s got me very depressed too.

What’s happening?

I have talked to several people about the not being able to find people to work with problem. They all say the same thing nobody is interested. I am in touch with a really good percussionist/drummer (all styles and has worked with allsorts) and it seems people just cant be arsed he said. You get in touch you chat and then they just don’t follow through? BTW its not an age thing or a trans thing as you don’t disclose that and it seems to affect every age group.

Out of a working life of nearly 55 years paying my stamp as they used to call it from the age of 15 I really only earned decent money for about 8 years out of the 13 at the Civil service. Most of my life I have never had an much of an income and by my standards I am wealthy on my 2 pensions.. I could buy more instruments or a car of course. But money was never a motivation for anything for me.I know a lot of creatives from artists to alsorts who basically managed to buy a home and then it all becomes irrelevant if you have enough to live on. I have accrued money from music (gigs plus PRS/PPL).

There’s no fix for this other than meeting a musician/creative type that’s up for treading the boards in a room with breathing, possibly drunken and smelly, shouty people ♥ The thing is working with anyone on music requires engagement and some sort of comment and most people I meet seem to be poseurs and dilitantys. Music that I have written and recorded is played all around the world and it earns me a little money every year and so If I never played another payed gig that doesn’t really change my status or my history.

I am not rejecting anyone other than on grounds of total lack of ability by which I mean cant sing in tune or play in time and sadly there are a lot of those. You can be an unpaid amatuer and totally brilliant and in the case of folk music particularly perhaps played publically a lot but bit mostly not for a fee. The main difference between Musicians and pros is one gets paid for what they do. Its only at the top with sight reading session and orchestral players that there is a very,very high standard but a lot of of pros don’t have that ability in the rock and pop world. Jazz guys usually have the technique and theory but never get paid for anything except teaching usually. I am not chasing paid work I am looking for people that want make music and maybe be a bit creative.If no one’s interested I will just go further into promoting on line with video and so forth. I do not intend to stop playing and creating by choice.

“How would your personal identity as ” professional musician ” be impacted by a choice of ” no financial aspect”?”

A friend asked this question recently. Well I have as have many others always done some stuff for free to promote or genuine charity stuff. I use professional in the sense that they are not an arsehole and can play and have the motivation to do stuff. It’s about attitude really.

I love my new couch, if only it was real.

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.

William Shakespeare

Its September. It was always a favorite month of mine.
I hope for a few good things may happen with the change of season. rather than just the colour of the leaves. Hope springs infernal and the devil makes work for idle minds. Well I have I confess I have found it so quite often.
I have shot a few arrows in to the blue these past few days and I hope that one will find the gold perchance. The business of finding new people for musical ventures is something I have not done for many years. So I need to use my best resource management head to see what I can make of it all and preferably not a mess.