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Jonesongs Music Group, Franklin, TN

I was thinking today about how when we perform, it is often called "playing" music, not "working".  Yet it is work, hard work.  And although we are blessed to enjoy performing, it comes with it's challenges just like any other job.  But it is also more than just a job for most musicians, it is an actual part of who they are.  I know that is the case for me.  I don't ever remember saying "I want to be a performing musician when I grow up", it just happened organically somehow.  And I don't think I could ever completely put it aside without actually losing a part of myself. 

But back to the "work" thing.  I know a lot of artists feel that what they do is under appreciated. Whether that is a fact or not, it is a general under current among struggling artists.  That lack of appreciation may come in many forms, mostly monetarily, but in general, the arts are not revered as they were in long ago tales of kings and queens who called to be serenaded by the best of the best.  I know that most musicians/performers prefer a room full of people who are truly into what they are doing and, over a room with scattered filled seats, even if the latter pays 10 times more.  So in the final analysis, it's not about the money.  However, the bills do need to get paid!  Here is where the work part comes in.

There is always practice, practice, practice!  It doesn't have to be new material. Sometimes it is old material that needs a polish, or maybe a new arrangement of a standard.  But there is always something to "work" on.  Then there is equipment.  The buying, the learning, the loading up, the hauling in, the engineering, the set up, the trouble shooting, the tear down, the hauling out, the loading up again.  Don't forget the driving, in any kind of weather you can imagine.  More reliable than the postal service, a gig is a gig and nothing is more important than getting there.  "There" is another job, because just finding places to perform is a lot of "work".  Endless calls, emails, connections, and so on just to land a job.  And you can't call in sick!  Forget it!  I personally have performed with a stomach flu, walking pneumonia, and a number of other ailments that details are better left out.  Why?  It is our job.  It is our work.  It is what we "do".  We still call it "playing" for some reason. I guess it's because no matter how "seasoned" we get, or under appreciated we feel sometimes, we secretly have a whole lot of fun!

Blessings, Robin and "Proud Murray"

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