From: someone@anywheret.net   
      
   "JimD"  wrote in message news:2018051600323450290-email@nowherecom...   
      
   > A long time ago, when we were young, there was something that puzzled us.   
   > It was, where are the " middle " level bands ?  We were out there touring,   
   > we were opening for the big names. We bought records, listened to and   
   > studied everyone.  We knew how " good " we were, as in what our limits   
   > were. We could see the famous bands, often up close, and understood pretty   
   > much how good they were.   
      
   HOW were they all that 'good'...particularly when compared to your band?   
      
   > We saw our shortcomings. We felt we weren't as good as the big boys.   
      
   What shortcomings?   
      
   > The famous bands looked flawless to us .   
      
   How so?   
      
   > So that brought up a puzzle. Where were the bands that would be better   
   > than us, but not as good as the famous guys ?   
      
   And  WHAT was it that made some of them 'better', and others 'not as good'?   
      
   > We never saw those people. We saw less than perfect us, and we saw the   
   > perfect pros.   
      
   Or could it be something as simple as what you saw was *apparent* confidence   
   ascribed to those so-called 'perfect pros', merely because they got some   
   better breaks than those *apparently* 'not as good', because they didn't get   
   the breaks they needed and were thus *apparently* had less confidence   
   ascribed to them?   
      
   > What I realize now is that, with a few rare exceptions, we actually were   
   > as good as the pro's.  And that proved itself out over time as we grew up   
   > and worked with the big names. Once you actually do that, you realize how   
   > it all works.   
      
   As in, you get to see through all the smokescreens ;)   
      
   > Being good enough to be a pro is doable by most people.   
      
   Absolutely - it's what I'm after!   
      
   > Being super famous, on the other hand is a lot of hard work, AND a huge   
   > amount of luck.   
      
   And particularly being Innovative and Creative in writing and performing   
   Brand New Awesome FRESH material!!!   
      
   > All that said, a band doesn't have to be ALL great players.  Often one or   
   > two can carry the rest.   As long as the rest aren't so bad they make a   
   > hopeless mess of everything.   
      
   The idea of 'carrying' lesser band members is the root  of the problem!   
      
   > In my younger more arrogant days, I often said of my band, particularly on   
   > fiddle tunes, that they don't have to actually know the songs perfectly,   
   > as long as they don't trip me,   
      
   Oh, no! Sounds like a recipe for disaster ;)   
      
   > I'll carry the thing and it'll be great.   
      
   A Horrible situation...because that's Exactly what will end up happening,   
   and you'll end up being Drained like a Vampire's Victim!   
      
   > That basic idea still applies, as we often do songs someone in the band   
   > doesn't actually know.   
      
   OUCH!!! I hope that at least that's only a temporary condition until the   
   songs are known!   
      
   > Or drummer isn't really a " country " guy.   
      
   I'm a hippie rock & roller but I have no problem doing 'country' too...and   
   church tunes too.   
      
   > Doesn't like the music, never listened to it. So if we do some song that   
   > isn't a straight 4/4 rock thing, he's just as likely as not to wreck the   
   > thing.   
      
   That's not a very mature attitude on his part. With no previous history of   
   church songs, I'm learning a lot of worship songs because I wanted to expand   
   my horizons, and as a result, I'm actually getting to know more and more of   
   them.   
      
   > That often keeps us from trying songs, particularly requests that we could   
   > play.   
      
   Yep, all thanks to narrow mindedness.   
      
   > ramble, ramble ... gotta run Google is sending me some security warnings I   
   > gotta read and figure out.   
      
   Jim   
      
   Whatever that means.   
      
   Ouisie   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)