Here's my take:
Art must be created for art's sake, or it will never be any good to anyone. When creative juices are used solely for monetary gain, the very soul of the creation gets sucked out of it. I have always had a good business sense about my career, but it started as a passion, and continues to be one today. Gear, gigs(ok, ok) and glamor my be PART of the entertainment package, but if the music doesn't come from the heart ... it will show. Look at the careers of some of the aging or passed greats .... toward the end, Sinatra wasn't at his best, Ali can hardly talk, and I honestly don't know what's holding Keith Richards up at his shows. Wait - of course I do ... it's the passion for creation! The Stones don't need any more money, Sinatra could have retired in his 70s at a high point, and Ali didn't have to continue to beat his pretty face all those years. The heart is a lonely hunter, and it simply wants what it wants. Passion rules my world and on or off stage is no different. If your critique of the "old guys" was a bit stern, don't be so fast to knock them - maybe they were a great band in their youth, and the ladies who still loved them are reliving their paradise lost.

There is a huge difference between great music and great entertainment, but the two OFTEN meet and combine. It's a thing of beauty when that happens. So, play your music, be kind to the elderly and learn from everyone who came before you. It can only get better that way! Those ladies were entertained, right? Some of the stuff my kids listen to makes me raise my eyebrows, but they connect with it ... different strokes I guess. I'll never be that guy who says "That's not music! ... in MY day yada, yada, yada ..." I give all art a fair chance, and the areas that leave me wondering hmmmmm? ... I just pass by. I wouldn't pay $5 for a genuine Picaso, but some of the art that my kids at school have produced are hanging on my walls at home. It's all how it touches the individual. My summary is that all music is good. Maybe not appreciated by everyone, but seldom things are. Lincoln said something to that effect about pleasing people, didn't he?


I'm getting dressed to say my last good by to my old scoutmaster, who passed at 85. He loved life, loved his family and will be remembered fondly forever. I got my first music merit badge with him at summer camp in the late sixties. I think I played "Help" and "One" on the guitar. Music brought me closer to him, and that's what counts. Touching people with your art.

Stay comfortable, good people - it's been beastly hot in Philly this last week ... do what you can to keep "cool" in body and attitude!