Blues for breakfast please. And for dinner too.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago. My feet and my dog play a starring roll you can tell. No, the frog takes center stage in this frame, panting heavily in the afternoon sun, un-able to move itself from its resting place in the middle of a local forest road. We placed it safely near its contemporarys on the other side of the road in the direction that it was heading. There was a small woods pond filled with these creatuers screaching away as they do so well, and lets just say, this frog had a mate waiting. Maybe several. That day every frog had 8 legs...

     I have begun playing guitar with a friend of mine who plays in severals bands, performing regularly. Playing guitar is nothing new for me, but playing with others is not something that always happens frequently. He is very talented and it makes me want to be so much better! That is exciting, to do well with your playing, but at the same time be inspired to play more, and to play better than you do. He is making his living playing music which is also inspiring because this is one of my life goals. We are hoping to write some material over the summer and play some shows together.

    We have been having some conversations admist our practicing about playing and performing music as a business. It is decided that one of the major social challenges that arises, is being accepted by people as having a "real" or "legitimate" job. The skill that goes into being a musician takes years of hard work and effort, just as much as everyone elses profession, even more so than some! I find it hard to tell people often times that I'm a musician and want this to be my money making living, and not getting laughed at, or criticized, even by people who you would normally thing of as supportive of creative endevors. This criticisim also comes from people of every age and backround, not that I'm continually faced with it, but the memories of these negative encounters has built up over the years. My friend has had similiar experiences, and he's the one out of the two of us that is actually doing what I want to be doing!

     So don't go harpin on those that play the blues for their bread! They are a hardworking kind. And if you're the one doing the trashtalking, your almost guaranteed to be immortalized in song at some point in time. And remember too, that those songs are the ones you turn on the sterio when you're driving down the road sad as hell, or having a rocking good time on a Saturday night, and that those songs were written by the hardworking musicians that surround us everday. And till 2:00 am too.