The auacity of dopes.

Sometimes musicians crack me up. Or, well, artists of any sort. Here's my story:

Every Thursday night, I perform @ Steinbecks in Oakhurst, Decatur:

http://theevanlee.blogspot.com/2008/07/every-thursday-night.html

or sometime with Mudcat @ The Northside Tavern...

http://theevanlee.blogspot.com/2008/07/there-in-pinch.html

Tonight, it's in Helen with a Polka band.

While discussing this with friends lately, they express amazement that I would even bother to do this gig.

"Put on a costume and play cut time old timey music for a bunch of granny's? You're crazy man, I could never do that'.

It's the same all around. The blues guys think playing Polka in leiderhosen or stupid apparel is 'beneath them'. Similarly, the jazz guys think the blues guys are a bunch of potheads that never could figure out jazz. The Polka guys ususally are just doing the gig for the extra 140$ and to get back to playing in the blues or jazz bands they also play with back home. It's wierd.

Last week I went to a coffehouse and there were 3 'acts' on the roster. The first 'act' was 2 terrible guys that could not sing with electric guitars trying to do the '2 acoustic guys' appraoch. It was awful, The thing that amazed me was how much they complained to the 'sound guy' about thier 'sound'.

"Can I get a little more me in the monitor?" ouch. How 'bout a little less.

During a break at the bar, they asked if I was the guy that played across the street with the dixieland jazz band on thursday nights. I told them I was, indeed, that 'guy'.

They just shook thier heads. "Man, I wont ever play covers. Especially not 100 year old jazz covers. I just cant force my self to do it".

Any chance I get to play music for money is worth it. Any chance, anyplace, anytime. I'll happily put on a clown suit for the chance to get in front of a couple hundred folks. Or, just a few.